And that was the reason why, as he dashed through the rain-soaked wood, Dave told himself that he must find Roger, no matter at what cost. He felt that if he failed in this his sister would never forgive him, and, for the matter of that, he would never forgive himself.
He ploughed forward through the soaked underbrush and scrambled over the rough rocks as best he could. Then, as looking through the mask was difficult, he took a deep breath, and, holding it, took the mask off for a moment to gaze around him anxiously. But no human being was in sight, and, readjusting his mask, he went forward once again. Glancing backward, he saw that Phil was swiftly following him.
Off to the north of where he had been walking there had been at one time something of a woods’ trail, used probably by the farmers of that vicinity. This was much torn up, with shell craters dotting it at short distances. As Dave came closer to this abandoned trail he caught sight of something which caused him to stop in wonder. There, sheltered by some rocks and a mass of brushwood, were a heap of unused shells, evidently for three-inch guns.
“How in the world did those shells get here?” he asked himself. “They certainly don’t belong to our artillery.”
A brief examination revealed to the young engineer that they were German shells. They had probably been left there by the Huns at the time they had tried to take the wood several weeks before. A slight advance had been made by one or two German regiments, but this had been repulsed by the American artillery.
“I’ll have to report this to headquarters as soon as I get back,” he told himself.
He was just turning away from the pile of shells when Phil came up. He pointed the pile out to his chum, and the young corporal was much surprised. He motioned to the shells and then toward the American line, but Dave shook his head and pointed toward the German line, to indicate that they must be shells left there by the enemy.
So far there was but a slight trace of gas throughout the wood, but as the two young civil engineers advanced they met a cloud of the poisonous vapor rolling toward them in a yellowish haze. Dave felt of his mask to make sure that it was properly adjusted and pointed to Phil’s, who nodded to show that he also was on his guard.
Presently the pair reached the spot where Roger had last been seen by them. They looked around in every direction, but without avail. Then Dave looked at his chum, but Phil merely shrugged his shoulders to show that he did not know what to make of the situation or what to do next.