“Say, Dave, did Roger tell you anything about his gas mask?” questioned Phil, while the two were walking side by side, with the others behind.
“He told me yesterday that he didn’t think it was in very good working order,” was the reply. “He said he wanted to have it fixed when he got back to camp.”
“Well, he tried to fix it himself this morning, and in doing it broke the mouthpiece.”
“Didn’t he get it fixed at all?” questioned the young sergeant of the engineer quickly.
“I don’t think he did. He didn’t have time.”
“That’s too bad! He ought to have taken time. It’s dangerous to be out in this neighborhood without a mask that is in good working order.”
“That’s what I told him. But he said he guessed it would be all right.”
The young civil engineers now reached a portion of the wood where the ground was very uneven and interspersed with many jagged rocks. Here, in some places, the shell-fire of a former battle had thrown up the ground and the growth in violent fashion, so that they were often at a loss how to progress. Once Dave stepped into some undergrowth and went down into a hole up to his knees, and a moment later came a stifled cry from Buster Beggs.
“Hello! there goes Buster!” cried Shadow.
“Where did he go?” questioned Dave, turning around.