Every engineer wanted that honor, and all begged Dave not to leave them behind.
“All right—you can all come along if you want to,” he announced, with a grin. “We’ll give the Heinies a salute they will most likely never forget.”
The young sergeant led the way along the trench to where there was an unfinished portion, and there he halted his little party and instructed them carefully.
“Just beyond the top of this trench at a distance of about ten feet is the beginning of a gully which runs along between the rocks and bushes for a long distance. It is very irregular in shape, and in some places is much deeper than at others. We’ll have to crawl along slowly and do our best to keep ourselves hidden. Otherwise the Huns may spot us, and then it will be all over. Keep your guns ready for use in case any of the Heinies show themselves. They may be in the gully already.”
With caution he raised his helmet on top of his rifle and held it above the top of the trench. No rifle report followed, and he moved the helmet along a distance of several feet, as if the man wearing it were walking. But no shot came, and then without further delay he crawled quickly over the top of the trench and made for the entrance to the gully he had mentioned. Like so many snakes the other engineers wriggled along after him.
It took fully a minute for the whole sixteen to reach the gully, and during that time each man was fearful that the Germans would discover and open fire upon them. But the battle was raging furiously at some distance, and they fortunately were not noticed.
Once in the gully, they proceeded with caution. Dave was in the lead, with Roger next and Phil and the others following. All crawled along on their arms and knees, holding their rifles ready for instant use.
Presently Dave heard a sound ahead which brought him instantly to a halt. It was the noise of a loose stone falling on a rock, and there followed an exclamation of pain in German. Evidently the stone had come down on somebody in that part of the gully just ahead.
The young sergeant motioned for those behind him to keep absolutely quiet. Then, with his gun ready for immediate use, he moved forward inch by inch until he could peer around a turn in the gully.
A German soldier was there, sitting on a rock with his back toward our hero. In one hand he had a sandwich, consisting of rye bread and a sausage, and the other a small bottle of native wine, and he was evidently enjoying his lunch regardless of the battle going on all around him. Dave looked beyond the German and saw that he was alone.