The nurse who had him in charge had been told his story, and, being a person of tact and discretion, she had gradually told him the truth bit by bit, “in homeopathic doses,” as Tom put it. The absence of the noise of the big guns was rather hard to explain, but she did it somehow, and finally Bart came to know the whole truth. It was something of a shock to him, but his delight at the defeat and surrender of the Huns was so great that it more than counterbalanced his distress.
In a few days, the doctor pronounced him strong enough to take his regular place in the ranks, and when he stepped out with them one morning in a brand new uniform and looking as stalwart and fit as ever he had, the Army Boys felt as though they had nothing on earth left to ask for. And their delight was shared by the rest of the regiment, with whom Bart was a general favorite, and who overwhelmed him with handshakes and congratulations. The boys marked that day as the best that had ever been on their calendar.
All were in a jubilant mood as they strode along in the crisp, cool air. It was almost a trial to keep their measured step. They all felt more like dancing.
“The only kick I have was that I wasn’t in at the finish,” said Bart. “I’d like to have heard the last shot fired. And I sure would have liked to have been with you fellows in the tunnel, and in the clearing of that Argonne Forest. You fellows were certainly going fast in those last days of the war.”
“You needn’t kick,” grinned Billy. “You’re some speed merchant yourself. You went to sleep in France and woke up in Germany.”
CHAPTER XXIII
CROSSING THE RHINE
It was a memorable day when the Army Boys at last looked upon the Rhine. Again and again that word had been on their lips in the course of the war. A thousand times they had pledged themselves to reach the Rhine. The river was to them a symbol of Germany itself.
Into the city of Coblenz poured the American army in columns that seemed endless. Over the Rhine they went on two bridges that spanned the great river that stretched out like a broad silver ribbon as far as their eyes could see. At last the Rhine was under American control, and a German could not even cross it without permission from an American sentry.
On the other side of the river from Coblenz was the great fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, one of the strongest and most famous in Germany. It covered many acres and stood on a rocky promontory, four hundred feet above the level of the river. It could hold a hundred thousand men if necessary. It had cisterns hewed out of the solid rock that could hold water enough to supply a garrison of eight thousand men for ten years. There were mammoth underground passages and magazines for supplies and ammunition. From its rocky height it seemed to be able to defy the world.
The German flag had floated over the fortress for a hundred years. Now Old Glory was hoisted in its place and the pulses of the boys thrilled as the Stars and Stripes spread out proudly in the breeze.