“Wonder when the music will begin,” said Frank, as he crouched beside Tom and Billy, waiting for the thunder of the great guns to signal the beginning of the attack.
“It won’t be long now,” replied Tom, as he cast his eyes up to the sky where a faint light was beginning to diffuse itself.
“I wonder if Stone is with this bunch of tanks in front of us,” remarked Billy.
“I’d know his tank if I saw it, but it’s a little too dark yet to make it out,” said Frank, as his eye ran along the silent row of monsters that stretched up and down the line. “But one thing’s certain, if he isn’t in the front row at the start, it won’t be long before he gets there.”
Men passed along the line with steaming buckets of coffee, for the morning was chilly, and the boys swallowed their portions with gusto and passed the tins back for more.
“Gee, but that tastes good,” said Tom, smacking his lips. “It warms me to the toes.”
“You’ll get exercise enough to keep you warm before many minutes are past,” prophesied Billy.
“It can’t come too soon,” put in Frank, as his fingers tightened over the stock of his rifle.
Just then the word came down the line:
“Fix bayonets!”