Henri did not take kindly to Billy’s unbelief.
“If we can get away from the sergeant, I will be at your heels,” announced Billy, and he meant every word of it.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE POINT OF ROCKS.
The French and allied forces were located in a range of wooded hills running north and south along the east bank of the Meuse. They had fortified steeply terraced slopes with successive rows of trenches, permitting line above line of infantry to fire against an advancing enemy.
At the foot of the hillside is the village of Vignueilles, a little stone-built town that had been shot into ruins by artillery. A boy from this village, who had taken refuge with the soldiers on the high ground, found a former playmate when he met Henri. This boy’s father had once been employed as a gardener by the Trouvilles.
As Billy said, “they jabbered French until they made him tired.”
The new friend had the given name of Joseph, but Henri called him “Reddy.” Billy called him a “muff,” because he could not understand half that the new boy said.
But Joseph, or Reddy, by any name was just now a tower of strength, even if the tower was only five feet three inches up from the ground.
As Leon, the little Belgian, served at Ypres, so Reddy was going to prove a big help in the adventure at hand.