“By cracky, Wash, it looks as if these French had pretty nearly enough of it! I don’t believe they have, though. But if they keep on coming this way we’ll have to look sharp, or we’ll run into a lot of Huns.”
“Ah doan, want tuh run into no sich!” declared Wash. “Dey eats sauerkraut an’ dis yere what dey calls limberburg cheese—an’ oxcuse me!”
Beyond LaFerté the boys met platoons, companies, regiments, even battalions, or at least remnants of them, and all along the line more than a mile each side of Château-Thierry the falling back was certain and regular.
Then, suddenly, almost as though dropped from the sky, came the Americans. From long distances in the rear and without stopping to rest from their arduous journey, the Yanks eagerly faced the Huns, and foremost among these cheerful, singing, jesting troops from overseas were the marines, leaving their train of parked lorries not far from LaFerté and coming up on foot.
The German High Command had received intelligence of the French handing the defense of this line nearest Paris over to the Yanks, and the word had come to the invaders: “Go through these untrained Americans like a knife through cheese!” It is said that this was General Ludendorff’s pet phrase.
The Americans took up their positions along the southern bank of the Marne and beyond in the hills. Then night came on. The enemy was too confident of a sweeping victory on the morrow to give serious thought to night attacks. Beyond a few minor skirmishes and some artillery firing, the hours of darkness passed uneventfully.
That night Don and Wash slept in their car, not far from the Château-Thierry road and within a short distance of some American regulars placed in reserve. Seeing the boys’ fire, a few officers came over to talk. They were much interested in Don, and amused at Wash and his lingo. They also were free with certain information and opinions. One first-lieutenant who had most to say remarked:
“Well, we’ve got a job on our hands tomorrow, but we’ll do it! These Frenchies are good fellows and good scrappers, but they have to follow fixed methods of fighting. This is not the American way. I say hang this trench business, pot shots, grenades, flares, sniping and all that!”
“Like to have a little of it kind of Indian fashion, eh?” suggested Don.