“It must be getting near morning now. Have you had any sleep?”
“No; I don’t need it. I couldn’t go to sleep. But how about you? I’ll take this watch and you can go up and turn——”
“Listen! Firing. Away to the south.”
“Southeast, too. Must be all along the line. And more and more. Herb, is it a barrage?”
“What else could it be? Is another drive on—the one that was soon to come off? Oh, Don, if it is, there’s a chance for us. If it is not, then before long——”
“I know it’s serious, old man, and I guess you and the corporal see it clearer than the rest of us. But—it’s a barrage in full force and the drive will follow.”
“Look! It’s getting gray over yonder; morning. Let’s go up and get the fellows awake and in their places. If the Heinies are chased back again, and they will be, some of them may want to stop on the way and take another fling at us. I wish we had more ammunition; there are barely fifty cartridges left to each man. I have about seventy, but I must have been a little more careful.”
“Slower and surer, Herb. I tried to follow your example. There are about seventy in my box; poor McNabb’s. How about pistol ammunition?”
“Plenty, I guess, Don. We must fall back on that at close quarters. Oh, hear the music of that cannonade!”