And the men followed them to victory or death.
Jimmy found himself yelling and firing his rifle as rapidly as he could pull the trigger. For a moment the five Brothers, all together, seemed to be in comparative safety. But then bullets began to sing about their heads like angry wasps.
"Come on! Come on!" cried Jimmy, and no one faltered.
Suddenly, from a little mound of earth in front of the five, there came a sound as of some one tearing stiff cloth, or beating a drum more rapidly than one was ever beaten before. The Khaki Boys knew what it meant—a machine-gun nest.
Instinctively they dropped to earth, and the bullets flew over their heads. If they found living targets farther on the lads did not turn to see.
"We've got to wipe that out!" cried Jimmy.
"We're with you!" shouted Bob.
Franz, looking forward from between two little hummocks of earth, suddenly fired his rifle.
"There goes one Hun!" he exulted.
"And I got a second!" exclaimed Roger.