"You mean," exclaimed Earl, "that in every space three feet long a shell will explode every fifteen seconds?"
"I certainly do."
"It seems incredible," muttered Earl. "Why, there'll be nothing left of them."
"That is just what we want," cried Jacques. "When we smash their trenches to pieces then we can drive them out of our country and France will be free once more."
"I suppose our batteries will all have the exact range," said Earl.
"You need not worry about that," smiled Jacques. "The exact location of every German trench is marked to the inch on our officers' maps. What do you think our aviators are for? Don't you know that they take pictures of the enemy's fortifications from their machines and that all the pictures are developed and enlarged? Oh, they'll have the range all right. You'll see."
"Look!" cried Leon suddenly. "Here comes one of our aerial scouts now."
Far away in the eastern sky a tiny speck appeared. It approached rapidly and increased in size as it came nearer. At least four thousand feet above the trenches the great mechanical bird flew and the three young soldiers watched it in silent admiration.
Suddenly a puff of white smoke appeared below the aeroplane.
"The Germans are firing at it," cried Earl.