Fighting in France Part 36

"I do. I remember we wondered if our regiment was in it."

"Well they were all right," said Jacques. "They bore the brunt of the whole attack and if it hadn't been for them I don't know what would have happened."

"Tell me about it," urged Leon eagerly.

"The Boches launched a terrible bombardment on that portion of the line held by the _douzieme_," continued Jacques. "Then they turned loose one of those ma.s.sed infantry attacks on our trenches and though the _douzieme_ was outnumbered nearly four to one they held fast. Not without paying the price though and half of our comrades were either killed or wounded so that they are out of it."

"Did the Germans take the trench?"

"They reached it at some points and even entered it; just as things looked blackest, reenforcements arrived and drove them out and saved the trench."

"Good!" cried Leon heartily. "It must have been splendid!"

"More b.l.o.o.d.y than splendid I guess," said Earl grimly. "I think we were pretty lucky to have missed it."

"So do I," agreed Jacques. "Still I hate to be absent when the rest of our regiment is fighting."

"Weren't you fighting all that time?" demanded Earl.

"Oh, yes, but somehow I feel so much safer up in the air than I do in the trenches."

"There aren't many safe spots left in Europe now anyway, I guess,"

remarked Earl.

"Nor any other place in the world, for that matter," added Leon. "Just stop a minute and think where there have been battles fought in this war."

"Pretty nearly every place you can think of," said Earl.

"I know it; in France, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Austria, Italy, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, China--"

"What was in China?" demanded Earl.

"Kiao Chau. Don't you know that port the j.a.panese and English took from the Germans?"

"That's right. Then there is or has been fighting in Armenia, Persia, Mesopotamia, Africa, the Marshall Islands and all those islands down around Australia; Zeppelins have raided England."

"Yes," exclaimed Leon, "and sea fights in the Atlantic and Pacific, the Mediterranean, in the North Sea and the Baltic, the Indian Ocean and the Carribean Sea and I don't know where else."

"It's awful, isn't it?" said Earl. "And right at home in America the Germans have been blowing up factories that were making arms for the Allies; they've also been putting bombs on s.h.i.+ps."

"Why doesn't your country stop that?" asked Jacques.

"Don't ask me," exclaimed Earl. "I wish they would; if they'd deal with some of those plotters the way any European government would, I think all that trouble would end. We're too good to people in the United States."

"That's right," agreed Leon. "We offer them our hospitality and give them a chance to earn a good living and then they turn on us."

"Some day the people of the United States will turn on them," said Jacques solemnly.

"That's just what will happen," exclaimed Earl. "They will stand for a lot over there and they don't get angry easily; people like that are the worst kind when they do lose their tempers. One of these days they'll all get mad and those trouble makers will wake up to find that they've been playing with fire."

"There's our ambulance," said Jacques suddenly. "Come along."

CHAPTER XXVII

CONCLUSION

"A gas attack," said a soldier to Jacques as he and his two companions hastened out of the cottage and started to climb into the ambulance.

"The Boches using gas again?" exclaimed Jacques. "That's bad."

"That means work for the ambulances and hospitals," remarked Leon soberly. "That's the worst death of all."

"But we all have masks," said Earl.

"Thank goodness we have!" muttered Jacques. "All ready?"

"Go ahead," cried Leon and Earl together, and the big ambulance shot forward with a rush as Jacques let in the clutch and pressed his foot upon the accelerator.

A moment later they swung out into the broad highway and sped down the road towards their destination. They were headed for one of the small receiving points a short distance behind the lines where the wounded were brought by the Red Cross units. From these places the ambulances picked up the men and transported them to the base hospitals; from there they were moved, if possible, to different hospitals throughout France and England.

Night and day the doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and the Red Cross work. Often they are under fire and they exhibit marvelous nerve and courage in every conceivable emergency. There are many heroes of the war who never fired a gun.

At top speed Jacques urged the ambulance down the road. The night was still dark, and, with the scanty lights permitted them, it was almost impossible to see the road clearly. Jacques seemed to take it for granted that conditions were all right, for not once did he slacken his pace.

The roads behind the battle-lines are marvels of construction and usually as smooth as the top of a table. Over these roads travel the trucks that are the life-blood of the armies, for they supply the material with which to fight. Consequently it is no cause for surprise that the highways are well cared for.

"I suppose we'll be busy for a long while now," said Earl as they bowled along the road.

"Yes, there'll be plenty who'll need attention after, this attack,"

said Jacques.

"We're safe for a while anyway," remarked Leon. "I wonder why they sent us to do this instead of making us fight?"

"The _douzieme_ will have to be reorganized now," said Jacques. "The men remaining will need rest and a chance to recover; that is probably why we were detailed to this ambulance."

"We're comparatively safe here anyway," said Leon. "That is some consolation, though I'd just about as soon be fighting."

"We're safe unless a sh.e.l.l happens to--" began Jacques, when he was suddenly cut short.

There was a violent jar; the steering wheel was torn from Jacques'

grasp; the big ambulance rocked crazily and then pitched forward. The three boys were thrown headlong from their seats.

Earl looked about him. He was in a long room with high ceilings and his surroundings seemed very unfamiliar to him. He was lying flat on his back and he tried to rise; a heavy weight seemed to hold him down and he felt a dull pain in his leg. He discovered that he was lying in a bed.