CHAPTER XIV
THE MACHINE-GUN NESTS
“The Huns are coming, boys!”
“Up and at ’em, fellows! Don’t give Jerry a chance to get anywhere near us!”
So the cries ran up and down the trenches, mingled with several orders and the cracking of rifles. Then the artillery, which had ceased for a moment, began again, this time with increased fury.
“I think we had better get out of here, boys,” announced Dave. “Never mind your tools. I guess all you’ll want just now will be your rifles. We’ll go as far as the entrance to the dugout, anyway.”
As the dugout and the entrance to it were not yet completed, it was no easy task to crawl up the wet and slippery slope leading to the trenches.
As requested by him, the top sergeant of the company had been transferred to another unit, and as Dave was next in rank to him, and as no one had been as yet appointed to fill poor Lieutenant Harney’s place, Dave was in command of the engineers left in the dugout.
It must be admitted that he felt his responsibility, the more so because the sudden alarm above had cut him off from communication with the first lieutenant or the captain. Some of the engineers attached to the signal corps had been stringing telephone wires along the trench to the dugout, but these were as yet not ready to be used.
As the engineers came up to the level of the trench above them they saw some fierce fighting not a great distance away. A fairly large body of German troops had come forward over a slight rise of ground and had taken a position behind a natural ridge of rocks. Off to one side a German machine-gun nest had been located, and from this the enemy was pouring a constant fire toward the Americans.
“We’re in for it, all right enough!” cried Roger.
“Boys, when you use your guns make every shot tell!” cried Dave to his little command. And then, of a sudden, he turned to face the crowd. “Are you with me in trying to do a bit of hazardous work that may count big for our side?” he questioned quickly.
“Sure we are!” cried Phil.
“You can count on me every time, Dave! You know that,” announced Roger.
“Show us what we can do, and we’ll do it,” was the way Ben expressed himself. And the others shouted various words of approval.
A few military supplies had been brought down into the dugout by some soldiers who had been ordered to leave them there for the present. Among these supplies Dave had noticed a box of hand-grenades. He immediately ordered two of his men to go below and bring the box up with all possible speed.
“I am not quite sure whether we can reach that machine-gun nest with these hand-grenades or not,” he said; “but, anyway, I think it’s worth trying.”
“We can’t throw them from here,” said Phil.
“I don’t intend to throw them from here. I’ll show you what I have in mind just as soon as the grenades have been distributed.”
It was an easy matter to break open the box and hand the grenades around. Each man was supplied with four to six of the deadly explosives. Then Dave, after another careful survey of the machine-gun nest, ordered his men to follow him.
On arriving in that locality the young sergeant had taken time to look over the ground carefully, noting the various trenches which were in the course of construction. In doing this he had taken note also of the lay of the land and had wondered what would happen if an approach should be made by the enemy through a little rocky gully running off to one side and which was all but hidden by some stunted undergrowth.
This gully, he had now noted with satisfaction, ran in an irregular way toward the vicinity of the nest where the German machine-gunners were operating their weapon with such telling effect against the Americans. At one point where the gully made a sharp turn it was less than fifty yards distant from the gun.
“I don’t believe I’ll need more than three or four men,” announced Dave presently. “Who wants to go along?”
Every engineer wanted that honor, and all begged Dave not to leave them behind.
“All right—you can all come along if you want to,” he announced, with a grin. “We’ll give the Heinies a salute they will most likely never forget.”
The young sergeant led the way along the trench to where there was an unfinished portion, and there he halted his little party and instructed them carefully.
“Just beyond the top of this trench at a distance of about ten feet is the beginning of a gully which runs along between the rocks and bushes for a long distance. It is very irregular in shape, and in some places is much deeper than at others. We’ll have to crawl along slowly and do our best to keep ourselves hidden. Otherwise the Huns may spot us, and then it will be all over. Keep your guns ready for use in case any of the Heinies show themselves. They may be in the gully already.”
With caution he raised his helmet on top of his rifle and held it above the top of the trench. No rifle report followed, and he moved the helmet along a distance of several feet, as if the man wearing it were walking. But no shot came, and then without further delay he crawled quickly over the top of the trench and made for the entrance to the gully he had mentioned. Like so many snakes the other engineers wriggled along after him.
It took fully a minute for the whole sixteen to reach the gully, and during that time each man was fearful that the Germans would discover and open fire upon them. But the battle was raging furiously at some distance, and they fortunately were not noticed.
Once in the gully, they proceeded with caution. Dave was in the lead, with Roger next and Phil and the others following. All crawled along on their arms and knees, holding their rifles ready for instant use.
Presently Dave heard a sound ahead which brought him instantly to a halt. It was the noise of a loose stone falling on a rock, and there followed an exclamation of pain in German. Evidently the stone had come down on somebody in that part of the gully just ahead.
The young sergeant motioned for those behind him to keep absolutely quiet. Then, with his gun ready for immediate use, he moved forward inch by inch until he could peer around a turn in the gully.
A German soldier was there, sitting on a rock with his back toward our hero. In one hand he had a sandwich, consisting of rye bread and a sausage, and the other a small bottle of native wine, and he was evidently enjoying his lunch regardless of the battle going on all around him. Dave looked beyond the German and saw that he was alone.
It would have been an easy matter for the young sergeant to have killed this enemy then and there; but he could not bring himself thus to shoot a fellow human being in the back, and besides he did not consider it good policy to make any unnecessary noise in the gully. The success of the task he had undertaken lay, largely, he felt certain, in advancing in utter silence.
He motioned to Phil and Roger, and both understood. Then all three advanced side by side and laid down their rifles.
The next instant Dave was on the German and with both hands had caught him directly over the mouth, pulling him backward. Then Roger and Phil leaped forward, one to kneel on the fellow’s breast and the other to catch him by the legs.
The German was taken completely by surprise, and with his mouth full of bread and sausage he came close to choking. He spluttered and gasped, and then, seeing he was helpless in the hands of the Americans, gasped out hoarsely: “Kamerad! Kamerad!”
“All right, ‘kamerad’ it is!” announced Dave in a whisper. “But you keep quiet.” And to make the fellow understand he pointed to his mouth and placed his hand over that organ of speech.
The fellow understood and nodded. His gun had rested across his lap, so he was easily disarmed. Then Dave detailed two of the engineers to take the fellow back to the American lines.
“And don’t let him make any noise while he is in this gully,” cautioned the young sergeant.
“You bet your boots he’ll never let out more than one peep!” announced one of the engineers who was to take the prisoner back. And, looking at the prisoner, he pointed to the fellow’s mouth and then to the point of his own bayonet, to intimate that if the fellow made any noise he would be stabbed to death. But the German prisoner had no intention of risking his life further, and he nodded vigorously to show that he understood.
With this German thus disposed of, Dave and those remaining with him again advanced, this time with increased caution, for if one German had found his way into the gully others might do likewise, and the engineers did not wish to be treated to a disagreeable surprise.
As they progressed it must not be supposed that they did not keep their eyes and ears open for what was going on beyond the gully. Every few feet they stopped to look up and peer between the rocks and the stunted undergrowth which overhung the edges of the depression. Beyond this hollow the landscape had been torn up and in many places swept clean by the heavy artillery fire of that day and of days gone by.
Presently they came to another turn in the gully. Here there was a deep depression, and they had to wade through water and mud up to their knees. They were now getting closer to the German machine-gun nest, and Dave motioned to his men to increase their caution and for each of them to hold a hand-grenade ready for use.
At last they reached a point where it seemed impossible to go any further. A shell had exploded in that vicinity and completely blocked the gully. To advance farther would mean that they would have to crawl out of the depression and around a small hill of dirt and sand left by the exploded shell.
“I don’t know whether we can reach that machine-gun nest from here or not,” Dave whispered to the others.
“What’s the matter with going over the top after that nest?” demanded Roger.
“Do you want to do it?” questioned Dave quickly, turning to all of those under him.
“Sure! Let us go over!” was the whispered answer. Not an engineer wanted to hold back.
With more caution than ever Dave peeped out among the rocks and calculated what might be the chances for success. While he was doing this he made another discovery, which was to the effect that while they had been slowly crawling up the gully another machine-gun of the Germans had been located almost side by side with the first. Both guns were popping away constantly, and evidently doing considerable damage.
“If they should turn their guns this way it would be all up with us,” said the young sergeant. “So if we show ourselves we’ll be taking our lives in our hands.”
“Well, what of it? Come on!”
“Don’t let us waste any more time. Those guns must be doing terrible damage to our fellows.”
“Let us get busy with these hand-grenades right away.”
They were all enthusiastic, and Dave more so than any one else. His eyes lit up with patriotic fire as he got a hand-grenade ready for use.
“All right, boys! If you say so we’ll go over the top and at ’em,” he cried. “Get your grenades ready, but don’t throw until I give the word. And then be sure to give it to the Heinies just where it will do the most good.”
There was a brief pause, and then Dave leaped forth from the gully, followed almost instantly by all of the others. Away they sped over the ground in the direction of the machine-gun nests.
They had covered fully fifty feet before the Germans discovered them. Then a yell went up and several shots rang out, the bullets whistling over their heads.
“Now then—all together!” yelled Dave, and let fly with his hand-grenade. The others hurled their explosives at the same time.
While two of the hand-grenades went wide of the mark and one other failed to go off, the others came down directly in the midst of the two machine-gun nests. There was a loud explosion, followed rapidly by a number of others. The machine-guns were completely wrecked and the bodies of the gunners were hurled in all directions!