The Khaki Boys Over the Top | Page 6

In fact that was the condition
of all of them. "You're almost as bad as Franz," went on Jimmy.
"Well, I don't want to be too hopeful," returned Roger. "But what are
you going to do, anyhow?"
"This," answered his chum. He drew his rifle up close beside him, took
off his tin hat, stuck it on the end of his bayonet, and cautiously raised
it well above the ground. It received no bullets, as might have been
expected.
"Come on, we can run for it!" cried Jimmy.
"What makes you think so?" asked his chum. "Didn't the lieutenant tell
us to lie on our faces?"
"Yes, but that was before the fighting ceased in front of us. Fritz is
having all he can attend to on either wing of our advance, and, for the
time being we're not being molested. If the Huns were in any strength
directly ahead of us, or to our rear as we are now, that tin helmet would
look like a sieve by this time. It's safe enough to get up and run for it.
And we've got to hustle if we want to save Iggy."
"All right, just as you say!" murmured Roger, as he began to rise. It
was not without a natural feeling of timidity that he cautiously elevated
himself first to his knees and then to his feet. As for Jimmy, he had
impulsively stood upright.
"Come on!" he yelled above the din of battle. "Come on!"
He started on a run over the shell-torn ground, with what remained of
the barbed wire entanglements here and there.
"I'm coming!" answered Roger.
He expected any moment to receive a bullet, or to be utterly blasted
from the earth by some terrible shell explosion. And Jimmy confessed,
later, that he felt the same fear. But these fears did not hold back the

Khaki Boys from continuing on to the rescue of their comrade--if he
was in a condition to be rescued.
"Where's the place?" cried Roger to his chum, when they had covered
several yards in a hasty rush toward the rear.
"Must be somewhere around here," answered Jimmy, looking about
him. That part of No Man's Land where they then were, seemingly was
deserted by all save the dead. If there had been any injured they had
been taken well back behind the lines by stretcher bearers.
For a time Roger and Jimmy feared they might be considered deserters,
coming toward the rear as they were doing, and away from the fighting,
and aside from mere scratches neither of them showing any wounds.
Though if they had been hurt that would have been an excuse for
making a retreat.
But no one observed the two--there was no one to observe them, in fact.
They were some distance from their own trenches, and immediately
back of them--toward the German lines--there had been a division in
the fighting, so that the battle waged on either wing, as it were.
"Look in all the shell holes!" directed Jimmy. "The shell burst right in
front, or to one side of poor Iggy. He was blown into a shell hole, of
that I'm pretty sure."
"There's a hole--a big one, too," said Roger. "But there's no one in
it--only dead!" and he turned away, for some of those dead were
comrades who, the night before, had been in the trenches with him and
his chums.
But the Khaki Boys were hardened to scenes like this now. Too many
times had they seen the dead and dying. There was no time to nurse
one's feelings.
"Come on! Come on!" cried Jimmy feverishly. "We've got to be quick!
Iggy may bleed to death if he's hurt anything like I think he is."

"Yes, and this place may be a regular lead hail storm, soon," added
Roger. "I can't see why our company was held up! Why couldn't we
keep on giving the Huns what they deserve?"
"Orders are orders, my boy, we learned that long ago. And when the
lieut. wouldn't let us go on, there must be some reason for it. I'm just as
anxious to give Fritz his medicine as anyone. Hello, there! Did you
hear that queer noise!"
"Yes. Sounded like a groan. Listen!"
The tide of battle was away from them now, and they were able, above
the distant roar, to hear ordinary sounds, which had not been the case
when the attack started. The sun was well up now, and the day gave
promise of being a fine one--hot, too. And on such a scene the sun
shone! Death and devastation brought on by human beasts!
"There it is again!" cried Roger, "It sure was a groan."
"Somebody around here is alive, at any rate," said Jimmy.
There were a number of terribly mangled bodies