The Outdoor Girls in Army Service | Page 7

the things we may be up against, when
we find ourselves in the trenches, face to face with the enemy," he said.
"Also we were saying that these sweaters, and mufflers and socks you
are knitting, will come in mighty handy over there."
A shadow crossed Betty's bright face, and she leaned forward to pick
up the discarded paper she had thrown upon the porch.
"'The enemy attacked in force our lines south of Cambrai,'" she read,

with puckered brow. "'The enemy succeeded in gaining a foothold in
our first line trenches, but were later driven back. The fighting on both
sides was sanguinary, and heavy losses were sustained!'"
She flung the paper from her, and regarded her friends with flaming
eyes, and both little fists clenched close at her sides.
"It doesn't seem as though it could be real!" she cried. "Men killing
each other off by the hundreds and all for--what? Oh, it's cruel, cruel!"
"Of course it's cruel," said Alien grimly. "But so were the Huns cruel,
centuries ago. The German people have simply never advanced beyond
that state. They're still in the first stages of civilization."
"Yes, and the worst part of this kind of warfare," said Frank, his eyes
fixed thoughtfully upon the horizon, "is that each man in the army is
simply a unit in a great machine. In the old days, when they had cavalry
charges and hand-to-hand fighting there was some romance, some
adventure, some chance for personal bravery."
"Well, of course there is still some chance for daring," remarked Allen,
"especially in the aviation branch of the service."
"In the army too," added Roy. "Soldiers are being decorated every day
for some special act of bravery."
"I know all that," replied Frank. "But there's nothing particularly
spectacular about it."
"And yet," said Betty thoughtfully, "I should think that kind of fighting
would take more courage than the other. To stand day after day in those
horrible trenches waiting for orders. And then when they do finally
make a charge, nothing much seems to be gained by it."
"Yes, the waiting must be the hardest part," agreed Allen. "We met an
Englishman in town," he added, smiling at the recollection, "and he
was a mighty interesting chap."

"You said it," agreed Frank heartily. "He's been through some of the
heaviest fighting, and to hear him tell some of his experiences is better
than a dozen lectures. I wish we could have brought him along so you
girls could have heard him."
"I don't," Roy interjected. "He was too good-looking."
"All the more reason why you should have brought him," yawned
Grace. "It would be a treat to have around something good to look at."
"Whew," whistled Frank. "That was a bad one, Gracie. We know we're
not Adonises--"
"I'm glad you know something," Grace was beginning, when once more
Betty interrupted her.
"Oh dear!" she said, "if you don't hurry, the biscuits will be done, and
we won't have heard anything about the nice Englishman. And I'm very
much interested."
"Oh, you are, are you?" said Allen, sitting up. "I begin to think we
made a mistake in mentioning that Englishman. I think we must have
dreamed him, fellows."
"Oh, he was real enough," put in Frank. "But I shouldn't wonder if he
dreamt some of those adventures. They sounded too good to be true."
"Perhaps you've heard that old saying," Grace remarked, with her usual
languor, "that truth is stranger than fiction?"
"Oh, hurry," begged Betty. "The biscuits are almost done; I can smell
them."
"So can I," said Roy, with another longing sniff. "Don't let 'em burn,
will you, Betty?"
"I will, if somebody doesn't satisfy my curiosity, right away,"
threatened the Little Captain, her lips set threateningly. "Now, will you
be good?"

"Gee, Allen, did you hear that?" Roy's expression was pathetic. "Hurry
it up, will you?"
"Well," began Allen with aggravating deliberation, "he was a tall, lean,
rangy fellow with sandy hair and twinkling eyes. Seems he had been
wounded several times, and the last shot had cost him his right arm."
"Oh," cried Mollie, her eyes like two saucers. "How did that happen?"
"Bomb exploding close to him shot it all to pieces," explained Allen
cryptically. "Of course it had to be amputated, permanently disabling
him. That's why he was sent across to America--to stimulate
recruiting."
"As if we needed any stimulating," said Mollie indignantly. "You don't
have to stand behind our boys with a gun to make them go."
"Of course not," agreed Allen. "Just the same, it's almost impossible for
us over here, with the broad Atlantic separating us from the scene of
conflict, actually to realize what we're up against. That's why it's good
to have a fellow like this Englishman, who has really been right in