"Heard the news, Hal?" asked Chester excitedly as he dashed into the small but comfortable dugout where the two boys were quartered with the Thirty-second division of American troops a few miles to the east of Rheims.
"No," replied Hal Paine, "what news?"
"Austria has sued for peace; it's the beginning of the end."
"Rats!" said Frank. "I've heard that before. I guess you're a bit premature, Chester."
"Not a bit of it," declared Major Chester Crawford emphatically. "I had the news from Colonel O'Neil himself. He says Austria has made overtures for an armistice, looking toward a permanent peace."
"Oh, an armistice," said Major Paine. "That's a horse of another color."
"But it means peace soon," protested Chester.
"It might ordinarily," Hal agreed, "but you must remember that dealing with enemies such as we have now, there is no telling what may happen. I don't know so much about the Austrians, but the Germans are a treacherous lot, and I've no doubt that long association with men of that ilk has taught the Austrians a thing or two. No, Chester, take my word for it, there is nothing to your news. Even if the Austrians have made such overtures, you may be sure there is a trick in it some place."
"By Jove! You're an optimistic sort, aren't you?" said Chester.
"Well," said Hal. "I'm not quite as credulous as you seem to be. Besides, why should Austria sue for peace now? It's true that she is getting the worst of the argument, as is Germany; but to my mind she is a long way from being compelled to throw up the sponge. Then, too, she wouldn't have the nerve to leave Germany in the lurch."
"All the same, I'm taking the news for true," declared Chester.
Hal shrugged his shoulders.
"To whom were these overtures addressed?" he asked at length.
"To President Wilson."
"Is that so? Well, it would seem that the Austrians had looked to the proper place. It would seem they knew who, perhaps, would let them down the easiest."
"But they won't be let down easily," said Chester. "What's the matter with you anyhow? You know as well as I do that they must make full reparation for the ruin they have caused."
"Exactly," said Hal, "which is the reason I say that no such overtures have been made; or if they have, they were prompted by some hidden motive."
"Personally," said Chester, "I don't care what you think. You are so confounded wise it's a wonder General Pershing hasn't resigned in your favor."
"Come, now, Chester," replied Hal. "Don't get sore. Can't you take a little joke?"
"I don't call that much of a joke. I came with a piece of news I thought you would be anxious to hear, and all you've done is scoff."
"Never mind," said Hal. "Personally, as I have said, I am inclined to the belief that you are all wrong, but at the same time I hope you are right. However, time will tell."
Chester was about to reply, but the sound of hurried footsteps without restrained him. A moment later there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," called Hal.
A lieutenant, whom the lads recognized as attached to Colonel O'Neil's staff, entered and came to attention.
"What is it, lieutenant?" asked Chester.
"Colonel O'Neil desires your presence in his quarters at once, sir," replied the lieutenant; "and, Major Paine also."
"We shall follow you at once, lieutenant," said Hal, reaching for his helmet, which lay on his cot.
The lieutenant saluted again, turned on his heel and departed. Hal and Chester followed him a few moments later.
"I thought it was about time we had something to do," said Hal as they hurried along.
"Right," Chester agreed. "We've been pretty quiet for the last week. I shall be glad to get busy again."
"Here too."
Hal Paine and Chester Crawford, natives of a small Illinois town, had been chums from early childhood. Together they had gone to school, toured the lumber country of the northwest where Hal's father owned large tracts of land; travelled extensively, and fought and played. So close had they been in their school days that their companions had dubbed them "The Boy Allies." More than one lad of more mature years had found to his sorrow that when he "picked on" one of them he had two to contend with.
At the outbreak of the great European war Hal and Chester were in Berlin with the former's mother. They were caught there by the German mobilization, and in attempting to get out of the German capitol, were separated from Mrs. Paine. Thrown thus upon their own resources, the two lads gave the first evidence of that resourcefulness which later was to stand them in good stead.
They joined forces with a French and an English officer and, after considerable excitement and adventure, reached the Belgian frontier just in time to be with the forces of King Albert when they made their desperate but futile stand at Liege.
In an unofficial capacity, the boys were able to render some little assistance to the Belgian commander, and later, through the latter's efforts, were permitted to join the Belgian forces. Several months later they found themselves commissioned lieutenants.
Hal and Chester had seen active service in all the theaters of war. They were with the British in France and Flanders; they served under General Joffre and under General Petain, French commanders, at the first battle of Verdun, when the German advance was checked just as it seemed the enemy must break through to Paris. They fought with the Cossacks on the eastern front, with the Italians in the Alps and with the Serbians and Montenegrins in the Balkans.
At the time the United States declared war on Germany, Hal and Chester were captains in the service of King George of England, serving at the time under Field Marshal Haig. With other Americans in the allied army, however, they were selected to return to the United States, where for some months they lent invaluable service to Uncle Sam in drilling raw recruits at the army training camps.
Such excellent reputations had they won, however, that when the first American expeditionary force sailed for France, Hal and Chester found themselves among them. Since their return, they had taken active parts in the American advance. They had been with the Marines at Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood; they had been with the heroic Thirty-second division which had won undying fame in the Argonne forest, where the American forces had been all but annihilated under the German fire.
Now they had been resting for several days.
The turning point in the great war had come and gone. The full power of American might was making itself felt on the western battle front, where the Yankee troops time and again had proved themselves the masters of the best the German emperor had to offer. The tide had turned at Chateau-Thierry in the early summer, and from that time on the Americans, under the leadership of "Black Jack" Pershing, had pressed their advantage at every opportunity.
To the unprejudiced observer it was apparent that the Germans were already beaten. True, they might fight on for days, weeks or months, but their offensive power had been broken by the million and more Americans who had been hurled against them. There was nothing at the moment to indicate that the German emperor, his advisors, or the German people, were willing to cry for peace, but it was plain that the ultimate outcome was only a question of time.
From time to time came rumors of internal disorders in Germany. These, however, could not be substantiated, and for that reason it was impossible to tell that Germany was on the eve of a revolution.
Gradually the allies and the American forces had pushed their battle lines toward the east. Much of France and of Belgium, for almost four years occupied by the Germans, had been reclaimed. Everywhere, where there was fighting, the advantage rested with the allies. No longer did the Germans dash to the attack with the impetuosity that characterized their attacks in the early dawn of the war. Their morale had been broken.
Even the crack Prussian Guards, the flower of the German army, had been decisively beaten by the Americans at Chateau-Thierry. Hurled into the battle at the last moment in an attempt to stem the advance of American soldiers and marines, they had proved unequal to the task. The Yankees had proved their masters at every turn.
There was nothing for the Germans to do but retreat. This they did, slowly, contesting every inch of the ground. Gradually, however, their retreat became faster, and at some places it developed into utter rout.
Late in July of 1918 the enemy had been cleared from the greater part of France and Belgium. In fact, in Alsace-Lorraine, American troops were on German soil and threatening the strong fortresses of Metz and Strassburg. Germans had been cleared from the Argonne forest, which, in the enemy's possession, had proved one of the greatest menaces to the allied advance.
It appeared that the time was drawing near for a decisive blow by Marshal Foch.
The time was to come sooner than either Hal or Chester could possibly have conceived, and both boys were to bear a full burden of the fighting.
At the quarters of Colonel O'Neil, Hal and Chester waited a few moments before being ushered into the former's presence. But their time came eventually, and they hurried into Colonel O'Neil's office and stood at attention.
Colonel O'Neil looked up.
"Well, how do you feel, Major?" he asked of Hal.
"Pretty well, sir."
"Good. And you, Major Crawford?"
"Very well, sir."
"Good," said Colonel O'Neil again. "I'm glad to hear it, for I've an important piece of work that must be done at once and I wouldn't feel like calling upon you unless you are perfectly fit."
"We're perfectly fit, sir," declared Chester eagerly.
"Draw up chairs here, then," said the colonel.
The boys obeyed.