Adventure Magazine Cover, June 20, 1925 — page 38: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

20 blinded him, he kept right on going while he cleared his eyes. He watched the cor- poral all the time. “If I’m ever going to get my opportu- nity,” said Nell to himself, “‘it’ll be sudden, like all opportunities are. I’m _ thankful I’m a cavalryman, they’re trained to recog- nize the right instant to seize a chance and turn it to a glorious victory. And if my chance comes, I want to have some idea how these doughboys fight. I’d look fat giving them ‘fours right,’ and ‘prepare to fight on foot.’ ”’ The: advance crossed the road they had noticed before they left the woods and took shelter in a ravine on the far side. The men of the fourth squad lay pant- ing on the grass and muttered to them- selves. Curran bound up a puttee that had come loose. - “Where the ’s our artillery?” said he. ‘Takin’ a day off? I ain’t heard a shell go all day.” ““They’re doin’ their stuff,’ said Good- rich.. ‘See up on that hill there?”’ - He pointed to a hill beyond the farthest town, where white clouds told of bursting shells. The nearest town was almost di- rectly to their left now, a mass of white buildings, surrounded by a sort of thin haze. From time to time white smoke would float over the roofs or gush from the windows of a house. In the fields before the town, Nell could see men running, advancing, lying down and then retreating. ‘“‘There’s machine-guns in there,” ‘Spagett. ‘“They’re givin’ the second battal- ion——. If the attack keeps on we won’t get no notice from there, but if that bat- talion quits and falls back to reorganize, oh man, they'll run us outta these fields like kids out of a orchard.” The advance began again by squads, the old fashioned squad-rush. One after the other, the squads jumped to their feet and ran forward a little way, then lay down. “Now then,’ said the corporal, “every- body get set! ie said Come on! They stood up and went forward. Nell heard a clank and Curran cried out. Nell looked and saw the other man come to a halt and try to tie himself in a knot. “Come on!” cried the corporal. ‘This is no place to match pennies! What the you stoppin’ for?” ““They socked one through my vase!’ Adventure panted Curran, running forward again. The corporal laughed heartily and when the squad had come up on the line and laid down the men rolled with laughter. “It ain’t no joke,”? said Curran. ‘““Hey, can you see where it went?” He appealed to Nell, who, turning over, examined the vase. The bullet had gone through the base, making a round hole, and had come out the top without further damage. : “It isn’t hurt much,” said Nell. ‘The hole is in the bottom. You’d never know it was there when you set the vase on end.” “Well, that’s cheerin’,” said Curran. “IT don’t know why we're advancin’ this way,’ commented the corporal. “There ain’t much fire here. Maybe the rest of the line is gettin’ it. Well, here we go again! Come on!” After the second rush, the word was passed along to change direction. The next rush brought the men across a narrow gage railroad and found them facing the nearest town. There was a marsh within a few yards of them that betokened the presence of ariver. They could also see the ruins of a bridge between the two towns. Faint yelling on the left betokened the beginning of the assault of the nearest town, and during the next rush of the squad Nell could see Americans running about in the streets. The noise of the battle increased tenfold, as if the enemy snarled in rage at the loss of the town. Machine-gun fire opened upon the men from the heights beyond the farthest town, artillery redoubled its activity, and great things like pigs be- gan to sail through the air and fall with deafening explosions that drowned all other sound. | ‘“Minnies an’ machine-guns,” muttered the men, and began to look questioningly at the corporal. “Don’t get excited,’’ said he, leave us here very long.”’ He was right, for it was but a minute before the word came down the line to fall back to the shelter of the railroad track, and this the men did, with astonish- ing celerity. “Now I suppose,” said Goodrich, ‘‘we dig in. They couldn’t have picked a better place for it. All the Boche have to do is to shoot at the railroad track and they know they’ll hit us.” “they won’t COMIGDIOOKSEEO