Adventure Magazine Cover, June 20, 1925 — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

34 “They got our bridge,” it all to , _ Nell wondered why he had not heard the shell that destroyed the bridge and decided it had been drowned in the tumult. Some more men ran up and then threw themselves down on the line. ‘“‘We come across a ford,” said they. “The Boche laid off shootin’ on it for a minute and we come over.” More men came in, singly and by twos and threes. They were all dripping wet from the river and cursing because their wet clothes hampered their movements. The smoke began to grow thinner. A barrage, like time and tide, has a habit of moving on schedule, regardless of whether the in- fantry is held up or not. It was now half- way to the town and the advance had not left the wheat. “Forward G Company,” called some one. “Forward!” “Everybody up!” said Nell. “All with yuh, Cap’n!” cried the hard- boiled man, and scrambled to his feet. Some of the men who had heard looked m astonishment at Nell. They noted the cut of his uniform, and decided he must be a strange officer from some other outfit said they, “blew that had joined during the night. The advance began again. The barrage had passed on. The ma- chine-gunners, who had stayed in their holes while the shells were falling about them, directly the barrage lifted, clambered out, set up their guns and turned loose. The artillery on the heights, able to employ di- rect fire, began to work overtime. This sleet of steel struck the advancing infantry and they laid down immediately. The ma- chine-guns continued to fire and the artillery tossed shells around, but the men lay still and after a while the enemy turned his at- tention to the riverbank once more. Whistles blew and the advance began once more. With a snarl of anger at the Americans’ tenacity, the German guns opened on the line again. The sound of the machine-guns was much louder this time, probably every gun in the sector was concentrated upon the infantry in the field. This was a welcome respite for the engi- neers trying to construct new bridges, and for the men trying to wade and swim across, but it was hard on G Company. ‘The men were pounded by machine-gun and rifle, by minenwerfer and field gun. Adventure “Whoa!” said Goodrich. “I’m hit.” He went down and Nell grabbed his arm. ‘“‘Where’d it get you?” he asked. “?Tain’t nothin’,” said Goodrich, strug- gling to his knees. “I just stubbed my toe. Help me up.” He tried to smile, but his face was the color of clay. “Lie down,” said Nell, “the stretcher bearers’ll take care of you. Lie quiet, now.” “All right,” said Goodrich. ‘When I’m in hospital [ll have a drink for you.” Then before Nell’s very eyes—thudthud- thud!—there were two holes in Goodrich’s blouse and another through his helmet. Nell felt the arm that he was holding grow limp, and he lowered poor Goodrich to the ground again. Nell gripped his rifle and started forward. His mind was so numbed by his comrade’s death that it was a minute or two before he was thoroughly himself again. Then he noticed that there were very few men in sight. The company had been advancing with wide intervals, but there had been a good many men visible just the same. Now, however, in just that scant space of time, most of them had disappeared. Instead of a hundred or so, there were not more than twenty at the outside. To the left of Nell was a Chaucat gunner and be- yond him, about twenty yards away, were two men together. In front of Nell a little way were Curran and the hard-boiled man, but there was a cloud of smoke from a minenwerfer bomb or a Shell to the right that hid that part of the line. Nell felt his rile shoved back with a vig- orous push. He did not need to look at the scar on the butt to know a bullet had hit it. A long blast of the whistle. Nell lay down. In a few seconds the hard-boiled man came crawling back. “To the rear!” said he. ‘The old man says to the rear. He give the signal.” After that Neil’s recollection was a little dim. He thought he crawled a way, -and then ran a way and then crawled some more, but he could not be certain. All that he was sure of was that when he reached the wheat he was on his feet and that he passed two or three men who were doing their best to run. He came to the marsh, where the mud was ankle deep and clinging, but he went through like the ——’scow. Then he COMIGDIOOKSEEO