Adventure Magazine Cover, June 20, 1925 — page 62: what you’re looking at

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

A4 Adventure Nell had armed himself with a German rifle and had led his devoted band some ten yards into the German line, skewering with a will, before any notice was taken of a counter attack. The machine-gunners in the town knew of it, all right, and must have made the air black with harsh words, but they could not fire without endangering their own men. They made astonishing progress, for the Germans were still disorganized, and the shouts of their officers did not convey any meaning to them except that efforts at further progress to the front were going to be made. When they caught the words ‘“Ameri- cans,’ ‘Counter attack,’ and heard ex- cited voices, they attributed it all to the aforesaid efforts at reorganization. Thus the Americans found many of the enemy still lying flat in their shell holes. However, the noise and shouts in German continued, and when it finally dawned on the Germans that their enemies were run- ning wild in the shell holes, they arose and began to show signs of fight. The Ameri- can machine-guns, what few had any am- munition left, began to take toll of some, but the rest pulled the strings out of their grenades, and having hurled them bore down upon the twenty Americans, whose number was reduced to six in as little time as it takes to tell it. Nell smote a helmet that proved to be empty, stung his hands and broke his rifle. Then, looking frantically about for another rifle, he saw a machine-gun, a German, two of its crew dead, and the rest running as fast as possible toward a group of Germans who were getting ready to throw grenades. “Git out the way!” cried Nell and hurled himself at the gun. | His fingers seized the handles and his thumbs fell naturally into place on the thumb-pieces. The gun began to fire be- fore Nell knew how he had started it. It jumped and wiggled like an eel. The vi- bration was terrible. Nell sent a burst into the ground that threw up a cloud of grass and stones; he leaned back and sent one into air that probably went across the river and landed among the guns on the narrow-gage track, and the third he got into a line of Boche that were running toward him with very threatening looks. “Wow!” howled Nell as the line disap- peared. The twenty kept on.» He saw another group to the right and swung his gun at them, expecting them to go down like grass before the scythe. They did not mind a bit, but continued to ad- vance, some firing their rifles, and some preparing grenades. It is quite a stunt to shoot a heavy ma- chine-gun and do it right, because the force of the machinery working has a very dis- tracting effect on the aim, and Nell never having fired a machine-gun in his life, knew nothing about resting his elbows on his knees, or pulling down hard on the handles, or any of the other ways of controlling the gun’s actions. “Cut out shootin’ that gun,” cried a voice in his ear. ‘Here come our guys and some of ’em might get hurted.” Nell twisted his head and beheld the hard-boiled man, who pointed to a line of trotting Yanks. They had heard the yell- ing of the Boche, and poking up their heads in expectation of attack, had discovered the thin brown line of Yanks leaping about and poking their bayonets at Hunnish stomachs. Some of the Yanks came out and began to run toward the fight. More followed. The lieutenant took heart again and urged with foot and voice. An advance is just as contagious as a retreat, once it gets started in good shape. More men sprang up, and hurried along. They were as eager now to close with the enemy as they had been to stay in their holes a few minutes before. The Germans began to give back. “Don’t bother me,” cried Nell, “get away from the front of this gun! I got work to do.” He turned the muzzle on some Boche who were moving a gun to a better hole. Out of the fifty or sixty shots that he threw at them, one took effect, upon the man who was carrying the tripod. The man let go his hold, the tripod fell on the foot of one of the men with the gun, who in turn let go the gun and seized his foot. The rest of the crew dropped what they were carrying and took wings. Nell sent some more bullets into the ground and be- gant to feel fatigue in his arms. The gun coughed and was silent. Nell pushed on the thumb piece, but nothing happened. He pounded the breech, as he had seen gunners do when there was a jam, but the gun made no response. “It won’t shoot unless it has bullets,” said aman. ‘Put in another belt.” COMIGDIOOKSEEO