CHAPTER XXIII.
THE THUNDER OF OPPOSING BATTERIES.
Standing there they used their eyes to the best advantage, though noneof them felt fully satisfied with their position. Josh looked enviouslyat a spot only a short distance away. It was something of a smallelevation, and he felt positive that if only they could manage to reachit their chances of seeing all that went on would be immeasurablyenhanced.
"Yes," Rod was saying, loud enough for the others to hear him, "I'mafraid, too, his regiment is going to be in the thick of that desperatebattle for the possession of the ford across the Marne."
"Do you mean Andre?" demanded Hanky Panky, instantly.
"Just who I meant," came the reply.
The others knew that as Rod spoke French, and had talked with a numberof people as well as soldiers on the road, he must be primed withinformation such as had not fallen to their lot. Hence it never occurredto either of them to question the accuracy of anything he might say.
"That would be too bad for all of us," remarked Josh, "if anythinghappened to Andre, just when we got within stone's-throw of him. ButRod, do we have to stay right here, and do our looking?"
"What makes you ask that, Josh?"
"Well, you see, there's a whole lot better place over yonder, if only wecould reach it; but I'm afraid lugging our machines over the roughground would be too big a job."
At that Rod took a glance, and of course saw the advantages to beattained by a shift in their position.
"It might be done," he told the anxious Josh, "if we cared to try andconceal our wheels somewhere near by, and walked or ran over to therise."
"Would that be safe?" asked Hanky Panky, fearful lest they after alllose their mounts, and be compelled to walk, or depend on getting anoccasional lift from some vehicle going in the direction of Paris.
"Reasonably so, I think," admitted the leader.
Encouraged by his tone Josh began to cast about in the hope ofdiscovering a hiding place that would stand the test. This he speedilysucceeded in doing, for Josh had sharp eyes, and could see things in aflash that it would take another a long time in finding out.
So they made haste to hide the trio of motorcycles in the shrubbery,hoping no one might by accident force a way through just at thatparticular point, and discover what had been left there.
"Now let's whoop it up for the rise!" suggested the eager Josh, for thesound of the battle had grown so insistent that he was fairly wild tosee everything going on.
They all ran in a bunch, for Rod held Josh in, so that Hanky Panky mightnot be left too far behind. When they arrived at the place picked outfor their station they found that, just as Josh had guessed, it wasadmirably fitted for their purpose.
Brief though the time had been taken up with this strategic maneuver thefight had evidently progressed beyond the preliminary artillery duel.True, the guns on either side of the Marne were thundering fearfully,and every time a battery sent out its winged messengers of death thevery earth seemed to tremble under the boyish trio, who crouched there,and gazed with their hearts fluttering in their breasts like those offrightened birds when held in the hand.
The Germans had left quite a strong detachment of their forces behind todefend that particular ford, which evidently assumed an importantposition in the eyes of the commander. The Marne could not be crossedwith heavy artillery in all that section without the building of abridge to replace those destroyed by the retreating Teutons, which wouldtake a certain measure of time to execute.
But it was possible to get the guns across here at the ford, for thatwas what the Germans themselves had done. And a crossing here in forcewould mean that the pursuing columns of the French must creep that muchcloser to the precious big guns which the Germans were doing everythingin their power to save from capture.
A thousand men might be sacrificed in this endeavor, but what of that?Human material could be replaced readily enough, but it took months tobuild up one of those magnificent forty-two centimetre mortars withwhich they meant to batter down the defences of Paris, and win the war.
At the moment the three boys reached their point of observation thingswere rapidly drawing near a crisis. The French troops were undoubtedlygetting wild to be let loose upon the waiting enemy; only theircommander knew that the chances were as two to one they would not beable to get across the river so long as that one battery in particularcommanded the ford. Its shells were able to sweep over every yard of thecrossing, and could cut down those who were wading desperately throughthe waist-deep water, as though they were helpless flies.
"What are they waiting for, do you think, Rod?" asked Josh, between theroars of the opposing guns.
"The French leader hates to sacrifice so many of his brave men whilethat battery is in a position to sweep the ford," replied the other,without hesitation, showing that he had grasped the situation even inthat brief time.
"Well, tell me how he expects to get rid of the same?" continued Josh,though he had to place his lips close to Rod's ear, and fairly bellowhis words in order to make himself heard, such was the increasing dinclose by.
"Perhaps he keeps hoping that some of his own guns will be able tolocate the German battery among the bushes there, and disable it," saidRod.
Hanky Panky pulled at his sleeve. When Rod turned his head he found theother pointing excitedly upwards, and upon casting his own eyes in thatquarter Rod instantly knew what his chum meant.
"Two French aeroplanes going up, sure enough!" he exclaimed.
"Mebbe they mean to try and drop bombs on the battery, so's to destroyit!" suggested Josh, whose attention had also been drawn to the newfeature in the lively drama taking place before them.
Rod nodded his head to signify that the idea struck him as worth while.Even had he attempted to speak just then his effort would have beenpretty much wasted, for the din had become something terrible. Athousand French soldiers were cheering, even while being held in checkby their officers; they made Rod think of hounds restrained by theleash, and loudly bewailing their inability to jump forward. He couldeasily imagine with what frantic zeal those men would leap ahead andinto the waters of the Marne when the time came.
Up higher and higher soared the twin aeroplanes, climbing in eccentricspirals.
Evidently the daring birdmen intended to attain a certain height wherethey might feel reasonably safe from the shrapnel sent after them fromantiaircraft guns manned by the Germans; when they would try their luckin dropping the bombs they undoubtedly carried with them, in hopes ofmaking a lucky shot.
"It's going to come soon, I guess!" ventured Josh, when a brief lull inall the firing allowed him a chance to get in a few words.
"Yep," added Hanky Panky, who was getting a stiff neck with looking upso long; "right now you can see that they're sailing around like theymight be looking for a good place to hover. But they'd better take care,because that shrapnel is bursting just below them, and some time a shellmight hit home."
A loud whoop from Josh instantly followed these words.
"There, one let go a bomb, as sure as you live!" he shouted; "look andsee where it hits!"
Quickly following came a report, and the boys could see the earth fly inshowers.
"Not by a jugful!" whooped Hanky Panky, also carried away with theexcitement of the moment; "they'll have to aim better than that if theyexpect to knock the German battery out of business."
The second airman tried his hand, and while possibly he managed to do alittle better than the first the result was also disappointing.Evidently they were at too great a height to be able to strike a smallmark like the hidden battery. At that early stage in the war which hadbeen sprung so suddenly on France, her aviators had not as yet becomeproficient in this sort of shooting; later on when they had been givenmuch practice, the result was bound to be quite different.
When the birdmen had exhausted all their bombs and made no impression onthe dangerous battery they were compelled to desist and circle around.Evidently it was the intention of t
he air scouts while aloft to learnall they could connected with the disposition of the German forces. Thisinformation would prove valuable to the French commander, whether ableto win the coveted ford or not.
"Will they give up trying to cross over now?" asked Hanky Panky, afterit was seen that the efforts of the circling birdmen, much more thanhalf a mile aloft, had not met with any sort of success.
"That isn't the usual French way of fighting, if all I've heard and seenof them cuts any figure in the game!" Josh exclaimed.
Rod, too, seemed to be of the same opinion.
"I think they must be getting ready to make a mad effort to rush theford," he went on to say; "you notice that their guns are silent justnow; but that's done so they can burst out with a more terriblebombardment than ever, under cover of which the attack will be started."
"But why all this row over just one contemptible little ford?" askedHanky Panky innocently.
Josh snorted at hearing this.
"Why, can't you see what it means to both sides to control a crossingwhere the artillery can get over without building a bridge?" hedemanded. "To hold up the French here the Germans would be willing tosacrifice thousands of their best men, because it would save their bigguns now on the way north. There, it's coming, I do believe."
None of them heard the last words spoken by Josh, and for a very goodreason. Every gun the French had within a mile of the ford began tobellow in concert, and the ground shook under the concussion. Across onthe other side they could see the shells bursting everywhere. It seemedas though they sought out each place where they suspected hostilebatteries or columns of troops might lie in hiding, thus fairly rakingthe entire vicinity.
This was "preparing the ground for the seed," as army men would put it.When this fierce "spraying" was well under way no doubt the order thathad been awaited so long and impatiently by the concealed Frenchsoldiers was to be given; when they would start toward the bank of theriver and strike into the shallow water, breasting their way across ifpossible.
The three boys fairly held their breath with awe, knowing what wascoming next. Hanky Panky crouched there shivering like one who had the"shakes," yet wholly unable to drag his horrified eyes away from thegrim spectacle of war that was passing before him. Josh, on the otherhand, had arisen to his feet, knowing that there was little or no chanceof his being noticed and fired at, unless indeed some German gunnerconceived the idea that they were a group of French officers observingthe progress of the battle from an eminence.
This dreadful "spraying" with fire had gone on for some little time nowwhen Rod saw signs that told him the expected event was coming. He couldnot have made his chums hear, no matter how he shouted, and so hecontented himself with clutching each of them, Hanky Panky by the armand Josh by the calf of his leg. They knew what he meant by this action,too, even though not a word was uttered.
The violent gunfire was being kept up, but from several points theresuddenly burst into view living streams of French soldiers racing madlyfor the ford, and every man apparently wild to be the first to attemptthe deadly crossing.
Big Five Motorcycle Boys on the Battle Line; Or, With the Allies in France Page 23