Fighting in France

there was going to be a fi

ght though and from the way the rest of th

tside their quarters behind the fighting line. The scene was in Champagne, one of the pro

t and uncle in a suburb just outside of Paris. At the earliest possible moment Leon had enlisted in the French army. Assigned to the aviation corps he had take

nces and hardships Jacques Dineau, a young Frenchman, had been his inseparable companion. These two boys, for they were nothing more than that, had more than once distinguished themselves for bravery and dar

his missing brother at all hazards. This Earl had endeavored to do and after many kinds of adventures had finally been successful. The lur

ghtest suspicion of an accent, "there will certainly be some real

hem as especially quiet

in the trenches all the time. Now we will have

the German lines,

an awful bump anywa

half our men," a

"We are assigned to the front line, the post of honor.

ous of us anyway," said Earl.

ning at nine-f

the first line trench

act

thirty minutes ago that he had just been talking with Ca

ything is arran

"Our officers are not the kind to send us into a

l have," cried Leon enthusiastically

l we have?" d

every minute in every yard of

every space three feet long a shell

rtain

tered Earl. "Why, there'll

smash their trenches to pieces then we can drive them

es will all have the e

ficers' maps. What do you think our aviators are for? Don't you know that they take pictures of the enemy's fortifications

enly. "Here comes one o

ed in size as it came nearer. At least four thousand feet above the trenches the gre

hite smoke appeared

re firing at i

e horizon. It was lower than the French machine but rose in great circles with amazing speed until it had

fokkers," remark

hine, you mean?

are very

r line though," said Earl

f our machines up to

latter and noise. A moment later a big monoplane came into view and

downward at incredible speed. All about him the bombs from the high-angle guns of the enemy were exploding and it did not seem p

it," cried

cautione

cribing huge circles in its flight. The little white clouds all about told with what zeal its destruction was sought, but st

man turn back now,"

?" demanded Earl.

hine before the other comes up," said Jacq

suppose they are

said Leon. "Is that

just about," replied

ls in the air were not infrequent but they never lost their power to thrill. To see two huge mechanical birds each maneuvering for a ch

you?" demanded

chines did not attempt a pursuit, but after one or two triumphant circles were headed for home. A few moments later th

d Leon. "They were two to one and it seems to

, had a faster machine than theirs. Then that scout of ours may have very important news for

t forgotten this attack to-morrow I go

lanc said," Earl reminded his brother.

what regiments hold the line opposite. He said that along the whole length of our front line steps had been cut in the trenches so that we can

"It looks as if we me

All shoes and extra clothes and blankets are to be turned into the quartermaster; every man is to put on clean underclothes so that if he is wounded he wo

into the trenches

clock t

inspectio

ur befo

d Jacques. "It's almost supper-ti

among all those thousands who was not glad that on the morrow he was to come up out of his hole in the ground and meet his enemy face to face. An air of quiet confidence per