artillery were neatly hidden. Here the men took cover at the first
sound of cannonade. Quietly in their retreat the Belgian artillery
officers had figured the range and elevation of the cathedral tower,
not over fifteen hundred yards away. Just as darkness was setting in
and the figures in the belfry were clearly visible, the battery sergeant
sharply dropped his arm.

"C-r-r-m-p-h!" coughed the field pieces as the gunners drew the
levers home. There were four sharp reports, four flashes of flame and
smoke, the crescendo moan of tons of flying steel--and the church
tower, the bells, and the German officers came crashing to the
ground.




Chapter III

Captive



Up to the day that Luther and I went through the Belgian trenches
near Alost and got into the hands of the German outposts north of
Brussels, we had not seen nearly as much fighting as we wished. We
had looked upon the ear-marks and horrible results of battles; had
heard guns, smelt the blood and ether of wounded, and seen the
ruins over which had rolled the wave of battle. We knew that ahead of
us there had been much fighting in the Sempst-Alost-Vilvorde-
Tirlemont region. The Germans at that moment, if not actually