"Reinforcements to the Austrian front," said Colonel Edwards. "Also some
of them, can they be spared, will be rushed to the aid of the Serbians,
who, from all accounts, are being sorely pressed by the new German
offensive."

"New German offensive?" exclaimed Hal.

"Why, yes. Haven't you heard of it?"

"No. Will you explain?"

"I'll try," said Colonel Edwards. "I'll revert back to the start. On
Friday, August 13, news reached London, where I was then stationed, that
an Austro-German army of more than 300,000 men was massing at a point on
the Serbian frontier and it was asserted that the Kaiser was about to
strike a blow at Serbia in order to improve Teuton prospects in the
Balkans, where Roumania and Greece had been reported as waiting a
favorable opportunity to join the Allies.

"The great German victories in Russia, following the fall of Warsaw, had,
however, caused the Balkan kingdoms to waver, and Bulgaria was said to
have strong pro-German leanings. On August 16 the Austro-German army
crossed the frontier and began a bombardment of Belgrade, the capital.
This led to a crisis in the Greek parliament, where the Venizelos party
caused the downfall of the cabinet, which supported the king's attitude
of strict neutrality--a neutrality he had promised his consort, who is
the sister of the Kaiser, as you know.

"On August 21 Serbia made it known that in accordance with the advice of