chums. If appearances went for anything they were on the alert and
ready to jump over the top at the signal and fight to the death. But
the word was delayed, for what, doubtless, were good military reasons.
There was little that could be accomplished in firing one's rifle over
the top of the trench. This was all right in the case of sniping, but
for a general attack the work had to be done by the artillery, big and
little. Later would come the rush in the open, or the standing fast
to repel the attack of the gray hordes. And then the rifle fire of the
infantry would tell.

It was hard waiting--to be stuck down in what was, literally, a "mud
hole," and stay there while, over one's head, shrilled and screamed
the big shells, that must create untold havoc, damage and death in the
rear.

Fortunately, however, as was learned later, the Germans did not have
the range accurately. They wasted much of their fire on unoccupied
ground in the immediate rear of the American position, and it was only
an occasional shell that landed near the trenches. So the position of
our heroes was not as bad as at first they imagined.

But it seemed bad enough, and the firing from the Hun positions was
intense, and as long as Jimmy, Bob and the others did not know that
the Boches did not have them under accurate fire, they suffered nearly
as much mentally, as though the knowledge had been positive.

For an hour or two the terrific artillery duel kept up, the Germans
hoping to blast away all trenches, barbed wire entanglements and sweep
away any opposing forces so that the ground wrested away might be
gained back. And during this time the forces of the defenders of