ETTYSBURG," ETC.

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
NEW YORK AND LONDON
1928

COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY

Printed in the United States of America

FOREWORD

"The Forest of Swords," while an independent story, based upon the World
War, continues the fortunes of John Scott, Philip Lannes, and their
friends who have appeared already in "The Guns of Europe." As was stated
in the first volume, the author was in Austria and Germany for a month
after the war began, and then went to England. He saw the arrival of the
Emperor, Francis Joseph, in Vienna, the first striking event in the
gigantic struggle, and witnessed the mobilization of their armies by
three great nations.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. IN PARIS 1
II. THE MESSAGE 30
III. IN THE FRENCH CAMP 53
IV. THE INVISIBLE HAND 76
V. SEEN FROM ABOVE 99
VI. IN HOSTILE HANDS 121
VII. THE TWO PRINCES 146
VIII. THE SPORT OF KINGS 167
IX. THE PUZZLING SIGNAL 186
X. OLD FRIENDS 209
XI. THE CONTINUING BATTLE 231
XII. JULIE LANNES 247
XIII. THE MIDDLE AGES 268
XIV. A PROMISE KEPT 291
XV. THE RESCUE 311

THE FOREST OF SWORDS

CHAPTER I

IN PARIS

John Scott and Philip Lannes walked together down a great boulevard of
Paris. The young American's heart was filled with grief and anger. The
Frenchman felt the same grief, but mingled with it was a fierce, burning
passion, so deep and bitter that it took a much stronger word than anger
to describe it.

Both had heard that morning the mutter of cannon on the horizon, and
they knew the German conquerors were advancing. They were always
advancing. Nothing had stopped them. The metal and masonry of the
defenses at Liege had crumbled before their huge guns like china
breaking under stone. The giant shells had scooped out the forts at
Maubeuge, Maubeuge the untakable, as if they had been mere eggshells,
and the mighty Teutonic host came on, almost without a check.

John had read of the German march on Paris, nearly a half-century
before, how everything had been made complete by the genius of Bismarck
and von Moltke, how the ready had sprung upon and crushed