and this forlorn hope came to nothing. So that
when night at last dropped down upon him he was more hungry than ever
and had to go to sleep supperless.

The next morning he was more fortunate, for he came upon a stream that
abounded in fish. He improvised a hook and line and landed several
fair-sized ones. He had some matches in an oilskin pouch, and he made
a little fire in a deep depression, so as to hide the smoke, and
roasted fish over it. He had no salt, but never had a meal tasted more
delicious in his life.

Now a burden was lifted from his mind. At least he would not starve.
Fish, no doubt, would grow wearisome as a diet if it were varied with
nothing else. But at least it would sustain life and give him strength
for the tasks that lay before him.

He listened for the booming of the guns and tried to figure out from
the sound just where the contending armies were facing each other.
Sometimes they grew louder and fiercer, and at other times seemed to
recede, as the tide of battle ebbed and flowed. But there was rarely
any lull in the ominous thunder, and Tom knew that the fiercest kind of
fighting was going on. He thought of Frank and Bart and Billy, who he
felt sure were in the very thick of it, and he grew desperate at the
thought that he was not at their side, facing the same dangers, and, as
he hoped, sharing in the same victories.

Gradually he worked his way down the mountain, taking the utmost care
to avoid detection, until he felt sure from the increasing din that he
was not far from one or the other of the hostile armies. But it was of
the utmost importance to him to know whether he was within the German
or the American lines.

The question was solved for him when, some days later, he caught sight
of a file of German soldiers passing through a ravine a little way
below him. These were followed by others. He sought shelter instantly
upon catching his first glimpse of them, but the bushes were thin at
that point, and a huge tree seemed to offer a more secure refuge. He
climbed it quickly, and, peering through the leaves, tried to figure
out the situation. Rank after rank passed, and seemed to be taking up
a position with the view of making an attack. Batteries were drawn up,
and their guns pointed in a direction away from where Tom was hiding.
This was a valuable, but at the same time a painful, bit of
information, because it showed Tom that he was behind the German lines
instead of in