wer.

"Then I'm going to stay, sir!" declared Franz, forgetting that he
was speaking to his superior officer. "I'll be able to walk in the
morning, and I want to get some more of the beasts!" and he fairly
snarled the word. No true-blooded American hated the Huns as did Franz
Schnitzel, of German parentage.

"Very well," assented the captain. "You may stay until morning, at
least."

"Thank you, sir," replied Franz, saluting. He knew in his heart that
he would never give in, no matter how his ankle hurt, and the pain was
not inconsiderable, either.

There came a reaction after the fierce fighting of the morning and
early afternoon, and when night came, and the lads, with only a short
period of rest, had to go out on sentry or other duty, there was a
weariness of body, and a queer feeling of the mind, that did not make
the occasion one of pleasure.

But duty was duty and it had to be done.

Jimmy and Bob had an advanced listening post, and they took their
positions about ten o 'clock that night. It was dark and a drizzling
rain was falling.

"I'd much rather go to bed in a dugout," declared Jimmy, stifling a
yawn.

"Same here," agreed Bob. "Say, what do you s'pose happened to Maxwell,
anyhow!"

"Can't imagine, unless he's been killed or captured. If he was within
our lines some one would have heard of it. Or perhaps they wouldn't
either, in all this excitement. It may take two or three days to
locate him, if he's alive."

"And if he isn't--or is a prisoner?" suggested Bob.

"Then good-bye to our thousand dollars," sighed Jimmy.

"I'm thinking of poor Iggy, too," said Bob, after a pause. "Do you
think he has any chance!"

"Well, he didn't appear to be badly wounded. But if his spine is
broken he'll never fight again, and may not live very long. That's
a fierce state of affairs. How he escaped being killed outright is
a wonder to me. You ought to have seen him after Roger and I dug him
out," and in a whisper, for loud talking was forbidden, he related the
scene in the shell hole.

He had scarcely finished his narration when Bob peered out from
their improvised shelter and seemed to be looking at something
intently--that is, as intently as he could in the rainy darkness.

"What is it?" asked Jimmy cautiously.

"I don't know," was the answer. "But someone, or something, is
crawling this way. Look right straight ahead. See it moving?"

CHAPTER VI

GOOD STEWS

For a moment Jimmy could see not