The Project Gutenberg eBook, The boy Allies at Liege, by Clair W. Hayes

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: The boy Allies at Liege

Author: Clair W. Hayes

Release Date: June 19, 2004 [eBook #12656]

Language: English

Character set encoding: US-ASCII

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY ALLIES AT LIEGE***

E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Project Gutenberg Beginners Projects,
Mary Meehan, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

THE BOY ALLIES AT LIEGE

OR

Through Lines of Steel

By CLAIR W. HAYES

AUTHOR OF "The Boy Allies On the Firing Line" "The Boy Allies With the
Cossacks" "The Boy Allies In the Trenches"

1915

CHAPTER I.

THE TWO COMRADES.

"War has been declared, mother!" shouted Hal, as closely followed by his
friend, Chester Crawford, he dashed into the great hotel in Berlin, where
the three were stopping, and made his way through the crowd that thronged
the lobby to his mother's side.

"Yes, mother, it's true," continued Hal, seeing the look of consternation
on Mrs. Paine's face. "The Kaiser has declared war upon France!"

Mrs. Paine, who had risen to her feet at her son's entrance, put her hand
upon the back of her chair to steady herself, and her face grew pale.

"Can it be?" she said slowly. "After all these years, can it be possible
that millions of men will again fly at each other's throats? Is it
possible that Europe will again be turned into a battlefield?"

Overcome by her feelings, Mrs. Paine sank slowly into her chair. Hal and
Chester sprang to her side.

"It's all right, mother," cried Hal, dropping to his knees and putting
his arm about her. "We are in no danger. No one will harm an American. At
this crisis a citizen of the United States will not be molested."

Mrs. Paine smiled faintly.

"It was not of that I was thinking, my son," she said. "Your words
brought back to me the days gone by, and I pray that I shall not have to
go through them again. Then, too, I was thinking of the mothers and wives
whose hearts will be torn by the news you have just told me. But come,"
and Mrs. Paine shook off her memories, "tell me all about it."

"As you know, Mrs. Paine," spoke up Chester,