dvanced he heard the shrill whine of a bullet
near him.

Instinctively he felt where it came from, and thought he had located
the German sniper. Dropping into a pile of leaves, as though shot,
Jerry watched from under his cap. He saw a Hun cautiously raise his
head from behind a distant stump, and that was the last act on the
part of that particular German.

Jerry fired from his pistol, prone as he lay, and the shot went true.
Then the tall lad resumed his journey, delivered the message and
brought back the answer.

The days and nights of terror passed slowly. There was engagement
after engagement. Time after time the Americans tried to break
through, but were driven back with terrific loss. But the Germans
could not approach close enough to wipe them out. Always when the Huns
stormed there was such a withering fire from the American guns that
the Kaiser's troops fled back to the fastness of the woods.

Then came the sending, under a flag of truce, of the German
commander's invitation to surrender. He asked the American commander
to give up, to save useless bloodshed, and said the Americans taken
prisoner would be well treated.

The American commander sent back an answer which rang with defiance.

And the fighting went on.

It was awful! The food dwindled away as did the ammunition. But still
the surrounded battalions--now less than half their original
strength--would not surrender.

"What will be the outcome?" asked Bob wearily, as he and his chums,
hidden in a shell hole, held their part of the line.

"We'll win! That's what will be the outcome!" cried Jerry fiercely.
"We'll show the Huns how we fight!"

There came a terrific burst of firing, and a hail of bullets swept
over their heads.

"They're coming on again!" yelled Ned.

The firing increased, but it did not seem to approach nearer. Instead,
it appeared to be going away.

"What can it mean?" asked Jerry.

"There's heavy fighting going on over there," and Ned indicated a
point in the forest where it was known the Germans were in strong
force.

There was activity among those that were left of the two battalions.
Last desperate efforts had been made to send runners through the enemy
line to regimental headquarters to summon help, but all had been
killed or captured. It seemed the end of everything, when this new and
heavy firing was heard.

And then, like a drink of cold water to a fever-dying man, a ringing
American cheer came through the wo