"Orderly," said General Joffre, handing him the message he had just written, "have this sent to the war office immediately."

The gallant French commander turned again to his desk, and as the orderly, Hal and Chester pa.s.sed from his tent he once more brushed the moisture from his eyes.

CHAPTER XX.

OFF ON A RAID.

Hal and Chester accepted General Joffre's offer of an automobile to make their return trip, which consequently did not consume as much time as their journey to the headquarters of the French commander-in-chief.

The first thing they did upon their arrival was to report to General French. The latter listened gravely to their story, and then said:

"I know that I need not caution you to obey General Joffre's injunction concerning the fate of General Tromp. Let the matter be forgotten."

The lads saluted and left the tent to hunt up temporary quarters of their own, for the great army had again come to a halt.

Meanwhile, what of the great driving movement of the allied forces, which after checking the vast German horde almost at the gates of Paris, had forced the foe back mile after mile without cessation? A word of the situation is here necessary.

From the first moment when the allied armies had a.s.sumed the offensive, after being driven back for days by the Germans, they had continued their steady advance. Such fighting as the world had never known was in progress continually, for the Germans contested every inch of the ground.

Time after time the Allies threatened the German lines of communication, and the Germans were forced to fall back to protect them, or to be cut off and eventually annihilated, or forced to surrender. The strategy of General Joffre, condemned by many in the earlier days of the war, now was beginning to bear fruit, and he was praised on every hand.

The English, under the command of Sir John French, the chief stumbling block in the path of the Germans as they advanced on Paris, were proving their mettle every day. Despite their numerical inferiority to the enemy, they stood bravely to their herculean task, until now the whole world realized that they were the real fighting strength of the allied army.

Each day found the Germans farther and farther from the walls of Paris. Each day found the Allies pressing the foe more closely. The great battle line, stretching out for more than 200 miles, was in constant contact with the enemy. Almost hourly there was such severe fighting as in former wars would have earned the designation of battles. But along this great line they were but skirmishes.

The losses on both sides had been tremendous, although the Germans, because of the fact that they had been previously on the offensive, and also because of the ma.s.sed formation they had used in their advance, had suffered considerably more than the Allies.

Louvain and other towns in Belgium had been sacked by the Germans, pillaged with fire and sword, until hardly one stone was left upon another. And now the fighting was again in Belgium, that little buffer state which, ever since she became a nation, has always been the battleground of European wars.

The Belgian army, in spite of the terrible havoc wrought upon it by the heavy German guns, was still fighting desperately and had no mind to withdraw from the conflict. Possibly Belgium had more at stake than any other country in the war. She was fighting for life and freedom--from possible absorption into the German Empire.

And now the German forces had been pushed clear across the River Marne, where they were making a determined stand. The eastern sh.o.r.e of the little river was held by the Kaiser's troops, the western sh.o.r.e by the Allies.

So here the great armies now paused for a moment to take a much needed breathing spell. For the moment the fierce advance of the Allies was checked. Tired men sank to the ground in the ranks, there to remain until the battle should be resumed.

But over all still was heard the roar of the great guns. The artillery continued in action, as it had ever since the two great armies had come into contact with each other. Sh.e.l.ls dropped and burst among the troops on both sides of the river, blowing men to atoms; but still the main portions of the armies rested on their arms, awaiting the word to move forward again.

The fire of the German artillery was hourly creating great havoc in the allied army; but in spite of their great guns, the greatest ever known, their execution had been no more terrible than that done by the smaller guns of the Allies; for the fire of the British gunners was far superior to that of the Germans. Few sh.e.l.ls were wasted, while, up to this time, the comparatively poor marksmanship of the German gunners was the cause of much comment and surprise.

So now, when Hal and Chester once more returned to their own posts, they found the two great armies lined up on either bank of the Marne; or rather some distance from it, only the outposts of either army occasionally riding right up to the river's edge, while the great sh.e.l.ls continued to burst on both sides of the river.

Hal and Chester sought out Lieutenant Anderson, whom they found after a long search. Through an orderly they also reported to General French, apprising him of where to find them should he desire their presence. After a short talk with Lieutenant Anderson, who had insisted that they make free use of his quarters, both lads turned in, for they had been many hours without sleep, and were tired out.

How long they slept it is impossible to say, but they were awakened by Lieutenant Anderson shaking them by the arm.

"Get up," commanded the lieutenant. "You are ordered to report to General French immediately."

Hal and Chester were on their feet in a moment. Bright sunlight streamed through the entrance to the tent. It was early morning.

Once more in the quarters of General French, both boys impatiently waited for him to speak--to tell them the reason he had summoned them so suddenly.

At length the general rose and approached them. He placed a hand on the shoulder of each, and spoke:

"You two lads already have been of invaluable service. Perhaps I should not again call upon you so soon, although I know your hearts are in the success of the arms of France and England. But you have so often proved your fitness for dangerous missions that you seem the ones needed."

"We shall be glad to undertake the work, general, no matter what it is," said Hal.

"Indeed we shall," agreed Chester.

"What I must know," said General French, "is the approximate strength of the enemy on the other side of the Marne, the positions of his troops and so on. I could ascertain this possibly by means of the flying corps; but in that event the enemy would know that I had learned. It must be done some other way. Are you lads willing to undertake this task?"

"Yes, sir," said Hal and Chester, almost in a single breath.

"Good," said General French. "I shall leave the means to you, for I have already come to know your resourcefulness. I have only one injunction: Be back at the earliest possible moment."

The two lads saluted and left the tent. They immediately returned to Lieutenant Anderson, where they apprised him of the nature of the work before them.

"You two youngsters certainly do have all the luck," said the lieutenant, "while we old heads sit back here and do nothing."

"It seems to me that you have been doing your share," said Hal.

"And to me, too," Chester agreed.

"Oh, well," laughed the lieutenant. "I have seen considerable action.

I don't suppose I should complain. But how do you propose to gather this information? I suppose you realize that you have quite a sizable job on your hands?"

"Yes, we realize that," Hal replied, "and we thought perhaps you could help us with an idea or two."

The lieutenant was silent for some moments. Finally he said:

"I believe that I should not go alone, were I in your place. The enemy will be constantly on the lookout for spies. My plan would be to make quite a detour along the river, crossing by a bold dash and riding right into the heart of the enemy's country, at whatever point it might be practically unprotected."

"A good idea," said Hal. "But, in that event, we should have to have a larger party."

"Exactly," said Lieutenant Anderson. "And I, for one, offer my services. I suppose we should have at least twenty-five men."

A few moments later Hal was back in General French's headquarters.

"General," he said, "I should like to have your permission to pick twenty-five men, and permission to use one of the highest power automobiles in the army."

The general looked at him in silence for a while before speaking, but finally said:

"You have my permission. Here," turning to his desk and writing a few words, "is a written order. I shall not ask the nature of your plan.

Good luck to you."