CHAPTER XIII
A FORWARD RUSH
"There's a lot more to this than any of us suspect, I guess," saidGerald Twinkleton, with a grave shake of his head. "Of course when Jackand I saw those men sending up smoke signals we didn't dream, at first,that anything was wrong. But when we noticed the two civilians withthem we guessed there must be some queer deal on, and we decided toreport matters. Then we learned that this wasn't the first time thosesignals had gone up, and each time, after they had shot up into theair, there was an enemy attack."
"Bad business," commented Jimmy.
"But if those fellows are spies, including the two in uniform, wherewould they get one of our smoke-making machines?" asked Bob.
"The signal corps has a number of them," explained Jimmy. "One mighteasily be stolen, together with the chemicals needed."
"The signal corps!" cried Roger. "And those Bixtons--who are off thesame piece of goods as Mike, back at Camp Sterling--those Bixtons arein the signal corps!"
"That's what makes me say there's more to this than appears on thesurface," commented Gerald. "Now let's hear again what it was you sawin the dugout, Jimmy boy."
Thereupon Jimmy related what they had seen as they were making theirescape after the collapse of the shelter where they had been resting.
"Would you say for sure that the two you saw in uniform in the dugoutwere the two Bixtons you afterward noticed in the signal corps?" askedJack of Jimmy.
"No, I couldn't be positive," was the answer. "You see we didn't havemore than a hasty glimpse of them, and then only by the light of acandle. But from what you Twinkle Twins tell us, it's evident that thesame four--two in uniform and two without--who were in the dugout werealso sending up smoke signals."
"Well, it looks that way," admitted Gerald. "Of course, there's alwaysa chance that things may take a different turn, but there's enough herefor headquarters to get busy on."
"The main thing to do, in my opinion," declared Jimmy, "is to find outif the fellows we saw in uniform in the dugout and the two the TwinkleTwins saw sending up signals are the same, and then to learn if they'rethe Bixtons."
"That's the idea!" exclaimed Bob. "But it's easier said than done."
"We'll help all we can," said the Twinkleton Twins, as they started offagain in their aeroplane, the tank having been filled with gasolene.
The secret service men at headquarters, including Captain FrankDickerson, at once acted after the boys had given the additionalinformation in their possession.
Jimmy and his chums had few opportunities to learn what was done byCaptain Dickerson and his associates to get on the trail of the smokesignal traitors. All they heard was that an investigation was beingmade and that every effort was being bent toward learning whether ornot the Bixtons were involved. It would not do to accuse these twowrongly, even though they were of a caliber not greatly desired in thearmy. They were entitled to be considered innocent until proved guilty,and the private quarrel they had with Jimmy and Roger, because of theinstrumentality of the latter in sending Mike Bixton to prison, hadnothing to do with the smoke signal issue.
As for that personal quarrel, the threats the Bixtons had made againstRoger and Jimmy did not greatly worry the two. They felt that theycould look out for themselves even against two such bullies andbraggarts as were Aleck and Wilbur Bixton.
Indeed, there was a time when it seemed as if the paths of the twosignal corps men would not again cross those of Roger and Jimmy. Forthe two latter, with their chums, were sent to a distant sector wherethe fighting was almost constant. And the chances were much against thefour Brothers returning to the lines where the Bixtons were stationed.
There was hard fighting--so desperate, in fact, that Jimmy and hischums had little chance to think about anything except how to keepfrom being killed and how to inflict as heavy a punishment as possibleon the enemy. The fighting was in a wooded country where advance wasdifficult, for the thick underbrush afforded shelter for many machinegun nests, and the Huns seemed to place more dependence on this styleof fighting than on any other at this time and place.
Day after day the skirmishes, all part of one great battle, waged inand around the forest. The country was rough and hilly, with streamshere and there, some of them large enough to be called rivers in theAmerican sense, while others so dignified were but mere creeks.
There was not so much of the trench fighting here. The woods affordedalmost as good shelter as did holes dug in the earth, but this was notsaying much. At times, of course, it became necessary for the KhakiBoys to dig in, but they did not stay long enough in one place to makepossible the digging of elaborate and well-protected trenches.
All sorts and styles of fighting went on during the week that Jimmyand his friends were in this sector. There was the duel of big guns,the exchange of shots from mortar batteries that fired wicked bombs;there was, of course, constant rifle fire, and many a man lost his lifebecause of some hidden sniper. Aeroplanes were constantly flying toand fro, the Huns endeavoring to locate ammunition dumps or transporttrains in the woods, that they might blow up either or both. And theAmericans and Allied planes sought to so direct the advance of theirfighters as to make it most effective.
There was an advance. That fact was clear, for the Americans werebattling desperately--artillery, infantry and the ever-gallant marines.Inch by inch, almost, it seemed, the Huns were being pushed back. Butthey did not cease to struggle and give hard blows in return.
"Look!" exclaimed Jimmy to Roger one day, when a respite had come aftera desperate and bloody conflict. "There go the signal men up to thefront. Must be getting ready for an advance."
"Looks like it," assented Roger.
"And there are the Bixtons!" added Bob.
The two brothers, in whom so much interest centered for the four KhakiBoys, were hurrying along with their companions. And, as on the otheroccasion, Aleck and Wilbur Bixton carried the black electrical box.
"They didn't see us," commented Roger.
"Just as well," said Jimmy. "We don't want any family rows now. The onewith Fritzie is enough."
Whether it was because of some information acquired by the signal corpsmen or in arrangement with a previous plan did not develop, but soonafter the two Bixtons and their comrades had hastened up toward thefront lines the order came for a general advance.
And then came a forward rush--a smashing through the German lines asthey stretched through the woods. Strictly speaking, there was hardlya line, as one thinks of it as represented by trenches; but there weremachine gun nests here and there--deadly nests they were, too--andthere were hiding places sheltering grim German fighters. Big gunsthere were--blasting guns that wrought fearful havoc. And for each shotthe Boches fired the Sammies sent two in return, so that slowly butsurely they advanced.
Then came a forward rush over a nasty bit of ground. There was afusillade of rifle fire, as well as a hail of bullets from the machineguns.
"Come on! Come on!" cried Jimmy.
"I'm with you!" yelled Roger.
"Seen Iggy and Bob?" asked Jimmy, as his chum leaped over the dead bodyof a German to advance with the sergeant.
"Yes, they're coming. Look! There's a party of Huns trying to get thatmachine gun to play on us! Let's tackle 'em!"
"Go ahead!"
Almost before they knew it Jimmy and Roger had distanced theirimmediate companions, and together they rushed on six Germans who wereworking over two machine guns. Two of the Huns were shot and anotherwas bayoneted. The rest turned and fled.
"So far, so good!" cried Jimmy, wiping off some blood that was runningdown his face. "But what's happened? We seem to have the whole place toourselves."