d with the Italian troops in the Alps.

They had been participants in many a hard blow that had been delivered by
the Allies. They had won the confidence of Field Marshall John French,
commander of the British forces in France until he was succeeded by
General Sir Douglas Haig after the battle of the Champagne, and of
General Joffre, the French commander-in-chief.

While they ostensibly were British army officers, their titles were
purely honorary, but they held actual lieutenancies in the Belgian army,
these having been bestowed upon them by King Albert in recognition of
services accomplished in and around Liege in the early days of the war.

The boys had been chums since early childhood. They had been brought up
together. They attended school together and were inseparable companions.
Each spoke German and French fluently, and service with other armies had
given them a knowledge of other tongues. Both were strong and sturdy,
crack shots, good with sword and sabre, and particularly handy with their
fists. These accomplishments had stood them in good stead in many a tight
place. But better than all these accomplishments was the additional fact
that each was clear-headed, a quick thinker and very resourceful. They
depended upon brains rather than brawn to pull them through ticklish
situations, though they did not hesitate to call on the latter force when
occasion demanded.

Hal, peering ahead by the glare of the searchlight on the large army car,
suddenly slowed down; the car stopped. A group of mounted men rode up.
Hal stood up and gave a military salute as one of the group advanced
ahead of the others.

"I am from General Durand at Marseilles, sir," he said. "I have important
dispatches for General Petain."

The French officer returned the salute.

"Follow me," he said briefly.

CHAPTER II

VERDUN

Rightly is the fortress of Verdun called the gateway to France. By reason
of its strategic position, it is absolutely essential that an invading
army have possession of Verdun before thought of a successful advance on
Paris can be entertained; and it was upon the capture of Paris that the
German emperor laid his hopes, in spite of the collapse of a similar
offensive launched in the first days of the war.

But Wilhelm II had learned a lesson. Verdun must be taken before he
ordered his armies upon the French capital; and so it was that, upon
February twenty-third, 1916, the German Crown Prince began a deter