ark that I could see practically nothing, but I knew the general
direction and so kept on. I traveled very slowly and no incident of
importance took place for some time.

"Finally I could see the German barbed wire flickering faintly just
ahead of me. I crept closer. I did not make a sound, and unnoticed I
came directly up to the wire entanglements. I was so near I could hear
the Boches talking to one another in their trenches."

He paused and uttered a low groan.

"What is it?" cried Dubois anxiously. "Can't I help you, Armande?"

"Will you tie something around my leg? It throbs badly."

"Perhaps you'd better not try to talk," suggested Leon.

"It is not that," exclaimed Armande. "It is just my leg. Ah, that is
better," he sighed as Dubois wrapped the wound tightly with a long
bandage produced by one of the men.

"Well, as I was saying or was about to say," he continued after a
moment, "I could hear them talking. I crouched there and listened for
a few moments trying to make out what they were saying. I know but
little German however and I could only catch a word here and there and
as they made no sense I quickly became tired of listening.

"It struck me as a fine chance to give the Boches a good scare however.
I determined to wake them up with a hand-grenade. I took one in my
hand and prepared to hurl it. I raised myself slightly from the ground
and took hold of a strand of the barked wire to steady my aim. No
sooner had I touched the wire than a bell rang."

"I heard it," cried Earl eagerly.

"I had touched the wire but lightly," continued Armande, "and the bell
did not ring loudly. It startled me however and I drew back quickly.
I also noticed that the Germans immediately ceased talking. It did not
occur to me that my touching the wire had made the bell ring however.
I thought it a mere coincidence.

"For some moments I lay there quietly and presently the Boches began to
talk again. I waited what seemed to me a long time. Then once more I
took the hand-grenade in my right hand and raised myself on one elbow.
I determined to act quickly this time. Again I seized the wire with my
left hand and hurled the grenade.

"Squarely into the trench it landed and I have the satisfaction of
knowing that it did good work. I had not caught them napping however.
I had seized the wire much more firmly the second time and at the same
instant when I threw my missile the bell rang violently; much more so