d as the British charged, always the words of their battle-song,
fated for some unfathomed reason to become historic, rose above the
sounds of battle:

"It's a long way to Tipperary.
It's a long way to go;
It's a long way to Tipperary,
To the sweetest girl I know.
Good-by, Piccadilly,
Farewell, Leicester square.
It's a long, long way to Tipperary,
But my heart's right there!"

Liege had fallen before the invading German hosts, though several
of the forts still held out; Louvain had been captured and its
beautiful buildings burned to the ground. Brussels had been invested
by the Teutons. In Alsace-Lorraine the French had been forced to
relinquish the spoils won in the first days of the war. General Pau,
after a stubborn resistance, had fallen back, and General Joffre,
commander-in-chief of the French army, also had been forced to retire.

So close to Paris were the Germans now that the seat of government,
the day before this story opens, had been removed to Bordeaux. Homes
and other buildings in the French capital were being razed, so that
the great French guns in the city could sweep the approach to the town
unobstructed. Paris, the most strongly fortified city in the world,
was being prepared to withstand a siege.

And still the Germans came on. Several of the enemy's war aviators
flew over Paris and dropped bombs in the streets. This occurred upon
several days, and then the French airmen put an end to these daring
sky fighters. After this, no more bombs were dropped on Paris.

But as the Allies fell back, it was always the few British troops that
time and again checked the Germans. The morale of the English was
excellent.

In a final desperate charge, a small body of British cavalry had
succeeded in driving back the German vanguard, while the main body of
English retired still further. Then this little body of men returned,
their number much smaller than when they had charged.

For some time now there had been no sign of the enemy, and Hal and
Chester, with a small squad, had been sent toward the enemy's line to
reconnoiter. It was while on this reconnaissance that they had been
attacked by the Germans in force.

Slowly the two lads and the eight men, all that was left of the fifty
who had gone forth, continued their retreat. They had gone forth on
horses; they were returning afoot. Their mounts were in the hands of
the enemy. From the rear, in the darkness,