desperate. Allons! Here is death to
the Kaiser!"

He smiled round at his comrades, whose faces were lit up by the rays
from the flickering flames, showing a gleaming row of teeth, and steady
eyes, and features which displayed not the smallest trace of fear, or
even of anxiety.

"Death to the Kaiser--to the butcher who sends his troops to such
slaughter!"

Tossing his head backwards, he let the contents of the cup gurgle down
his throat, then, smacking his lips, he held the vessel out for a
further ration.

Steps on the wooden stairway leading into the dugout just then
attracted the attention of the whole party, and soon there arrived
another comrade--a junior officer--to swell their numbers, to tax the
limit of accommodation down below to the utmost. As dirty as any of
his men, dirtier perhaps, he bore about him traces almost of
exhaustion, and, throwing himself on the ground, silently accepted the
drink and food which were at once offered him. It was not, indeed,
until he had finished his meal, and until he had almost smoked the
contents of one pipe-load of tobacco, that he opened his lips to the
_poilus_.

"And then, Monsieur le Lieutenant," began one of the _poilus_, a
cheerful young fellow, who, indeed, was in civil times the chum of this
young officer, "you've been far, mon Commandant, you have brought news
to us? For did you not leave us a while back to pass along the
communication-trenches? What, then, is the tale? And are there
supports and reserves at hand to reinforce us?"

Again it was to be noted that there was not a sign of anxiety on the
face of this young soldier, nor in the tones which he adopted. He
merely smiled and shrugged his shoulders, in fact, as the officer shook
his head decidedly.

"No! No supports, and no reserves at present," he said. "We must
fight it out to a finish."

"Bien! To a finish, my friends!" chirped in the bearded warrior,
sipping at a fresh cup of steaming coffee. "Then it is not for us to
grumble, but rather for the Boches. For, see, desperate men who cannot
be relieved, and who will not surrender, fight like rats in a trap, and
such beasts were ever venomous. And so, Monsieur le Lieutenant, there
are none to help us?"

"None!" came the cheery answer. "The position is as clear as daylight.
It is only now that our High Command is able to perceive that the
Germans have launched a stroke at Verdun, which is stronger, and likely
to be fiercer, than any