sensational blow--which would, it was hoped, break the
power of France before those British reinforcements could reach her.
Later, Germany might still have strength to tackle Britain alone; and
in that case this risky, if determined, attack on Verdun would be worth
the price paid for it.

To France then, and the French armies at Verdun, all eyes were turned,
for at this moment she held the fate of the Allies in her hands. Let
her hold on to Verdun, let her defeat the Germans there by successful
resistance, and hold off the enemy till that hour arrived, now fast
approaching, when fresh British forces would have sailed for France,
and have taken their place beside the _poilus_. Every little helped;
and the fierce encounter taking place beneath the shattered roof of the
fortress of Douaumont was assisting not a little.

"They will come again, later on, perhaps, when it is dark," Henri told
his friends, "and we must make ready to resist them. Pile up the bags
and place them three deep now, for during the last attack they were
nearly pulled over. After that there's little for us to do but to wait
and smoke. Of fighting we shall have our full before this little
business is ended."

Darkness came on after a while, and presently the gloom within the
fortress was so deep that even the walls lining the stairway were
invisible, nor had any of the party any means of illuminating them, or
of lighting up the interior of the hall held by the Brandenburgers.
All they could do was to crouch behind their wall and listen for the
attack which they knew must be coming. Then, of a sudden, there was a
violent explosion just outside their wall, and one farther back in the
chamber which they occupied. Hand-grenades had been thrown by the
enemy, and hardly had the explosions taken place than there was the
sound of another charge, and a horde of men dashed up the stairs and
flung themselves upon the barricade which the _poilus_ were defending.

CHAPTER XVI

A Fight to a Finish

A growl came from the man seated at the breech end of the machine-gun:

"Bah! It is smashed! That grenade has burst the casing and shaken the
whole apparatus. Give me a rifle, one of you."

He searched in the darkness for the weapon, and indeed there were
enough and to spare now, for the bomb which had lit in the chamber, and
had exploded in that confined space, had damaged not a few of the
defenders. It had stunned the majority of them, in fact,