is comrades the next morning, as
a furious cannonade opened up that made the ground shake and filled the
air with flying missiles of death.

"Too many bass notes in it to be real good music," remarked Billy with
a grim.

"Maybe it's the overture just before the rising of the curtain,"
suggested Bart.

"Perhaps it is," agreed Frank. "The Hun has got to start his drive
some time, and this would be just the kind of morning for it. See how
heavy that mist lies on the ground? We couldn't see the Germans at a
distance of fifty yards."

"It's mighty thick for a fact," observed Bart. "But I guess our
advanced posts are on the job. They'll give us warning in plenty of
time."

"Not that we need much warning as far as I can see," said Billy.
"We've been ready for a long time to fight at the drop of a hat. I'll
bet the Hun doesn't carry a foot of our line."

"That's where you're wrong, Billy, old scout," warned Bart. "It stands
to reason that he'll get away with something at first. You take any
one man, no matter how strong he is, and if ten fellows rush him all at
once they're bound to drive him back at the start. The Huns have got
the advantage of knowing where they're going to strike. We don't know
and so we have to spread our forces out so as to be ready to meet him
at any point. Then, too, the man who comes rushing in has the
advantage of the fellow who's standing still because he's got momentum.
That's why generals would rather fight on the offensive than on the
defensive. They're able to pick the time and place and the other
fellow has to follow his lead."

"I don't see why the Allies can't take the offensive," grumbled Billy.
"It gets my goat to let the Huns hit first."

"It does mine too," admitted Frank, "and if it hadn't been for Russia
quitting, we'd be looking now at the coattails of the Kaiser's generals
as they scooted back to Berlin. But that's a bit of hard luck that we
can't help. Russia's back-down has taken ten million soldiers from the
Allies' strength. But America will make that all up in time and then
you'll see us doing the chasing."

"It can't come too soon to suit me," said Billy. "I only wish Uncle
Sam had started sooner to get ready."

"So do I," replied Frank. "But there's no use crying over spilt milk.
We're getting ahead now with leaps and bounds. I was talking to Will
Stone the other day, and he'd just got back from a flying trip to one
of the French seaports. He says