Frank"s keen eyes had been sizing up the situation and he now had a proposal to make.
"I think I see a way to dislodge him if you"ll let me try it, Corporal," he said.
"What is it?" asked Wilson.
"You"ll notice that the branches of those trees are mixed in with each other," replied Frank. "If you can keep him busy with your shooting, so that he won"t be thinking of anything else, I think I can make a detour and climb up one of those other trees on the side away from him.
I could carry my rifle strapped on my back. Then I might work my way along the branches and perhaps catch sight of him."
"It"s worth trying," decided the corporal. "Go ahead, Sheldon, but be mighty careful."
Frank slipped away in the shelter of the trees, described a semi-circle, reached the third tree from the one where the German was stationed, and commenced to climb.
It was hard work, for the tree was thick and he could not get a good grip on it with his arms. But he persisted until he reached the first limb and drew himself up on it. Then he examined his rifle carefully and with the utmost caution began to work his way among the branches.
Some of these were so thick as to be themselves almost like tree trunks, and he had no apprehension on the score of his weight. He pa.s.sed to the next tree, and then to the next. There he paused, parting the branches carefully.
He knew that his comrades were keeping their part of the bargain, for the thud of bullets against the tree that sheltered the enemy was almost continuous.
For several minutes Frank looked for his enemy. Then his search was rewarded, and through an open s.p.a.ce he found himself looking squarely into the eyes of the man who, a few minutes before, had tried to send a bullet through his brain.
The man saw him at the same instant. Like a flash he leveled his rifle and fired.
For such a hurried aim the shot was good. Frank felt the whistle of the bullet as it almost grazed him. But it was not good enough.
The next instant Frank"s rifle spoke. The man flung out his arms, toppled over and fell with a crash into the gorge that the tree overhung. The rifle clanged after him. There would be no more sniping by that particular marksman from that particular tree.
There was a shout from the squad who had witnessed the duel, and as Frank slid down the tree he was greeted with acclamations.
"A nervy thing, Sheldon," commended Wilson.
"He almost got me, though," returned Frank. "It was a case of touch and go."
"He was a brave man," was the tribute of the corporal, "though that particular kind of work has always seemed to me something like murder.
He shot his victims without giving them a chance. His work on land was that of the U-boats on the sea--a species of a.s.sa.s.sination."
The squad went on with special caution and with a close watch on the trees. But noon came without further adventure and they got out their rations and prepared to enjoy them at the foot of a spreading maple.
They were perhaps half way through the meal, which they had seasoned with jokes and laughter, when there was a rustling in the bushes near at hand. Instantly they leaped to their feet and reached for their rifles.
"Who goes there?" demanded the corporal.
There was no answer.
"Answer or we shoot!" cried Wilson.
The bushes parted and a young peasant girl stepped forth.
She was a pretty girl of about eighteen. Her face bore the marks of tears, her hair was dishevelled, and she was in a state of extreme agitation. She began to talk feverishly and with many gestures.
"Here, Sheldon," said the corporal, "you speak French. See if you can understand what the girl is saying."
Frank stepped forward.
"_Que voulez-vous, Mademoiselle?_" he asked.
The relief of the girl when she heard her own language was evident.
"These are English soldiers, Monsieur?" she asked.
"No," said Frank, "they are Americans."
"Oh, _les braves Americains_!" she exclaimed. "How glad I am! I know you will help me."
"Be sure of that," replied Frank. "But tell me now just what has happened."
"The boches," she answered. "They are at our house."
"How many are there?" asked Frank with quickened interest.
"About thirty," she replied. Then as she saw Frank glance at the ten who made up his party, she went on: "But you can capture them, I am sure. They are drugged."
"Drugged?"
"Yes. They came to our house early this morning. They upset everything. They smashed the furniture. They tied my father and brother in chairs. They said they were going to burn the house when they got ready to go away."
"But how were they drugged?"
"They made me get them all the food and wine there was in the house. I did so. I put some laudanum in the wine. They ate and drank. Then they got sleepy. They dropped off one by one. Then I ran out to find help. I find you. Heaven is good."
Frank consulted the corporal as the others crowded around in great excitement.
The corporal meditated.
"It may be a trap," he said cautiously.
"I don"t think so," replied Frank. "Look at the girl. She"s no actress. I think she"s telling the truth."
"But even if they were drugged, they may have recovered from the effects by this time," pondered the corporal.
Then he made up his mind.
"We"ll take a chance," he decided. "Ask the girl how far the house is from here."
"About a mile," the girl answered to Frank"s query. "And there is one other thing," she added. "They have a prisoner with them. He is young and he has a uniform like yours, only it is torn and soiled. They threw him on the floor in a room upstairs. He was tied with ropes."
"What does he look like?" asked Frank. "Tell me as well as you can."
She described the prisoner amid the growing excitement of the Army Boys.