Show TT TT T T V Y NL V ORA CUT CL t ic JL X JL JL V JF JL J py by LEONARD NASON illustrations by IRWIN copyright by george ff doran company MYE MYERS RS D S C CHAPTER I 1 continued 2 in the street on the lie other side of the wall cadlo and darcy ran heavily along they turned town down a street that led between garden walls walla no back alley unpaved the stopped and listened holding their gasping breaths thero there was a distant clamor 1 n I oft howling in tho the intervals Inter vala of which the two could distinguish thel the words thieves 1 hey crooks I 1 BI al P as a lipp lets get autta town sold said darcy 1 I feel fed nervous hero here we vo wont want to go to toul dont we well lets ind find tho lift road man I 1 feel better after passin that bird a berian tire tho idea n him hill out goldfish to n n coupin wounded guys back front from hospital I 1 I 1 coil off do a heap ol 01 0 wallan to save myself a month or so on tho the rockell they continued down tire street to its end and into the highroad that crossed there thero there were some soldiers idling rit nt the far end of the road there was a restaurant with more sold soldiers lers sitting before it hut but none of them showed tiny any interest lit in the two strangers badie went boldly tip ap to one of the follies which ilch Is the rond road to toul fellars lie he ris risked lied null hull said tile lie men tile lie rood to toul tou I 1 down the other side 0 tile town it ft goes out by tile the al 11 barracks racks itow how far la Is it disked eadle twenty five kilometers bendles heart stink sank they could nevar make it before night kilometers meant about fifteen miles more than a lays days march for him and his breo ile ie find and darcy went slowly away they walked don doan r seemingly endless paved fe treet and came out on the edge of a meadow on the for far side of which was a long row of trees away out of right eight to the lie northeast ill hot bet the road arild endle it looks like a main road and it goes in the he right direction they crossed the hot field in mopping uppIng their brows and at last arrived tit at tile the edge of the road sot sat and looked slid sad ly IY at their new shoes these shoes were not inot yet broken in and hence made their feet sore were getting closer all the time ahrie said endle eadle were bound to find lie ohp outfit some day yeli yeh some day agreed darcy when we were three or four liun hun dred miles from tire the outfit it seem halt half as far on off as it does now when we aint but ten or twelve here comes a motorcycle guy lie pointed to a cloud of dust approach ing from the direction of the town in front of which could b ba seen tile lie thin alinee of a motorcycle with its rider tire the motorcycle approached slowed down and as darcy stood up till to hall its rider tie the machine stopped the rider was a large husky n very capable looking gun swung front from his hip and ills his arm bore the blue brassard with two white letters lark large and glaring M P oti oil misery mis cryll 1 muttered eadle the halting of this boiled tire the wanderers no good it would ikenn i i request to he shown the authority for their wandering tit nt large and like simple simon indeed they find not any the milli nry up preached pro ached are you the two guys that beat up tip the cook asked he fie what cook countered hadle tire the M 1 I grinned 1 I 1 aint officially he fie hut but just as one guy to another that th it bird fiad been suf dufferin BUfTer ferin ln for a rubbin dow i for some time done come collie clean clebit now aint you two the ones that shippee it to hlin him you answer the description two tough guys salvage uniforms phony wound n stripe toughest one a 11 sergeant well veil vold eadle cadle we tin had 11 i few words with a guy back there 1 dont know about tits his bang it cook hes ri cook nil right said the U M P ile he cooks for hie fie big two sla boys that hong hang around corps head quarters tell me Is it true yuh knocked him downend down dow nond 1 and kicked ohp liver ih pr out 0 of him like that said darcy UP if got us to chop up a efird cord 0 wood or en fuld 1 hed give us it 11 feed for it tin nn then tie he issued out a ran can 0 goldfish gold lish s him film estifo the M 11 11 ue li e used use to cook for our decall deti ill well tie pot fot to in tip be cook lor ur tile he corps corp mess nil mi we gol go nil set to live the ft fill 0 tile the why we ne give hirn him a blowout the he fie left that set us or back wv a mo months tithE pay so then about a week later inter when hed hea never come near us a couple of us went up to pay him film a coil call lie ile was to in tile the away lit ht wan wal left of a roast pig well lu in two tivo words vorda tie be offer us none on an we asked for it an maybe said tamie hard words what does tie he do but turn us in for bother ln frol him tin nn bring in round tits his kitchen 1 an on file alie charge sheet Is indorsed endorsed Indor sed by old tur hini himself self severe sentence riep were still payin the blind nj by adl 0 d I 1 cried the sl at P femme elighe brinds with you guys buys I 1 nc ile sold you broke every bone in hla his body almost tie he shook hands violently with wit to carry rey and endle now then sold lie ile you willita get anway from herp here now heres a ration truck coln up tip t in toul in III about ten tell mIl minutes lutes I 1 saw it londia when I 1 colue coine out ill curve back to town on art tell lent cm to he on tile hie lookout for yul jump in on stay ilton tight eight no onell look for yuh in toul 11 lie mounted his motorcycle ahting it nebout and was gone A few minutes later inter a truck collie came to n gronning groaning halt bolt ns ag file lie two wo waved their heir aring fit at it you two tile lie guys that lint bent beat up tip the cook called the driver Tl ints us answered endle well get in file lie hack bock directed the driver on an holler when youre in the two boosted ench each other in over itie file tollgate tailgate yelled to tile the driver away they went well can you tie that amhed dorcy darcy everyone in this county Is our friend bee because rouse we hent beat up the ile cook he fie must have been ikenn as flog dogwood wood and twice ns na nasty hoy boy sold endle when that at I 1 11 shook liand with tile me I 1 was more surprised lhnn if balser 1111 himself lind hurt lone done it it why think of the drag he would hove have hod find with the lie general if hed arrested the lie men that had banged bunged the generals cook I 1 I 1 know one mess eliat will ent eat poor for a few weeks lloyl bellowed a 8 voice from tire lie front of the truck you birds birda hungry Tl ints our middle name fin answered eadle were always hungry theres a case n jam am open find and some bread in a hag bag there yelled back lie file man dig in tire the two opened tile join jam helped to a toot loaf of bread and nil ati heartily the truck rattled on the hie rain drove against the ile cover they finite while tile river driver held conversation with unseen men inen ond and they proceeded again traffic become thicker and endle could coal tell when they were nt at a crossroads by the free comment of the driver rind ills his assistant find tile the faint yet bitter replies of soldiers were gettan near tile front said darcy peering out the lie hock back these trucks tire re all without lights 11 hardly find lie he said this when the truck lurched lur clied violently several times anil and then came to a linit halt ditched I 1 decided E eadle adle tie lie waited for the driver to burst into profanity but fie be heard them climbing town down from their perch in silence the matter lie asked its iia two dripping figures appeared at tile the tollgate tailgate No Noth thIn ln said one of them this Is as for far its as we go tills this Is toul do you suppose we could sleep in the truck tonight asked cadle sure sold said tie the driver theres heres room lit in here for a million lie ho find and tits his companion had find bedding rolls like officers which they unrolled on oil top lot of tile the load eadle and darcy however had nothing but their blan bets and overcoats over couts they put these down own and using their gas masks for pillows fillou wiggled around like snakes to find a place where they could lie ile and escure the sharp corners of it ohp ati ration cases CHAPTER II if field orders 36 very elt e lit in the morning ruin still ml fth buchet ing low n slant slantwise alte before u lold cold wind tire hiie two lo 10 wanderers looked sadly out of the hie truck they were in tire lie yard of 11 great caserine caserne ca cu serne a burrack hai riKk square by high erupt now tin and cheerless hoer cheer leys loss A long line 11 ne of trucks like their own was wai wulling to eliere here do you KO go from here dorp eadle asked the driver we unload un an nu go binh back to buiu nu iu leurs hill place do you wont 1 I 1 dout doul know said cudly hut but I 1 thought bought id go lu in mid and ask tire lie bil lethig uler where tile le seventy ninth iteld field artillery Artl lleo isker hear of it eto no said the lie driver arher 1 I 1 never lid did but theres llie ros ten len million nill llon outfits nera here black jock jack himself biever heart of hall half of aiu 11 collie ou oil called eadle cadie lets oust out of here they beut across the yard and out oui the gate of tile the caserne caserine ca serne thelt theli lair hair was long their hands end faces facea ined with will coal dust from riding in n trains and road dust front from pound lug the highways their uniforms happily were covered cohered by their stick ers which put oo on over their packs gave gae them a decidedly hump barkard appearance tile the two went down the uhl know ing that this tit must lost lend lead to the center of town they crossed a bridge above the railroad und so tome borne to tire old fashioned city gato bilte look ot at uns the M P sold said darry darcy in I 1 whisper indicating a man in n ikker who twirled n club under the lucli of a sort of guardhouse never mind him replied audle under his breath keep right on go BO ing just as though he mean Olly anything thIng to you llev yelled the at 1 I the two stopped hey where you guys go in down town said eadle audle we lve willit to olid find the billeting oincel ci 1 oot lot a pass no eadle tire at AI 11 I 1 wined waved tits club in a tur jure that lint sold said outside built na as pl allIlY its as if he fie tind spoken it the two tinned till lied without comment find nd re traced their steps on tire rall railroad rono bridge they hated halted by common coi ninon consent und against the railing dont it beni beat allt aill said dalcy daicy you tin nn me a compla wounded guys bryin to get back to the front think ev every elyone one would glie give i a hand I 1 til I 1 I 1 V on the wood in straggling black letters were the words F A post of command hut but list hows chances on a flop for the night OK oft th I 1 autta herell herel hey guy wheres tire tie thir division hand out show me your pass tin in ill toll tell yuh aint got no pass olt git ali I 1 autta herel here 1 Il hows lows your co courage bruge asked eadle game for a hike in the rain sure its better than sitt lit here our thumbs an worl wonder derIn ln when we eat well lets go again somewhere between here and germany we ought to find on an outfit give two good soldiers a job until they find their own at sunset of the sanne day tile the rain rail had find ceased hut but the sky was still S low ering the lie wind rustled tile he wet leaves and a chill cold damp was on nil all the countryside darcy and kadle eadle tramped through the lie mud they lind had that day progressed twenty t two wo kilometers rift rid ing in trucks on empty cals sons bareback on horses that nearly clove cloie them in two in french country carts find and lastly on oil a tank link they lind had come to if a thickly wooded section into tile lip deptris of hose forests went narrow roads new and hearing the marks 0 of much traffic were gettin closer to lie file front al ull the lie time sold said darcy kitchens tin everything will he be tiff hid in tile the woods I 1 think we ought to luck duck flown one 0 these roads rends the ii I 1 is you now flow the sergeant hall had darted to one side of nt the rond road and was tonkins into th air with intense earnestness the matter asked pa da c vi again conie come here sald said raffle kadle and aerl it you see what I 1 to do darcy complied nod and round the ser scant gentit looking ut of a piece of new wood half the top of it a box in III which cat irice goods had heen been parked packed on in the wood in block letters we were re III ahr words seventy ninth F A cost 0 it underneath an narim pointed down one of nf the narrow road ronel it aint real solo said darcy sure its rent real sald said tile lie cpr eini we h had find a drink for week our wit fits town down this rond road da darcy rey rt vital hat ayou think of that for trick luck 1 dont believe it said pani firmly well well go see the two tit them splashed their flidr way down alit road the lie first turn lurn to a ron coil fused became nil fillible lible uni ullo offer after another minutes walking ole alipy could seo see a 0 sort of park under the trees wagons halt covered till far a picket tine line the horses horse tethered thereon kicking and sil tivai ing noodle tind am darcy turned in tire the direction of the picket line tin and dis coverd covered d flat tile the underbrush was thick with cheter tents well veil if it aint elul I 1 cried dar cy suddenly well veil if it aint darcy tin nn sergeant iSer genni eadlen cried tie the ninn man nd rid dressed ti when alien did yuh get back vy py G d it if y you ou aint more welcome than linn a months cayll Hod supper yet asked the lie ser pr gentit wringing the others annd flat sure long figo ago said 1 im I m it busy man ill see you fellars in ii second theres tile the of old pun gun crew wheel frill that gun autta llna there most of the old gang Is left ill see kiili in a 0 ini minute nute wheres tire lie old alan asked the sergeant weve got to report tu u him film find then well swe herf about how 1 his tents over oter there tinder hinl tr hig tree said Sil iid pointing well I 1 gotta botn hurry laurry away lie ile rhoid hand annd again find hastily tool took ills departure every ones in n rush sniff eadle they he be going to have tin nn in spec lon tion you go over oer find parley with the lie gun crew carvy and ill ji go tell the old alan tits his two prod Ignis have come home its ts not much later inter lhnn ue ruther rather early with ellow chow 11 tell the old man we had anything t breakfast sald said darcy ill see it if I 1 cant hit these ho up tip for some chow good ill be hack back in fit a minute 11 the sergeant gave a feeble brush or tac at the mud on III hi flicker hooked it together ier a 0 little more neat ly and storied started in tile the direction of the big tree ile he vau a shelter tent from which protruded if 11 p clr ir of feet in officers hoots the sergeant coughed slightly and a fac pred p red out ky by 0 d dl I 1 cried the owner of the face its sergeant nadle hadle bark back again well veil well you always conic collie back tit at the opportune moment moni ent ill hot bet ohp police are at your heels tills this time too tile boots bonts scraped on oil tile the grimail and their heir owner emerged a toll tall man wearing the lie insignia of a captain of held artillery lie ile hands with sergeant eadle spent speak of the devil evil continued the and lie always appears kesslr dessir and he d 1 n nl I 1 im glad to see you have you got agn n gun un yes sir said kadle eadle a little mys rifled got any bullets for it no sir air well veil get some pronto fang a first old pocket packet on yourself get a can of if bully beet beef to put in your pocket ind drug drag yourself over to lieutenant 1 sawyer hes fies got the lie |