Show 3 w Z S 00 4 A 76 17 A C mm V UR awa 41 y V 0 ia s 0 by general ARED WHIT E R D A slavica THE STORY SO FAR officer benning learned la in mexico city that foreign troops under van hassek were poised along the rio grande for an invasion ol of the united 1 states he be succeeded la in gaining the fi confide confidence c e of emcke and bravot two enemy belore returning to fc CHAPTER VIII captain franklin boll in command and of two outpost companies of th lith united states infantry in ithe the vicinity of laredo had patrols along the rio rid grande watching for at the first van hassek wave word ahad bad flashed through of the bombing of f san antonio and boll knew that me e land invasion must be shaping itself elf already for a vital blow at texas when daylight came colonel denn had spent a fretful night well knowing the tight pinch in which he might find his regiment at dawn his regiment was at P peace bace strength rifle c companies ompa nies running as low as seventy total strength 1132 officers and men no artillery support had been sent him from fort sam houston his only supporting weapons were the 37 millimeter and small mortars of his weapons companies his ammunition supply was less than one day of fire L such a thing as interdicting interdict ing suspected acted points of enemy river crossing ing was out of the question he had given boll in outpost eight machine guns and some light mortars lightning flashed in the distance A shrill screech came plowing through the night high explosives crashed in to turn night into bedlam fragments found a victim who fell with a howl of pain the crew of a machine gun was dropped men scattered lay flat on their faces helpless against this hurricane of destruction that howled down upon them across the rio grande all existence was now engulfed by the seething uproar of artillery boll saw that the regiment was claiming the fullest force of van hassels Has rage half an hour and bolls casualties were twenty patrols had been sighted an increasing number of skulk ers were reported closing in boll saw that his position was becoming untenable xe he started his men slowly to the rear with two squads covering his withdrawal the enemy suspicious of a possible trap in the night followed cautiously from this boll guessed that only the first scattering bridgehead troops were in in action but having guessed that the americans were without benefit of artillery the van hassek officers now would use the main bridge and move across the rio grande in force boll had covered less than two hundred yards when a runner arrived from colonel denn the colonel says get back as fast as you can the messenger panted regiment is pulling out right away for the nieces nueces half an hour later boll panted into the regimental posit position iop captain march assistant plans plan and training officer came hurrying up from a vacated regimental position regiment pulled out twenty minutes ago march reported to boll youre to follow at once as rear guard trucks are ready behind this hill colonel denn left you some baldo liers of extra ammunition but we ought to get back of the nueces nieces before we fight second division is taking position somewhere back there hurry your men along captain by jamming his men seventeen to the truck boll got his command on wheels two trucks went to the wounded one to his three remaining machine guns he studied the luminous dial of his watch an anxious scowl on his face as his convoy made ready to pull out the hour was a little past three A plane shot overhead traveling high and fast its shrilling motors sent a chill chili down the captains spine be just too bad for us if were not at the nueces nieces by daylight he muttered to captain march and with light due in half an hour im afraid we just cant make it major general brill area commander kept his head through tangled hours whose crises might have installment EIGHT washington Flag will acting chief of military intelligence told him that force e nere also reported massing in the mediterranean medie and the far east benning continued to pose as an enemy agent when fincke later appeared in the capital without warning tour four southern cities were attacked from the air wash put an officer of lesser mettle in a dizzy whirl inventory disclosed that the second division had escaped the sudden storm with loss of forty odd cargo trucks seventeen men five officers and two pieces of artillery having given the second its orders to assemble and march on kirk brill set about his final tactical plans from time to time brill and his staff were interrupted by reports of air disasters over new orleans galveston and houston total losses there aggregated twelve hundred general brill directed his senior aide to get general hague at washington on the long distance the hour was nearing three when the chief of staff of the army reported ready to talk my best judgment is to pull out of here brill said after he had reported latest developments in texas were too thin to make a fight for san antonio but we can do some good delaying back of the colorado and brazos while you get troops enough into the fort worth country to make a stand the hague voice responded with quiet firmness proceed at once against the enemy brill and make a stand in front of san antonio with your second division brill groaned but hague are you sure you understand the whole situation down here its simply inviting a lot of nasty losses to no purpose I 1 force enough to lets not debate the matter general hague interrupted stoutly stoutly Is that clear brill perfectly sir there was neither remonstrance nor equivocation in the area commanders voice now in a calm voice brill repeated the hague decision to his staff he offered no comment without speaking the staff went to work on its new plan circling to the south brill found the due south road to kirk which was under military traffic control and sped to the village where he found general mole division commander mole was a thin bit of military hickory now nearing retirement age general mole received his superiors battle orders with a monosyllable of acquiescence as if to hoard his jaded energies and promptly set to work with his staff the division staff was familiar with the country and made prompt plans for organization of a defensive position orders were ready within half an hour an and d S since ince there was no enemy immediately me d lately in prospect the regiments proceeded to their positions in their cargo trucks general brill stood in the growing dawn gravely watching the second pass out to its battle lines A force of 10 enlisted men and two warrant 0 officers fri cers led by officers As captain boll sprang into his station wagon with his lieutenants and sped to the head of his truck column to set the pace his eye caught the flash of light that turned the waning night into day some miles ahead of him step on herl he barked at his driver spot us in a minute and were still in artillery range boll sat with hands gripping his knees while he observed the bursts luckily they were striking to the right and doing no damage but shortly the firing ceased the air observer roared by again with a flare and rushed off to radio correction to the distant gunners he saw that there was the first touch of gray in the air dawn only a matter of minutes it would be a miracle if he reached the nueces nieces with halt half of his men and trucks As the night thinned out he caught overhead the flock was growing ington was heavily bombed jid a the president killed in th thu tha a assault national forces were ordered mobilized but the army was III prepared to repulse the well trained and equipped emmy columns which were about to advance against them now continue with the lie story the distant hum ol of this new menace boll broke out the glass windows of his station wagon with the butt of his automatic he thrust his head out and peered into the sky planes were circling overhead like so many mad wasps waiting the instant of better visibility there was as not long to wait As night shed its last veil the war falcons swooped one at a time to pluck the in little caravan to bits with their talons of steel men in the trucks opened fire with their rifles but the attacking planes flew with the speed of the wind they dashed low pumping bullets from hot machine guns releasing their fragmentation bombs and in a twinkling were gone then back they came one at a time at irregular intervals to plaster the road with their fury overhead the flock was growing fourteen planes he estimated T two vo squadrons force enough to tear him to pieces bit by bit unless miracles of good fortune and bad marksmanship attended him along the red course to the nueces nieces inevitably dropping down time after time without other hindrance than the random fire of his riflemen the airmen would take their relentless toll A truck went out the third one back from boll it cracked up across the road under impact of a bomb the driver slumped dead in in his seat men piled out and began scattering out of the storm boll stopped his car ran back to straighten out the snarl three planes zoomed down his column knifing the road he saw two of his men fall he gave instructions to a sergeant and two corporals they were to pass word down the column hereafter stricken trucks were to be shoved to the side of the road survivors and wounded distributed to other trucks as they passed along all were to act promptly on their own initiative boll ran back to his station wagon leaped in the car was vibrating with the gentle motion of idling motors A shout went up from the men in bolls truck A plane crashed out of the sky and changed into the gray earth it burst instantly into flames bolls riflemen had claimed another bird in this unequal clash but the next instant brought red retaliation another truck nosed off the road in a crush of wounded men and dead boll saw the survivors act promptly to extricate themselves gather up the maimed and flag down succeeding vehicles the village of encinal flashed by boll shook his head and swore bitterly encinal told him that he had little more than started on his long desperate run next would come artesia wells which would be little more than halfway to the nueces nieces he looked at his watch and saw the hour was short of six he groaned and passed a tormented hand across his face misgivings struck him of making it through his mind made a hasty calculation at their rate of kill those vultures would tear his column to pieces before he could run under the dubious cover ahead decision snapped in his mind as he saw a new night flight swarming into the fight the birdmen birdeen were traveling high but heading straight into the conflict more than twenty more planes he guessed in the daze of tragic discovery his eye raced over the terrain there were mesquite juniper thickets some rugged dwarf pine scattered his men would have refuge until van hassels Has columns wheeled up lie he roared an order to stop the truck and leaped to the ground the unwounded men with him he instructed ted to keep up their rifle fire standing beside the road he signaled a halt motioned the command to de truck ITO BE CONTINUED |