The Boy Allies with Marshal Foch; or, The Closing Days of the Great World War Read online

  Produced by Al Haines.

  Cover art]

  Before either lad could produce a weapon, a shrill voicecried in German: "Hands up, there!" Page 25]

  Title page]

  *The Boy Allies*

  *With Marshal Foch*

  OR

  The Closing Days of the Great World War

  By CLAIR W. HAYES

  AUTHOR OF "The Boy Allies With the Army Series"

  A. L. BURT COMPANY NEW YORK

  Copyright, 1919 By A. L. BURT COMPANY

  THE BOY ALLIES WITH MARSHAL FOCH

  *THE BOY ALLIES*

  *(Registered in the United States Patent Office)*

  *WITH THE ARMY SERIES*

  *By Clair W. Hayes*

  The Boy Allies at Liege or, Through Lines of Steel

  The Boy Allies on the Firing Line or, Twelve Days Battle along the Marne

  The Boy Allies with the Cossacks or, A Wild Dash over the Carpathians

  The Boy Allies in the Trenches or, Midst Shot and Shell along the Aisne

  The Boy Allies in Great Peril or, With the Italian Army in the Alps

  The Boy Allies in the Balkan Campaign or, The Struggle to Save a Nation

  The Boy Allies on the Somme or, Courage and Bravery Rewarded

  The Boy Allies at Verdun or, Saving France from the Enemy

  The Boy Allies under the Stars and Stripes or, Leading the AmericanTroops to the Firing Line

  The Boy Allies with Haig in Flanders or, The Fighting Canadians of VimyRidge

  The Boy Allies with Pershing in France or, Over the Top atChateau-Thierry

  The Boy Allies with the Great Advance or, Driving the Enemy throughFrance and Belgium

  The Boy Allies with Marshal Foch or, The Closing Days of The Great WorldWar.

  *CONTENTS*

  CHAPTER

  I. Good News II. Through the Lines III. Among the Enemy IV. Chester is Indiscreet V. An Enemy Plot Bared VI. An Encounter VII. The Advance VIII. Toward Sedan IX. The Battle X. The Advance Continues XI. A New Mission XII. Hal Meets an Obstacle XIII. Chester to the Rescue XIV. The Closing of the Net XV. The Capture of Sedan XVI. An Unexpected Honor XVII. Stubbs Again XVIII. A Message from the Enemy XIX. Hirson XX. The German Envoys Arrive XXI. Stubbs' Scoop XXII. Spa XXIII. The Kaiser Abdicates XXIV. In Trouble Again XXV. A Battle XXVI. The Conference Resumed XXVII. Stubbs Redeems Himself XXVIII. The End draws near XXIX. The Last Zero XXX. Conclusion

  *THE BOY ALLIES WITH MARSHAL FOCH*

  *CHAPTER I*

  *GOOD NEWS*

  "Heard the news, Hal?" asked Chester excitedly as he dashed into thesmall but comfortable dugout where the two boys were quartered with theThirty-second division of American troops a few miles to the east ofRheims.

  "No," replied Hal Paine, "what news?"

  "Austria has sued for peace; it's the beginning of the end."

  "Rats!" said Frank. "I've heard that before. I guess you're a bitpremature, Chester."

  "Not a bit of it," declared Major Chester Crawford emphatically. "I hadthe news from Colonel O'Neil himself. He says Austria has madeovertures for an armistice, looking toward a permanent peace."

  "Oh, an armistice," said Major Paine. "That's a horse of anothercolor."

  "But it means peace soon," protested Chester.

  "It might ordinarily," Hal agreed, "but you must remember that dealingwith enemies such as we have now, there is no telling what may happen.I don't know so much about the Austrians, but the Germans are atreacherous lot, and I've no doubt that long association with men ofthat ilk has taught the Austrians a thing or two. No, Chester, take myword for it, there is nothing to your news. Even if the Austrians havemade such overtures, you may be sure there is a trick in it some place."

  "By Jove! You're an optimistic sort, aren't you?" said Chester.

  "Well," said Hal. "I'm not quite as credulous as you seem to be.Besides, why should Austria sue for peace now? It's true that she isgetting the worst of the argument, as is Germany; but to my mind she isa long way from being compelled to throw up the sponge. Then, too, shewouldn't have the nerve to leave Germany in the lurch."

  "All the same, I'm taking the news for true," declared Chester.

  Hal shrugged his shoulders.

  "To whom were these overtures addressed?" he asked at length.

  "To President Wilson."

  "Is that so? Well, it would seem that the Austrians had looked to theproper place. It would seem they knew who, perhaps, would let them downthe easiest."

  "But they won't be let down easily," said Chester. "What's the matterwith you anyhow? You know as well as I do that they must make fullreparation for the ruin they have caused."

  "Exactly," said Hal, "which is the reason I say that no such overtureshave been made; or if they have, they were prompted by some hiddenmotive."

  "Personally," said Chester, "I don't care what you think. You are soconfounded wise it's a wonder General Pershing hasn't resigned in yourfavor."

  "Come, now, Chester," replied Hal. "Don't get sore. Can't you take alittle joke?"

  "I don't call that much of a joke. I came with a piece of news Ithought you would be anxious to hear, and all you've done is scoff."

  "Never mind," said Hal. "Personally, as I have said, I am inclined tothe belief that you are all wrong, but at the same time I hope you areright. However, time will tell."

  Chester was about to reply, but the sound of hurried footsteps withoutrestrained him. A moment later there was a knock at the door.

  "Come in," called Hal.

  A lieutenant, whom the lads recognized as attached to Colonel O'Neil'sstaff, entered and came to attention.

  "What is it, lieutenant?" asked Chester.

  "Colonel O'Neil desires your presence in his quarters at once, sir,"replied the lieutenant; "and, Major Paine also."

  "We shall follow you at once, lieutenant," said Hal, reaching for hishelmet, which lay on his cot.

  The lieutenant saluted again, turned on his heel and departed. Hal andChester followed him a few moments later.

  "I thought it was about time we had something to do," said Hal as theyhurried along.

  "Right," Chester agreed. "We've been pretty quiet for the last week. Ishall be glad to get busy again."

  "Here too."

  Hal Paine and Chester Crawford, natives of a small Illinois town, hadbeen chums from early childhood. Together they had gone to school,toured the lumber country of the northwest where Hal's father ownedlarge tracts of land; travelled extensively, and fought and played. Soclose had they been in their school days that their companions haddubbed them "The Boy Allies." More than one lad of more mature yearshad found to his sorrow that when he "picked on" one of them he had twoto contend with.

  At the outbreak of the great European war Hal and Chester were in Berlinwith the former's mother. They were caught there by the Germanmobilization, and in attempting to get out of the Ge
rman capitol, wereseparated from Mrs. Paine. Thrown thus upon their own resources, thetwo lads gave the first evidence of that resourcefulness which later wasto stand them in good stead.

  They joined forces with a French and an English officer and, afterconsiderable excitement and adventure, reached the Belgian frontier justin time to be with the forces of King Albert when they made theirdesperate but futile stand at Liege.

  In an unofficial capacity, the boys were able to render some littleassistance to the Belgian commander, and later, through the latter'sefforts, were permitted to join the Belgian forces. Several monthslater they found themselves commissioned lieutenants.

  Hal and Chester had seen active service in all the theaters of war.They were with the British in France and Flanders; they served underGeneral Joffre and under General Petain, French commanders, at the firstbattle of Verdun, when the German advance was checked just as it seemedthe enemy must break through to Paris. They fought with the Cossacks onthe eastern front, with the Italians in the Alps and with the Serbiansand Montenegrins in the Balkans.

  At the time the United States declared war on Germany, Hal and Chesterwere captains in the service of King George of England, serving at thetime under Field Marshal Haig. With other Americans in the allied army,however, they were selected to return to the United States, where forsome months they lent invaluable service to Uncle Sam in drilling rawrecruits at the army training camps.

  Such excellent reputations had they won, however, that when the firstAmerican expeditionary force sailed for France, Hal and Chester foundthemselves among them. Since their return, they had taken active partsin the American advance. They had been with the Marines atChateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood; they had been with the heroicThirty-second division which had won undying fame in the Argonne forest,where the American forces had been all but annihilated under the Germanfire.

  Now they had been resting for several days.

  The turning point in the great war had come and gone. The full power ofAmerican might was making itself felt on the western battle front, wherethe Yankee troops time and again had proved themselves the masters ofthe best the German emperor had to offer. The tide had turned atChateau-Thierry in the early summer, and from that time on theAmericans, under the leadership of "Black Jack" Pershing, had pressedtheir advantage at every opportunity.

  To the unprejudiced observer it was apparent that the Germans werealready beaten. True, they might fight on for days, weeks or months,but their offensive power had been broken by the million and moreAmericans who had been hurled against them. There was nothing at themoment to indicate that the German emperor, his advisors, or the Germanpeople, were willing to cry for peace, but it was plain that theultimate outcome was only a question of time.

  From time to time came rumors of internal disorders in Germany. These,however, could not be substantiated, and for that reason it wasimpossible to tell that Germany was on the eve of a revolution.

  Gradually the allies and the American forces had pushed their battlelines toward the east. Much of France and of Belgium, for almost fouryears occupied by the Germans, had been reclaimed. Everywhere, wherethere was fighting, the advantage rested with the allies. No longer didthe Germans dash to the attack with the impetuosity that characterizedtheir attacks in the early dawn of the war. Their morale had beenbroken.

  Even the crack Prussian Guards, the flower of the German army, had beendecisively beaten by the Americans at Chateau-Thierry. Hurled into thebattle at the last moment in an attempt to stem the advance of Americansoldiers and marines, they had proved unequal to the task. The Yankeeshad proved their masters at every turn.

  There was nothing for the Germans to do but retreat. This they did,slowly, contesting every inch of the ground. Gradually, however, theirretreat became faster, and at some places it developed into utter rout.

  Late in July of 1918 the enemy had been cleared from the greater part ofFrance and Belgium. In fact, in Alsace-Lorraine, American troops wereon German soil and threatening the strong fortresses of Metz andStrassburg. Germans had been cleared from the Argonne forest, which, inthe enemy's possession, had proved one of the greatest menaces to theallied advance.

  It appeared that the time was drawing near for a decisive blow byMarshal Foch.

  The time was to come sooner than either Hal or Chester could possiblyhave conceived, and both boys were to bear a full burden of thefighting.

  At the quarters of Colonel O'Neil, Hal and Chester waited a few momentsbefore being ushered into the former's presence. But their time cameeventually, and they hurried into Colonel O'Neil's office and stood atattention.

  Colonel O'Neil looked up.

  "Well, how do you feel, Major?" he asked of Hal.

  "Pretty well, sir."

  "Good. And you, Major Crawford?"

  "Very well, sir."

  "Good," said Colonel O'Neil again. "I'm glad to hear it, for I've animportant piece of work that must be done at once and I wouldn't feellike calling upon you unless you are perfectly fit."

  "We're perfectly fit, sir," declared Chester eagerly.

  "Draw up chairs here, then," said the colonel.

  The boys obeyed.