But
strengthening his heart anew he took up the burden that had grown
heavier.
"_Auf wiedersehen,_ Lieutenant Schmidt," he said, and whistling softly
to himself he began his passage through the German lines, showing his
passport more than a dozen times before he passed the last trench and
rifle pit, and was alone among the hills behind the German lines. He
might have reached the railroad and have gone by train to Metz, but he
preferred, for the present at least, to cling to the country, even at
the risk of much physical hardship and suffering.
He still carried his blankets, and he was traveling through a region
which had been much fought over in the earlier stages of the war. Since
the German lines were still in France some peasants had returned to
their homes, but many houses were yet abandoned, their owners probably
thinking that the tide of battle would roll back upon them, and that it
was better to wait.
He turned presently from the hilly path into a good road, paved almost
like a street, and breaking from a bush a stout stick, which he used
peasant fashion as a cane, he walked briskly along the smooth surface,
now almost clear of the snow which had fallen in much smaller quantities
in the lowlands.
He met a battery of four twenty-one-centimeter guns with their numerous
crews and an escort of cavalry, advancing to the front, and he stepped
to one side of the road to let them pass.
Pages:
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164