That had been hastily strung to guard agains

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Nnonade opened up that made the ground shake and filled the air with

flying missiles of death. "Too many bass notes in it to be real good music," 
remarked Billy
with a grim. "Maybe it's the overture just before the
rising of the curtain," suggested Bart. "Perhaps it is," agreed Frank. "The Hun has got to start 
his drive some time, and this would be just the kind of morning for it. See how heavy that mist lies on the ground? We 
couldn't see the Germans at a distance of fifty yards." "It's mighty thick for a fact," observed Bart. 
"But I guess our advanced posts are on the job. They'll give us warning in plenty of
time." "Not that we need much warning as far as I can see," said Billy. "We've been ready for a 
long time to fight at the drop of a hat. I'll bet the Hun doesn't carry a foot of our line." "That's where 
you're wrong, Billy, old scout," warned Bart. "It stands to reason that he'll get away with something at 
first. You take any one

man, no matter how strong he is, and if ten fellows rush him all at once 
they're bound to drive him back at the start. The Huns have got the advantage 
of knowing where they're going to strike. We don't know and so we have to 
spread our forces
out so as to be ready to meet him at any point. Then,
too, the man who comes rushing in has the advantage of the fellow who's 
standing still because he's got momentum. That's why generals would rather 
fight on the offensive than
on the defensive. They're able to pick the time and place and the other fellow has to 
follow his lead." "I
don't see why the A