Excerpt: ...of troops that surrounded a single man, the lads stared in astonishment, and then they, too, broke into a loud laugh. There, right in the foremost trench and therefore in the more danger from the enemy's fire, a tall, lank Englishman lay, stretched at full length upon the ground. His arms were above his head, and he appeared to be resting in perfect comfort, at peace with the world. But it was something that protruded from the legs of his army trousers that had caused the merriment of the troops gathered about. The lanky Englishman had removed his puttees and exposed to the view of the astonished Frenchmen two silk-clad feet, and red silk at that. "Great Scott!" exclaimed Hal. "Silk socks! and in this weather!" "Silk socks," said Chester, "are clearly against the army regulations." They approached closer. Now the lanky Englishman sat up, and apparently unconscious of the gaze of the troops about him, produced a nice leather box, opened it, extracted an instrument, and proceeded to manicure his nails. He did it coolly and paid no attention whatever to those about him. "Well!" said Hal. "What do you think of that?" "That's the best I have seen yet," said Chester, laughing. The lads pushed through the crowd of curious French soldiers and soon were in the midst of the British. They approached a sergeant. "What sort of a freak is this?" asked Hal, indicating the long Englishman. "By Jove!" exclaimed the sergeant. "You're English, aren't you?" "Yes," replied Hal. "But who is this gentleman with the manicure set?" The sergeant smiled. "That," he said, "is His Lordship." "'His Lordship'? But what's his name?" "Well, I have forgotten his name. We all call him 'His Lordship.'" "But why do you permit all this funny business?" The sergeant shrugged his shoulders. "What can I do?" he exclaimed. "If I forbid one thing he bobs up with something else. Look at him! He's the laziest man I ever saw. We named him 'His Lordship' the moment of his arrival in our midst,...

Excerpt: ...of troops that surrounded a single man, the lads stared in astonishment, and then they, too, broke into a loud laugh. There, right in the foremost trench and therefore in the more danger from the enemy's fire, a tall, lank Englishman lay, stretched at full length upon the ground. His arms were above his head, and he appeared to be resting in perfect comfort, at peace with the world. But it was something that protruded from the legs of his army trousers that had caused the merriment of the troops gathered about. The lanky Englishman had removed his puttees and exposed to the view of the astonished Frenchmen two silk-clad feet, and red silk at that. "Great Scott!" exclaimed Hal. "Silk socks! and in this weather!" "Silk socks," said Chester, "are clearly against the army regulations." They approached closer. Now the lanky Englishman sat up, and apparently unconscious of the gaze of the troops about him, produced a nice leather box, opened it, extracted an instrument, and proceeded to manicure his nails. He did it coolly and paid no attention whatever to those about him. "Well!" said Hal. "What do you think of that?" "That's the best I have seen yet," said Chester, laughing. The lads pushed through the crowd of curious French soldiers and soon were in the midst of the British. They approached a sergeant. "What sort of a freak is this?" asked Hal, indicating the long Englishman. "By Jove!" exclaimed the sergeant. "You're English, aren't you?" "Yes," replied Hal. "But who is this gentleman with the manicure set?" The sergeant smiled. "That," he said, "is His Lordship." "'His Lordship'? But what's his name?" "Well, I have forgotten his name. We all call him 'His Lordship.'" "But why do you permit all this funny business?" The sergeant shrugged his shoulders. "What can I do?" he exclaimed. "If I forbid one thing he bobs up with something else. Look at him! He's the laziest man I ever saw. We named him 'His Lordship' the moment of his arrival in our midst,...

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“Feels pretty good to be back in harness, doesn’t it, Hal?” asked Chester, as, accompanied by a small body of men, they rode slowly along. “Great!” replied his friend enthusiastically. “And it looks as if we were to see action soon.” “Yes, it does look that way.” The little body of British troopers, only forty-eight of them all told, with Hal Paine and Chester Crawford as their guides, were reconnoitering ten miles in advance of the main army along the river Marne in the great war between Germany and the allied armies. For several hours they had been riding slowly without encountering the enemy, when, suddenly, as the little squad topped a small hill and the two boys gained an unobstructed view of the little plain below, Hal pulled up his horse with an exclamation.

Did you ever see such a mob, Hal? The speaker was an American lad of some seventeen years of age. He stopped in his walk as he spoke and grasped his companion by the arm. The latter allowed his gaze to rove over the thousands upon thousands of people who thronged the approach to the king's palace at Rome, before he replied:

Frank Chadwick jumped from a chair in the front window and ran toward the door. A form had swung from the sidewalk along the drive that marked the entrance to Lord Hasting's London home and at sight of it Frank had uttered an exclamation. Now, as the figure climbed the steps, Frank flung open the door. "Jack!" he exclaimed with outstretched hand. "I feared something had happened, you have been gone so long and we had heard nothing of you." "I'm perfectly whole," laughed Jack, grasping his friend's hand. "Why, I've been gone less than two weeks."

"Boom! Boom!" Thus spoke the two forward guns on the little scout cruiser H.M.S. Sylph, Lord Hasting, commander. "A hit!" cried Jack, who, from his position in the pilot house, had watched the progress of the missiles hurled at the foe. "Good work!" shouted Frank, his excitement so great that he forgot the gunners were unable to hear him. "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The rain fell in torrents over the great battlefield, as Hal Paine and Chester Crawford, taking advantage of the inky blackness of the night, crept from the shelter of the American trenches that faced the enemy across "No Man's Land." In the trenches themselves all was silence. To a spectator it would have seemed that the occupants were, either dead or asleep; yet such was not the case. It is true that most of the men had "turned in" for the night, sleeping on their arms, for there was no means of telling at what moment the enemy might issue from his trenches in another of the night raids that had marked this particular sector for the last few weeks; but the ever vigilant sentinels stood watch over the sleeping men. They would sound an alarm, should occasion demand, in ample time to arouse the sleepers if an enemy's head appeared in the darkness. Hal and Chester, of course, left the American trenches with full knowledge of these sentinels; otherwise they might have been shot. Once beyond the protecting walls of earth, they moved swiftly and silently toward the German trenches less than a hundred feet away—just the distance from the home plate to first base on a baseball diamond, as Hal put it—ninety feet.

A great, long, gray shape moved swiftly through the waters of the Thames. Smoke, pouring from three different points in the middle of this great shape, ascended, straight in the air some distance, then, caught by the wind, drifted westward. It was growing dark. Several hours before, this ocean greyhound—one of Great Britain's monster sea-fighters—had up-anchored and left her dock—where she had been undergoing slight repairs—heading eastward down the river. Men lined the rails of the monster ship. These were her crew—or some of her crew, to be exact—for the others were engaged in duties that prevented them from waving to the crowds that thronged the shore—as did the men on deck. Sharp orders carried across the water to the ears of those on shore. The officers were issuing commands. Men left the rail and disappeared from the view of the spectators as they hurried to perform their duties. Came several sharp blasts of the vessel's siren; a moment later her speed increased and as she slid easily through the waters of the river, a cheer went up from both shores.

"War has been declared, mother!" shouted Hal, as closely followed by his friend, Chester Crawford, he dashed into the great hotel in Berlin, where the three were stopping, and made his way through the crowd that thronged the lobby to his mother's side. "Yes, mother, it's true," continued Hal, seeing the look of consternation on Mrs. Paine's face. "The Kaiser has declared war upon France!" Mrs. Paine, who had risen to her feet at her son's entrance, put her hand upon the back of her chair to steady herself, and her face grew pale. "Can it be?" she said slowly. "After all these years, can it be possible that millions of men will again fly at each other's throats? Is it possible that Europe will again be turned into a battlefield?"

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

“What’s that below, Hal?” The speaker was Chester Crawford, an American lad of some 16 years. Hal Paine allowed his eyes to turn from the steering wheel and glanced over the side of the flying aëroplane. “I don’t see anything,” he replied, after a careful scrutiny below. “Neither do I, now,” said Chester, straining his eyes. At this moment the third occupant of the machine made his presence known. “Woof! Woof!” he exclaimed. The third speaker was Marquis, a dog. “Woof! Woof!” he barked again. Hal, with a quick move, slackened the speed of the aëroplane, and let it glide gently closer to the earth. “Must be something wrong,” he confided to Chester, “or Marquis wouldn’t be barking like that.”

Product Description: "[...]time as they would be physically in shape again. Now Jack Templeton, although young in years, was wise in the ways of the world. Also he was of huge stature and as strong as an ox, as he had proved more than once when put to the test...read more

"[...] "No, I'm not sticking up for them; but they do things we seem to be afraid to do. To my way of thinking, we should have gone and cleaned up Heligoland a long time ago." "By Jove! You want the enemy to win this war quickly, don't you?" "No, but——" "Come, now. You know very well what would have happened if we had tried to take a fleet into Heligoland. They would have blown us out of the water."[...]".

Product Description: "[...]after us, so I guess it behooves us to get away from here as soon as possible.” “I guess you are right,” Chester acquiesced. Once more the aëroplane straightened itself out on its course and, flying high–absolutely hidden from the ground by a dense mass of black clouds that seemed to spring up as if by magic–sped on...read more

Product Description: "[...] Hal thanked the captain, and made his way home alone. As he moved up the steps he was startled to see a shadowy figure lurking in the doorway. His hand dropped to his pocket, and he advanced cautiously. "Don't be afraid...read more

Product Description: This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

Product Description: "What I would like to know," said Frank Chadwick, "is just how long England intends to put up with the activities of the German submarines in the waters surrounding the British Isles." "How long?" echoed Jack Templeton. "Surely you know that England is already conducting a vigorous campaign against them...read more