Ruth Fielding at the War Front; or, The Hunt for the Lost Soldier

								


Produced by Al Haines

Ruth Fielding
At the War Front

OR
THE HUNT FOR
THE LOST SOLDIER

BY
ALICE B. EMERSON
AUTHOR OF "RUTH FIELDING OF THE RED MILL," "RUTH FIELDING IN THE
SADDLE," ETC.

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 1918, by
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY

RUTH FIELDING AT THE WAR FRONT

CONTENTS

CHAPTER



     I.  TO GET ACQUAINTED

    II.  AT THE CHATEAU

   III.  A PERILOUS PROJECT

    IV.  UNDER FIRE

     V.  MOTHER GERVAISE

    VI.  THE MYSTERY

   VII.  WHERE IS TOM CAMERON?
VIII.  THE CHOCOLATE PEDDLER

    IX.  COT 24--HUT H

     X.  DEVOURING SUSPICION

    XI.  THE FLYING MAN

   XII.  AUNT ABELARD
XIII.  AN UNEXPECTED MEETING

   XIV.  MORE SACRIFICES THAN ONE

    XV.  BUBU

   XVI.  THE HOLLOW TOOTH
XVII.  THE WORST IS TOLD
XVIII.  BEARING THE BURDEN

   XIX.  ADVENTURE

    XX.  ON THE RAW EDGE OF NO MAN'S LAND

   XXI.  A NIGHT TO BE REMEMBERED
XXII.  THROUGH THE GERMAN LINES
XXIII.  THE GARDENER'S COT
XXIV.  CAPT. VON BRENNER'S SISTER

   XXV.  BACK AGAIN

RUTH FIELDING AT THE WAR FRONT

CHAPTER I
TO GET ACQUAINTED
It was a midwinter day, yet the air was balmy.  The trees were
bare-limbed but with a haze clothing them in the distance that seemed
almost that of returning verdure.  The grass, even in mid-winter,
showed green.  A bird sang lustily in the hedge.
Up the grassy lane walked a girl in the costume of the active Red Cross
worker--an intelligent looking girl with a face that, although perhaps
not perfect in form, was possessed of an expression that was alluring.
Neither observant man nor woman would have passed her, even in a crowd,
without a second glance.  There was a cheerful light in her eye and a
humorous curve to her not too-full lips that promised an uplifting
spirit within her even in serious mood.
It seemed as though this day--and its apparent peace--must breed
happiness, although it was but a respite in the middle of winter.  The
balmy air, the chirrup of the bird, the far-flung reaches of the valley
which she could see from this mounting lane, all delighted the senses
and soothed the spirit.
Suddenly, with an unexpectedness that was shocking, there was a tremor
in the air and the echo of a rumbling sound beneath the girl's feet.
The crack of a distant explosion followed.  Then another, and another,
until the sound became a continual grumble of angry explosions,
resonant and threatening.
The girl did not stop, but the expression of her face lost its
cheerfulness.  The song of the bird was cut off sharply.  It seemed as
though the sun itself began drawing a veil over his face.  The peaceful
mood of nature was shattered.
The girl kept on her way, but she no longer stepped lightly and
springily.  Those muttering guns had brought a somber cloak for her