Herbert Strang

“ The great iron-foundries were silent; no glare from the furnaces lit the sky.
"Belgium is paying a heavy price," thought Kenneth.
They crossed the silent bridge in the moonlight, crossed the Namur road and the railway beyond, and had just reached the road leading through Waremme and Louvain to Brussels when the sound of voices on their right caused them to shrink back behind a hedge. Peering out they saw a patrol of some twenty-five Uhlans riding past at a foot pace.
"We shall have to go across the fields," whispered Pariset, when the horsemen had gone by. "We dare not pass them. ”

“ Pariset instantly started his engine. But before the aeroplane was aloft, the airship appeared in the distant sky, like a torpedo of the air. There was a certain fascination in its swift and steady approach, growing bigger and bigger to the sight. Its course would bring it within half a mile of the portable sheds; perhaps its object was to destroy the Belgian aeroplanes.
Having a reasonable respect for the Zeppelin's machine guns, Pariset at first kept well away from its course. He bore to the east, so as to avoid a direct meeting with it, and to get between it and its base. ”

“ At seven o'clock next morning, equipped with the needful apparatus, they ascended from their headquarters in the Taube monoplane, took an easterly course, then swung southward and passed between the Flemelle and Boncelles forts. It was a beautiful summer morning. The country was bathed in sunlight, and no warlike sounds disturbed the still air. But south of the town clouds of dust hung over every road, and they caught sight of masses of men moving northward, the sun glinting on weapons and the spikes of helmets. Pariset, in the observer's seat, felt sick at heart. ”

“ Over the Meuse, which wound like a silver streak four thousand feet beneath them, there appeared to be a number of pontoon bridges. Every road was a continuous stream of moving objects. Far away to the right they heard at times, above the whirr and hum of the engine, the dull boom of heavy guns ”

“ The Belgians dismounted, and part of them advanced, the lieutenant at their head with revolver pointed, the men covering the fugitives with their rifles.
"You are our prisoners," said the officer in bad German.
"Charmed, my dear sir," replied Granger in excellent French. "Contrary to appearances, we are not Germans, but Englishmen."
"Ah bah!" snorted the lieutenant. "You wear German uniforms."
"L'habit ne fait pas le moine," said Granger with a smile. "The fact is as I state it: we are Englishmen who have escaped from Cologne."
"The aeroplane is German," the officer persisted. ”

“ The men all looked dead tired, and took little or no notice of the car as it passed at increased speed. A few minutes later they skirted the chateau of Hamoir, then ascended a steep hill, the engine knocking alarmingly, and rushing through the village of Louveigne suddenly came in sight of an immense military encampment. Far to left and right of the road stretched the lines of the Germans encircling Liége. Tents, carts, caissons, batteries of artillery, men on horse and on foot extended as far as the eye could reach. ”

“ Pariset had accepted Kenneth's suggestion with delight. The problem, they agreed, was twofold: they had first to deal with the escort, then with the guns--if they were guns. When they soared away over the meadow they had formed a clear idea of the means by which they would attempt to solve it.
Making a wide sweep, east, north, and west, they approached the causeway south of the spot where the breakdown had occurred. The sight of a Taube monoplane flying obliquely over the road aroused curiosity but no suspicion in the minds of the Germans. ”

“ A few minutes later an acute buzzing was heard in the air, then there was a thunderous roar, the whole place trembled, and the outer slope of the fort was smothered in a cloud of stones, dust, and black smoke. Montoisy looked grave, and hurried to the arcade under which the commandant was sheltering. As he stood talking with him, a shell which, judging from its size, weighed nearly a ton burst near by, bringing down a shower of shattered masonry, and wounding the commandant.
"Close the cupola," he signalled. "Every man take shelter." ”

“ Pariset banked the aeroplane steeply and wheeled round. As it passed again over the causeway, Kenneth dropped another bomb, which fell close to the first. The men on foot were rushing wildly up the road; on the open fields there was no cover. Most of the troopers had mounted; some had seized their rifles and were firing. But the sight of the aeroplane wheeling again struck them with panic, and with a shout they dashed after their comrades, galloping across the fields. ”

“ A man who spoke such good French must be a German spy! He took up the receiver of a field telephone. Ascertaining that an aide de camp was at the other end of the wire he said:
"Two men, one in police, the other in military uniform, German, have landed from a Taube monoplane west of Liers. They say they are English, but they are clearly German spies. I await orders."
The prisoners, who had heard all, watched his face grimly set as he held the receiver to his ear.
"It's extraordinary, the persistence of a fixed idea," said Granger in a low tone to Kenneth. ”

“ There's a big farm in a hamlet a quarter-mile up the road. Rumpelmeyer was shot near there, so we routed out all the men in the place except the farmer, who escaped. As soon as he is rounded up we are going to shoot the lot."
They rumbled on into the hamlet, and pulled up at the gate of the farm. The terrified villagers were penned up like cattle in the farmyard, guarded by a dozen Uhlans. A few women at the wall, imploring the Germans to have mercy, were answered with brutal jeers.
"A dirty herd!" said the trooper on the wagon. "Why don't you shoot them at once?" ”

“ Every day they heard of fresh advances of the Teuton hordes, of gallant deeds by the sorely tried little army of Belgium. Every day they saw pallid, nerve-shaken, wounded refugees flocking in from Tirlemont and other places desolated by German shot and shell.
Pariset was much depressed.
"We shall cease to exist," he said one day. "The brutes will destroy us all. They are ruthless. They are fiends. What have we done that we should suffer so?"
"Cheer up, old man," said Kenneth. ”

“ The aeroplane followed up the fugitives. Owing to its speed, Pariset had to steer a zigzag course in order not to overtake them. Each time it wheeled he contrived to bring it close behind the rearmost horseman, like a sheep dog driving a flock, and Kenneth dropped a bomb to hurry the pace.
They kept up the chase for some minutes; then, there being no sign of rallying, they darted back to the causeway, where the traction engines and lorries now stood deserted. The level field on one side afforded a good alighting place. ”

“ After repeated blows it was evident that the chain was unbreakable.
"What on earth is to be done?" cried Kenneth, looking helplessly at the carts, while Pariset and Granger kept on the watch for any sign of the enemy returning. A shot from the machine gun would probably be ineffective, even at short range; the bullet would hardly dent the chain, much less shatter it and release the carts. ”

“ Locating the aeroplane park with some difficulty, considerably to the westward of its former position, Kenneth at length brought the machine to the ground. The air quivered with the shock of artillery fire; the noise was incessant.
"What is the news?" asked Pariset of a comrade who had come up to greet him.
"They are shelling us with heavy guns, and devoting particular attention to Fort Loncin, where General Leman is," was the reply. "And it is said that they have got into the town. The people are making off in crowds.... You have had a knock!" ”

“ We must meet craft with craft. If we could only reconnoitre the mill we might be able to hit upon a plan. My uniform would give me away, if I approached the place as I am; you could no doubt lend me some clothes to disguise myself?"
"Surely, monsieur; but----"
He broke off, eyeing Pariset's face, with its small military moustache, doubtfully.
At this moment they heard the rumble of a heavy vehicle on the road.
"It is the beer, compère," said the farmer, glancing out of the window.
"Ah! the beer!" repeated the miller. "I might have known they were Germans! ”

“ His mocking smile and ironical tone brought a flush to Kenneth's cheeks.
"I don't want any private information to know what England will do," cried the boy.
"True, the public information is conclusive. England is helpless; she suffers from an internal complaint; she is breaking up."
"That will do, Kurt," said Finkelstein, anticipating an explosive word from Kenneth, who was quick-tempered, and apt to fall out with Hellwig. "Really, Ken, you will be safer at home, and if you don't go now you will lose your chance; all the trains will be required for the troops." ”

“ After a hurried discussion--for the Zeppelin might return at any moment--the two airmen decided to get a number of bombs with time fuses, and to fix in front of the pilot's seat a small petrol lamp, sheltering it from the wind by a zinc screen that would almost enclose it; the fuse could be lit from this.
"It won't be wise to trust to bombs exploding by contact," he explained. "They might miss the mark, big as it is; and the envelope of the airship is so fragile that it is quite possible for a bomb to pass through it without exploding." ”

“ You've thrown the German war machine out of gear, and I bet you you've smashed their chances. Lord Kitchener is raising a great army. The Kaiser scoffs at our men; he'll sing a different tune some day. I'm going home, Remi, going to join Kitchener's army. Sorry to leave you, old man, but we'll meet again, never fear, perhaps soon, perhaps not until British, French and Belgians meet the Russians in Berlin. And when the war is over, you may be sure that gallant little Belgium will rise like the phoenix, and grow stronger and more prosperous than ever."
Four days later Kenneth was in London. ”

“ Where does it lead to?"
"To Durbuy, I think," said Granger. "There's a bridge across the Ourthe. The Germans may be there; they move so confoundedly fast; but that's our only chance of reaching the Belgian lines."
In a few minutes they reached the by-road to the left. It was narrow, but, to Kenneth's joy, not so deeply rutted as the main road. He was getting the utmost out of the car, which thundered along at forty miles an hour, the engine knocking furiously whenever it was called upon to breast an incline. ”

“ Smoke ascended from innumerable travelling kitchens. Horsemen were riding this way and that: a motor cyclist was dashing away to the east.
When this spectacle flashed upon the view, Kenneth slowed down. His face was pale.
"Push through and trust to luck?" he said to Granger at his side.
"There's nothing else for it, with pursuers hot on our track," replied Granger. "Speed about ten miles, but be ready to let her out."
They went on. Curious glances were thrown at them by troops of cavalry off-saddled by the roadside. Uhlans in an armoured car! They must be on special service. ”

“ Pariset remarked. "The Germans don't scruple to wear Belgian uniform, or to dress as civilians; nothing makes them more angry than that we should do the same."
"And they know it was their own Taube, purloined at Cologne," said Kenneth. "You may be sure they are particularly incensed at that."
"We are outstripping them," said Pariset a few moments later. "The sounds are fainter."
"The question is, what shall we find at the other side of the wood? If open fields, we shan't stand a dog's chance against their rifles. ”

“ At the prospect of a spy hunt they pricked their horses to a gallop, and set off in chase of the car, now almost out of sight.
"The German camp is in this direction, you told us?" said Kenneth to Granger.
"Yes; there is a by-road just before we reach it. The enemy are not likely to be coming towards us."
The road was heavy and deeply rutted from the recent passage of cumbrous transport wagons and artillery. Kenneth found the acceleration of the car slow, and in any case the weight of the armour with which its vital parts were protected would have rendered it incapable of high speed. ”

“ Everything was swift and systematic; the troops, though a little hazy as to their destination, were in high spirits; the war would soon be over, they assured their anxious friends.
It was all very new and exciting to Kenneth Amory, who had only vague memories of the English mobilisation for the South African war, when he was a child of four. His father had founded, with Max Finkelstein, an Anglo-German business which had attained great dimensions. Finkelstein controlled the German headquarters at Cologne; Amory looked after things in London. ”

“ Pariset answered. "You are a scout?"
"Yes; a troop of Chasseurs are a mile or two south. Have you seen anything of the enemy?"
"A number of Uhlans are riding up the Waremme road."
"How many?"
"Twenty-five or so."
"Are they riding fast?"
"No; at a walking pace."
"Then we will capture them. I will ride on to the road and keep my eye on them. You hurry along the lane and tell our men to hurry. There is no time to be lost."
Willing enough to do something, even at this last moment, for the common cause, Kenneth and Pariset hurried along the lane. ”