Homer Randall

“ So it happened that one evening as Frank, Bart, and Billy were strolling toward the canteen, they were both surprised and delighted to espy the long, athletic figure of their friend. Dick was no less glad to see them, and everybody for some distance around was apprised of the fact that old comrades had met once more.
"But where's Tom?" inquired Dick, after the first burst of enthusiasm was over. "I'm so used to seeing you fellows as a quartette that your sweet voices don't sound exactly correct as a trio." ”

“ I started to tell you fellows about it, and then I heard one of you shout and I didn't think of the thing again till this blessed minute."
"Well, that certainly was hard luck!" exclaimed Frank bitterly. "Ten to one that's the clue to the mystery. My hunch wasn't a false alarm after all. I've a good mind to go back right now and finish the job."
"Not on your life you won't!" said Bart decidedly. "Not if Billy and I have to hold you back by main force. Why, boy, you're crazy. Those rats have tasted blood, and they're full of fight. And then, too, we haven't any clubs to beat them off. ”

“ There were rats everywhere, an army of them, rats ahead of them and rats behind them, gathering to oust these human intruders from their domain. Singly they were contemptible opponents, but now they had the strength that came from numbers, and they knew it.
And the Army Boys knew it too. For an instant panic gripped at their hearts. The next moment they had pulled themselves together.
"Back to the trap door, fellows!" said Frank tensely. "Fast, but not too fast. Don't run. And don't shoot, or we may hit each other. Draw your revolvers and club them off with the butts." ”

“ I heard that proposed myself at a street meeting of rioters that I witnessed from the windows of my hotel. A man with a red beard was declaiming at the top of his lungs and predicting that if the people of Coblenz would rise under the red flag they could sweep the hated Americans back from the Rhine."
"A man with a red beard, did you say?" asked Frank.
"Why, yes," answered the colonel, a little amused by his earnestness. "Not that there's anything extraordinary about that, I should suppose. There are probably thousands of men with red beards in Berlin. Why do you ask?" ”

“ Lieutenant Winter came along the line and greeted Tom warmly.
"Good work you did with that spade, Bradford," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "It simply shows that in fighting it's the man more than the weapon that counts. Well, you're safe with us again, and I'm glad on my own account and for the sake of the regiment. We couldn't afford to lose a good two-fisted fighter like you. As soon as you've been to mess I'll want to see you again and question you on what you've learned while you've been a prisoner." ”

“ Their bloody work had a fit emblem in their red flag. Tom's familiarity with the language had not been great enough to understand all that was said in the conferences that he frequently overheard, though he had picked up enough to know that murder and riot were being planned on an extensive scale in the district occupied by the American Army. Some of the Germans in the mob had lived previously in America, from which they came to serve in the German Army when war had been declared and while the United States was still neutral, and these men, Tom said, were among the bitterest of all. ”

“ I have a hunch that these outsiders have come to start the same thing here."
"If they do they'll get more than they bargained for," said Bart grimly. "They'll find they're monkeying with a buzz saw. What our fellows would do to them would be a sin and a shame. But here come Tom and Billy, if I'm any sort of a guesser."
"Right you are," replied Frank, as he descried two uniformed figures approaching, their heads bent away from the icy gale which was increasing in fury as the night wore on. ”

“ From the front of the house came the sharp sound of rifle firing, and the boys hastened in that direction. On the second floor they burst into the large front room, taking completely by surprise a group of some four or five men who were sulking in the shelter of the windows. As the boys burst into the room they whirled about, only to find themselves looking into the muzzles of four vicious looking army pistols.
"Drop those guns and put up your hands," commanded Frank. All obeyed but one man, who raised his rifle to his shoulder. ”

“ Frank watched them keenly. Suddenly he saw a commotion in their ranks, and looking in the direction to which their faces had turned, he saw a body of men larger than the first coming over the snow.
"Another bunch of disbanded soldiers," he muttered anxiously, as he saw that the newcomers were Germans and had now quickened their steps in answer to the shouts and gestures of their first assailants. "Now we're up against it for fair."
"We didn't figure on tackling the whole German army," growled Tom. ”

“ Frank drew his flashlight from his pocket and flashed it about.
There was no one to be seen.
"That wall is perfectly blank," he murmured in perplexity. "Thirty feet high if it's an inch. There isn't an opening in it anywhere."
"Could they have got into the windows of the building on either side?" suggested Bart.
Frank swept the flashlight on the walls of the factories.
"Not a chance," he affirmed. "All these windows are protected with iron bars and nothing could get between them. Those fellows seem to have just melted away." ”

“ You have America in your blood."
"Yes," laughed Frank. "France is beautiful and great, but America is to me above all."
"I should think less of you if it were not so," answered Colonel Pavet. "Au revoir, then. Remember me to Madame Sheldon when you write."
With a cordial handshake they parted. The colonel vaulted into the saddle of his horse which an orderly was holding at the door, and Frank returned to his comrades, who he found busily preparing to return to Coblenz, in accordance with an order that had just come from the lieutenant. ”

“ Oh, I tell you, the Huns are great humorists!"
The eyes of the Army Boys flashed.
"The unspeakable beasts!" cried Frank.
"It would be a good thing if a plague came along and snuffed out the whole nation!" angrily exclaimed Bart.
"It might be a good thing for the rest of the world," agreed Tom. "And, by the way, speaking of plague, I don't know but what it's on the way even now. In one or two of the places I've been in there's a mysterious something that's killing off the people like sheep. ”

“ Moving with the stealth of an Indian on the trail, he crept forward until at the end of a distant corridor he found what he sought.
In a large room, lighted by a fire that blazed on the hearth and by three or four candles, were a number of men engaged in animated conversation. A glance at their features showed that all were Germans. Some of the men were in civilian clothes, but others wore old, dilapidated army uniforms.
They were a rough looking lot, and Bart saw at a glance that most of them were armed. ”

“ With these the little force of intrepid Americans rushed for the door of this last remaining stronghold. The door was of course locked, but when half a dozen vigorous young Americans charged it like so many battering rams, it gave way, and the soldiers surged forward into a large hallway. A wide staircase led upward from one side of this hall, and from an upper landing a spiteful rain of bullets zipped about the Americans. One fell, but the others, led by the big sergeant, rushed up the staircase, emptying their pistols as they went. ”

“ They flung themselves down on the river bank one afternoon to rest after an unusually exciting game of ball when they had just managed to nose out their opponents in the ninth inning.
"Beautiful river, isn't it?" remarked Frank, his eyes following the windings of the Rhine, visible there for many miles in either direction.
"Oh, the country's pretty enough," conceded Bart grudgingly. "It's the people in it that I object to."
"'Where every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile,'"
quoted Billy. ”

“ But everything was quiet except for the roaring of the gale, and the street seemed to be empty.
"Might as well look for a needle in a haystack," muttered Tom Bradford. "We don't even know the direction from which the shot came. You can bet that skunk made tracks as soon as he fired."
"It was a mighty close call for you, Tom," remarked Billy. "A half inch closer and you would have been a goner."
"It would have been hard luck to have been laid out now after having come through that Argonne fighting alive," grumbled Tom. ”

“ CHAPTER VII A CLOSE CALL There was a stir among the Army Boys as they crowded around their leader.
"Are you sure, Frank?" asked Billy.
"Positive," answered Frank. "I can tell by their uniform and by their walk. I could even make out that some of them were wearing the uniform of the Jaeger regiments. They fought against us in the Argonne, and you'll remember that they're pretty tough birds. If it comes to a scrap we'll have our work cut out for us."
"But why should there be any scrap?" questioned Tom. "Germans are arrested every day in Coblenz and no one tries to rescue them." ”

“ Now we're in a fine mess."
"We've been in worse," said Billy cheerily, "and pulled through them just the same."
"That's the way to talk!" exclaimed Frank heartily, giving Billy a slap on the back. "We'll get out of this scrape as we have out of a lot of others. At the worst, it's only a matter of having to wait till daylight. We're worth a dozen dead men yet. At any rate we've got grub with us, so that there's no danger of our starving."
"How about freezing to death?" said Tom, who was always inclined to see the dark side of things. ”

“ Not long after the inspecting party had disappeared into the barracks they reappeared and made their way to regimental headquarters. Here they formed in a group, and, as far as the boys could judge, appeared to be awaiting the arrival of some person or persons, as they kept glancing down the road over which the general's car had come only a short time before.
"They must be expecting some other big bugs," speculated Billy in a whisper, keeping at the same time a wary eye on the nearest officer. ”

“ Bart and Frank looked at each other and laughed.
"'Alice, where art thou?'" quoted Bart.
"We know why you fellows want to get back to Coblenz in such a hurry," joked Frank. "Gee, it must be awful to have such a hankering. I will admit, however, that Alice and Helen are pretty girls. Bless you, my children, bless you."
"Quit your kidding and get busy," admonished Billy. "We start in half an hour."
"We'll be ready," replied Frank. "Watch our smoke." ”

“ They were gathered about a man with a red, bushy beard, who seemed to be the leader. He had a map spread on a table improvised from boxes, and was pointing out places indicated by red dots.
Bart counted the men. There were nine burly fellows, who looked desperate and as though they could give a good account of themselves in rough and tumble work. In one of the guns standing against the wall Bart noted a red flag thrust in the muzzle—the symbol of the German revolutionary element that was spreading terror throughout the former empire. ”

“ Frank answered. "It's against regulations for the Germans to carry arms in the zone occupied by the American army, and any one who does is liable to arrest on sight. See that your guns are all right, fellows, and come along. I have a hunch that we're going to give these plotters a surprise party. But we'll listen first and make sure before we pinch them."
Bart went in advance to show the way, and his comrades crept after him, drifting along like so many ghosts. ”

“ The boys might have shot more of them as they ran, but that was not in Frank's plan. All he wanted was to get them out of his path so that he could get his prisoners to camp, and he wanted to do it with as little bloodshed as possible.
"Guess they've got enough of our game," remarked Tom, as he reloaded his rifle.
"Shouldn't wonder," replied Bart. "We called their bluff. They thought we'd have a case of nerves when we saw them come rushing towards us. But we've seen those fellows' backs too often to be afraid of their faces." ”

“ Corporal Wilson smiled at the perplexed and somewhat rueful faces of the four Army Boys.
"Just what I said," he replied to Frank's query. "You fellows are slated to go over the mountain with a bunch of others to round up some of the guns and supplies that the Heinies have promised to surrender. They're slow about it, and have been making all kinds of excuses to keep from bringing them in. The general's patience is just about exhausted, and he's going to get those guns or know the reason why." ”

“ I just saw an American bunch marching along here and dropped down to say 'howdy.' I'm off now. See you soon in Coblenz."
With a wave of his hand, he walked over, climbed into his machine, and started skyward.
The boys watched him soaring until his machine was only a dot in the steel blue of the winter sky, and then, as their brief rest period had ended, started on the march to Coblenz.
"One great boy, that Dick," remarked Frank, when the aviator was finally lost to sight.
"You bet he is," agreed Billy emphatically. "He's one of the greatest aces that ever climbed into a plane." ”

“ They said we'd never step on the sacred soil of Germany, but there wasn't a peep out of them when we marched over the Rhine. They're the biggest bluffers and the quickest quitters in the world."
"When are we going back to Coblenz?" asked Tom.
"In a hurry to get back are you?" laughed Frank. "Well, I don't blame you, old man. Billy tells me that Alice has been crying her pretty eyes out ever since you disappeared. But I suppose we'll have to hang around here for a few days yet. There's a lot to be done in cleaning out the Spartacides and getting the town in proper condition. ”

“ The streets were quiet enough, but the faces of the inhabitants were sullen and hostile, and Frank could read enmity in the glances cast at him.
"They love the Americans about as much as they love sunstroke," he meditated. "But it doesn't matter much what they like, because they'll take just what's handed to them. But it's the lower elements and the revolutionists who are making most of the trouble, and I'm a lot mistaken if their headquarters aren't in the neighborhood of that blind alley. ”