John Henry Goldfrap

“ As the three boys gradually drew nearer the place where the lantern could still be seen, they discovered that it was now being held in the hand of some person who wore a uniform.
"Belgians, all right!" muttered Rob, after noting that the garb was not like the khaki-colored clothes of the British troops, nor yet the blue and red of the French soldiers.
There seemed to be more than a dozen of the men, showing that they had come in force. Whether they had discovered the spy by accident or followed him to the place of meeting, Rob, of course, could only guess; nor did it matter to him. ”

“ A tempting odor also began to rise up that made Tubby's mouth fairly water. He heaved many a sigh, as he waited for Rob to tell him that the first of his allotment was sufficiently browned to be devoured.
"Now, let's begin," said Rob finally. "Only look out not to burn your lips. And, Tubby, take my word for it, you're going to get the treat of your life!" ”

“ The first thing he did was to grip Rob's hand and squeeze it fiercely.
"I have to thank you for my life, and the lives of my brave comrades as well!" he said with fervor.
"Then you found that what I told you was exactly so?" Rob asked.
"Yes, there is an ambuscade," replied the soldier. "They must have suspected that we would chase after the army so as to pick up stragglers, because that is our favorite game these terrible days; anything to sting the snake that is crawling across our beloved country and leaving death and destruction behind." ”

“ Rob was a little white in the face, as he continued to listen to the significant discharge. He had seen what mischief one of those Maxim guns could do at fairly close quarters, for they had witnessed them at work during the battle of the preceding day.
"I feel bad about it in one way," he said, "because in saving the lives of those three Belgians we have been the means of turning the trap on those who set it. But I never dreamed they would try to surprise the men in ambush."
The sounds died out, and silence followed; though the far-away grumble of the conflict could be heard from time to time. ”

“ Rob knew this the second he saw the shade of regret pass over the rubicund face of Herr Haskins.
"Ah! that is really too bad," the stout man exclaimed; "for you are just one week too late!"
"Has he left Sempst, then?" asked Merritt sturdily.
"Just seven days ago he shook hands with me, and said I could look for him when I saw him again. That might be in a month, and it might be six, even Steven could not say. He simply had to obey his orders from his superiors. His interest in the works is not the only thing he follows, you understand." ”

“ Then came batteries of quick-firing guns, and heavier field pieces. The clattering of accouterments, the neighing of horses, and the hoarse singing of various regiments—all these things came floating on the breeze to the ears of the three lads, as they lay there in the afternoon sunshine and watched.
"They seem particularly fond of certain tunes," remarked Tubby, "and I know one is the German national air, 'The Watch on the Rhine,' because we've sung it many a time in the school at Hampton. ”

“ Far off in the distance somewhere, an action was certainly going on, for the grumble of heavy cannonading came almost constantly to their ears.
"Chances are," said Rob, as they prepared to vacate their refuge and once more push onward, "there's a fierce battle in progress, and this corps has received orders to get on the firing line. That would account for the way the troops were singing. Their business is to fight, and most of them are only happy when they can smell burnt powder, hear the crash of bursting shrapnel, and the heavy boom of big shells." ”

“ Merritt told the patrol leader.
"Let's hurry and get out of this, then!" urged Rob, who, above all things, seemed to dislike being made a hero of when he felt that he had not done anything worth mentioning after all.
"No, you don't!" exclaimed Tubby, laying violent hands on his chum. "It's only fair that you give the poor woman a chance to tell you how grateful she is. As it stands to reason she speaks only Flemish, none of us can make head or tail out of what she says, unless she mentions that one word I know, which isn't likely." ”

“ Let one of these good chums, who were his side partners, express an opinion first of all. That was why Merritt remained silent.
"Oh! we just can't quit at the first puff!" remonstrated Tubby. "Fellows who have been through all we have shouldn't be built that way. Think of the battles we've been up against on the diamond and the gridiron; and did anybody ever hear us complain, or show a yellow streak? Well, I guess not! Tell him how you feel about it, Rob!"
"Just as you do, Tubby," responded the scout leader heartily. "I wasn't counting any too much on Anthony's services, come to speak of it. ”

“ Then at times it happened that houses were scarce, and a stretch of the road, from some reason or other, ahead appeared deserted. Often, in the distance, they heard strange sounds like far-away thunder. It thrilled them to imagine that possibly this was the roar of big guns; perhaps they were even drawing near to an actual battlefield!
About this time the boys noticed that their guide was acting as though excited.
"What's the matter, Anthony?" asked Rob, bent on knowing the worst. ”

“ They don't seem to dare to offer to help save a single thing, because they might be shot down."
"That house is doomed!" asserted Merritt, gloomily.
"Better keep back more," cautioned Rob. "The light grows stronger all the while, you notice, and we might be seen up here by some Uhlan, who'd think it fine sport to send a shot if only to frighten us. I thought I saw one man glance up. If he happened to see that we wore khaki and had on these military looking hats he'd pass the word along that there were Belgian soldiers hiding in the inn."
"Please don't start a riot," begged Tubby. ”

“ Those up in the Zeppelin can watch every move that takes place."
"All the same I'd rather take my chances down here," Tubby announced.
"What's that moving away over there, Rob?" demanded Merritt. "Seems like a gray looking snake creeping out from the shelter of the woods. I declare if I don't believe it is a mass of men charging straight at the Belgian trenches!"
"The Germans all wear a sort of grayish green uniform, you know," Tubby declared, "which is so like the dirt that lots of times you can't tell the soldiers from the earth half a mile away." ”

“ Tubby declared. "But queer things can happen to-day just as much as ever. I only hope that if we do manage to rake in that old field-glass case, and the paper is still nestling underneath the lining, it doesn't turn out to be a pipe dream—something that old miner just hatched up to make himself feel he was as rich as a Vanderbilt."
"We'll have to chance that," said Rob. "Our part of the business will be done when we carry the case back to Merritt's grandfather. It's up to him for the rest. But don't you think we'd better try and get to sleep, for it's growing late?" ”

“ They can repair telegraph lines and instruments, and have considerable knowledge of wireless."
"Hurrah!" exclaimed Tubby. "This is sure the day of the Boy Scout. I never thought I'd ever live to see him climb to such a dazzling height. Of course, over in America, scouts have never been trained with any idea that they might be soldiers; for we don't have a chip on our shoulder all the time, and feel that we're spoiling for a fight."
"All the same," said Rob, "the time may come when what we've learned will be of great use to our country. ”

“ Rob, I hope you're mistaken!"
"I wish I could believe so myself, Tubby, but if you look you can see them all staring up there at that window next to the one we jumped from. Some even point at it, and you notice more than a few of the women are crying like everything."
"But my stars! why doesn't somebody run up and get the child out, if that's so?" Tubby demanded,—forgetting that his eyes still smarted,—because this discovery, and the distress of the parents overwhelmed him.
"Because the lower floor is all afire, and the stairs can't be used," Merritt told him. ”

“ Some of the nurses must have told how we worked on the battlefield; or it may be the wounded soldiers mentioned the fact that we did something to help them bear up till the stretchers arrived. No matter what happened, the innkeeper thinks a heap of us all, and we'll not go to our hay shake-downs hungry this night!"
[Pg 227]
"Hurray!" cried Tubby joyfully, "he's certainly a good fellow, Rob, I tell you; and I'm never going to forget him. The man who keeps my body and soul together has my eternal gratitude." ”

“ So the patrol leader, mastering his inclination to feel just as "shaky" as Corporal Crawford, turned again toward the red-faced German chemist.
"We might accept your kind offer of entertainment for to-night, Herr Haskins," he said, as though they took the man's sincerity for its face value, "because we will have to put up somewhere, though to-morrow it may be we shall want to start back toward Antwerp again. You said that you were the proprietor of the chemical company in town. Are those the works where the smoke is coming out of the stacks?" ”

“ Before they entirely lost sight of the late encampment of the German army, the boys discovered that a number of peasants from the surrounding country had come on the scene, and appeared to be hunting for anything of value which might have been purposely or by accident left behind.
"The poor things know they're going to have the hardest winter ever," said Tubby, with considerable feeling in his voice, "and they're trying to find something to help out. Like as not some of them even came from Louvain, where they lost everything they had in the wide world when the place was burned to the ground. ”

“ Rob had no sooner clutched it in his arms than he tried to set himself right for the window by means of which he had reached the room. In this he was assisted by the light that came through the opening, and which served as his guide. By the time he reached it, he could no longer see a single thing, and, when he leaned out of the window, his first thought was to shout:
"Merritt, are you down below? I can't see a thing! The smoke has blinded me!" ”

“ Merritt, as one of his chums chanced to remark a little further back in this story, had come upon several village roughs engaged in battering a stranger in town, a little old gentleman who, carrying his grip and finding the hacks all away from the station, had evidently attempted to walk to the hotel.
The cowardly assault aroused the indignation of Merritt, who was a manly boy at all times. He remonstrated with the assailants, and when they continued to pelt the old man, he proceeded to attack them. Whether he could have won out alone and unaided will always be an open question. ”

“ Rob told him, "but they seem to be further away. Perhaps the Germans are bombarding some fortified place off in the distance, or it may be an English army has shown up, and is giving battle to the Kaiser. You know the poor Belgians are hoping for that to happen right along."
"But just think what is over there!" continued Tubby, with a shudder as he pointed a chubby finger toward the scene of the late charge and repulse. "Why, I can see hundreds of men lying around, just like the corn when they go to cutting so it can be stacked. Ugh! it's awful to think of all those poor Germans!" ”

“ Such enthusiasm is always contagious. Why, even peace-loving Tubby seemed to be infected with some of it. His eyes glowed, and his breath came in short puffs, as he watched the guns and caissons go whirling along until men, horses and [Pg 185] all had vanished down the road in a cloud of dust.
"Some of those brave fellows will never come back again, I'm afraid," said Tubby sadly.
"It begins to look as if the artillery arm was going to be everything in this war," Rob remarked, as though the sight of those bursting shells impressed him. ”

“ What a grand thing that turned out for your folks when Grandfather Merritt, who had cut your dad out of his will many years ago after he married against his wishes, repented of his cruelty, and paid you an unexpected visit to get acquainted. ”

“ The one country with which they sympathized deeply was Belgium. The stubborn and heroic way in which that seven millions of people had defied seventy millions, and the gallant manner in which their little army had tried to resist the invasion of their beloved country, had aroused the admiration of every one of the scouts.
As they stood there on that afternoon, and [Pg 25] watched, they finally saw the German Taube vanish in the clouds, with the leading Belgian aëroplane following suit. Whether the pursuer ever overtook the foreign air-scout or not, the boys never learned. ”

“ Merritt announced. "Better curb that fierce thirst of yours for a minute or two, Tubby, while we watch what's passing."
"Oh! well, I guess the milk won't sour while we're waiting," admitted the fat boy with a sigh of resignation, as he wheeled so as to face the street.
"What do you call that, I wonder?" remarked Merritt, as he looked. "It's got the wheels of an automobile; but say, notice how the body of the car has been built up with steel sides, will you? And as sure as you live there's a quick firing Maxim mounted behind that bullet shield." ”

“ Merritt tugged at his coat, understanding what it was all about.
"Don't insist, Rob," he told the other. "You mustn't try to take away the satisfaction he feels in having done one little thing for you. Let it go at that. He is not a poor man, I imagine, and has something laid by. Now, hadn't we better be getting out of here?"
"Oh! by the way, where are our horses?" asked Tubby, suddenly.
That reminded them they had forgotten all about the animals. The horses had been left tied to a rail at some little distance alongside the inn when they went in to get supper. ”

“ Rob told him. "I want to fix them in my mind, because we will have to make a wide detour, so as to avoid running across any patrol on the outskirts of their camp. I hope by the time daylight comes we can be far enough around to get off without being seen. The worst thing is this khaki uniform business. If only we had on ordinary clothes we might be taken for Belgian boys. But, as it is, they'll think we're soldiers, or at the least Belgian scouts, and they treat them as if they were regular enlisted men." ”

“ Aëroplane pilots are the scouts of the air these days, you understand. Nothing can be hidden from them."
"I understand," ventured Merritt, as they continued to watch the circling of the lofty observer and map-maker, "that there can be no surprises in this war, because the enemy always knows all about the massing of troops long before an attack can be delivered. An eagle or a hawk, hovering over shallow water, can see every bit of bottom when the surface is still, and so he's able to pounce down on the fish he's selected for dinner. ”

“ Merritt was saying to Rob, as they walked around in search of any wretched victim whom they might assist, "that not a single German has been out on the battlefield to render first aid. I don't understand it at all. They've got as fine surgeons as any in the world, and the Red Cross works with their armies the same as with all the rest." ”

“ Besides, Rob figured that if a German-owned chemical factory had been in operation here for years, very naturally there would be many natives of the Rhine country employed there, and living in the town. If the German government were really back of this Belgian works, as seemed possible, they would want to have mostly reliable men on guard, who, in case of sudden emergency, could throw off their workmen's garb and show themselves in their true colors, as regularly enlisted soldiers, serving their superiors while plying their regular trade. ”