John Henry Goldfrap

“ SMOKE ON THE HORIZON. Late that afternoon Jack, who had just come on deck, was in time to notice an unusual thrill of excitement among the already overwrought passengers. On the northern horizon was a smudge of smoke, and a dark hull bearing down on them. Those who had glasses had already announced the other craft to be a warship, although, of what nation, it was as yet impossible to say. ”

“ The whine of a machine gun sounded as the searchlight of the pursuing Zeppelin again enveloped the bold little aeroplane. Her great bulk, big as a steamship, was rushed at top speed through the air. They could catch the roar of her four motors being driven at top speed.
De Garros had dropped again, and thanks to his skill, the aeroplane was still unhit, although the projectiles from the quick firer had come close enough for the occupants of the monoplane to hear their whine.
“We beat zem out!” exclaimed the Frenchman.
“Then we are faster than they are.” ”

“ In his dream, Jack arose and standing up looked about him. It appeared to him as if he was gazing down from a height over an immense battlefield. He could see the dust and smoke as cannon were wheeled into position and then the flashes of flame and the belching of fire from the rifle pits. Men were mowed down like ripe grain in long windrows. ”

“ It was now a race for the thickening fog curtains. The cruisers appeared to realize that if the Kronprinzessin could gain the shelter of the mist, there would be but small chance of their capturing her. Increased smoke tumbling from their funnels showed that they were under forced draught. But as their speed increased so did that of the “gold ship.”
The gun boomed again on the Berwick, the foremost of the pursuers. The projectile struck the stern of the liner and knocked the elaborate gilt work wreathing, her name and port, into smithereens.
“Aiming at the rudder,” commented Jack. ”

“ The voices died away as the two left the upper deck. Jack, wide awake now, sprang to his feet. Clearly there was some mischief concerning the wireless in the air. But of the nature of the impending scheme he could not hazard a guess.
“Anyhow, I’ll just put Muller wise to what’s going on,” thought Jack. “He’s a decent, square fellow, who wouldn’t stand for any monkey business. How to deal with Herr Radwig is another matter. I guess I’ll sleep on it. If only those chaps on the Berwick knew who they had overlooked on their hunt for Germans, wouldn’t they be mad as hornets!” ”

“ Imagine a crowd of wild-eyed men and women, few of them wholly dressed, surging behind lines of policemen and the entire street lighted by the ghastly glare of flames upon which the engines were playing furious streams.
“If that bomb-thrower sailed over here now he could wipe out half of Antwerp, I should think,” said Jack, as they elbowed their way through the throng. Oddly enough, although the lads had only been able to throw on a few garments hastily, they did not, till that moment, recollect that their new outfits had been destroyed. It was Bill who called attention to this. ”

“ The sound of the sentries’ ceaseless pacing had stopped. Jack shouted and pounded on the door of the partially wrecked smoke house, but there was no answer but the moans and cries that were now getting fainter and less frequent. The sides of the smoke house were of rough logs and without much difficulty Jack clambered to the shattered roof.
He raised himself and clambering over, gave a hasty glance about him. It was a terrible scene of wreckage that he surveyed. In the earth two immense holes, big enough to bury two horses, had been torn, and close by lay two men. ”

“ To tell the truth, Jack had never troubled himself very much with the intricacies of stock values.
Finally Jack left Mr. Jukes’ office feeling like a millionaire.
“Strange,” mused Jack, “that this good fortune should come to me when thousands of others are losing their all in Europe.”
Feeling thus satisfied, Jack decided to acquaint Helen Dennis with the good news. As he strolled down to the dock, he could not help but note that in so far as New York was concerned, the war did not exist. People went about their business in their accustomed way. ”

“ I’m going to take a run on the deck, the wireless bell will call me if something comes. Want to join me?”
“All right. But it’s not much of a night for a stroll outside.”
“Anything’s better than sitting in that cabin waiting for you-don’t-know-what to happen.”
“You’re getting nervous, Jack.”
“Not so much for my own sake as at the thought of all these thousands of tons of steel being raced through this fog at a twenty-four knot clip and icebergs ahead. It’s sheer madness.”
“Well, the captain’s word is law at sea, so it’s no use protesting. We must hope for the best.” ”

“ Under a brisk breeze, that momentarily grew stronger, the trawler slipped out to sea.
“They’re a rough-looking lot on this craft,” observed Jack to Bill, as the Barley Rig began to toss about in a way that would have been trying to less experienced sailors.
“Yes, I’m glad you’ve got that money in your money-belt,” said Bill, referring to the American gold they carried. “They have none of them seen it, thank goodness, or we might have cause to worry.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” declared Jack. “They may be honest enough for all their rough looks. ”

“ Jack’s eyes sought the lofty wireless aerials swung far above them between the two masts.
“It feels mighty odd to think of somebody else sending out the T. R.” he said slowly, naming the wireless method of saying “Good-bye,” on sailing.
“Well, I never saw such a fellow!” exclaimed Raynor. “For goodness’ sake forget your everlasting coherers and keys and converters and the rest of them and enjoy taking life easy. But—hullo!” he broke off, “there’s someone we know.” ”

“ The earth lay far below them now, although it was still light enough to see the fields marked 253 off like the squares on a chess board and the countless fires of the Germans that dotted the landscape almost as far as could be seen. At every one of them were men, who, if any accident befell the machine and it had to descend, would make things very interesting for the air travelers.
Jack could not help thinking of this as the aeroplane flew steadily along, her motor buzzing with an even sound that told all was going well. ”

“ Tom looked at Jack and winked.
“Young man,” suddenly said Mr. Jukes, sternly addressing Jack, “you are bound to succeed in life. You have the makings. You have your trade—or shall I call it profession? But operating wireless is not everything. You can be a wireless operator all your life and your salary will be your only means of keeping the wolf from the door. Too many of our people have 289 to depend on that means of support. ”

“ The next wave gave them a clear view of tossing horns and heads as the unfortunate cattle, penned on the burning craft, rushed madly about the decks, in vain seeking some means of relief. It was a piteous sight, for there was no way of saving them from being burned alive unless the ship sank first.
107 “Oh, but that’s awful!” gasped Jack, with a shudder.
“Look, look up on the bow!” cried Bill suddenly. “There’s a man. He’s seen us.”
“He’s waving,” cried Mr. Smallwood. “Hurrah! Give way, men! There’s a poor beggar roasting on that ship.”
But the boat’s crew needed no urging. ”

“ From the many learned books and men—and from daily events—we are lead to assume that nature is grim, relentless. On the whole, this assumption is true. But one of the things that has made nature a harder problem for man to solve is that there are the most unexpected exceptions to the most carefully proved rules. Sometimes these exceptions take place with things and sometimes with persons.
Nature had played a prank with Jack.
When he came to his senses he found de Garros solicitously bending over him, his broken English running riot in his native French. ”

“ Almost at once the two were espied by their friends. A more amazed and glad set of chaps would have been indeed difficult to find anywhere.
“Honest, Jack,” cried Bill, tears of real joy in his eyes, “we had given up all hope of ever seeing you again.”
“Man alive!” declared Tom Jukes, “you can’t imagine how we felt, for we knew that there was no chance of getting through to save you.”
“Blues—here—everybody!” exploded Pottle. 281 “Funeral cheerful in comparison—no eat—no food—just blues!”
“Come, Jack,” invited Bill, “and de Garros, breakfast with us and tell us about it.” ”

“ He placed his knife between his teeth and compelling Jack to hold his arms above his head he searched him. Jack’s heart sank. He knew the money belt was in the bunk under the pillow. Beyond doubt this desperate ruffian would search the sleeping place before very long and discover its hiding place.
“So it ain’t on you,” snarled Hoeseason, when he had finished his search, “but I’ll bet a guinea it ain’t far away. Stand where you are and don’t move as you value your life while I overhaul the bunk.” ”

“ Hans Poffer, the yellow-haired, red-cheeked wireless operator of the Kronprinzessin Emilie asked the question, on the afternoon of the third day out. Jack had discovered in young Poffer an acquaintance he had made in Antwerp when he was on board the Ajax, and had renewed the friendship, to Poffer’s great delight, for the German wireless man had had trouble with his instruments the first day out which Jack had adjusted for him.
Since that time Jack, to Bill Raynor’s amusement, had spent most of his time in the wireless room enjoying, as Poffer put it, “watching me work.” ”

“ Whereupon Jack related to de Garros, as well as he could recall the details, the dream that had seemed so real.
De Garros was thrilled. Every now and then he broke into the recital with exclamations most expressive of the impressions they made upon him.
“And now,” Jack said in conclusion, “I think it is best for us to dress. I have never dreamed before, and I never want to dream again, if all dreams are so terribly real.”
280 De Garros laughingly agreed with him.
When Jack had dressed, he began to explore the corridors of the hotel. He felt that Bill, Tom Jukes and Pottle were guests of it. ”

“ He shook his chum’s shoulder violently.
“Whazzermarrer?” inquired Bill sleepily.
“Get up for your life. Fling on any old clothes. Let’s get out of here quick.”
186 “What’s up?” demanded Bill, wide awake now, and hastily pulling on some clothes, for he knew Jack would not have aroused him needlessly.
“It’s a Zeppelin, a giant German airship. She’s blown up a piece some blocks away and now she’s headed over here.”
At almost the same instant, a roar of artillery burst forth. The defenses of Antwerp had awakened and were concentrating their fire on the death-dealing monster of the sky. ”

“ Just then, too, Captain Rollok and some of his officers appeared. All carried drawn revolvers, for a disorganized rush on the boats would have meant that scores of women would have been trampled and many lives lost in the confusion.
The captain’s firm, stern tones completed the work Jack and Bill had begun. He assured the passengers that an examination had been made and that no damage had been done. He also promised thereafter to run at a more moderate speed. Gradually, the excited crowd calmed down, and some sought their cabins. ”

“ It was in the early days of the war when the gallant defenders of Liege were still undauntedly holding back the Teuton thousands with their great “caterpillar” siege guns that were destined, ere long, to hammer down the stubborn defense of Belgium’s neutrality. Trains were running and business, although seriously hampered, was still being carried on, though the foe was at the gate and the capital had been removed from Brussels to Antwerp.
Armed with passes signed by M. La Farge, to which their photographs were attached for purposes of identification, the boys started for Liege the next day. ”

“ So Jack had to relate incident after incident. Always, at the end of a recital, came the same question, asked in the same matter-of-fact tone of voice:
“And then—when and where did you meet Herr Radwig?”
Everything must have its end. At last Jack 276 had modestly related every episode with which the reader has been made acquainted. The even tone of his questioner, his piercing eyes, and the unbroken silence was beginning to weary Jack. He felt that he could hardly keep his wits about him.
Evidently the German officer noticed these signs and was patiently waiting for them. ”

“ As Bill put it:
“If we were at war and shouldering rifles for the dear old U. S. A., we’d take the chances of 204 war with the rest of them, but being a neutral, there’s no sense in throwing away our bright young lives,” a sentiment to which Jack agreed heartily.
It was dark when the train rolled into Louvain. After innumerable challenges by armed sentries, they at last reached the hotel of the place where many of the soldiers were quartered. If Antwerp had seemed like an armed fortress, signs of military activity were much more marked in the old cathedral town. ”

“ What have you to say to that?”
“As to being a hater of Germans, no American is that,” said Jack. “We are all neutral in this struggle. So far as Herr Radwig being imprisoned in England, he was already in irons on the ship before she docked.”
“Is that true?” demanded the colonel of Radwig, who smiled and waved his hand with a gesture that signified “absurd.” ”

“ In the darkness even the glow of a single port-light might give a clue as to the whereabouts of their quarry to the lurking British cruisers. In the passengers’ quarters of the great ship, similar orders were issued. Stewards went about blanketing portholes and turning out all unnecessary lights. By ten o’clock, except in the “working” quarters of 30 the ship,—and there, they were carefully concealed, as in the wireless room,—there was not a light on board.
In order to insure obedience to his orders, the captain had had the cabin lights disconnected from the dynamos at that hour. ”

“ I’m staying with Belgian friends, about 210 half a mile from here, and so far I haven’t done much but get ready to help in Red Cross work and so on. But now I guess it’s up to me to get back to the U. S. A.”
“If we can,” said Jack. “I don’t know where the ship we came over on, the St. Mark, has been sent to. London and Paris are overrun with American refugees. When we were there, hundreds of them were unable to get passage, or even change their money.”
“Oh, the whole world seems to have been shuffled in this thing,” frowned Tom, “but let me introduce my friend, Philander Pottle. ”