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diff --git a/43683.txt b/43683.txt deleted file mode 100644 index aff0d0d..0000000 --- a/43683.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7708 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Our Young Aeroplane Scouts in Germany, by -Horace Porter - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: Our Young Aeroplane Scouts in Germany - or, Winning the Iron Cross - - -Author: Horace Porter - - - -Release Date: September 10, 2013 [eBook #43683] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN -GERMANY*** - - -E-text prepared by Emmy and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team -(http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (http://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 43683-h.htm or 43683-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43683/43683-h/43683-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43683/43683-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - http://archive.org/details/ouryoungaeroplan00port - - - - - -[Illustration: THE FIGHT IN THE AIR. _Page 42._ - -_Our Young Aeroplane Scouts In Germany._] - - -OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN GERMANY - -Or - -Winning the Iron Cross - -by - -HORACE PORTER - -Author of -"Our Young Aeroplane Scouts In France and Belgium." -"Our Young Aeroplane Scouts In Turkey." -"Our Young Aeroplane Scouts In Russia." - - - - - - - -[Illustration: A. L. BURT COMPANY] - -NEW YORK - -Copyright, 1915 -By A. L. Burt Company - -OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN GERMANY - - - - -CONTENTS - - - I. SAVED BY QUICK WIT 3 - II. A STIRRING HOLIDAY 13 - III. A THRILLING MOMENT 23 - IV. THE STOLEN PAPERS 34 - V. WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT 45 - VI. A FLYING VICTORY 56 - VII. THE RAIN OF BOMBS 67 - VIII. ALONG THE BATTLE LINE 78 - IX. THE LUMINOUS KITE 90 - X. THE CARRIER PIGEONS 101 - XI. UNDER THE RED ROOF 112 - XII. THROUGH FIRE AND FOG 123 - XIII. CAPTURED BY COSSACKS 135 - XIV. A WONDERFUL RESCUE 146 - XV. DUEL TO THE DEATH 157 - XVI. DRAWN FROM THE DEPTHS 168 - XVII. A MIGHTY STONE ROLLER 179 - XVIII. TRAILS THAT CROSSED 190 - XIX. RABBIT'S FOOT FOR LUCK 200 - XX. WINNING OF THE IRON CROSS 210 - XXI. HELD IN WARSAW 219 - XXII. AN HOUR TOO SOON 229 - XXIII. A LEAP FOR LIBERTY 238 - XXIV. AGAIN THEY WON OUT 248 - - - -OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN GERMANY. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -SAVED BY QUICK WIT. - - -"HOLD on there, I want a word with you!" - -Billy Barry and Henri Trouville, the Boy Aviators, were in the act of -climbing into a superb military biplane on the great parade ground at -Hamburg when thus hailed by a mild looking man in citizen's attire, -with face half-hidden by a slouch hat and a pair of huge, horn-rimmed -spectacles. - -There was a note of authority in that voice, gently tuned as it was, -and behind those spectacles were a pair of eyes as keen as gimlet -points. - -The speaker was none other than Roque, the noted secret agent--"Herr -Roque," if you please, fitting into his masquerade as a merchant having -contract business with the authorities of the canvas city of aeroplane -hangars. - -"Come over to quarters for a few moments, young sirs, won't you?" - -The polite manner of request was for the benefit of the bystanders, who -had been awaiting the flying exhibit, but the slight gesture that went -with the words indicated a command to Billy and Henri. - -They knew Roque! - -Heinrich Hume, aviation lieutenant, who usually had a good deal to say -on those grounds, made no more protest than a clam at this interruption -of a special aeroplane test. He simply waved two other aviators on -duty into the machine, as Billy and Henri marched meekly away with the -imitation merchant. - -While many of the spectators marveled at the apparent breach of -discipline, the lieutenant was content to let them wonder. At least, he -offered no explanation. - -Billy and Henri did a lot of thinking as they crossed the parade -ground--there must be something brewing, or Roque would not have been -so impatient as to invade the parade ground at the time he did. - -Roque conducted the boys into Lieutenant Hume's private office at -headquarters, closed and locked the door behind them. - -Removing his spectacles, and throwing his slouch hat among the maps -that littered a big table in the center of the room, the secret agent -at the same time changed his form of address--the oily manner was -succeeded by abrupt and stern speech, which showed the real man of -brain and unlimited authority. - -The secret agent had seated himself, without invitation to the boys -to do likewise. They stood, facing the real Roque they knew by former -experience. - -"Where is Ardelle?" - -Roque put the question like a pistol shot, and fiercely eyed the -youngsters before him. - -The point-blank query failed to reach the mark intended. - -Billy looked at Henri and Henri looked at Billy, and then they both -looked at Roque with never even a quiver of an eyelash. They had not -comprehended what was behind the dreaded agent's snapshot at their -nerves. The truth of the matter was, they did not know anybody by the -name of "Ardelle." - -So Billy, with a bold front, remarked: "You can't prove it by us, sir. -Mr. Ardelle is not in our list of friends." - -"None of that!" - -Roque pointed a menacing finger at the astonished pair of youngsters. - -"I have it beyond doubt that Ardelle was on these very grounds a day or -two ago, and by the word of a man who could not be mistaken. Fool that -he was not to be sure at the time, and only the garb of a sailor to -mislead him." - -Then it jointly dawned upon the minds of Billy and Henri that Anglin, -the smiling secretary of the eminent director of affairs at Calais, -and later in the role of a bubbling sailor here in faraway Hamburg, -must be the Ardelle about whom Roque was talking. - -They realized, too, that through their boyish delight in lending aid -and a helping hand to one they had known in intimate association with -that best of friends in France, they had unconsciously maneuvered -themselves into a dangerous game, a slip in which meant a dance with -death. - -A tissue message from this very suspect that Roque was so eager to -apprehend even then burned against the breast of Henri, a little wad of -paper that now represented the price of the world to a pair of bright -boys. - -Condemned of mixing in the battle of wits between the grim Roque and -his strongest wily rival from over the sea, and it were better that the -young aviators had tumbled from their aeroplane during the last high -flight. - -But those who traveled in spirit with Billy Barry, the boy from Bangor, -Maine, U. S. A., and his plucky teammate, Henri Trouville, in France -and Belgium, can assure that it is no easy task to catch this pair -napping. - -The courage tempered by that first and continuous baptism of fire was -good steel for any emergency. - -Roque owned to himself that his quickfire had failed to get results. -His informant, himself just returning from a secret mission on hostile -soil, had noted the movements of the sailor suspect on the aviation -exhibit day, and also the attitude of Henri at the moment when the -message was passed. But of the message itself, the reporting agent -could have no knowledge. He was not near enough to detect a trick so -deftly done. - -Roque and Ardelle had measured brains many a time and often, but -heretofore at long range, and the former had never seen the latter in -person. Had such been the case, the French agent's invasion of the -empire would have ended at Bremen, when these two masters of craft had -both been guests at the same time of the same cafe. - -Roque's unerring judgment had convinced him after the first question -that the boys had no knowledge of the name Ardelle. Their first -profession of ignorance was too real to be mere acting. The boys took -care that the light that came to them as Roque proceeded did not shine -in the direction of the lynx-eyed questioner. - -The rigid lines in the face of the secret agent relaxed. These boys, -after all, had once served him a good turn, with a skill, courage and -fidelity far beyond the ordinary, and, perhaps, he was not sorry that -he had apparently found them guiltless. - -"Now, young sirs," said Roque, resuming the manner of the merchant, "I -have another little journey in store for you. I don't know for certain -that it will prove as exciting as the last jaunt we took together, when -you located a shipload of guns for me, but maybe so, maybe so. - -"After we have made our excuses to the lieutenant," he continued, "we -will go over to my humble home in the city, where I have some new -clothes for you. I do not think you are warlike enough to want to -travel in any sort of uniform, especially with a simple tradesman like -myself." - -It was on the tip of Billy's tongue to ask Roque why he kept up that -sort of talk with those who knew him without his mask, and when there -was no purpose to be served, but Billy concluded that he had better let -well enough alone. - -A roomy carryall was in waiting at the further end of the parade -ground, toward which the merry old merchant led his young friends, with -a hand under the elbows of both. It was pardonable for the aviation -lieutenant to grin when the trio were passing, after making their -excuses. - -It had not, however, occurred to Henri to smile a response. He was just -then indulging in a cold perspiration, caused by a leaping thought that -Roque might personally supervise their change of garments, and in that -curious way of his light upon the tissue billet pinned on the inside of -his (Henri's) shirt-front. - -Because they had not fully understood the meaning of the dimly dashed -message, Billy had suggested that they keep it for another sitting. The -paper wad had not then turned into a torpedo. - -Roque's house might have belonged to a retired gardener rather than -to the man with the iron grip who claimed it as home. The dooryard -blazed with red flowers, and the well-kept lawn was lined by earth beds -spangled with blooms in colors beyond count. - -"Welcome, young sirs." - -Roque waved the way into a wide hall, at the end of which yawned a -great fireplace. Bowing before them the boys saw the tallest man they -had ever met outside of a sideshow, a very giant, who wore a long gray -coat, with a good day's output for a button factory in front. - -"This is my man of business, young sirs--Paul Zorn." - -The "young sirs" instantly formed the opinion that Zorn would have no -trouble in cracking a cocoanut between the row of glittering teeth he -displayed when Roque so introduced him. - -"We are going to put our young friends into store clothes, Paul. I hope -you will be able to properly fit them, and it will also be my care that -you do." - -"Confound the man," thought Henri, "he has never since he called me -out of the machine shifted his eye long enough for me to get a hand on -that tissue, and now he's going to act as my valet. He's just full of -suspicion." - -Billy, also, had been figuring some in his mind just what would break -loose if Roque should find the sailor's note in Henri's possession. -All of the powers of argument this side of the North Sea would then -avail nothing in the matter of convincing Roque that he had not been -double-crossed. - -The only crumb of comfort that Billy felt he could hope for if the drop -fell was that Roque would quit his comedy acting behind the scenes -for the once--but that was scant comfort, surely, under this cloud of -anxiety. - -The boys soon knew what Roque had meant by "store clothes," for -it was a regular storehouse of the styles of all nations that the -makeup magician maintained in the second floor back of his Hamburg -home--uniforms galore, the garb of the fighting man in the Old World -war, known under the folds of Britain's Union Jack, the Tricolor of -France, the black double-headed eagle of Russia, the sable Cross of the -German Empire; the attire of the dandy civilian, the sedate tradesman, -the student, the clerk, the livery of house and carriage service, and, -indeed, what not? - -"A nice little collection, young sirs," observed Roque, which remark -again prompted the giant Zorn to display his mouthful of shining -molars. - -"How do you think Paul would look in this outfit?" - -Roque indicated on the display rack a regulation English uniform of -olive drab, with puttees, and a cap of the traditional French arms -shape, but of khaki color. - -Even if the boys had been in the mood to say that Zorn would look like -the Eiffel tower in any sort of uniform, Roque gave them no time to -break in upon his humor. - -"Nothing like keeping up-to-date, young sirs, in my business. It was -only a few weeks ago that this new style French soldier first appeared -in Havre. And here we can make his mate in a minute or two." - -This cat and mouse play was wearing on Billy and Henri. Free of -anxiety, they might have enjoyed digging into the maze of disguises as -they would the pages of a popular detective story, but they had a play -of their own to make, and no chance yet to make it. - -"Now, Paul, how will we fix up these young flyers for a bit of ground -work? Something plain, yet neat, I think, will do for the sons of -Doctor Blitz--I am Blitz to-morrow, I believe, Paul?" - -Zorn simply showed his teeth. He was not expected to answer. - -"Now, my bird boys, get out of those uniforms and I'll make a pair of -likely students out of you. Do you prefer Heidelberg, the School of -Arts, or the Conservatory? No matter, though, it is just a shift for a -short journey, and I guess I can make you up to pass muster." - -All the time Roque was chatting principally for the amusement of -himself and Paul, his hands were busy sorting a pile of clothing and he -was ready to start a couple of young Blitzes into society in the most -finished style--from glazed cap to shiny shoes. - -It was just at this moment that Billy was seized suddenly with a fit of -laughter, and his high glee was directed at Henri. - -"Won't you set 'em going in that layout!" he howled. - -With that he made a jump for his chum, as if to hurry the process -of transformation. The playful effort commenced at the throat and -scattered a few buttons. Henri resisted the attack, and for a second or -two held Billy in close arm lock--time enough for the assailant to get -a pin-jab in the thumb, and a wad of tissue paper in the clench of four -fingers! - -Roque viewed the antics with a frown of impatience, but the assistant -of grenadier size roared his approval of the fun. - -Henri was brisk enough then in taking off the old for the new, and by -the time Billy commanded attention there was no occasion for worry. - -Billy had swallowed the tissue! - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -A STIRRING HOLIDAY. - - -TO be rudely routed out of a snug nest in a feather bed at 3 o'clock -in the morning--a morning with a real chill in it--is not a desirable -experience for the average house-bred boy, and even such seasoned -campaigners as Billy Barry and Henri Trouville were inclined to grumble -when the giant Zorn yanked the covers from their downy couch and -gruffly ordered them to get up and dress, and to make haste about it. - -By the pale gleam of a couple of candles, and the slight warmth from a -newly kindled fire in a white china stove, the "Blitz boys" made their -toilets of the interesting characters they were to assume. - -"What time is it anyway?" yawned Henri. - -"I guess I'm not good enough in higher mathematics to figure it out for -you," growled Billy, as he tussled with leather shoestrings that tied, -he said, "seven ways for Sunday." - -The voice of "Dr. Blitz" sounded at the foot of the stairway, in the -lower regions of the house. There was no "young sirs" about it. The -"good merchant of Hamburg" was on vacation. - -"Crawl lively there, you snails," were the words that ascended. - -"Wonder what tip he is working on now?" whispered Billy. - -"You will never know until you get to it." Henri had before been -impressed with the fact that Roque was not in the habit of springing -until he got on the board. - -"Good morning, Dr. Blitz," was Billy's cheery greeting to the man who -was making hasty breakfast at a table drawn up before a crackling fire -in a big brick cavern. He could not have testified from side view that -it was Roque, so he took a chance on "Blitz." - -Along with a gulp of coffee the imposing person addressed shot a remark -in German over his shoulder, which Henri afterward explained to Billy -was very near to profanity. - -The boys edged into chairs at the table, but missed a round of muffins -through staring at the "doctor." - -The merchant masquerade was wholly outclassed by this new display of -the make-up art. - -Billy wanted to say "ring the night bell," but sheer admiration kept -him silent. - -Whether it was the combined effects of the steaming coffee, hot -muffins, and a big black cigar that followed, or the silent tribute in -the eyes of his young guests, it was, nevertheless, a speedily noted -fact that Roque was thawing into more gracious manner. - -"I suppose you know that it is only a few hours now until Christmas, -and we must find some special way to observe it." - -Billy and Henri could not get the straight line on Roque's remark, but -later realized that the holiday was of the like they had never before -passed. - -With a cutting wind from off the icy flow of the mighty river Elbe in -their faces, the boys followed their leader to the docks, where they -boarded a small craft, evidently built for speed, which had steam up -and manned for instant start. - -The captain was the same who commanded the deck when the boys had -accompanied Roque on a previous exciting excursion. This official, -standing at attention, stiff as a ramrod, gave no visible mark of -recognition as the passengers boarded the boat, but Billy could have -sworn that he saw something like a twinkle in the captain's right eye -when they passed the gangplank. - -"No use asking where we are bound for," lamented Henri. - -"Not a bit of use," agreed Billy. - -They were out of earshot of Roque, whose tall form, in rusty black, was -outlined in the dawnlight near the wheel of the churning steamer. - -The first intimation of what was to be their next landing place came in -the word "Cuxhaven," passed by one sailor to another. The talk was in -rapid German, but Henri caught the drift of the conversation without -difficulty. - -"By George," he whispered to his chum, "Cuxhaven is the place mentioned -in Anglin's message." - -"You mean Ardelle's message," corrected Billy. - -"That's right," chuckled Henri. "I forgot that Anglin had become the -big noise. Yes, it's the very place," he continued, "and it's a great -naval base." - -"It's a safe bet that Roque never hits a trail that isn't warm. Take -it from me," and Billy was in great earnest when he said it, "there is -going to be something doing." - -Billy's prediction chanced, in this instance, to be more accurate than -are some of the forecasts made by professionals. - -It was in a dense fog that Christmas eve when the little steamer ceased -chugging in the wide mouth of the Elbe, and the harbor lights burned -blue. The captain condemned the weather in no uncertain terms, but -Roque seemingly had no care for aught but his thoughts, as he leaned -against the rail, with moody gaze fixed upon the anchored ships and the -dim lines of the city beyond. - -As he had shaped, not long ago, the famous raid of the German fleet -upon English seaports, Roque did not underestimate the ability of his -great rival, Ardelle, to open the way for a counter attack. Ardelle was -known by the secret service to be on this very soil--and, surely, for -some big purpose. Minnows were not sent to stir up a pool of this size. - -"But they'll find no sleepy towns to blow up here," said Roque to -himself. - -He was all for precaution, however, and his intuition was nothing short -of marvelous. - -When "Dr. Blitz" and his "sons" went ashore it was the foggiest kind of -a Christmas morning. - -A stalwart marine attempted to put the doctor through the question -paces, but the real Roque whispered a fierce something into the ear of -the would-be questioner that set the latter back-tracking in a jiffy. - -It was a curious and remarkable fact, but true, that an hour after the -eminent secret agent and his young charges had landed in Cuxhaven, -Billy's prediction, "that wherever Roque is there's something doing," -was verified. Every submarine cable connecting the fortresses of this -coast sounded alarm, particularly high-keyed the frantic signal from -Helgoland, the fortress island, thirty-nine miles away. - -Roque dropped his doctor character like a hot potato when he learned -the import of the flashes. He tossed his traveling case of surgical -instruments into the first open doorway he passed, and the boys were -compelled to run to keep up with his long stride. - -Bombs were falling from aloft, exploding among the shipping behind -them, while in front one of the projectiles crashed upon a huge gas -tank. - -"The nerve of the devil mapped this out!" - -The bitter emphasis of Roque indicated that he laid the blame of this -unexpected invasion upon one head--that of Ardelle. - -In the meantime, the fog-ridden atmosphere was riven by blazes of -powder from the shore guns, trained upward, and the air squadron, -Zeppelins and naval seaplanes, were leaping skyward to meet their kind -in aerial battle. - -Roque charged madly into the air station, dragging the boys after him. - -A seaplane was balanced on the polished ways for the sweeping plunge. - -"In the name of the Emperor!" he shouted, shouldering aside the men -holding the poised craft. The same fierce whisper in the ear of the -aviation lieutenant had effect identical with that upon the marine at -the docks. - -"Get to your places, you moonfaces"--this stern command hurled at the -boys. Henri bounced into the motor section, Billy settled behind the -rudder wheel, and Roque swung himself into the bow seat. - -The long hull was launched with the snap of training, and with motors -humming left the water without a wrench from its skimming start. - -The Boy Aviators, certified masters of the air, were at their trade. - -They had need of all their skill and daring that day! - -"Set your course northwest," loudly ordered Roque. "Hit for Helgoland -like a bolt." - -"Look out that you don't hit something on the way!" shouted Henri from -the rear. - -The last warning was timely, if Billy had need of warning at all. There -was peril in the foggy stretches. - -The upper regions were literally lined with aircraft. No less than -seven naval seaplanes had traveled in advance of the British warship -invasion of the German bay. Having dropped all the bombs they could -through the mist, they were in full return flight to the convoying -vessels. Zeppelins and hostile seaplanes zigzagged on their trail, and -other dirigibles and fighting craft menaced their retreat still further -on. - -Billy guided the seaplane he was driving to the higher strata in order -to escape mix-up with the contending airships, but on the thirtieth -mile recorded, Roque, who had constantly demanded distance figures, -ordered a lower flight, and, the fog clearing, the flyers could plainly -see on the waves far below the floating warcraft of the invaders--light -cruisers, destroyers and submarines. The Germans were combating this -array with aircraft and submarines, but so great was Roque's impatience -to reach the fortified island that the motors were put by Henri to the -limit of speed, and so that part of the conflict is not in the record -of the Aeroplane Scouts. - -Just off Helgoland, though, the boys had the shock of noting the -crumpling of one of the British seaplanes and the end of a brave airman. - -"There's no escape when death stalks you up here," sighed Billy. - -"Ware away, boy," called Roque, when the seaplane hovered over -Helgoland, "wait until they see the color of the bottom of the machine -or we will look like a sieve before we light." - -Billy "wared away," and with motors at half speed, the seaplane circled -over the supposed most impregnable stronghold in the world, awaiting -some signal of recognition from the fortress. - -It was finally given, and Roque directed immediate descent. - -On the ground once more, Billy and Henri relapsed into their dutiful -service as "sons" and rear guards of the renowned "Dr. Blitz." The -glazed caps had gone the way of the winds, but, as Billy put it, "we -are still dressed up to beat the band." - -The boys noticed that, barring a few skilled workmen and engineers, -they were the only civilians in the streets that evening. They did not -count Roque, for he might turn out to be a general, if occasion served. - -The latter had a busy hour with the garrison officers, while the boys -had an idle one, with about as much activity as is allowed a hobbled -horse. It was evident that "Dr. Blitz" held this island as a holy of -holies, secret even to his "sons." - -"It beats me," observed Billy, edging away as far as possible from the -guard stationed to keep them out of mischief, "how those Britishers -ever got by this place." - -"The bigger question," asserted Henri, "is, if they got by, how in the -world did they ever get back?" - -"That's what Roque is evidently trying to find out," intimated Billy. - -The boys, while puzzling over the problem of "get by and get back," -were looking at the huge fortress so tremendously fortified and noting -everywhere an uninterrupted view of the sea. - -They also surmised that an alert garrison was ever carefully watching -the waters, day after day, night after night, hour after hour, in order -not to be surprised by the powerful enemy. - -"I guess the fog helped some," was the conclusion finally advanced by -Billy. - -"And Ardelle somewhere behind the curtain," suggested Henri. - -"Oh, go 'way, man; Roque has given you the Ardelle fever." - -Billy just then caught sight of Roque bearing down upon them under full -stride. - -"Speak of the dickens," he exclaimed, "here he comes now." - -The shadows of evening continued to gather, and here and there on the -island lights showed like glowworms. Roque shook hands with his officer -companions. He evidently contemplated leaving in the same impetuous way -that he came, but evidently not by the seaplane route. - -A little steam launch tugged at its holding rope, in readiness to dash -away into the misty deep. Two men muffled to the throat waited the -order. Roque, with never a word to the boys, directed them by gestures -to get aboard, quickly following. The launch cut through the now pitchy -darkness of the Helgoland waters. With the island lights no longer -visible, there could only be seen the lantern in front of the little -boat, and it was a dangerous speed to be making, when the helmsman had -scant view of hardly a yard ahead. - -But the man at the wheel was in familiar element, to him, and the -scudding vessel never came to drift movement until a glimmering signal -guided to the landing place, the name of which would have meant nothing -to the boys if they had had the care to inquire. - -This was Christmas night in the Bight of Helgoland. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -A THRILLING MOMENT. - - -UNDER oak rafters, festooned with dried herbs, and toasting their feet -at the cheery blaze of an open, roaring fire, the boys regained the -Christmas spirit that had been sorely subdued in the previous dismal -hour in the wave-tossed launch. - -The house that had thrown open a hospitable door at the bidding of -Roque overlooked the bay, and its solid walls had resisted the storms -of a half-century. Mine host, Spitznagle, had he been dressed for the -part, would have come very near to the Santa Claus idea, and even as he -was, some of the idea hung about him in a radiant circle. - -He could not, though, have possibly trimmed a tree in manner more -satisfactory than he decorated the big, square table in the center of -the wooden-walled dining-room, within easy distance of that first-class -fire. Sizzling sausages, small mountains of crullers, fragrant coffee, -mulled cider, and such like in quality and quantity, indicated a royal -spread. - -Roque, who had been prowling around somewhere outside for a time, -suddenly preceded a gust of sleety wind into the cozy interior. - -The Christmas spirit had apparently conjured up a bit of a kindly -spell for him, as the iron man fitted into the scene with far less -friction than the boys had anticipated, considering the mood of this -driving force during the trying day. - -"Snug haven, this, eh?" jovially queried the late arrival, as he spread -a pair of sinewy hands over the inviting fire. "You're spoiling these -youngsters, Spitz," was Roque's side remark to the blooming boniface, -at the moment stirring some savory stew in a glistening copper pot. -Mine Host waved a three-foot spoon in mock protest against the playful -accusation. - -"Nothing like that at all, my dear man," he declared in big bass tone. -"I will not spoil but will cure these children of their hunger." - -"Draw up, my hearties," urged Roque, setting example by dragging an oak -bench alongside of the bountifully laden table. Billy and Henri jumped -at the bidding. - -"Where are the men that brought us over?" asked Billy, presuming upon -the fact that Roque was in one of the rare periods out of his shell. - -"Back, I hope, where they came from," briefly replied Roque. "Those -fellows are hardy stock," he added, "and can see in the dark. Don't -worry about them." - -"Cuxhaven is some aircraft place, isn't it?" Henri put this wedge in -the conversation. - -"Perhaps it is," acknowledged the secret agent, "and" (grimly) "it may -soon return the upper-story visit just paid with a cloudful of warcraft -that will start a general hunt for cover." - -"Had you ridden often in airships before to-day, Mr. Roque?" inquired -Billy. - -Spitznagle muffled a chuckle by a slight fit of coughing when he heard -the question, and muttered something to himself like "donner vetter!" - -Roque turned a quick eye upon the fat offender, and then gave Billy a -smiling look-over before he made response. - -"I confess, young man, that I have enjoyed some lofty travel before I -met you, but I am willing to admit that I could not teach you and that -partner of yours many new tricks in flying the heavier than air kind of -machines." - -"How about the Zeppelins?" cried Spitznagle, who could no longer -suppress a desire to show his knowledge of Roque's prowess as an airman. - -"Hold your peace, Arnold," advised the secret agent, shaking his finger -at the eager champion, "my business compels me to learn a little of -everything, and it's all in a day's work, anyway." - -The boys were satisfied that Roque's renown had not all of it been won -on the ground. Spitznagle would have made a good witness to that effect -if he had been permitted to speak. - -While the tall clock in the turn of the winding staircase leading to -the upper floor of the old house was whanging the twelve strokes of -midnight, Roque and Spitznagle pledged the fatherland with uplifted -goblets, and Billy and Henri offered a silent toast to the assured soft -beds upstairs. - -When the early morning brought no disturbance of their inclination for -a little longer time to press the pillows, the boys sleepily guessed -that Roque, for once, was not in a hurry to dash into new territory. -As the sun kept climbing, and still no summons from below, curiosity -overruled napping, and the young aviators decided to investigate the -cause of this unusual consideration of their comfort. - -Halfway down the stairway their ears convinced them that the place -was not deserted, for a spirited conversation in the language of the -country was in progress, accompanied by a clatter of dishes, and the -ever present cooking odor of sausage assailed their noses. - -Besides Spitznagle, shrouded to the rib-line with his flowing apron, -were three very short men and an extremely long one. The latter proved -to be no other than the giant Zorn. Roque was nowhere to be seen. - -The heavy host noisily hailed the late comers: - -"Good morning, sleepyheads, and all this fine food waiting for you, -too." - -Zorn gave his best wide-mouthed grin, and then went on talking, in -lower tones, however, to his short companions. - -Billy and Henri made a substantial breakfast, and in doing so, hardly -felt the need of the constant urging of the boss cook. - -They could not imagine what had become of Roque, and as nobody -volunteered to tell them, they concluded not to ask any questions. - -The boys observed that one of the short men, with a large head wholly -out of proportion with his stocky body, commanded much deference from -the rest of the party. - -Henri learned from the drift of the conversation that this determined -looking individual was Capt. Groat of Friedrichshaven, the great center -of Zeppelin factories, and while the captain was not in uniform he had -the manner of rank. - -Billy was quietly advised by his chum what the talk was about, and -wagered that the two strangers were airmen. - -"When these fellows commence to flock together on this coast," he -asserted, "you can figure on what Roque meant when he fixed a comeback -to get even for that flying raid yesterday on Cuxhaven." - -The boys had withdrawn to the fireplace, and had an opportunity to -exchange comments and conclusions between themselves. - -"I'd like to take a whirl myself in one of those Zeppelins," was the -wish expressed by Henri. - -"Our flying education has been sadly neglected in that respect," -admitted Billy, "but, you know, these dirigibles are among the things -made only in Germany, and we're just over, so to speak." - -As the morning wore away, Zorn made some remark to Capt. Groat that had -attracted the latter's attention to the boys lounging at the fireplace. -The captain arose from the table and approached Billy and Henri with -outstretched hand. - -"You speak the German?" With the question he bestowed a strenuous grip -upon each of the boys. - -Henri nodded, and Billy confessed by blank look that he did not know -the language. - -"It is easy, the English," politely assured the captain, "and we will -talk it together." - -Billy brightened at this. He was not fond of hearing through an -interpreter. - -"I hear you are the great aviators, and for so young it is wonderful." - -"Thank you, sir," was Henri's modest acknowledgment. - -"It is with the Zeppelin I navigate," advised the captain. "You know it -not?" - -"Not much," put in Billy, "though we once dangled on the anchor of one, -and another time I fell with a monoplane right across the back of one -of your dirigibles." - -"Yes," remarked Henri, "and if it hadn't been for that, there wouldn't -have been any Billy alive to tell about it." - -The captain showed a disposition to continue his talk during the -afternoon with the boys, but a new arrival of evident importance -interrupted. This addition to the party was a much older man than the -rest, wore a military cloak, and his long, gray mustache curled at the -ends in close touch with his ears. As he stood at the end of the big -table, now cleared of its cloth, and rested a hand, enveloped in a -gauntlet, upon the shining surface, everybody in the room saluted. Over -the shoulder of this distinguished guest the boys saw the face of Roque. - -As if by signal, further increased by the hasty entrance of three -additional numbers, the attending company ranged by equal division on -each side of the table, and all followed the directing movement of the -man at the head of the board in seating themselves. - -Billy and Henri were the only bystanders, for though Spitznagle had not -ventured to flop down upon a bench at the table, he perched himself on -a high stool, completely blocking the door leading into the pantry. - -One of the short men who had first appeared with Capt. Groat produced -a capacious wallet, and laid out in orderly array a number of neatly -folded papers which had been contained in the leather. - -"This is the navigator detailed to determine air currents, sir," -explained Roque to the chief figure, at whose right elbow the secret -agent was stationed. - -The man in the cloak fixed his gaze on the expert with the notes. The -latter accepted this as permission to speak, and read in precise manner -the results of close observation during a recent aerial expedition of -Zeppelins, escorted by armed German biplanes, in the vicinity of Dover -straits. - -Henri's quick ear and thorough knowledge of the Teuton tongue put him -in line of complete understanding of the report, and that it seemed -preliminary to a proposed general raid of aircraft on territory with -which he was well acquainted. - -Billy's only satisfaction was in watching his chum's change of -expression as the news sifted through the latter's mind. He could see -that there was "something doing." - -So intently interested was the gathering at the table in the reading, -that the very existence of the youthful outsiders seemed to be -forgotten. - -"Good; excellent!" commented the chief. - -"It's a game with double trumps." Roque held the affair at Cuxhaven as -a choking memory. - -"There'll be quite a fall of hot shot, I promise you, if we get started -right." This was the prediction of Captain Groat. - -His lieutenants from Friedrichshaven nodded their approval. - -In anticipation of a telling counterstroke by their air squadron, the -plan makers at the table puffed up clouds of smoke from pipes and -cigars, freely distributed by the happy Spitznagle when the lengthy -discussion officially ended. In the added hours, when stone mugs were -passing among the thirsty, night had fallen outside, and the benches -were turned to the glowing fire. - -While Spitznagle was touching the tips of numerous candles with the -tiny flame from a paper spiral, the empty mugs were being removed by an -oddly dressed fellow, who shuffled around in carpet slippers like he -was tormented with a thousand pangs of rheumatism. - -The boys had boosted themselves to good lookout points on the wide -window ledges, behind the lively circle around the fire. - -The leather wallet and the survey notes of the expert air traveler lay -separate and apart on the table, just as they had when the reading -concluded. - -Billy was idly watching the halting action of the queer servitor, when, -to the great astonishment of the watcher, the apparent cripple, with -rapid hand movement, under cover of the wiping cloth he carried, deftly -lifted and concealed the papers somewhere in the scarecrow garments he -wore. - -It was a tense moment. The word that would have turned things upside -down in that room trembled on Billy's lips. But one of those remarkable -instances of mental telegraphy checked the utterance. The man who -had stolen the papers felt that his action had been detected from an -unexpected quarter, and his eyes lifted to the very point of danger. -There was an appeal in the look--and something else, a flash of -recognition that compelled a response. They were the smiling eyes of -Anglin--or, as Roque would have it, Ardelle. - -Billy, tongued-tied, saw the bent figure slowly shuffle toward the -kitchen. He inwardly trembled at the thought of the stocky airman -suddenly turning from the fireplace to seek his precious reports. He -added another little shake in advance of the turmoil that was bound -to be raised, anyhow, no matter how soon or how late the loss should -be discovered. But the consolation of delayed discovery would be that -Anglin had a chance to save his neck. - -"What's the matter with you, pal?" Henri had just noticed that Billy -was off color and wide-eyed as a trapped rabbit. - -Billy, for caution, laid a finger on his lips. "I've seen a ghost," he -whispered. - -With a glance of apprehension at the group circling the fireplace, -Billy leaned against the shoulder of his chum and with underbreath -speed told of the presence of Anglin and the taking of the papers. - -Henri was thrilled by the exciting story poured into his ear, and -immediately took on his share of anxiety as to the outcome of Anglin's -daring action. - -Bursts of laughter resounded at the fireplace. The company was then -applauding some humorous tale volunteered by Zorn, who had risen like -a tower to impress the point of his story. - -"Gee," murmured Billy, "will they never quit?" - -"Don't fret," advised Henri, "the blow will fall in due time." - -It did fall a few minutes later. - -The main mover of the meeting was saying: "Gentlemen, it is nearing a -new day, and there is great achievement before us. We go to prepare for -it." - -Benches were pushed back to clear the way, and this scraping sound -had hardly ceased when the short airman, who had made the interesting -report, hurried to the table for his valuable records. - -The boys leaned forward in breathless suspense. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE STOLEN PAPERS. - - -"MY papers! The report! Has anybody seen them?" - -The owner of the wallet shook it vigorously over the table, to -assure himself that he had not replaced the records there, and then -quickstepped the whole length and around the board, lowering his head -again and again beneath the polished surface to see if the documents he -was excitedly seeking could have possibly fallen on the floor. - -"What's that?" cried Roque, starting forward. "You've lost the papers, -you say?" - -"I didn't lose them," almost shouted the airman, "they were left on the -table, and if they're gone, they've been stolen." - -"Hey, my friend," remonstrated Spitznagle, "we have no thieves in this -house, and no enemies to the cause." - -"This is no time to bandy words," roared Roque, "shut and bar the -doors"--this last command directed at Zorn. The giant jumped at the -bidding and sent the bolts rattling into their sockets. - -The savage energy of Roque ruled all to silence. Even the power under -the cloak refrained from advising. - -The secret agent dismissed suspicion as to the active participants in -the conference, and as to the loyalty of Spitznagle he had not the -slightest doubt. The trial horses must needs be two pale-faced boys -backed up against a window-sill. - -Roque, with his hands deep in his pockets, a habit he had when stalking -a suspect, walked around the foot of the table and stood directly in -front of the pair, fixing on them that gimlet gaze he used to terrorize. - -Billy and Henri, when at bay, were the most keenly alive; their nerve -always served them most in the supreme test. - -They faced their inquisitor without an outward tremor; their previous -anxiety was known only to themselves, and now admirably concealed. - -Roque realized that he had no fluttering birds in his hands, and also -was aware that a search of their persons was only required to acquit -or convict these youngsters of the actual theft. He knew that they had -not left the room, though why he had not long ago sent them upstairs to -bed was a slip of mind he could not account for. But it had occurred -to Roque that the boys had been in a position to see the table all -the time since the company adjourned to the fire, and whatever had -happened in regard to the papers they, if not the light-fingered chaps -themselves, must have witnessed the perpetration of the steal. So he -changed his tactics. - -"Now, boys," he began with insinuating address, "there is a very ugly -situation here, and as I have always heretofore found you dependable, -cannot I now depend upon you to help me clear this up?" - -Henri shook his head, in denial for both. "Search us," he said. - -Roque, whose remarkable judgment of human nature has before been noted, -felt in an instant that the suggested search would develop nothing. - -"Who took the papers then?" he fiercely demanded. - -"We were not on guard duty." Billy was inclined to resent this -bullying, and showed it by his answer. - -"Strip them," urged the short airman, who thought he, as the loser, -ought to have a word in the controversy. - -Roque waved the man away, and then abruptly moved to where Spitznagle -was sitting, a picture of despair. - -"Who was in the house to-night besides those now present?" was the -question fired at Mine Host. - -"Nobody but Conrad," assured Spitznagle. - -"Who the devil is Conrad?" Roque fairly jumped at this information. - -"Why, a poor crippled fellow, as queer in the head as he was in the -legs, that I had helping in the kitchen. He lost his job as cook on the -coast line steamer _Druid_ on account of rheumatism, and they sent him -up here to me." - -"'They sent him up,' did 'they?' And now when did 'they' send him up?" - -"About a week ago. But what's all this about Conrad you're asking, -Roque? I'll have him in, and you can judge if he is worth a moment's -notice in this kind of affair." Spitznagle started for the kitchen -door, Roque at his heels. - -"Conrad, Conrad," called Spitznagle. - -"Conrad" had flown, leaving nothing behind him but his rheumatism and a -dingy apron. - -"Yell till you're hoarse, you fathead," raged Roque, "and the cows will -come home from nowhere before you get an answer." - -While Spitznagle was staring into vacancy, Roque stormed back into the -dining-room and announced: - -"We've been the dupes of that spy Ardelle. Nobody but he could have -gotten away with a venture like this. But" (gritting his teeth), "I'll -beat him yet. I say, Vollmer" (turning to the aerial recorder now -minus his records), "you have the whole thing in mind and we'll strike -while the iron is hot. We may outride the warning, for he can't get it -flashed from this coast." - -The man in the cloak came to the front on this proposition. "The word -is 'immediate,'" he proclaimed. - -A speedy departure was in order, and Roque crooked a finger at the -young aviators, bidding them follow. - -"You are going to be mighty useful, my flying friends," he said, "and -you'd better be." There was grim emphasis in these last words. - -At noon the next day the boys were again tramping around after Roque -in Cuxhaven. The character of "Dr. Blitz" was no longer in the play. -Roque was trimly set up as an aviation lieutenant, and it was really -wonderful how easily he merged into each part he assumed. "Students" no -longer, Billy and Henri were happy in resuming their flying clothes. - -"Best becomes our style of beauty," as Billy would have it. - -There seemed to be some unforeseen reason for delay, as the aerial -expedition did not start forthwith, as intended. Indeed, it did not -start from Cuxhaven at all. It might have been that Ardelle's theft of -the guide records had put a spoke in the German wheel, but as to that -the boys could only hazard a guess. - -It was on the twentieth day after the adventure in the house of -Spitznagle that the young aviators again had the opportunity of -operating a seaplane with Roque as directing passenger, and the -uninterrupted flight brought them to the island of Amesland, for -though Cuxhaven was counted as the airship base, it evidently was the -intent to project the return attack on the English coast from the -out-to-sea point before named. - -What an array of the warcraft of the "upper deep"--the great -dirigibles, seaplanes, destroyer, artillery spotter and scout -aeroplanes. The boys were in their element. Even Roque had a smile for -their enthusiasm. It was not the war spirit that animated Billy and -Henri--they reveled in the show as airmen delighted with the life. - -In this camp were none but the suicidally brave type of fighters, -and it was only that kind fit to essay the trackless line of three -hundred miles over the sea. From what the boys, or, rather one of them, -Henri, could learn from the camp talk, a pair of the latest Zeppelin -dirigibles were to participate, but the main movers of this attack -were evidently to be airships of the small, non-rigid Parseval build, -for bomb work. The truth of the matter was, the young aviators, at -the order of Roque, were so taken up with the tuning of a seaplane -just before the fleet went aloft that they could not have listed the -starters with any degree of accuracy. - -They only knew positively that they were going aloft, and their own -machine would require their individual attention. About 8:30 that night -the glare of a powerful searchlight from one of the German airships -directed its rays over the heart of the English city of Yarmouth. Two -bombs dropped almost simultaneously. - -The boys saw the city below suddenly plunged into darkness. Five more -bombs were hurled from the sky. The fleet then swiftly moved northeast, -and more bombs crashed into the town of Kings Lynn. Roque had assumed -no active part as a leader in the deadly maneuvers--his was a thinking -assignment. It was midnight when the fleet turned eastward and fled -back across the North Sea. - -"It might have been London," muttered the secret agent, "if the game -could have been played without a break." - -Preparations to repel just such an invasion had been made in the great -city. - -Ardelle must have gotten his warning across, but the coast towns failed -to heed it. - -The Roque machine kept its speed when the balance of the fleet checked -flight at Amesland. The secret agent was bound for Cuxhaven, doubtless -to plan another tiger spring at the foe. He was all for air campaigning -these days. - -"You will witness the sight of your lives, you young cyclones, before -last night's mist of the North Sea dries in your hair." - -This significant remark on Cuxhaven docks set the boys in the highest -state of expectancy. It was seldom that Roque billed anything ahead of -time, and surely something extraordinary must be in the wind. - -Three days later, from a dizzy height, they witnessed a sky battle -without parallel in military annals, and which dimmed the memory of any -of their previous remarkable experiences in the war zone. - -The French coast town of Dunkirk, to which the boys had on a happy day -gone by been delivered by submarine and taken away in a seaplane, was -the ground center of this spectacular conquest of the air--the first of -its kind in the history of the world. - -Twenty hours earlier a fleet of British seaplanes had bombarded the -Belgian port of Zeebrugge, held by the Germans, news of which had soon -after reached the mystery man, Roque, by way of one of the innumerable -channels of communication with which he kept himself constantly in -touch. - -The German bird craft suddenly appeared over Dunkirk like a flock of -gigantic sea gulls. - -Explosive missiles fell as fiery hail upon the town. The tocsin sounded -in the high tower of Dunkirk church, and the blue and white flag of the -town was run up. - -The roar of the fort guns, firing shrapnel, was heard, and all around -the German fliers white puffs were bursting, as the pilots guided their -machines in low-swooping spirals. - -In compliance with the snappy commands of Roque, Billy circled the -seaplane to every point of observation vantage, while the secret agent -viewed the action of the armored Aviatik biplanes, dashing here and -there with the sun glinting on their steel sides. - -"Look there!" shouted Henri, rising and clutching a stay to preserve -his balance. The air was clear, and the scene was open even to the -naked eye. - -Billy, at the wheel, risked a glance sideways. - -A squadron of British aviators, encamped on the outskirts of Dunkirk, -had taken the air to engage the raiders. - -One speedy biplane darted straight toward the German craft. Henri saw -the aviator clutch the levers of his machine in one hand and with the -other unsling a rifle, beginning fire at a German birdman below him. - -A half dozen armored aeroplanes of the raiding force swarmed in upon -the daring Briton. His machine was peppered with lead, and it was -apparent that the man had been wounded as he dipped toward the earth to -evade the encircling Germans. - -Other English aviators swept into the whirling combat, and to the -rescue of their wounded leader. The raiders turned toward the north, -now being shrapnelled by anti-aircraft guns stationed along the coast. - -Roque pointed upwards, signalling for rapid ascent, and at six -thousand feet the seaplane, with tremendous burst of speed, soon -overhauled and outdistanced the slower warcraft, making a wide detour -over the sea, thus avoiding the volleys of rifle shots from the Allies' -infantry near Nieuport. - -Roque, looking at his watch, turned to Billy, just behind him, -remarking: - -"That much in fifty minutes is not often recorded--of these things they -shall sing on the Rhine." - -In Bremen the boys paid grateful tribute to rest after the strain and -stress to which they had been put by their relentless taskmaster. - -"I feel," said Billy, "like the hump between my shoulders is going to -be permanent, and I couldn't keep my elbows down to save my soul." - -"If I could only get the whirr out of my ears, I'd be satisfied," was -Henri's complaint. - -It was not long, however, before the boys found relief from the kinks -in their backs, and were ready and eager for the next move in their -adventurous careers. - -Just around the corner from their hotel was the very cafe where they -had the thrill of seeing Anglin's face in the mirror while they were -dining there with Roque. - -"Wouldn't it be funny if Anglin were to bob up again while we are here?" - -"I think, Billy, that it would be a tragedy if Roque had any inkling of -it." - -"Don't you hold the thought for a moment, Henri, that you could catch -the Calais weasel asleep. Oh, I say, there's a concert on downstairs," -quickly concluded Billy, as the notes of violin and piano were wafted -above. "Let's hunt the music." - -A high tenor voice was merging into the accompaniment when the boys -reached the floor below, and they saw that the singer was one of the -curly-lock type, and in evening attire. - -What of the eyes, though, that gleamed upon the Aeroplane Scouts as -they stood in the doorway--the artistic make-up could fool them, but -there was no mistaking the smiling orbs under the blackened eyebrows. - -Fox tracks were mixing again! - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT. - - -THE vocal efforts of this new favorite had called forth round after -round of applause, for good music never went amiss in Teuton territory. - -Among the vigorous hand-clappers the boys noted a well-groomed man, -apparently about forty, wearing an affable manner and the best clothes -that the continent can produce. - -Henri nudged Billy. "Size up Roque, won't you, please, and isn't he a -dandy?" - -Billy was first inclined to doubt the identity of their taskmaster, who -a couple of hours ago was a far cry from being in the glass of fashion. -Never before had the boys seen him in that sort of rig. - -"You're dead right, Henri, it is the old scout. He's a corker, sure!" - -This note of admiration had scarcely sounded when Roque was joined by a -slender, wiry individual, also set up as a swell, with a shock of sandy -hair, and sporting a monocle. - -The fellow with the quizzing glass had apparently moved to get a better -view of the singer, as well as to get in touch with the secret agent. - -"Wonder if that's the man who spotted Anglin on the parade ground at -Hamburg?" - -"Don't let your imagination run away with you, Henri," advised Billy, -who in speaking was careful not to indicate that his attitude was -anything but careless. - -The sandy-haired man was taking the same precaution, but Henri, nursing -the idea that would not down, was more and more impressed with the -belief that the elegant figure was seeking the measure and not the -music of the warbler at the other end of the room. - -If the singer had sized up the situation, it had not affected his -rendering a bit of light opera that was just then exciting an encore. -There was nothing at all the matter with his German or with his voice. - -Nobody apparently was more delighted than Roque, and he appeared to be -expressing his opinion to the wiry listener beside him. - -The latter bowed politely and then sauntered toward the revolving door -leading into the lounging section of the hotel, fingering a cigar as he -proceeded. - -Henri edged around nearer to the piano, the player of which was -completing the program with a national air, the melody of many voices -aiding the performance. - -Billy had hardly realized the desertion of his chum when he saw that -Roque had changed his position, and was standing nearest the door -leading to the street. The secret agent shifted something from his hip -to the sidepocket of his coat, and Billy caught the glitter of that -something in the swift movement. The boy guessed then that there was -trouble brewing. - -In the meantime, Henri, in an innocent sort of way, pushed still closer -to the pianist, who was hitting the high notes in fine style. - -As he passed within a foot of the singer, now idly posing, with an -elbow on the piano top, he, without turning his head, joined in the -triumphant chorus, but changed two words at the climax, and "beat it" -reached Anglin's ear. - -The French sleuth never moved a muscle, and it was as if the warning -had been passed to a man stone deaf. - -Anyone posted, however, would have known that within an arm's length of -Anglin was a wall switch which controlled the electric lights by which -the room was so brilliantly illuminated. - -Billy had just had the experience of being rather rudely thrust aside -by a couple of burly troopers, who seemed inspired to get as quickly as -possible into the very center of the select circle. - -"Get him!" - -As this command rang out the astonished pleasure seekers started a -panic, as if an alarm of fire had sounded. There was a rush for every -doorway, but every way of departure was blocked by stalwart guardsmen. - -Billy was not among those who tried to break through the doors--he was -dodging among the charging force sent in by the loud orders to "get -him." - -Click! The room was suddenly shrouded in darkness, penetrated a little -distance only by the lights beyond the entrance of the lounging room -section. - -The pursuing force, working from several directions, ran into one -another's arms. The pianist, familiar with the place, leaped for the -electric switch, and turned on the flood of light. - -Everybody was present but the singer! - -Henri had a perch on the keyboard of the piano, which he had sought to -save a mad tramping on his feet. - -"Set you to catch a weasel," sneered Roque, as the sandy-haired man -stood staring at the shattered casement of the tall window overlooking -an inner court of the hotel. - -"He can't get clear away," retorted the sandy one. - -"Stop him then," challenged Roque. "Don't stand there like a stoughton -bottle." - -The pursuers scoured the building from bottom to top, and every street -and alley roundabout, but it was a case of looking for a needle in a -haystack. - -Roque was in a black mood. Once more baffled by his cunning chief -adversary, the only one he acknowledged in his own class, and on his -own stamping ground--it was a bitter dose for the master craftsman. - -Did he remember how he himself had spread a web over Britain, woven so -finely that even Scotland Yard could not see it? Yet he rebelled at the -like cut of a diamond. - -"Stir your stumps," was his peremptory address to the boys, and they -trotted to catch his long stride out of the hotel. - -The sidewalks on both sides of the street were crowded with curious -onlookers, attracted by the reported doings inside. - -Roque bucked the line like a football star, and Billy and Henri -followed in the cleared space without special exertion. - -"He doesn't care whom he pushes," observed Billy, as he listened to -angry protests along the line of travel. - -Both of the boys were eager to talk over the latest disappearing act of -that wonderful Anglin, but not so anxious as to take chances with Roque -in earshot. - -The secret agent turned into a silent side street, and stopped before a -heavily grated door in the gloomy front of a solid stone building that -was a skyscraper in height. Reaching through the grating, he evidently -opened way of communication with the interior, for in a moment or two a -glimmer of light splintered through the barred entrance, the ponderous -lock creaked, and the door swung back on its massive hinges. A skull -cap and a gray beard showed behind the lamp shining in the doorway. -Roque pushed the boys ahead of him, and their closing in was marked by -a clang behind them. - -They followed their guide through a long corridor and into a modern -high-power elevator, that shot noiselessly upwards. It was a circular -room into which they stepped, the very tip of a tower, and a wireless -telegraph apparatus was there in operation. - -"How is it working?" promptly questioned Roque of an operator who was -off his turn, and relieved of his headgear. - -The man jumped to his feet, all attention, and replied: "There's been -hardly a break for an hour, sir." - -Here was one of the hidden intelligence stations that accounted in -part for Roque's ability to get searching and quick information. That -he should initiate the boys into his particular secret service methods -indicated a determination that they should never get away from him. - -As Billy said to Henri at a chance moment, "He thinks we are booked -for a life job as his air chauffeurs." - -They were not aware as yet that in the extensive grounds, housed at the -water's edge, was the seaplane in which they had recently traveled so -far, and in addition a big biplane and two monoplanes were in hangars -ready for service. Also the most speedy of steam launches rested at the -private wharf. - -Roque was a recognized genius, like every cog in the German wheel, -absolutely thorough in his methods, and the means placed at his -disposal were practically limitless. - -Billy and Henri had climbed into the steep embrasure of a tower window -and were enjoying the magnificent view spread out before them. - -"How about my imagination now?" Henri was recalling exciting incidents -in the hotel. "Didn't I get the figure of the sandy man as a spotter?" - -"I think you did," admitted Billy. "But," he continued, "I didn't take -much stock in the idea until I saw the revolver in Roque's hand. Then I -knew that the fat was in the fire." - -"I gave Anglin the cue to beat it, and I did the trick by breaking into -that Rhine song," exclaimed Henri. "Yet he never made a move until the -yell of 'get him,' and I thought the jig was up, sure. He's the coolest -hand in the business, that fellow." - -"Some of these days, maybe, he'll fall a little short in one of those -getaways, and that will mean a tumble into six feet of earth." - -"Not he," stoutly maintained Henri, "he's the regular man with a -charmed life. Say, I can't help laughing even now when I think of -Spitznagle calling 'Conrad,' and the expression on Roque's face." - -Billy gave Henri a kick on the foot. Roque was approaching with a sheaf -of telegraph messages in his hand. - -"What are you boys jabbering about? I want you to go down to the wharf -with Albert and get the seaplane in trim. I'll join you in half an -hour." - -Albert, a strapping youth, with the breezy way of a sailor, guided the -boys across the grounds to the hangar, and watched with interest the -making ready of the airship. - -"That's not my kind of a boat," he briskly stated, "but I'll be bound -if this kind of craft didn't give us submarine workers a Christmas -surprise. Ever travel in a submarine?" - -"We had a ride in one that we will never forget," replied Henri, as he -applied the oil can to the big motors. - -Billy, busy with the steering gear, was not expected to answer, as he -did not understand the question. - -"It is all a question of ups and downs, anyhow," went on Albert, "bombs -from above and torpedoes from below." - -This trade discussion ended with the arrival of Roque, who had severed -himself from style and was again in aviation attire. - -"Now, my carrier pigeons, you are in for a homing flight, that is, -Hamburg; and it may be some time before you again get a breath of this -port." - -With this assurance the seaplane was launched and took the airline for -Hamburg, leaving Albert to his own devices. - -The travelers soon had sight of Zorn's ever-ready grin at the home of -"the well-known tradesman." - -"We've been through a lot since we were last hauled out of these -feathers," remarked Billy, as he bounced into the bed pillows that -night. - -Happily, "coming events do not cast shadows" for sound sleepers. - -Roque had departed for the city before the boys charged into the -breakfast room. - -"He has gone to the store," announced Zorn, who uncovered his teeth an -extra inch, in compliment to his own humor. - -"Let's go over to see Lieutenant Hume," proposed Billy, after breakfast. - -"Just the ticket," agreed Henri, "I'm crazy to get a peep at the old -flying quarters again." - -But Zorn objected to any move that Roque had not ordered. - -The boys had to be satisfied with the prospect, for to run against -Zorn would be akin to tackling a mountain. - -When Roque returned, sure enough, he was again playing the -merchant--horn, spectacles, and all. - -"Ah, young sirs, kindly waiting for the weary worker?" - -"Same old blarney," muttered Billy. - -Zorn chuckled as he relieved the "merchant" of his hat and overcoat. - -"Some time ago I believe I told you that here you were only balancing -on the edge of the great empire, and there might be an opportunity for -you to see much more of the country. The opportunity is at hand. I have -been called by trade interests further afield, and as I cannot consent -to a separation, you will continue as my companions." - -In his hour of relaxation, Roque really enjoyed this sort of word play, -and he eyed the boys to see if they appreciated the fact that all of -the best actors were not on the stage. - -He was sure of Zorn's sincere appreciation. This man had seen the chief -in many parts. - -Henri accepted the cue, and, with a profound bow, and a hand on his -heart, replied in kind: - -"My dear Herr Roque, we would grieve if you left us behind." - -"What of you?" Roque turned to Billy. - -"Oh, anything goes with me." The boy from Bangor always hit straight -from the bat. - -The last evening of many in Hamburg was a very pleasant one to the -boys. Roque's intimate knowledge of London and Paris was displayed -in entertaining way, with no reference to his own exploits as the -cleverest conspirator that ever invaded court and palace. He expressed -regret that he had never seen America, and induced Billy to tell about -Boston and Bangor. - -It may also be recorded that with this evening the boys unconsciously -said good-by to the character of the Hamburg merchant. They went far -with the many-sided man, but never again saw him in the role imposed by -this big city on the Elbe. - -When the boys retired they left master and man--Roque and -Zorn--conversing before the fire. With the coming of the morning, the -journey to the unknown began, and the Aeroplane Scouts had no idea of -its purpose or their assignment in the new sphere of action. - -That it would, however, include further conquest of the air they might -have guessed. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -A FLYING VICTORY. - - -IT was a great day for the boys when they set foot in imperial Berlin, -with its palaces, art galleries, museums, parliament building, -monuments, magnificent parks, and over all its martial spirit. - -Roque, by which name, it might be mentioned, he was not known in this -heart of the empire, soon demonstrated to his charges that he was the -man higher up by his manner of getting about, and the high cost of -living had no worries for him. - -"Who'd have thought that we would be hitched up to a ten-time winner -like this?" Billy was content for the time being to be allied with -power. - -Among the many who answered the summons of Roque in the intelligence -bureau, the young aviators were most interested in a score of blond, -blue-eyed, well-set-up Saxons, renowned as Zeppelin navigators, who -were destined to guide the "terrors of the air" in furtherance of -another raiding plan taking form in the fertile brain of the eminent -promoter of trouble for the enemy. - -While the boys had faith only in the heavier-than-air machines, they -conceded that the risk taken by the Zeppelin crews entitled the latter -to brush elbows with the crack flyers of the other kind of bird craft. -It was also true that when a Zeppelin got anywhere it was a tremendous -factor in war. And it was no question but that the Fatherland had gone -Zeppelin mad. - -Woe betide the hostile airmen who dropped the bomb on the Zeppelin -works at Friedrichshaven if Roque had the means of catching them. It -was only another score that he had marked up against Ardelle, whom -the master agent of the empire charged with planning this destructive -performance. - -"Roque said he was going to show us where these gas cruisers grow," -Henri advised Billy one evening, getting this news while his chum was -engaged in an argument with a Zeppelin worker. - -"Something I've been wanting to see," exclaimed Billy. "I owe something -to a Zeppelin, even if it is like a balloon." - -This last was a sort of side swipe at the man who had been on the other -side of the argument. - -"There is one thing sure, these dirigibles can't camp out." This was -Billy's first remark in Friedrichshaven. - -He was peering into a big steel-framed shed with a glass roof which -housed one of these grim engines of the air--a great cylinder flanked -by platforms. This newest of the huge airships was about the length of -a first-class battleship, and the opinion of the young aviator that it -could not drop anywhere and everywhere like the aeroplanes he drove was -not a prejudiced one. - -When Henri had a look at the powerful motors he was impressed with -their capacity to drink up petrol at a most appalling rate. - -"What's her top speed?" he asked one of the big fellows who had -traveled over from Berlin with them. - -"Forty-five miles in the calm," was the reply. - -"Gee!" exclaimed Billy. "We could get a seaplane home for breakfast -while they were waiting supper on you!" - -"Yet," claimed the Zeppelin expert, "it's the car they're all afraid -of." - -"It certainly does look like a scaremark," admitted Henri, who -remembered a certain evening on the Belgian coast, when he was one of -the company aboard a stranded hydroplane dragged ashore by the swinging -anchor of a Zeppelin, which loomed overhead like a cloud, and buzzed -like a million bees. - -A gang of at least a hundred men swarmed about the shed when the order -issued for a trial trip of the new super-Zeppelin, a sample of the -fleet in course of building, and Roque carefully noted every detail of -equipment. - -The gas chambers were fed with pure hydrogen, no common coal gas, -and many thousand cubic meters were in the flow of this one envelope -filling. - -"Guess they'd have to carry a hydrogen factory around with this outfit -to keep it going," observed Billy, as he noted the elaborate process. - -"Not that bad," advised the man at his elbow, "this gas can be -transported from the factory in cylinders under pressure." - -"Just think of it," put in Henri, "I heard them say just now that it -took thirty gallons of petrol an hour to buzz these motors." - -"Biggest thing I know in the air business. I wish Captain Johnson could -see an expense bill like this. He'd have a fit." Billy would, indeed, -have counted it a red-letter occasion if his old friend, and the boss -airman of Dover, were really at hand to take in this show. - -To go aloft in an airship about which they were not thoroughly posted -was a brand-new experience for the boys, but they were not in the least -degree like the proverbial cat in a strange garret. It was easy riding, -and none of the guns pointed their way. Billy carried a memorandum of -a British military biplane, with a record of 10,000 miles, which Henri -and himself had once patched up, that had been hit by 250 rifle bullets -and sixty fragments of shells. He wondered if the immense craft in -which they were sailing could have floated with, proportionately, about -ten times that amount of lead poured into her. But Billy, of course, -did not then know much about Zeppelins. - -Roque, however, was eminently well satisfied, particularly with the -improved method of distributing explosives where they would do the most -harm. The airship had a special armored compartment for bombs near the -propellers and a big gun mounted in front to destroy aeroplanes. "Get a -fleet of these over the English channel," he proclaimed, "and somebody -would think that hell had been moved upstairs!" - -"I'll say this much," announced Billy, "I'd take an ocean voyage for my -health if I knew when they were coming." - -"But if the fighting crowd over there had the date and the hour, I'll -promise you that the reception your fleet would receive would be warm -enough to boil an egg." This was Henri's prediction. - -"We never advertise," grimly remarked Roque. - -When the Zeppelin had completed her trial trip and had again been -housed by the small army of workmen, Roque informed the boys that he -was going to give them the chance on the morrow to show their mettle in -a biplane test, which was to decide the relative merits as to the speed -of two special designs. - -"I am going to put you up to jockey the machine that I favor," he said, -"and, mind you, the aviators that will drive against you are among the -finest in our flying corps. I always pick my men by personally knowing -what they can do in any line of action. They seldom fail me, and it is -with you to make good." - -"We're going some, Herr Roque, when we come up to your standard," -replied Henri. - -"See that you are 'going some' at the finish of the race to-morrow," -laughed Roque. - -"It will be because something breaks if we don't hit the high mark," -assured Billy. - -"Go over and size up your winged steed," directed Roque, pointing -to a hangar across the field. "Show them No. 3"--this to one of the -attendants. - -"This is no mosquito," announced Billy, after a view of the fine lines -of "No. 3." - -"Speed there, I tell you, old boy," was Henri's comment as he walked -around the rigging, "and carrying armor, too." - -In an hour the boys had fully comprehended all the new features of this -up-to-the-minute machine. They had been builders themselves and knew a -good stroke of the business when they saw it. - -Returning across the field, Billy and Henri were introduced to the -rival aviators by Roque. The German airmen were a jolly pair, and -showed by the professional courtesy they exhibited to the two of their -kind that the coming contest was wholly a friendly one, and the results -to be of value to the flying corps. - -"No. 2 is a little older than your machine," was the greeting of one of -the Teuton experts, "but it can hold its own." - -Roque, speaking for his champions, gaily disposed of this claim: - -"Keep your eyes open to-morrow, Fritz, or you will get lost somewhere -in the rear." - -"No fear, sir; there are no cobwebs on No. 2." - -"What are they talking about, Buddy?" asked Billy. - -"They just think they are going to beat us, that's all," interpreted -Henri. - -A bright clear morning presented itself for the aerial race, and Lake -Constance lay like a broad mirror under the sunlight. The course was -set due north and straightaway for twenty miles, and the turn fixed at -a high point called Round Top, upon which, Roque informed the boys, a -tall flagstaff had been mounted. - -There were no preliminary trials, for both machines had been carefully -groomed, and each was as fit as a fiddle. - -With the aviators up the biplanes scudded down the field for the rise, -and got away upon almost equal terms, the German drivers slightly in -the lead, through better acquaintance with the lay of the ground. They -trailed a yellow streamer, while the boys floated a band of black. - -The ascent reached 2,000 feet, when the machines darted north like -arrows. Roque and a group of officers about him followed the speeders -through field glasses. - -"They would run a swallow to death," remarked the secret agent to the -aviation lieutenant at his side. - -The aeroplanes had dwindled in the vision to mere specks, and there was -no telling which was in the fore. - -"Ah, they are headed back!" cried Roque. "Now for the show-down." - -The glasses revealed the specks moving twin-like, and such was the -terrific onrush that the crowd surging in the field soon caught a view -of the contestants in growing size. - -One enthusiast shouted: "Fritz will shut them out!" - -But the glasses did not uphold the prediction. The machine with the -black streamer was evidently using the reserve power that had been -claimed for the newer make, and Henri was getting the best out of it. -Yet the first-born craft was being handled in a masterly manner, had -plenty of go to spare, and five miles still rolled between the speeders -and the finish flag. - -Now four, and the machines were bow and bow; now three, and the yellow -band flapped a few feet behind the black; now two, now within the mile, -and the whirring of the motors audible to the nerve-strained watchers -below--then the close finish--and the white-faced pilot crowned victor -was Billy Barry of Bangor, U. S. A.! - -When the aeroplanes made landing, Roque pushed through the crowd and -favored the Aeroplane Scouts with a forcible slap between the shoulders. - -The victors were quick enough to extend hands to the vanquished. - -"My friend," cried Billy, giving Fritz a warm grip, "it was only fifty -feet, and it was the new motors that did it." - -Then the crowd cheered, while the efficiency committee agreed with -Roque that "No. 3" was the machine to be many times duplicated. - -"That was something over a mile a minute coming back, I guess," figured -Billy. - -"The fastest heavy craft I ever sailed in," was Henri's expressed -belief. - -"I think you youngsters could make a living here if I were to bounce -you," said Roque, who had been talking to some of the factory chiefs. -"But you are hooked to my train for a while yet. And that reminds me -that the mentioned train starts in the direction of Austria in the next -two hours. Vienna is not a slow place, you will find." - -As Roque was likely to jump anywhere at the drop of a hat, the boys in -his company had long since lost the emotion of surprise. - -Perpetual motion had become a habit with them. - -In the Austrian capital the travelers encountered many invalids from -the front, men who limped a little, had an arm in a sling, or a -bandaged head. The Viennese on the surface did not seem to be greatly -impressed by the tragedy of the war--evidently becoming used to it--yet -the determination to fight to the finish, while not as grim as in -Berlin, was there, nevertheless. - -Another thing that impressed the boys was that here foreign terms were -still much in evidence--French and English. In Berlin it was different. - -As Billy said, "we're in a better mixing town." He and Henri were -told that quite a number of medical and art students from America had -decided that Vienna was safe enough for them, but Roque kept his airmen -close under his wing, and they had no opportunity to pass even the time -of day with any of the U. S. A. crowd. - -They had no present desire, however, to attempt a bolt from Roque and -did not believe, anyway, that their detention was just then seriously -affecting their health. - -"Time enough to run," was Billy's philosophy, "when his nobs begins to -kick in our ribs." - -They were seeing plenty to keep them interested, the arrival of -sleeping-car trains bringing the wounded to the capital, the movement -of troops bound for the Polish or Galician front, the daily sights of -the Ring and the Kartnerstrasse. - -Roque, as usual, was up to his eyes in war business, ever behind the -scenes but ever moving, for there is close military cooperation between -Germany and Austria-Hungary. All interests related to the war have been -pooled--one empire gives to the other what can be spared. The king-pin -of secret agents from Berlin served a purpose wherever he went. - -He sat in no open councils, but privately conducted many of his own, -was constantly receiving and dispatching messages, and the devices he -originated to aid his disguised subordinates burrowing for information -in hostile territory were too numerous for detail. These latter -operations were not accompanied by band music, for officially this live -wire had no identity. - -"If that man took a pot shot at the ocean you would never know in what -direction he was aiming unless you happened to see the splash." Billy -was not far from being right in the summing up of Roque's methods. - -Within the next hour the boys "happened to see the splash." - -A uniformed messenger handed Roque a telegram. The secret agent hastily -read it, and sprang to his feet, his eyes aglow with triumphant -satisfaction. - -"I've got Mr. Ardelle in a stone box at last!" - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE RAIN OF BOMBS. - - -THE boys in silence watched the secret agent as he further displayed -his gratification over the news conveyed in the telegram by snapping -his fingers and slapping his knees, completing the performance by -vigorous puffing of a big black cigar, of which brand he always carried -a plentiful supply. - -Billy and Henri were just aching to learn more about the reported -capture of Anglin (Ardelle), just where the "stone box" that held him -was located, and how the "smiling sleuth" had happened to run into a -net that he could not break through. - -But they were well aware that it would not be a bit of use to seek -the eagerly desired information in advance of Roque's disposition to -give it, and they did not dare openly to show personal interest in the -matter. - -It was not until the master plotter had burned his cigar to inch -measure that he thought to address the lads, fixing expectant gaze upon -him. - -"They jugged the fox in Alsace, on the way to his home den, and filled -up, I suppose, with some choice morsels to regale the enemy." - -"Maybe it's another case of 'now you see him and now you don't.'" It -was Henri who plucked up courage to say this. - -"Not this time," insisted Roque. "He is tightly in the toils, and never -a chance to show his cunning. His course is run." - -It soon became evident that the speaker proposed to be "in at the -death," as fox chasers call the finish. - -In less than two hours Vienna, the city gay and unafraid, was behind -the three travelers, and their next goal the imperial territory of -Alsace-Lorraine. - -Into Lower-Alsace, on the last leg of the journey, Roque and the boys -took to horse, with cavalry escort. They were again on real fighting -ground. - -Henri picked out of a conversation between Roque and the captain of -the troop the words "Homberg castle," later that a group of important -German officers resided there, and still later that within those walls -Anglin was a prisoner. - -Billy was immediately posted by his chum as to the situation. - -Upon arrival at the castle, Roque, in that mysterious but effective way -of his, established his footing as a privileged guest, and his first -move was to pass the guard at the door of the strong-room, where his -chief rival in the art peculiar was confined. - -The boys without reprimand were close at the heels of the German agent. - -Anglin was sitting on a bench, under the checkered light of a high, -barred window. While his face showed harsh lines of great strain, the -inevitable smile was in his eyes. He arose instantly from the bench, -and bowed gracefully to the foe who confronted him. - -"Monsieur, you are welcome." This to Roque. Upon the boys he bestowed -not the slightest recognition. - -Roque, not to be outgeneraled as a diplomat, inclined his head in -return. - -"I came a long way to visit you, sir," he politely stated, "and would -have regretted had you felt otherwise than you have intimated." - -This fencing with buttons on the foils was soon succeeded by the sharp -points unprotected. - -"Ardelle, the longer the breath is in you the more you can tell; is the -breath worth the telling?" - -"You speak in riddles, Monsieur," quietly replied the prisoner. - -"Do you deny that you are Ardelle?" demanded Roque. - -"Am I now on trial?" was the counter-question. - -Roque extended a menacing finger. "Have a care, man!" he thundered. - -The prisoner calmly ignored the growing wrath of his arch-enemy, -shrugged his shoulders, and with a wave of the hand indicated that -continued argument was useless. - -"You will have until to-morrow morning to decide whether you will -accept me as an advocate or an accuser." - -The Frenchman turned wearily toward the window, and with his hands -folded behind him stood watching through the bars the little gray -cloudlets pushing their way through the blue expanse of the sky. It -might be that this view would not concern him after the morrow. He was -thus engaged when Roque stamped his way out of the room. Henri would -have paused in the hope of one look from Anglin but the latter seemed -wholly unconscious of the presence of the lads. - -Under the steely exterior of Roque, the milk of human kindness had not -wholly curdled, for he sadly said, half to himself and half to his boy -companions: - -"He must expect no more than I could expect; when we fail we fail -alone, and so alone must we suffer." - -It was about two o'clock in the morning of the day when Anglin, or -Ardelle, was expected to read his fate in the eyes of those assembled -as a military tribunal. The identity of the prisoner was, no doubt, -fully established, for the boys had noted the presence in the assembly -hall earlier in the night of the sandy-topped man who had started the -hue and cry in the Bremen hotel, where the French sleuth was posing as -a public singer. - -Billy and Henri were tossing in uneasy slumber. The only sounds inside -the castle were occasional snores from adjoining apartments and from -the outside the whinnying and stamping of the cavalry horses. - -Suddenly the quiet was shattered as if by a thunderbolt. The boys -literally tumbled out of bed, gasping from the shock. A blinding flash -at the windows and another crash. - -Soul-shaking cries of "fire!" resounded throughout the building, and -through the halls swept volumes of smoke. - -The celebrated ancient furniture in the castle, it having been the -summer residence of French nobility, was fine food for flames, and the -red destroyer soon raged in conflagration. - -Crash after crash, and with each concussion myriad sparks shot through -great holes in the castle roof. - -Bombs were being dropped from aloft. - -The boys hastened with other occupants of the upper floors to the broad -staircase in front of the structure. There they paused, elbowed against -the wall by those pressing from the rear. There was no wild confusion -or panic behind them, however, such as might have ensued under the same -terrifying circumstances with other than trained soldiers involved. -When Billy and Henri took to the wall at the head of the staircase -it was a voluntary act on their part. The same thought with both had -impelled the pause: - -Had Anglin been released from the fiery vortex or still restrained by -iron bolts and bars? - -The room in which the captive was held faced a gallery running at right -angles from the main stairway. - -Pulling their jackets up and over their heads, the boys plunged through -the wall of smoke on mission of rescue--a mission without result, for -the door of the place of confinement was wide open, and no one was -there. - -The rescuing party of two then turned their intent upon themselves, -and none too quickly, for they had hardly won safety when the castle -enclosure was wholly enveloped by consuming flame. - -Farm buildings adjoining were also ablaze, and the wide highway -stretching away to the east showed whitely in the glare. - -In the red canopy overhead winged shadows whirred and whirled, dipped -and leaped. - -Billy and Henri proceeded down the road to escape the growing heat and -rolling smoke. When the roaring of the fire had somewhat lessened in -their hearing, they detected a familiar hum, just ahead and closing -down beyond the border of the rising mist of the morning. - -As aviators, the boys were instantly aware that an aeroplane was -working near and the proof was immediately furnished by the appearance -of the aircraft itself, swooping into the circle of illumination, -skimming close to the surface of the highway. - -The lads sprang forward to greet the aerial visitor, and as they did so -a tall figure, hatless and coatless, leaped from the cover of a ditch -nearby, ran like a deer alongside the skimming biplane, and vaulted -into the frame behind the daring navigator. - -As the machine took the uplift, Billy and Henri were so close, and the -fire-flow so vivid, that they plainly saw the faces of both the saver -and the saved. - -The man who had jumped into the machine was Anglin; the aviator was -Gilbert Le Fane, the noted airman of Rouen, whom our boys had once -followed in flight from Havre to Paris. - -From the fire zone there was coming a hurrying body of men, and rifles -began to spit lead at the swiftly rising aircraft. Too late, though, -to reach the height attained by the biplane. A shrill yell of defiance -floated back on the breeze of the morning, and deep and heavy were the -expressions of baffled rage by those grouped in the road below. - -Roque and the sandy-haired assistant could be heard above all the rest. - -The boys were again in the role of innocent bystanders. - -When the sun later replaced the flames in lighting up the sky, not a -trace of the French airmen could be sighted, save the marks of their -raid--the blackened ruin of the castle and smouldering remains of the -adjoining buildings. - -Investigation instituted by Roque related solely to the escape of the -prisoner. To put a quietus on his rival had drawn him from afar, and -here again the elusive Frenchman had been jerked out of his clutches, -this time into the very sky. - -With the fall of the first bomb the single night guard over the captive -had drawn the bolts that he might be ready to quit his post upon first -order with the Frenchman in close custody. The second bomb so stunned -the guard that he knew no more until regaining consciousness in the -rear courtyard outside. He could only account for his presence there -by the belief that the man over whom he had held watch had picked him -up and carried him out of danger. There was a back way that could be -traveled, smoke hidden, without observation. - -"But how about the aeroplanes dipping just at the right time and place -to carry him off?" - -This was the point that especially puzzled Roque. - -A farmer boy, listening, open-mouthed, to the questioning, offered a -solution. - -"You see, Monsieur," he bashfully explained, "it was a ghostly noise -that was making between the big noises, like the wind blowing through -the neck of a bottle stuck in a knot hole. I heard it in the road, a -long way." - -It occurred to the boys that this distress signal must have been given -before they got away from the roar of the fire, or while they were -probing the smoke in the gallery to reach Anglin. - -"They were flying mighty close down and could probably hear a howl -like that, if they were listening for it and knew what it meant." This -opinion was advanced by Billy. - -"I don't much believe they could hear a call from the ground, unless it -came from the business end of a gun." Henri was the doubter. - -"It is no use to argue," said Roque. "The fact remains that the air -fellow had his bearings, and he got the lead from somewhere. I am not -giving him credit for being a mind reader." - -"That reminds me, Mr. Roque," remarked Billy, "that we might test this -bearing business by a little air trip somewhere and soon." - -"I have just such a thing in thought," grimly advised Roque, "and I -will warrant that you will hear a few ground sounds before the quitting -minute. We are going to take a down look at Belfort." - -Now Belfort is a French fortress, where the soldiers in red and blue -had been finding security every time they were rolled back from the -plains of upper Alsace. - -A tremendous amount of gunpowder had been burned on the flat ground -in front of this stronghold, and our boys were in for a smell of -it--something that would recall perilous travel with Colonel Bainbridge -and Sergeant Scott in previous campaigns. - -A wire to Friedrichshaven had started on the way the makes of biplanes -that Billy called "Roque's best bet" since the day of the famous race -over Lake Constance. - -"Business will soon be looking up," joked Henri, when he heard of the -order for the shipment of "No. 3's." - -The presence of Ardelle in this region, extreme southwestern -Germany, had raised suspicion in the mind of Roque that some special -demonstration was brewing, and the lurid performance of the French -airmen in blowing the roof from over his head served to further elevate -the confirmed idea that trouble and the French agent always traveled -together. - -Roque was not here to mix in the actual military operations--that was -not his business, but he was ever open-eyed on the trail of the boss -gamester on the other side. He had expected this time to put his rival -on the safe side of the ground, but spades did not prove to be trumps. - -Somewhere in the gap of Belfort, as the valley south of the Vosges -mountains is popularly known, Ardelle was, no doubt, preparing for -another comeback, and Roque was scheming to meet him halfway. - -There was no chance to get under the guns of the frowning fortress -beyond the frontier, so the only way to size up the situation was to go -over them. - -Here was where flying experts jumped to the front. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ALONG THE BATTLE LINE. - - -WITH the arrival of the biplanes from the factory, the Boy Aviators -were kept busy with brief test flights over valley and plain, awaiting -the convenience of Roque for the wider sweep he was planning. It -developed that the boys were expected to navigate separately on this -occasion, Billy to pilot Roque himself, and Henri to be accompanied -by one Renos, who had been awarded a service badge of honor for his -work as an aerial observer in giving first warning of the advance of a -French division against Burnhaupt, which saved the day for the Germans. - -"The seaplane is the rig for weight carrying," exclaimed Roque, in -accounting for this assignment, "but these machines, as you know, are -solely in the speed class, and it is many chances to one that we will -be compelled to tax every ounce of power before we get through. So we -have no use for deadwood." - -Renos, who was to sit behind Henri, was the silent man of the -expedition, as far as talking was concerned, but when it came to be -up and doing he could be counted on to the limit. He was a human -route-box of the Sundgau, the fighting territory, and very much at home -in a flying machine. When the two machines one morning flew over the -German frontier, in compliance with the "ready" order of Roque, Renos' -knees were crossed by a wicked-looking rifle, and of the party he was -the only one armed. - -Billy, observing this war-like figure, asked Roque if he expected to -get into close quarters on this trip. - -"Not unless some of the bomb-throwing crowd that scarred the landscape -the other night should cross our path," replied the secret agent. - -As Renos was the qualified guide, the biplane bearing him went to the -front, and Henri received overshoulder directions as to the course to -be maintained. - -The apparent reason why the German expert did not pilot the craft -himself was that he wanted a loose hand in case of emergency, and a -free eye for the panorama below. He was satisfied, too, that one as -good as the best was doing the steering. - -Henri was instructed to keep a respectful distance from the near -mountain peaks, where the French had mounted artillery, for one round -from these guns, close enough, would have ended the flight and the -flyers there and then. - -But Roque and Renos kept constant vigil with glasses, and Billy -wondered that the pair did not get a crick in the neck with all the -head-turning they did. - -A sharp order advised the pilots to send the biplanes farther aloft, -and circle. The French fortress of Belfort could be seen directly -underneath. - -The aviators well knew that an explosion close to an aeroplane is often -sufficient, through the force of the air concussion alone, to bring -it down, and they knew they could not chance a close shot from the -long-range guns in the fort. - -Though the machines now evoluted at greater height, the powerful -glasses enabled the observers to plainly distinguish the movements -below. - -It was quickly manifested that the garrison lookout had become aware of -the aerial visitation, and that they did not approve of the color of -the hovering aircraft. - -A couple of smokeballs ascended and burst in the center of a cloudrack -far to the right of the machine. Renos broke his record for silence -with a shrill cackle. - -"Save your powder, you numbskulls," he shouted for his own satisfaction. - -Roque seemed oblivious of the gunplay below. As the biplane described -great circles over the fort, he kept his glasses steadily aimed at a -point in the enclosure over which the flag was floating. - -The men who emerged from the officers' quarters all wore the French -uniform. - -Roque had evidently cleared up a disturbing point in his mind as he -muttered something about a "fool story," and "I might have known there -was nothing to it." - -Having satisfied himself that it was still an independent little war at -this remote point from the main field of operations, and that he had -been misled by some advices previously received, the chief observer -passed the word to his pilot to back-track, at the same time giving -signal to the companion biplane. - -As the machines swung around for the return flight, and drew closer -together, Renos gave a megaphone yell through a hollow formed by his -hands: - -"Speed for your lives, they're on the wing!" - -Above the gentle slopes on the west, leading to the summit of the -mountain ranges, aircraft had arisen, looking, at a distance, like -black dragonflies. - -At the same moment, the invading biplanes also had a reminder to hurry -from the fortress they were leaving behind. - -A shell burst seemingly quite close to the machine Henri was driving, -and the craft dipped far to one side. - -Billy's heart beat up to his throat when he saw the break in the -flight. - -But his was an exulting cry when the momentarily stricken flyer -righted, and bored ahead. - -"Glory be!" hoarsely rejoiced the boy from Bangor, when his chum again -drew to the upper level. - -Seventy miles an hour was the clip of the fleeing biplanes, and no less -speedy the onrush of the aircraft from the slopes. - -"Steady, and a little to the right," Renos instructed Henri. - -The observer was resting the rifle barrel on the rigging, awaiting a -broadside target. - -Sping! One of the attacking aviators was first with his rifle, and the -bullet nicked the armored side of the German craft. Sput! Henri heard -an angry exclamation behind him, and shifted an eye long enough to see -that Renos was nursing a bloody wrist on his knee. - -"How hard are you hit?" was the anxious question of the young pilot. - -"Nothing to kill," replied the observer, as he used his uninjured -fingers and his teeth in knotting a handkerchief above the wound so as -to compress the severed artery. - -With the utmost calm he then deliberately used his left hand in rifle -aiming, and sent a bullet into the nearest hostile machine. - -Whether the shot crippled the pilot of the leading pursuer, or whether -it was the menace of the heavy howitzers on the German frontier, which -was now of short approach--the French flyers suddenly ceased to be -aggressive, and with a parting salute of rifle practice, turned back -toward their mountain station, while the German machines dashed across -the line of safety. - -Upon landing Billy indulged in a sort of war dance around his chum. - -"Thought you were gone that time, sure, Buddy," he cried, "and it was -simply great the way you pulled out of the hole." - -"I guess I was stunned for a minute, as though somebody had hit me with -a hammer," explained Henri, "but when I found the controls were still -working, it was a bracer, I tell you. And if there isn't a cool head" -(nodding toward Renos, who was inspecting his wounded wrist) "I never -saw one. He stretched his arms over me ready to take hold if I failed -to rally, and did it as a matter of course. Not a tremble about him, -either." - -"What do you think of the No. 3's now, boys?" queried Roque, when he -had dispatched Renos in search of a surgeon. - -"They're dandies, all right," promptly agreed the happy pilots. - -"They will do to hunt trouble with, anyhow," laughed the secret agent, -who was immensely pleased with the flying achievements of the day. - -Roque, pluming himself with the idea that, though he did not hold -Ardelle when he had that artful dodger under his thumb, he had at -least chased his rival out of the empire; and, having also eased his -mind as to the report of a new element in the Alsace campaign, he was -impatient in his preparation for departure. Master of detail though he -was, the big moves only appealed to him. - -A great battle was raging at Soissons, on the Aisne river, in France, -and Roque had in mind an aerial journey north, and quick flight across -the border to the scene of the fierce artillery duel, following the -line of march of the mighty force under General von Kluck. - -The crippled Renos was replaced in the observer's perch by an aviator -known as Schneider, a very daredevil, and who was at first inclined -to doubt that the boy with whom he was paired had sufficient skill -and courage to pilot a military biplane in an active war zone. Henri -very quickly convinced the doubter that he was very much older than he -looked when it came to the fine points of aeroplaning, and, too, that -when there was an emergency demand for "sand" the youngster had plenty -to spare. Schneider had additional assurance of capacity when he was -advised that both of the lads carried Roque's indorsement of efficiency. - -It was a bitter struggle that the Aeroplane Scouts were to witness at -Soissons, and six days of it had already passed. The earth was still -dropping on many graves of the German fallen, and yet, sprawling in -attitudes along the heights, in the deep-cut gorges of the plateau, -and across the flat valley bed were French infantrymen in their -far-to-be-seen red-and-blue uniforms, swarthy-faced Turcos, colonials, -Alpine riflemen, and bearded territorials. - -At staff headquarters, in the first officer that passed near them the -boys recognized a familiar figure, no other than Colonel Muller, whom -they had first met in far-away Texas, U. S. A., on the day of the -record flight, and again in the hangar camp at Hamburg. - -Billy impulsively stepped forward. "How do you do, Colonel?" - -The officer instantly turned in his stride to inspect the speaker. -"Hello, Boy Aviator," was his hearty greeting. "How under the sun did -you ever get here?" - -"Same old way," said Billy, "the airline, of course." - -"And here's the other one," the colonel reaching for Henri's shoulder. - -"By the way," continued the big soldier, "this must be a field day for -flyers. Here, Hume, come and see what the wind brought in." - -The officer addressed moved at quickstep in response to this -invitation. It was the aviation lieutenant from Hamburg. He grinned -from ear to ear when he laid eyes on his former charges. - -"Can't lose you if I try," he exclaimed. "Have you enlisted with us?" - -"No," laughed Billy, "we're still driving cars for the good merchant -from your town," with the backward point of the thumb at Roque, who was -engaged in close confab with a group of staff members near by. - -"Did you blow in with Schneider, too?" asked the lieutenant. "I just -want to say that you will bore a hole in a stone wall sometime if you -train with that fellow. Nature didn't give him red hair without reason." - -"Now that you are here," broke in the colonel, "you must not be allowed -to get out of practice. I expect that one of you will have to give me a -ride along the front before long. I have lost three horses this week." - -"We'll do our best to oblige you, colonel," volunteered Billy. - -It was no merry jest, that ride Billy gave the colonel! - -At the time, the French retained a foothold north of the river at only -one point--St. Paul--where the bridge from Soissons crosses, and this -by a perilous margin, since the bridgehead was completely commanded by -German artillery on the heights. - -The battlefield entire covered a front of about seven miles, the center -and eastern flank a high, level plateau rising steeply a couple of -hundred feet from the valley of the Aisne. On the western side a deep -valley ran northward, bounded on either side by turnpikes. An airman -taking the big curve of the river would not be considered a good risk -for a well-regulated insurance company. - -But it could be done--and Billy Barry furnished the proof. - -When the next day broke a bloody conflict was raging between the two -turnpikes, the French infantry attack on German trenches preceded by a -terrible artillery bombardment, a storm of shell and shrapnel. - -Colonel Muller beckoned Billy to his side. They stood together on the -heights from which the French had been expelled only the day before. - -"My boy," was the brisk address of the officer, making a field-glass -survey of the smoke-crowned landscape, "I am going down the line, and I -am to do the distance in an aeroplane. Is it you or Schneider who will -do the driving?" - -"You gave me the first call yesterday," reminded Billy. - -"That was my intent, and it still holds. I was only seeking to learn if -you were of the same mind since that powder mill let loose down there." - -"I well know the odor of it," stoutly maintained Billy, "and it doesn't -weaken my knees." - -The young aviator, accepting the matter as settled, hastened toward -staff headquarters. "Mr. Roque," he excitedly called, "Colonel Muller -wants to try one of the No. 3's this morning, and I'm to pilot." - -The secret agent lifted his eyebrows as though surprised, but he really -was not. The arrangement had already been made. - -"Say, Buddy, this is rough that we can't both go; and suppose something -should happen to you?" Henri had just realized that something was up, -in which his chum was vitally concerned. - -"Don't you worry, pard," consoled Billy, "it is only a little spin of a -few miles, and we'll be back in no time." - -"Wish it was me," sighed Schneider, for this firebrand guessed that it -would be a red-hot journey. - -As the biplane swept into the breeze current, trending to the river, -which then was running brimful, and in many places overflowing its -banks between the two armies, Colonel Muller advised Billy to keep the -machine climbing for the time being, as a terrific fusillade was in -progress in the distance of the next two miles, the shells hurtling -through the air like lighted express trains. In the three steep-sided -ravines that deeply notched the plateau on the east French troopers -swarmed like bees, and at this cover the big German guns were blindly -banging. - -"We can't see much, Colonel, at two thousand feet," complained Billy. - -"You would see nothing at all if we ran into one of those fragments of -shells," coolly suggested the officer, "but never mind, you will do -some diving in a few minutes." - -Billy got the signal to dip at the juncture of the turnpikes, and to -hold a level and lower course along the line of battle, marked here by -infantry fighting between the seemingly crawling columns far below. - -"Down!" - -The colonel's order was peremptory, and Billy forthwith volplaned -toward the earth. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE LUMINOUS KITE. - - -THE biplane had hardly scudded its length on the turnpike, when the -colonel leaped from the machine, his sudden appearance greeted by -salvos, both of cheers and an extra round of rifle discharge. - -Billy sat like a statue in the machine, facing a reserve force of grim, -gray-garbed veterans standing at attention. - -The front rank soldiers eyed the boy curiously, no doubt wondering that -one of his years should be serving in the capacity of a full-fledged -military aviator on a mission so supremely perilous. - -Billy could not understand what Colonel Muller was saying to the -commanding officer of this regiment, but he could see the effects -rippling through the serried lines, a stiffening of attitude, a closer -grip of rifle stock and squaring of shoulders. - -The column, solid and compact, the German practice of close formation, -moved with clockwork precision down the field to back the general -charge against the living wall that barred the way. - -"Charge! Charge!" The cry from a thousand throats. - -The forces mixed in a struggling, swaying mass, with indescribable -noises, the clashing of steel and the squealing of horses, for cavalry -had joined the fray. - -Billy jumped out of the machine into the dusty road, the sole spectator -there of the conflict that raged but a half mile distant. - -Colonel Muller had taken to horse and was riding furiously to rally -incoming reinforcements for the gray column. - -A rattle cut into the sound ruck--the machine guns of the Germans had -turned loose, and men were mowed down like ripened corn. - -But fainter now in Billy's ears grew the roar of violent contention, -alternate advance and retreat serving to shift the tide of battle -further northward, and finally stemmed by the final demonstration of -the day at Soissons bridge. - -Barring the occasional wild gallop of a riderless horse down the road, -the young aviator saw no signs of life about him, and he was too far -away to hear the groans of the wounded on the sodden field now enfolded -by the gathering gloom of evening. - -"I wonder if the colonel has forgotten that his carriage is waiting," -thought Billy, trying a bit of mental cheer to relieve the strain of -his trying position. - -The colonel, however, had not lost his memory along with his hat, for -even then a foam-flecked horse was bringing him back to the driver of -his aerial chariot. Mud-bespattered from head to foot, he sent a hearty -hail ahead of the pounding hoofs of his weary mount. - -"Ahoy, my stranded mariner: is supper ready?" - -That reminded Billy of a decided vacancy under his belt, but the glad -sight of the colonel was the best tonic for a drooping spirit. - -"We will wheel this airship out of the way for a spell and have a bite -to eat in the trenches." - -Concealing the biplane behind a clump of bushes the colonel gave Billy -a hand-up, and the horse cantered away with its double burden in the -direction of the slopes. - -It was about 7:30 when the colonel and Billy climbed over the slippery -slopes to the line of reserve trenches, lowered themselves into one of -these holes in the ground, and it was evident that the occupants knew -how to convert a ditch into a home. - -This trench had a head cover formed of cross-beams, overlaid with -branches and earth--a sure protection against shrapnel. There was a -long bench of telegraph poles, little cupboards for cartridges and kit, -and ramps for reclining chairs or couches, and drains to carry off the -rain. - -"Come into our parlor, colonel," invited one of the soldiers, leading -the way into a subterranean chamber, which was warmed by a fire in an -old perforated petroleum tin. - -"It is wonderful what ingenuity and labor can accomplish out of the -most unpromising material," observed the colonel. - -"Made in Germany, colonel," laughed one of the veterans, "no matter -where you put them." - -From the business end of the trench a hot meal was speedily produced -for the visitors, adding another touch of surprise for Billy. - -"Well, my lad, we must report to the general," announced the colonel, -who had politely denied the petition of the trench veterans that he try -one of their couches for the night. - -"You don't mind an air trip in the dark, do you?" inquired the colonel. - -"Not a bit," assured Billy, "I've made many a one." - -It was quite pitch black when the colonel and Billy rode back across -the plain, but the horse was sure-footed, and the way was fitfully -lighted by the occasional upshoot of rockets that left a long green -stream of stars, revealing the now silent battlefield and its dreadful -record of uncounted dead. - -While Billy flourished an electric torch in giving the biplane a -careful look over, the colonel bestowed a playful slap on the flank of -the faithful horse, which sent the animal trotting up the road. - -"He knows his number and troop as well as I do, and will go as -straight as a die to the feed trough," asserted the colonel. - -"Are you ready, boy?" - -"Trim as a ship, colonel." - -With a flare on the compass, rising high, Billy held the nose of the -biplane in the direction of the heights that centered headquarters. - -Small red sparks glowed in the trenches below, and the upper darkness -was ever and anon split by signal rockets and leaping flames of light -from countless campfires. - -Billy, with the aid of the small searchlight in the bow of the -biplane, found safe landing, also insuring a sight of the colors to -the sentries, who might otherwise be tempted to take a pot shot at the -winged, midnight visitor. - -Henri was the first to hear the whirr of the incoming aircraft, for -which he had for hours held an open ear. - -"Here you are at last!" he exclaimed, making an open-arm break for his -flying partner. "You haven't lost an eye, or a leg, or anything, have -you?" he anxiously inquired. - -"Sound as an Uncle Sam dollar, old boy," assured Billy. "But you just -bet I'm sleepy." - -"I believe even Roque was uneasy about you," said Henri, as he insisted -on giving Billy's blanket a snug tug. - -That the secret agent proposed to reserve the services of the young -aviators to himself thereafter and during their stay in this locality -was made manifest when he told them the next day to make ready for a -quick departure in the biplanes. As usual, he furnished no advance -particulars. - -It appeared that Schneider was also to figure in the expedition in a -capacity indicated by his employment of oiling and polishing a service -rifle of the 16-shot brand, and the display of a pair of long-barreled -revolvers stuck in his belt. - -"He looks like an arsenal on parade," commented Billy when the -red-haired flyer, in war-like array, passed on the way to conference -with Roque. - -"There is no peaceful intent about that get-up," admitted Henri. "And -let me make another prediction," he continued, still proud of his last -previous success as a prophet, "this isn't going to be any pink tea or -garden party to which we're going." - -"What a head you have," said Billy, beaming with mock admiration. - -There was a decided lull in the fighting this day--the ninth since the -continuous combat had been commenced, as the soldiers of the two armies -were apparently resting on their arms. Some fresh planning, no doubt, -was in progress. - -The boys wandered around the camp, restlessly anticipating the expected -summons from Roque. The latter, however, had not picked daylight in -which to operate, for it was long past nightfall when Schneider sought -and advised the boys that the starting time had arrived. - -The moon was working full time when the biplanes set their course, -following the turnpike toward La Fere. - -Above a farm, which had practically been razed, and on the edge of a -ruined district, both Roque and Schneider signaled the pilots to lower -the flight, and the biplanes circled groundward, landing near a row -of stunted willow trees. They showed no lights, and with the motors -silenced lay hidden behind a huge pile of debris, close to a wrecked -dwelling, so close that the full moon shining through the shattered -roof gave the aviators a dim vision of hopeless confusion, cooking pots -and children's toys, broken clocks and tables, knives, forks and books -strewn on the floor, beds and everything awry. - -Billy and Henri had as yet no inkling of the purpose of this mysterious -proceeding in which they were engaged. Their companions did not seem to -be in a hurry, either, to enlighten them. Roque and Schneider appeared -intent in upward gaze, perhaps hoping that the moon and a dense bank of -clouds forming near would soon come together. As a matter of fact, a -total eclipse of the great orb above did follow, with the effect of the -sudden blowing out of the one lamp in an otherwise dark room. - -Curious to relate, it was not long until the moon was replaced in the -now black canopy by a small but quite silvery brilliant imitation of -the big illuminant. - -The diamond-shaped light in the lowering sky flashed this way and that, -as if responding to the manipulation of an aerial cable. - -Roque was not puzzling about the appearance of the dancing light; it -was the message that it conveyed which baffled him, sent, as it were, -from within the German lines, and, maybe, of vital concern--aid and -comfort to the enemy. - -Sentries on the heights had reported night after night of this queer, -intermittent flashing in this very place, and when Roque heard of it, -he instantly comprehended the meaning. - -Some spy within the lines was using a luminous kite to signal -information of value to the foe. - -This is what had brought the secret agent, an adept in the same kind of -game, flying through the night to scotch the play and the player. - -Roque and Schneider skirted the ruins, and stumbled over the plowed -ground with all the haste that such rough going permitted. The boys, -free of any order to stay where they were, cautiously brought the rear. -They were mighty curious to see what was going to happen. - -Schneider had taken the electric torch from under the pilot's seat in -one of the biplanes, and it had occurred to Billy to follow suit. -This precaution served to save the party an ugly tumble or two into -forbidding ditches. - -The still-hunters had just emerged into a road with a wonderful avenue -of trees. The kite telegrapher's hidden nest was near at hand. The -position of the kite itself indicated that. - -A streak of moonlight breaking through a cloud-rift revealed Roque and -Schneider kneeling in the road, and there was a glint of a leveled -rifle barrel. - -The boys backed up against a tree, expecting momentarily to hear the -whip-like crack of the gun. But instead came the bark of a dog--one -shrill yelp, then silence again. - -The luminous kite, unleashed, followed the moon into the clouds. Roque -and Schneider dashed forward, but for nothing else than to use the -electric torch in locating a half-loaf of bread, some cheese crumbs and -a ball of cord. - -The sentry dog had saved its master! - -"Nothing to be gained in chasing that fox to-night," growled Roque. -"He's deep in the brush before this." - -"I'd like to have got a pop at the dog, at least," complained -Schneider, patting the stock of his rifle. - -The boys having no desire to be the victims of any mistake of identity, -marched forward, Billy waving the electric torch, and calling to Roque: - -"It's us." - -The passwords were unnecessary, for Roque knew all the time the boys -were trailing him, but was restrained from objecting by fear of some -word reaching the ear of the man they were stalking. - -"You gadabouts," he admonished, "you should have been guarding the -biplanes instead of prowling around in the dark like this." - -The tone of the reprimand, however, was not one of great severity. The -boys had disobeyed no order, for none had been given. - -"As soon as day breaks," said Roque, as they plodded wearily down the -road, "we will continue the hunt in the machines, though I doubt very -much whether it will amount to more than a waste of time." - -"If I see a man with a dog underneath us, just bring me within rifle -shot, young man, and I will show you something fancy in the way of -gunning." - -Henri, whom Schneider was addressing, mentally resolved that he would -be in no haste to perform as suggested. - -Conditions, however, were reversed long before this test could be made. -Indeed, the reversal, with the dawn, was at hand. The hunters were the -hunted. - -The thud of iron-shod hoofs, the clank of sabers--a troop of cavalry -charging through the wooded avenue--four madly racing footmen in the -furrowed field. - -Full two hundred yards between them and the biplanes! - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE CARRIER PIGEONS. - - -Billy and Henri, with much less weight to carry than their stalwart -fellow fugitives, and much spryer as sprinters, easily led in the race -to the flying machines. - -Schneider stopped more than once in his tracks to fire from the hip at -the pursuing cavalrymen, but he failed to score a hit until the leader -of the troopers had almost ridden him down. One of the long-barreled -revolvers emptied the saddle of the rearing charger. Schneider had -thrown his rifle away at the last moment, finding his pistol more -effective in close quarters. - -By this time, the boys, assisted by Roque, who was doing some shooting -himself, until all of the cartridges in the revolvers he carried were -exploded, had pushed and dragged the biplanes into the road, and ready -for the getaway. - -Schneider, with a yell, hurled the empty revolvers in the direction of -the next comer, then bounded across the first ditch in his way, jammed -a shoulder against the now humming machine in which Henri was seated, -to give it starting impetus, and at the same instant leaped within the -machine. - -Both machines were off in a jiffy, and when the cavalrymen in force -galloped to the spot, their carbines fell short of range. That they had -been chasing airmen was something of a surprise for if they had not -been so sure of a capture, the troopers would probably have pumped lead -much earlier in the chase. - -"Guess he didn't get his man for keeps," remarked Billy to Roque, as a -side turn of the aircraft enabled him to look down on the field, where -a dismounted rider was getting a helping hand up from a comrade. - -"Schneider gave him something to remember, anyhow," grimly replied -Roque. - -In the other machine the red-topped and red-tempered aviator in the -observer's seat was deeply deploring, in no uncertain terms, the loss -of a crack-a-jack rifle and two up-to-date revolvers, borrowed for the -occasion. - -"Hume may toss earth when I tell him his pet irons are gone, but it was -a shindy for quick action, and no saving grace." - -Schneider evidently intended to tell the aviation lieutenant about the -fight before he mentioned the missing weapons. - -The next flight planned by Roque was one of long distance--starting -twenty-four hours later, and leaving France. - -"Good-bye, my young friends, and good luck to you; if you ever see -Colonel McCready again tell him 'here's looking at him.'" - -These were the parting words of Colonel Muller, accompanied by a warm -hand-grip. - -When the flying party finally reached Strassburg, the big German city -of the Alsace-Lorraine region, it was a glad day of halting. - -They had floated in over a country literally shot to pieces by the -concentrated fire of the French and German guns--that is, in French -Lorraine--and in the distance viewed the great fortress of Metz. To the -aviators it appeared as though the land hereabouts had been devastated -by a gigantic earthquake, which had shaken down all the towns and -villages into a mass of shapeless, smoke-blackened ruins. - -The boys wondered that they did not see more soldiers in the open, and -Henri expressed this wonder to his companion in the biplane. - -"Oh, but the woods are full of them," assured Schneider, pointing to -the small columns of smoke rising here and there from the snow-clad -forests. - -True it was that these same woods contained thousands and thousands -of armed warriors, ever on the lookout, who were gazing across the -frontier at the other woods, which concealed countless thousands of -soldiers of the Kaiser. - -In Strassburg, Roque was again in touch with the invisible strands of -the far-spreading web he maintained. Among his first advices was the -most disturbing one that Ardelle had returned and had been making some -ten-strikes within the borders of the empire. - -The boys shrewdly guessed that something of the sort had happened from -the renewal of the German agent's habit of charging almost every sort -of disaster to the secret work of his French rival. - -Roque realized, as one of the profession, what an important factor is -the under-cover man who works within the enemy's lines in the service -of his country. And with a keen blade like Ardelle, big things were -possible, as past performances indicated. - -But even Henri, as a self-claimed prophet, had no idea that the man -he knew as Anglin would bob up in Strassburg, though the city was as -likely a point as any in the war zone for secret service activity. - -When Billy jokingly asked his chum if he had any predictions to fit -this occasion, Henri admitted that his second-sight "was off the job." - -It soon developed that the secret service experts of both sides were -matching wits in this quarter. Reported in Roque's calendar of the -week was the giving away by one of his workers in hostile territory of -a French attack on the Germans during a fog, with the result that the -intended surprise resulted in a rout, and the assailing force mowed -down almost to a man. The mute testimony was in a low-lying valley out -in the Lorraine field--700 graves in a space 200 yards wide and about -50 broad. - -Then a counter-move, wherein the French had advices from some source -unknown of the coming flight of a Zeppelin out of the Black Forest, -and three French aeroplanes were ready to charge at the big dirigible, -which, after a continuous exchange of fire lasting forty minutes, made -narrow escape to the north, just when the lighter craft had succeeded -in getting above it for a finishing stroke. - -As it came about, and in a queer way, too, the boys were the first to -blunder upon a cunning ruse being resorted to by a smooth worker in -getting away information under the very nose of the astute Roque. - -Billy and Henri, indulging their liking for high places, and having -a little leisure to look around, found a favorite perch in one of -the famous towers of Strassburg. They were interested, as airmen, in -watching the daily flying exhibit of the pigeons 'round about. - -"Have you noticed, Henri, the streak of feathers every once in a -while that don't stop to associate with this housekeeping bunch? I've -seen two of these birds already this morning; they act just like an -aeroplane, circle about, and then break away like a bullet. There's one -now. Look!" - -Henri followed the aim of Billy's finger, and, sure enough, a -long-tailed flyer was cutting the air like greased lightning in a -straight line west, without the slightest notice of the many of its -kind pluming themselves on neighboring towers and housetops. - -"They make long visits," commented Billy; "I've watched, but never see -any of these air hustlers come back." - -"That's funny," observed Henri, "let's borrow a glass this afternoon -and find out, if we can, where they start from. Why, this is good -sport; we'll be wearing badges next as pigeon detectives." - -The boys had small notion then that they were butting into a real -business proposition, but one that did not advertise! - -They were just curious to find out from where came the busy birds that -would not take time to visit with their brothers and sisters. - -The most that the tower observers could discover, even with the field -glasses, borrowed without leave from Roque's traveling outfit, was -that the next bird comer took its bearings over a red-roofed building, -rising out of a circle of tall trees, a full mile to the east. - -Had it so happened that Roque was in a social mood, and the boys making -him a confidant of their bird study diversion, there would, without -doubt, have been no delay in striking at the heart of the problem--and -everything else under that red roof. - -Carrier pigeons were not beneath the notice of the big man with the -delicate touch! - -But Roque was not inclined at the time to indulge in fireside fancies. -He was hooked up to a procession of events that needed constant -attention, and as it was all ground work for the present, he had no use -for aviators. - -So he missed the first bang at the very musser-up of his plans whom he -was, day and night, seeking to locate. - -"We'll amble out that way to-morrow and learn how to break pigeons of -the loafing habit." - -Billy had once had a loft full of pouters in Bangor, that, he claimed, -ate their breakfast in bed! - -"We'll shake Schneider and start early." - -Schneider had been detailed by Roque to keep an eye on the boys, but -Henri felt sure that this firebrand would not be interested in pigeons, -save in a potpie, so he suggested the "shaking" process. - -Trained in the sense of location by their aviation experience, the -boys proceeded without difficulty to the sparsely settled neighborhood -of the red-roof, which they found to be in the center of a neglected -garden, overgrown with weeds. - -"Don't see any pigeon loft yet?" - -Having been a fancier himself, Billy knew how the birds were housed. - -"You might also say that you don't see any pigeons," added Henri. -"We've surely run by the station." - -"Not on a little excursion like this," maintained Billy. "This is no -ghost story." - -With the words he led the way up the long gravel walk extending from -the rusty iron gate to the front of the house. - -"What will we tell them?" he asked, reaching for the brass knocker on -the dingy door of the dwelling. - -"How will it do to say we are from the gas office?" - -"A fool answer fits a fool's errand," agreed Billy as he gave the -knocker a sounding rap. - -The pounding awakened no sign of life. - -"Come on, Billy," urged Henri, "let's go. It's all a crazy move, -anyhow, and it was just because we were idle that we ever thought of -it." - -"I'm going to try the back door," insisted Billy, "and then we'll quit." - -There they got a response, probably after an advance inspection. -The door was partly opened by a bent, palsy-shaken old man, who in -quavering, high-pitched voice inquired their business. The question was -in French, and Henri responded: - -"We just came out to look at your pigeons, and"--the age fell from the -figure in the doorway in the twinkling of an eye, two long arms shot -out, and in steely grip the astonished visitors were jerked inside, the -door closing with a slam behind them. - -"What's the matter with you?" gasped Billy, whose collar had been given -a tight twist by quick-grasping, sinewy fingers. - -Another violent wrench of the neck-joint was the rude form of answer. -Billy's fighting blood took fire, and he launched a kick at his -tormentor which sent the latter spinning, doubled-up, clear across the -entrance hall. - -The jarred one, recovering his breath, leaped like a panther at the -Bangor boy, but Henri gave him the tripping foot, and he measured his -length on the dusty floor. - -The boys were making a break for the door, when a new figure blocked -the way, suddenly emerging from a room nearby--a resolute fellow, with -a cold, gray stare, backing up a steadily leveled revolver. - -"Been stirring up the monkeys, have you, Fred?" - -The fallen man raised himself on his elbow and made the air blue for a -moment with his wrathful expressions. - -"I'll fix you, you whelps," glaring at the sturdy youngsters who had -bested him. - -"Stow the threats, Fred," advised the cool-head, who had restored the -pistol to his hip-pocket when he sized up the invaders as unarmed. - -"What the devil brought you here?" - -The newcomer put a snap in the question, but with no change of icy eye. - -"What devil sent them here, you'd better ask?" - -This suggestion from the battered Fred, who had again regained his feet. - -"That will all come out under pressure," intimated the cool one. "As -long as you chose to honor us with a visit," he added with quiet irony, -"we must get properly acquainted. Show the young gentlemen into the -parlor, Fred." - -Billy would have started a debate there and then had he not been, as -usual, stumped by the French language, which he only understood by fits -and starts. He knew for sure, though, that he was in Queer Street, with -this sudden shift from the regulation German talk he had been hearing -since landing in the empire. It was up to Henri to set matters straight. - -Henri, however, had come to the conclusion that the pigeon story was -not popular here, considering its effect on the man who had first met -them at the door. So he wore a thinking cap on the way to the "parlor." - -This apartment was the only one that had a living look, all the others, -noted in the passing, cheerless and empty. It was a "sky parlor," -being reached by narrow stairway, only a garret between it and the -roof. - -An old table, rickety chairs, portable cots and a rusty oil stove were -in evidence. There was a wide fireplace with no fire in it. It occurred -to Henri that the present occupants of the house did not approve of -smoking chimneys. - -To get a line on what might be expected, he mildly inquired, with a -pale smile: - -"Now that we are here, for what are we here?" - -He was certain that he himself could not win a prize with the correct -answer. - -The cold-eyed man could not restrain a short laugh in his throat. - -"You are the fellow on the witness stand," he said, "but we must wait -for the prosecuting attorney to help us along." - -In the waiting time the boys could hear through an open trap-door above -them the fluttering and cooing of a score or more slate-colored doves, -and it had just dawned upon Billy that there was some particular use -for the sheets of oiled tissue and skeins of pack-thread that littered -the table. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -UNDER THE RED ROOF. - - -THERE were no additions to the party in the "sky parlor" until after -candlelight. The man called Fred was half-asleep on one of the cots, -when suddenly aroused by repeated knocking below. He made stealthy -descent, listened at the entrance for a moment, and apparently -satisfied with the signal conveyed in the rapping outside, cautiously -unbarred and opened the door. The person admitted did not come empty -handed, for when he stepped from the stair-landing into the upper room -he, and likewise Fred, were carrying market-baskets of goodly size. - -"Hello, Gervais," was the hearty greeting he gave to the cool one, -the latter engaged, with a well-thumbed deck of cards, in a game of -solitaire. - -"Hello yourself," returned the gamester, dropping the cards, and coming -forward to relieve the newcomer of the market basket. - -Billy and Henri were seated in the shadow, beyond the range of the -candle rays, and at the time escaped notice. Both had started, however, -at the first sound of the new voice. - -From a side view the make-up was that of a typical huckster of these -parts, fur cap, with ear lappets, corduroy greatcoat and cowhide boots. -Between cap and collar bunched a heavy growth of iron-gray whiskers. - -The boys did not realize that their instinctive move, occasioned by a -certain tone in the voice, had not been amiss until the speaker had -turned full face. - -Even the luxuriant whiskers could not wholly hide the Anglin smile! - -Much to the astonishment of Gervais and Fred, and infinitely more to -the surprise of the imitation huckster, the boys at a single bound -jointly invaded the circle of light and grasped the elbows of their -one-time Calais acquaintance. - -"What sort of a hold-up is this?" cried Anglin, in startled -recognition; "is it raining harumscarum aviators in Strassburg? By the -great horn spoon, it's enough to make me believe I've got 'em to see -you under this roof." - -"I'll bet you knew that we blew in with Roque," proposed Billy, "for -you have a way of seeing seven ways for Sunday." - -"You win, laddy-buck, on the first statement, but I'm still up a stump -on the proposition of how you got into this house." - -"We were loafing," put in Henri, "started out on a pigeon hunt and got -the drag when we mentioned it at your back door." - -"Pigeon hunt?" Anglin wore a puzzled look. - -Henri made quick explanation of the whole affair. - -"Ha! I see," exclaimed Anglin. "By the way, you did not happen to -mention your tower observations to anyone else, did you?" - -This last query had a dead-earnest ring, with a rising note of anxiety. - -"Not on your life," assured Henri; "in the first place, the big chief -had no time to bother with us; we had no inducement to talk to anybody -else, and, all in all, who'd have cared about the bird business, -anyhow?" - -"Well, it seems there was one fellow who did." - -Billy indicated Fred, who was unpacking the baskets. - -"There are others," laughed Anglin, much relieved by the boys' -statement. Fur cap, wig and false whiskers were tossed onto the -mantelpiece, and the huckster was no more. - -The baskets had produced a plentiful supply of ham, cold chicken, -and the like, and not one of the party could be charged with lack of -appetite. - -In the glow of good-fellowship, Fred told Billy he was sorry that he -had given him so rough a reception. - -"Honors are easy, old top," was Billy's jovial acceptance of the -apology, "and I am glad now that we did not break any of your ribs when -we banged you around." - -"Say, Mr. Anglin, I am afraid, after all, that we may bring down -trouble on your head. I just know that Roque will be in a great stew -when he finds we are gone and will fairly comb the town to locate us." - -The idea had begun to trouble Henri to the extent of spoiling the -pleasure of this reunion and indoor picnic. - -"I have thought of this," admitted Anglin, "but the danger of discovery -is ever the same, and I don't believe this will either hurry or lessen -it. Besides, we are prepared, or, rather, had the way prepared for us, -to make a run on the slightest warning." - -This restored to Henri happier thoughts, though he still held belief -that Anglin might have been safer if Roque had no special inducement to -immediately lead a searching party throughout the city. - -That is just what happened, and it proved not an overly-difficult task -for the keen tracker to trace the boys to at least the vicinity of the -place where they were hidden. - -The men under the red roof were soon made aware of the lurking danger -by the tooting of an automobile horn in the avenue bordering the -grounds north of the house. - -It was a telegraph code set in shrill notes, and it was apparent that -Gervais, in alert listening attitude, had comprehended the message, -even as the motor-car sounded the final blast in its swift passage out -of sight and hearing. - -The cool one, in most deliberate way, drawled the words: "Look out." - -As effective as if a whole dictionary had been pumped through the -window by Anglin's scouts. - -The chief calmly resumed the disguise of wig and whiskers, while Fred -blew out half-a-dozen candles with little waste of breath. With one -tallow dip still alight, and shaded by hand, the doorman then mounted -the ladder leading to the garret, thereby causing up there great -commotion in the pigeon roost. - -When Fred reappeared at the foot of the ladder, it could be dimly seen, -he wore a broad grin and a wreath of cobwebs. - -"When that flock arrives, empty-footed, old Winkelman will swear like a -pirate." - -Fred had turned every carrier bird but one loose in the night. The -exception was fluttering in his hand, blinking its beady eyes at the -glimmer of the lone candle. - -Anglin had seated himself at the table and was writing a few words on a -scrap of parchment, completing which he deftly attached the tiny roll -to the pink leg of the feathered envoy. - -Fred lifted the window a few inches and released the bird. - -With the utmost care every bit of paper, every inch of thread was -picked up and stowed away in the pockets of the three men preparing to -vacate. - -Billy and Henri were busily figuring in their minds just how they were -going to come out of the scrape, when the creak of a shutter, under -prying force, was heard on the lower floor. - -"They're here at last," muttered Gervais, dropping a hand to his hip, -on the revolver side. - -Anglin laid a finger on his lips, enjoining silence, and tiptoed down -the stairway, the others following in shadowy procession. - -On the first floor the leader paused. The attempt to force the firmly -hooked shutter had ceased, and no new form of attack was for the moment -in evidence. Anglin had removed his cowhide boots, and, with velvet -tread, then advanced the entire length of the long hall, motioning -those behind him to remain where they were. - -He was back again in less than five minutes, and whispered: - -"The house, I believe, is completely surrounded. They are waiting for -daylight, I suppose, to cinch some sure thing, the nature of which they -are not quite certain. If Roque is along and thought I was inside, axes -would have been working before this." - -"They will find a lot here at daylight," chuckled Fred--"a lot of dust." - -The party silently made their way through a side passage to what -appeared to have been intended as the dining and cooking domain. -Gervais had assumed the duties of guide, and he showed thorough -acquaintance with the premises by first producing a dark lantern from -a cupboard, and then moving directly to the black mouth of a steeply -inclined flight of stone steps descending far below the level. - -The spacious cellar was divided into sections by partitions of solid -brick. But it was at the center of the foundation wall on the west -where Gervais halted. - -"Give me a leg up." - -Fred gave his comrade the required lift, and Gervais secured a -hand-grip on a big drain pipe that curved into the wall. He gave the -pipe a strong-arm-twist, and the bull's-eye shine of the lantern -revealed an aperture in the masonry, into which the climber squirmed. - -Hardly had his feet disappeared, when he had turned about with his head -out of the hole in the wall and a hand down to help the next comer to -scale the space between the floor and the dislocated pipe. - -Billy was given the hoist and crawled over the prostrate Gervais into -the narrow passage above; Henri quickly followed, then Anglin, and -finally Fred, who lent aid in pulling the pipe back to its moorings. - -"'Snug as a bug in a rug,'" quoted Billy, who was really enjoying -this method of getting out of a tight place, even though getting into -another. - -However, the rounded and cemented passage did not squeeze enough to be -uncomfortable, and there was steady draught of fresh air coming from -somewhere further ahead. - -"The good man from whom you leased this property six months ago hardly -counted this as one of the improvements you agreed to make," remarked -Anglin as they started to wriggle through the drain. - -Gervais laughed. "I didn't do anything to the pipe but what had to be -done, and 'a stitch in time saves nine.'" - -"It is likely to save three that I know of," grunted Fred. - -"You can always count on Gervais to think for the future." - -The man so complimented by his chief said nothing, saving his energy -for the vigorous use of hands and knees necessary to make progress in -the smooth channel. - -The journey on all fours ended at a heavy grating, through which faint -daylight was peeping. Through the barred opening the outlook was into a -deep ravine, with a small stream coursing at the bottom, and a dense -growth of small timber and bushes rising to the level on all sides. - -Directly opposite the entrance of the drain, in a small clearing on -the high ground across the gully, the broad windows of a stone cottage -reflected the glare of the slowly rising sun. - -"There is nothing else to do, my friends, but to lay low until brother -Roque completes the scouring of this section. We are well on the way -but not yet out of the woods, as the saying is." - -This was the view of the chief, and his views were seldom questioned. - -It was a rather gloomy prospect, this crouching wait in quarters so -confined, but the secret service men counted nothing a hardship, and -the boys had to possess themselves in patience. - -The capacious pockets of the huckster's greatcoat, with which Anglin -had not parted, despite its weight, in the long crawl, contained a -supply of food, taken from the baskets before starting. - -From the avenue that lay between the ravine and the grounds about the -house which they had recently quitted, the cramped company in the drain -could hear the rumble of traffic, and once they heard voices in close -proximity to their hiding place. - -"Giving them something to puzzle about, eh, Gervais?" - -"Rather a fuddle for them, chief," agreed the cool one, "and the best -of it all, they don't know whom they're after, unless it be these -youngsters." - -"Oh, I propose that the boys shall be found in due time, but the -balance of us will keep dodging to the best of our ability." - -"Some ability, too, believe me, boss," was Billy's contribution. - -"Well, I believe we can hold our own," complacently observed Fred. - -With the wearing of the long day, the prospect of liberation eased the -trial of the later hours. As night fell apace, the first greeting to it -was the glow of a lamp in one of the windows of the stone cottage. - -Gervais moved close to the grating, and fixed intent gaze upon this -illumination. In the course of a half-hour his vigilance was rewarded -by a sight that he evidently anticipated. Somebody was repeatedly -crossing and recrossing the patch of light, now and then deliberately -standing in front of the lamp. That "somebody" was making dots and -dashes as plain as day to the trained vision of the receiving expert. - -"The coast is clear," he announced. - -A little pressure and the bars were down. - -Out into the night crept the weary five, with the luxurious experience -of once more standing erect and having a good stretch. - -Having replaced the grating in the drain entrance to a nicety, Gervais -led the way down the steep slope of the ravine to the creek, which -Billy and Henri attempted to drink dry, so great was their thirst. - -"Now is a time when the best of friends must part," said Anglin. "I -have been thinking it over, and the suggestion is that you, my young -friends, must be relieved of any suspicion of willingly associating -with suspicious characters. Gervais, Fred and I have our mission -clearly mapped, the cause we serve is supreme, and the safeguarding I -propose is of mutual benefit. With you boys here we can have no open -acquaintance, and of us, as we are, you must claim no memory. To be -brief, you have been detained by rough characters at the other end of -town, and you will be there discovered at the roadside in the morning -bound and gagged and stripped of all your possessions." - -"I am afraid we are mighty poor picking," joked Billy, "but it is all -right to give us the truss up, as we brought this shake-up to your -door." - -"That is neither here nor there now," consoled Anglin; "we must mend -the situation as best we can." - -And so it came about, at a point remote from the red roof, a passing -policeman picked up two much hunted boys who were decidedly the worse -for wear. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THROUGH FIRE AND FOG. - - -"YOU'RE a pretty pair, I must say." - -True it was, the boys were not fixed for any dress parade when they -first faced Roque, immediately after their delivery to the secret -agent by the police authorities. The crawl through the drain pipe and -the additional effort to give them the appearance of real victims of -violent treatment, had served to convert the usually natty and trim -youngsters into a couple of quite disreputable looking characters. - -It is quite likely that Roque would there and then have put the -returned wanderers through the "third degree" of questioning had it -not been for a fortunate and welcome interruption in the shape of a -messenger, who could not be denied, and who, it proved, brought tidings -that wholly changed the line of thought of the stern chief. - -"Take these chimney-sweeps to the tub and the clothesline," he gruffly -ordered, and Schneider, half concealing a broad grin, accepted the -service with celerity. - -"You ought to have heard the boss when he found that you had not -reported at quarters last night," said the red-topped aviator, when the -trio were out of Roque's hearing. "He took the wind out of my sails, I -tell you, and I am not considered slow in the cussing business." - -"Where were you, anyhow?" - -"In the hands of brigands, of course," gravely advised Billy, with a -wink at Henri. - -Schneider was so possessed with the prospect of some new and exciting -move by Roque, indicated by the manner of the chief upon receipt of -the message a few minutes before, that he did not burden the boys by -forcing evasive explanations of their mysterious absence. - -"If Roque had half a suspicion that we had been in company with his pet -enemy, the prince of slyboots," confided Henri, when the chums were -alone, "our joint name would be Dennis." - -"Gee! If that fellow hadn't bumped in just at the right time, I think -we both could have claimed the title of Ananias!" - -Billy was a poor hand as a dodger of truth, and much relieved to escape -the witness stand in this instance. - -The kind of danger with which the boys best loved to toy was again -speedily coming to them--the peril of aeroplaning. - -Schneider brought the order to report forthwith at the aerodrome. - -At the aerodrome an immense Zeppelin airship, as long as an ocean -liner, had just been inflated. Roque was engaged in conversation -with the captain of the great dirigible when Schneider and his young -companions reached the grounds. The pilot of the huge craft and his -assistants had already taken their places in the front gondola, the -foremost end of which had been screened for their protection, and -it was evident that sailing time was near. When the master mariner -had exchanged a parting word with the secret agent he entered his -room in the central cabin of the Zeppelin, which was in telephonic -communication with the front and rear gondolas and other parts of the -ship. In the meantime, Schneider had instructed the boys to give the -No. 3's an inspection to see if the attendant helpers had properly -prepared the machines for a long journey. - -The young aviators then surmised that they were to travel as convoys of -the monarch of the air, which even then was majestically rising. - -Roque hastened to the machine in which Billy was already seated and -waved a signal to the waiting Henri in the other biplane, containing -also the redoubtable Schneider. - -The swift flyers easily overcame the slight lead of the big ship, -though it was making 40 knots, and took up the guiding positions. The -flight was directly away from Lorraine and historic Strassburg. - -"I wonder if our huckster friend is in the crowd back there?" was a -mental question with Billy. - -It was many a day before the young air pilot had a chance to again meet -Anglin. - -When this journey ended it was in territory remote from that of any -former experience of the Aeroplane Scouts--a new battle landscape. -It had snowed, and the drab, brown plain of Poland had turned to -glistening white. The biplanes floated in a tarnished silver sky, -which, pressing down, seemed hardly higher than a gray ceiling. The -aviators landed on the clay bank of the winding yellow river, the -Bzura, within 400 paces of the German trenches. Gun answered gun across -the golden stream, shell on shell spattered into the soft earth, and -rifles rattled unceasingly. - -Schneider sniffed the powder smoke like a seasoned warhorse. "It's the -life!" he exclaimed. - -"And the death," added Roque. - -He knew that men lay bleeding and broken on the banks of this yellow -streak in the white picture. - -"You're just right, boss," murmured Billy, nodding his hooded head, -"the war map looks all red to me." - -Roque, as usual, wherever he went or wherever he was, seemed to carry -an Aladdin magic carpet on which to sail, for in the next flight of the -biplanes a few miles distant he found a bright spot in this winter -scene of rack and ruin--a clean, white lodgekeeper's kitchen, where a -canary sang, and where the aerial wayfarers rested and were fed. - -"I'll show you even better," he said, "when we break into Warsaw." - -The chief also had a particular crow to pick with the defenders of -the Polish capital. One of his men, for some time operating with the -Russians, had been detected, and the end of a story of brilliant secret -service achievement was marked by a little mound of earth in a Warsaw -stable yard. - -But for the present there were busy days ahead for the aviators in -reconnoitering the Russian lines. - -Most of the aerial work here was over a plain, flat as a floor. Black -dots here and there marked isolated houses, and the Kalish road was -bordered by a line of leafless trees with smooth trunks, which reminded -the young pilots of a rank of grenadiers. - -"What's that bunch over there?" queried Billy, nodding toward a group -of horsemen, shrouded in long caftans, wearing lambskin caps shaped -like a cornucopia, and bearing lances. - -"They are Cossacks," replied Roque, from the observer's perch, "the -strange fighters who never surrender." - -Billy had later an opportunity for closer view of these reckless riders -in the service of the Czar. - -The flyers could see that the road below was this day crowded with the -carts of refugees, trailing in endless procession, on the top of each -vehicle the members of the family, the average one man to five women. -The boys noted that there were not so many children here as they had -seen among the homeless wanderers in Belgium. The same problem was -here, however--what are they going to do? - -"There they go again," cried Henri, referring to renewed outbreak -from the long gray noses sticking out over the top of a brown gun -emplacement--belching cones of death, and shooting red flare into the -gray-white atmosphere. Then another noise out of the winter-worn copse -of trees--pop, pop, pop, the notes of rifle fire, all raising a queer -mist over the plain. With all this racketing no soldier could be seen -at the point of fire. - -If trouble was contagious, the biplane Henri was driving suddenly -caught some of it; something went wrong with the motors, and it was -a case of get down quick in the long slide, in which performance the -young pilot excelled. He landed safely enough, but without choice of -place. - -The machine was stranded in Sochaezev, a city of the dead. Pale faces -were still peering from some of the doors and windows, though almost -every roof had been battered in, leaving only the stringers, reminding -one of skeletons. - -Billy had instantly volplaned in pursuit of the disabled biplane of his -partner, and the two experts, assisted by Schneider, were speedily at -the work of repair. - -Roque impatiently moved about among the ruins, acting as a sentinel, -and occasionally turning to the laboring aviators with muttered -insistence for haste. - -"Hist!" - -With the chief's sibilant warning the boys softly laid down the tools -and motor parts they were handling, and stood at attention. Schneider -drew a revolver from his belt. - -Roque, in crouching attitude, held an ear close to the frozen earth -surface, and the others took example. - -"There's a cavalry troop headed this way," hoarsely whispered -Schneider. The pounding of many hoofs, growing louder and louder, was a -sound apparent to each listener. - -Then as a new diversion, out in the open field to the right of the -road, down which the horsemen were galloping, rang out the rapid blows -of pikes and spades on the ice-covered soil. - -"They're throwing up kneeling trenches." - -Schneider had a true ear for war moves. - -The grating noise of the closing of a gun breech preceded a tense -moment. - -By the shifting of sound it was impressed upon the listeners that the -oncoming cavalry had left the road and had swung into the plain on the -left. - -"We'll be between two fires in a minute or so." - -This from Roque, as he rejoined his companions standing by the -aeroplanes. - -"Give us a precious ten minutes and we need not care," volunteered -Henri, who had discovered the defect in the machinery which had brought -them down. - -"Get at it, then," urged Roque. - -The boys did "get at it" so vigorously that they raised a perspiration, -despite the frigid air. - -"It's all right now," triumphantly announced Billy, hastily repacking -the tools. - -That they had been spared the time required to meet the emergency was -due to the fact that the cavalrymen had diverted their course so as to -make a sudden frontal charge on the artillerymen from the cover of the -ruins. - -"Now for a move backward," ordered Roque in low tone; "even though -the gunners to the right may wear the gray we would have no show for -recognition if we bounced up like a flock of partridges." - -So the aviation party cautiously wheeled the biplanes in the deserted -street as far as they could from the supposed line of the coming clash. - -None too soon were they out of range, for with savage yells the -Cossacks rode full-tilt from cover at the German guns and gunners in -the shallow trenches. - -Amidst the roar of desperate conflict the biplanes whizzed away like -great arrows. - -"Some speedy tinkering we did in that ghost town, Mr. Roque?" - -"Nothing slow," assented Roque, leaning forward to give Billy a pat on -the back. - -"Where away now?" asked the pilot. - -"Back to the lodge for the night," directed the chief. - -No such comfort for the boys in the next flight. - -They were booked for a journey to Przemysl, the vast underground -fortress of Galicia, about which the Russian right end was then -snapping like the tip of a whip around a sapling, and later surrounded -on all sides by the Muscovite forces. - -While viewing the first back-wash of the Austrian forces from the high -tide of Russian invasion, the aviators had hurtled through a maelstrom -of noise. The yells and shoutings of wagon drivers, the rattling of -thousands of wheels over stony roads, the clatter of horses' feet made -an indescribable tumult, and to this were added the sounds of infantry -fighting. - -Roque had reliable advices during one of the stops in the flight that -the fortress defenders were still holding their own, and no Russian -charge had as yet crossed the barbed wire mazes that circled the city. - -Never since the memorable race at Friedrichshaven had the No. 3 type -of biplane attained such velocity as in the finish of this forced run -to the Galician stronghold, the final dash over the black-plowed farms -through a wet fog and under fire of a Russian battery posted in the -hills. - -"I feel like I had been hauled through the lower regions by a -nightmare," complained Billy, as he later sat with Roque, Schneider and -his chum in the Steiber Coffee house. - -"I will say," confessed Schneider, "that I never hit the wind so hard -before in my flying experience. My eyes must look like two burned holes -in a blanket." - -"I might say, Schneider," remarked Roque, "that if it had not been for -that timely fog you would have hit the ground harder than you ever did -before. Those gunners on the hill could not have missed us if given -fair sight." - -"It has just occurred to me that they came pretty close, anyhow." - -"They sure did, Buddy," laughed Billy, following this assertion by his -chum. "I almost collided with a shell that sounded like a dozen factory -whistles. By the way, Mr. Roque," he continued, "it looks like you were -tied up here for some time to come. I don't see any way out of it." - -"Do not lose any sleep over that problem, young man; if we got in we -can get out. You ought to know by this time that there is always a -hole in the air that cannot be blocked." - -"You bet he's right," exclaimed Schneider, slapping his knee for -emphasis. - -"Hustle for bed, all of you, and stay there until you are called." - -With this the chief faced the fire and lighted one of his big, black -cigars. He had some thinking to do. - -The boys were awakened the next morning by gunfire. - -"Oh, lawsy," sleepily murmured Billy, "is there another battle started -already?" - -Schneider at the first report had gone on his bare feet to the nearest -window. - -"Nix, fellows," he cried, after short observation, "they're not -shooting at men this time, it's wild geese they're popping at." - -The besieged garrison was adding to its store of eatables by bringing -down wildfowl, which flew in abundance over the town. - -"Let me in on that." - -Henri owned the idea that he was something of a full hand as a Nimrod. - -A voice in the doorway: "You will be 'let in' on bigger game than that." - -Roque smiled at the youthful enthusiast, and added: - -"There is a man's size job for a half-sized man waiting until you shake -the sleep out of your system." - -"Get up, you snowbirds, and sing for your salt." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -CAPTURED BY COSSACKS. - - -"COLONEL, permit me to present a likely pair of air travelers who are -never satisfied with the ground space they occupy." - -Billy and Henri tipped their caps to six-feet-three of superb manhood, -in Austrian uniform of dark blue. - -Roque made the introduction, and the boys felt quite sure that this -ceremony only completed advance notice of the character of service they -were capable of rendering. - -The officer, measuring the young aviators with a keen gray eye, nodded -approbation. - -"They will admirably fit in the carrying service," he remarked -to Roque; "they are jockey weight, which is a good point for the -assignment." - -Billy assumed from the manner, if not the language used, that Henri and -himself had successfully passed inspection. - -It appeared that airmen here were persons of some importance, as -affording the only connecting link with the outside world. - -Almost every day, the boys were advised, an aeroplane went to -Galician headquarters, on the outward flight carrying only letters -and postcards, but on the return trip bringing tinned meats and hand -grenades for the soldiers. - -The big biplane piloted by Billy and Henri dwarfed anything else in the -way of air machines shown in the fortress. - -Other aviators, viewing the No. 3's, cheerfully conceded that they were -certainly built to be winners. - -These experts, however, as usual with their kind just getting -acquainted with our boys, were inclined to be doubtful of the capacity -of the youngsters to rank with themselves as drivers of aircraft. - -It was up to time--a little time--to convince them of their error of -judgment. - -The crack driver of the Przemysl air squadron, Stanislaws, which name -Billy promptly shortened to "Stanny," was the earliest convert to the -new belief when he went as observer with the boy from Bangor on the -latter's first foraging detail. - -Lack of knowledge of the country prevented the chums from working -together at this period. - -"He will show me the way, but just hazard a little guess that I'll have -a little show of my own on the way." - -Billy buzzed this in the ear of the grinning Schneider, when the order -to get away was received. - -Henri, with the comfort that his turn was coming, stoutly backed the -belief that his partner intended to exceed the speed limit as a lesson -to the doubters. - -"'Stanny' will have a new kink in his whiskers before he gets back," -was the expression, to be exact, used by Henri on this evening. - -The great bird machine, soaring like an albatross in the northern sky, -soon vanished from the view of the watchers in the fortifications. - -"He's six horses and a wagon with a dog under it," Stanislaws earnestly -advised the officers at army headquarters, pointing at Billy, who was -reducing heat in the propeller by liberal use of the oil can. - -"Stanny" had already made good with the American boy, not so much by -his frank expression of admiration for the youngster's handling of -the military biplane as for the reason that the Austrian talked plain -United States when they were alone. Billy was dead-set against the -trial of eternally groping for the meaning of foreign phrases. - -"Do you know why we aviators are running a freight line just now?" -queried this new friend. - -Billy acknowledged that he had not the least idea on that subject. -"Why?" - -"Filimonoff." - -"Who in the dickens is Filimonoff?" - -"He is the greatest of all Cossacks," explained the senior airman, -"and the very devil on two sticks. Near Przemysl, not long ago, he -held up one of our convoys and captured 200 wagons of grain and coal. -He strikes where least expected, plays the peasant to perfection and -secretly gets a lot of information that does not belong to him. It -would be worth a lot to a fellow who dulled the spurs of this cock of -the walk." - -"Ah hum," thought Billy, "I can pretty near guess now what brought -Roque to this neck of the woods." - -So long was the enforced wait at headquarters this day that it was not -until after nightfall that the biplane set out on its return voyage to -the fortress. - -A strong air current from the north, with a decided snap to it, -forced the aviators out of fixed course, but despite the biting blast -Stanislaws was yet able to advise the pilot as to the general direction -to be pursued. - -They saw ahead of them a red glow and the uplift of a spreading -fountain of sparks. It was a house burning to the ground, probably -fired by a Russian shell. - -The blaze revealed a familiar landmark to the biplane observer. "Keep -her nose to the left," he advised the pilot. - -Billy, who figured the speed fully 70 miles to the hour, had the -machine under perfect control, and it instantly responded to every -shift of the steering lever. With the ordered slight turn it was -scarce ten minutes before the biplane hovered over the vast, shadowy -mass of the fortress below. The powerful propeller stopped, and the -winged racer stood still against the black dome of the midnight sky. -Now the forward plane dipped as the throbbing of the motor again was -heard, and the bird machine plunged down at an angle of 45 degrees, -settling in the plaza within the silvery ring formed by its own -searchlight. - -"The work of an artist," proclaimed Stanislaws to the aviators in the -night watch. - -"Carrying some weight, too," added the soldier who superintended the -removal of the cargo. - -Billy had a bedtime story for Henri about Filimonoff. - -It having been determined to regularly use both biplanes in the -carrying service, the detail at last put the boys together in the same -machine, with Stanislaws and Schneider manning the other. - -"None of your self-made adventures," Roque admonished, when he had -informed Billy and Henri of the arrangement. - -The young aviators were, in duty bound, compelled to mumble some sort -of assurance that they would stick closely to the task set for them. - -That they failed to keep the agreement proved, strange to say, the -fault of Schneider, the very man charged to keep an eye on them. - -It was the third aerial expedition of the week, and following the same -route, without mishap, had no longer the charm of novelty to Billy and -Henri, and, it may be stated, the easy sailing had begun, also, to -pall on the high-strung warrior with the sorrel hair, now sitting as -observer behind the Austrian pilot. - -At army headquarters, Stanislaws was giving his entire time and -attention to checking up the needs of the garrison, and figuring -closely on the capacity of the biplanes to carry all that he deemed -absolutely necessary to take back to the fortress on this particular -return journey. - -The balance of the crew--the trio who were getting weary of the -uneventful freight business--had nothing special to do but wait. - -"No use of sitting still and twiddling our thumbs; I don't see any harm -in looking around a bit." - -Schneider's suggestion appealed to his companions, and they had no -trouble in securing the loan of a pony each from the large number of -these hardy specimens of horseflesh browsing around the camp. - -They were advised by a good-natured member of the commissary department -not to venture too far beyond the line of patrols, and Stanislaws gave -them to understand that he expected to be ready to start within the -next three hours. - -"We'll be here on time all right, Stanny," called Billy, clucking his -pony into a smart canter, following the lead of his similarly mounted -friends. - -The one who was left behind had no reckoning then that he need not have -hurried in his packing. - -The roads traversed by the riders were deep in slush and mud because of -a thaw, but the fresh ponies reveled in the going, and it was not long -before a tempting range of harder ground extended the gallop further -afield. - -"Say, boys," suddenly remarked Schneider, rising in the stirrups for a -survey of their whereabouts, "I think we have gone about far enough, -and must take the back-track immediately." - -"Wait a moment," urged Henri, "there's a man waving to us over there." - -Schneider, looking in the direction indicated by the boy at his side, -saw it was a peasant who was making the friendly motions to attract -their attention. - -"What's the word, my friend?" - -The peasant spread out his hands in gesture of cordial yet humble -greeting. "My house is near" (pointing eastward over the plain). "It is -yours." - -"The sun is yet high, let's go over and see the house of his nobs," -gayly proposed Billy. - -The native shrugged his shoulders, and wore a puzzled look at the words -in a tongue evidently foreign to him. - -Henri supplied the information in German, it being the language in -which the invitation had been extended to them. - -"I think he could understand even better if we were talking Russ, but -still, as he made a fair stagger in German, we will have to let it go -at that. We can see him home, as he says it is near, and then strike -out for headquarters." - -Prodding his shaggy steed with his heavy boot-heels, the stranger -showed the path to his guests, the party speedily reaching a small but -solidly built farmhouse on the bank of a small river. - -Schneider, with soldierly precaution, transferred the heavy service -revolver he carried in his belt to a convenient pocket under the cape -of his overcoat. - -Perhaps the husky fighter felt it was not much of an exhibit of courage -to set a gun at hand when he found that no other human than this old -farmer with a crook in his back seemed to inhabit the premises. - -"I was as dry as a fish," asserted Billy, eagerly accepting a drink of -cold water from a stone mug proffered by their host. There were other -thirsty ones in the party, for the mug was emptied several times in the -passing. - -Just about that time Schneider lost all interest in water. Happening to -glance out of a window facing to the north, his eye caught a sunflash -on a lance-head, and now and again other sparkling tips. - -The revolver he now appreciated was in the right place. - -But of what avail, after all, was one pistol against a band of reckless -and wily Cossacks, if such were under those nine-foot lances? - -Billy and Henri were unarmed. - -The peasant was up with a jump when Schneider proclaimed his discovery -of impending peril. - -"Hide! Hide!" - -With the words of alarm he tugged at an iron ring in the center of the -heavily-planked floor. - -It was considerable of a lift, this weighty trap-door, but the old man -developed a surprising degree of activity and strength, and quickly -presented the way to a cellar by means of a ladder, the length of which -indicated considerable depth. - -"Not for me," strenuously objected Schneider; "they will never catch us -like rats in a trap." - -"Quick! Quick!" pleaded the peasant. - -Billy, at the window, excitedly announced: - -"They're the real thing; I can tell by their caps and caftans. The -Cossacks are here!" - -Schneider was as cool as a cucumber--that was the way the near prospect -of a death struggle always affected him. He was hot-headed only when -given the smaller provocations. - -"Bar that door!" - -The boys hastened to obey that crisp command. - -The old peasant attempted to leave the house before the entrance -barrier was secured and fastened. - -"Halt!" - -An unwavering line of steel barrel, and the menace of the voice behind -it, checked stockstill this attempt to escape. - -Fully a dozen of the rough riders of the north had dismounted in the -farm enclosure, and advanced upon the house, some with lances and -others carrying curved swords without guards. - -"Get away from the windows," hissed Schneider, himself backing against -the wall. "You too," savagely addressing the peasant, who in the past -few moments continued to show remarkable recovery from the infirmity of -bent shoulders and halting step. The man nervously fingered the folds -of his rusty green tunic as he obeyed the fiercely given command, and -as he stood nearest to Billy the latter was inclined to keep at least -the corner of his eye peeled on the suspect. It was well for Schneider -that the boy was watchful, for when the supposed farmer stealthily -lowered his hand it grasped the bone haft of a dagger. - -The Cossacks outside vigorously pounded the door with lance butt and -sword hilt, and receiving no response to their peremptory summons, set -powerful shoulders to work. But they could not budge or even shake the -solid barrier. - -Then at the window appeared a bearded face of ferocious type, -surmounted by high-crowned lambskin cap. - -Schneider slowly raised his revolver. - -The transformed peasant, noting the action, crouched like a panther for -a spring, which he made the same instant. But the murderous intent was -baffled and the leap fell short. - -Billy Barry's foot was purposely in the way, and the would-be dagger -wielder hit the floor with a crash. Startled by the tumble, Schneider's -trigger-finger caused the waste of one revolver shot, and spoiled -further attempt to deceive by silence. - -In the moment of excitement no thought had been given by the defenders -to the rear of the house, and before Schneider could even turn on his -heel, a half-dozen lance points threatened him, front and back. - -The fallen peasant was on his feet in a flash, and it was a mighty ugly -look that he fixed on Billy. - -"You will go to the cellar now, because I say it, and will come out -again if I will it." - -The sign of leadership was on the man, for none of the strange soldiery -about him ventured to speak even a word in his presence. - -Schneider, disarmed and no longer resisting, was hustled into the dark -hole in the floor, and the boys were forcibly assisted in the same -gloomy descent. - -The heavy trap was closed with a bang, and sealed by the crossing of a -clanking chain. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -A WONDERFUL RESCUE. - - -"BLAMED if I oughtn't to be treated for the simples." - -Schneider was, indeed, a dejected figure at the foot of the long ladder -in this inky well, the only point of light being a porthole sort of -window, set high in one of the four stone walls. - -"We're all of the same name as chumps," echoed Billy. - -The situation certainly had serious aspect to the prisoners. While they -had considerable confidence in the trailing ability of Roque, here was -a case with about every chance in the world against successful tracing. - -An isolated farmhouse, far from the beaten track, not even in present -line of military operations, and confinement practically in a granite -tomb, from which no wail of distress could possibly be heard outside. - -What fate the Cossacks had fixed for them was merely a matter of -dreadful surmise. - -"Slow starvation," was Henri's unhappy guess. - -"Penned up in this den until we go mad," was the blood-chilling view of -Schneider. - -"Say, you fellows give me the creeps." - -Billy wanted his troubles one at a time. - -The next one was all too near. - -While feeling his way around the rocky walls, Schneider settled in his -tracks as though he had been shot. - -"Don't you hear water splashing?" For confirmation he stared blankly at -the boys who had not as yet strayed away from the ladder. - -"Are you starting your madhouse already?" demanded Billy. - -"But there is water running near," insisted Schneider. "Come over here, -if you don't believe it." - -As if to humor their friend, the boys joined him. - -Sure enough, the lapping sound was plainly audible at this point. - -Further ahead in the dim recesses of the cellar the sound was of -dripping, a steady patter like rain. - -"Maybe they have pulled a sluice between here and the river," suggested -Henri. - -"The fiends," muttered Schneider. - -"Gee!" exclaimed Billy, starting back from a forward step or two, "the -floor is filling!" - -Stealing along, inch by inch, the water spread throughout the cellar. - -The prisoners retreated to the foot of the ladder and sought perches on -the rungs. In case of full flood they could stave off drowning for a -time by climbing higher. It was the only way. - -"It's a pretty tight place we're in, old man, but not for the first -time, and, mind you, we have always pulled out somehow." - -Billy was ever ready to pass a cheering word to his chum when cheering -words were most needed. - -Schneider's nerve was again in the ascendant, he having sufficiently -abused his lack of horse sense in being so easily led into such a trap. - -"If I had hold of a good steel pike for a bit of an hour, there is -nothing like a few planks that would keep us down here." - -"Yes, or a couple of axes, or a stick of dynamite, or an electric -torch, and so forth," bantered Billy. - -While Schneider and Billy were word sparring to keep up their spirits, -Henri noticed that the water on the cellar floor had pooled in the -sunken spots, indicating that the pressure from without, for the time -being, had largely subsided. - -"No need for life belts yet," he cried, "the river isn't going to come -through." - -"And, thanks to that blessed streak of light," Billy pointing to the -bull's-eye window, "we're able to see that you are right. So much for a -starter." - -"We'll beat you yet." - -Schneider shook his fist at some invisible foe on the other side of the -ceiling. - -When, however, the first flush of encouragement at the fading of the -flood had dimmed, it seemed a small matter about which to rejoice. -The situation appeared as hopeless as before to the imprisoned -aviators. With the coming of night the one diamond in the sable setting -vanished--no ray of light to slightly relieve a condition now of -absolute blindness. - -"Oh, for one more glorious chance to meet those dastards in the open," -groaned Schneider, who again was overwhelmed with keen regret that he -had surrendered at all in the first place. But then he had no idea of -such a dungeon as this, and, too, he had feared to provoke instant -death for his young comrades. - -In the coming dismal hours the troubled trio, deserting their ladder -perches, stretched their aching bones upon the slimy floor, and passed -the night in uneasy slumber. - -Henri was the first to awaken, and as a morning exercise essayed to -reach the little window by working hand and toe as a means of scaling -the rough surface of the wall. As he clung for a fleeting moment to -a protruding stone his chief discovery through the aperture was that -outside it was raining in torrents. - -Perhaps not much satisfaction in return for sadly torn fingernails and -considerable waste of already waning energy, yet it was some assurance -that they were not intended victims of a drowning plot of man's -conception. - -"It's not the river that is feeding this drip," announced the climber -to his companions in misery, "it's raining like fury and the water -coming in here is the gutter fall through these rocks." - -"A bally lot of moisture," growled Schneider, splashing ankle-deep -across the cellar to inspect a swinging shelf which had just caught his -eye. - -He reached up, and presently turned, holding at arm's length a mouldy -sailcloth bag. - -"Hidden treasure," whooped Billy. "Bring it nearer the light, -Schneider." - -The treasure proved to be meal of some sort in a fair state of -preservation. A tasting test demonstrated that here was something that -would at least dull the gnawing pains of hunger, when mixed with water, -of which latter there was more than a plenty. - -"We might make a fire out of the shelf," suggested Henri, "and turn -this stuff into hot cakes. I've got a few matches in my pocket." - -"I see a picture of the fire you could make down here," exclaimed -Billy. "But what's the matter with trying it out on the trap door? Burn -our way out." - -The speaker had taken on an air of excitement at the prospect. - -Alas! The matches in Henri's possession had been carried on his -sleeping side, the side all night in contact with the slimy floor. -There was not a strike in one of them. - -Schneider, inveterate smoker that he was, remembered that his pipe, -tobacco and match-case were all in the pocket of his great coat, of -which the Cossacks had divested him after capture. - -So in silence the unfortunate three mouthed the soaked meal, bitterly -disappointed that they could not realize upon Billy's brilliant idea. - -From bad to worse, they did realize, and soon, upon a much less -desirable development. The rain had no stop this time to reduce the -water flow into the cellar. In restoring the meal sack to the shelf for -safekeeping, Schneider's long boots were wetted to the knees, and there -was nothing to do but mount the ladder, and stay there. - -To save a fall when napping, the prisoners lengthened their belts and -buckled themselves each to a rung above the one upon which he sat. - -"While you were wishing awhile ago, Schneider, why didn't you wish for -a boat?" - -"You'd joke on the way to the scaffold, young man," said the subdued -firebrand, fixing a reproachful look on Billy. - -"Never say die," retorted the irrepressible youth. - -Another wearing night, and in Schneider's next trip for the meal bag -his hip boots were none too long in the matter of preventing his taking -on a cargo of water. - -But this third day of desperate contemplation was destined to be -marked by an incident which resulted in the lifting of the weight -of gloom--and the herald of light and liberation from an apparently -hopeless imprisonment was four-footed. - -A few lines now in backward trend, to tell about the ambulance dogs, -as many as a thousand, renowned for their excellent service for the -Germans in both the eastern and western theaters of war. Each of -the sanitary companies has attached to it four of these dogs, the -German shepherd breed, marvelously trained and fitted for work on -the battlefield, commanding everywhere eloquent tribute for their -remarkable performances in finding the wounded and their acute scent on -any trail. - -Stanislaws had long completed his packing of the biplanes, and many a -time and oft had impatiently paced Commissary Square, as many times -going to the military road upon which he had last seen his aviation -comrades riding joyously away. "'Stanny' was in a stew," as Billy would -have put it, and he was not averse to letting anyone about him know it. - -When night came word was passed from patrol to patrol, and back again, -and no definite report of the missing aviators. - -An observer was secured from among the young officers in the camp, and -Stanislaws himself piloted one of the biplanes on the return journey to -the fortress. - -Roque was immediately advised of the mysterious disappearance of his -three followers, and promptly indulged in some very emphatic comments -not appropriate for parlor use. - -"You must fly again in an hour," he raged, "and I'll be with you." - -Stanislaws, though weary and nerve-strained through the exertions of -the long flight just concluded and by the weight of anxiety, would not -listen to the offer of brother aviators to relieve him of the added -exertion of repeating such a journey without rest. - -"I'm going back with him," he stoutly maintained--and he did. - -At headquarters Roque took advantage of the first glimpse of daylight -to institute work of inquiry, in which practice he was conceded to -be without equal. But to no avail. The furthest outpost had seen the -riders pass, and, fully satisfied with their credentials, had paid no -further attention to their movements. - -Somewhere out on the boundless plain, alive or dead, were the three so -earnestly and expertly sought for. - -"It's a hard nut to crack," Roque stated to a group of officers, "but -I have opened just such hulls before, and I am not ready yet to plead -inefficiency." - -"Perhaps they have fallen into the hands of the enemy," said one of the -officers. - -"I can hardly believe that an old campaigner like Schneider would run -into the lines of the foe with his eyes open. If suddenly attacked by -lurking prowlers, I'll warrant we'll find some sign, for I know the man -too well to believe he would be taken without a struggle and somebody -biting the dust." - -Roque had evidently not figured on Schneider's present handicap in the -shape of the boys, forcing discretion ahead of valor. - -Then the winning thought flashed into the mind of the secret agent--put -the ambulance dogs on the trail! - -The reminder was the approach of one of the sanitary officers. The -latter, when he was told of the situation, at first presented a -doubtful front. - -"The heavy rains out there," said he, indicating the plain by a -sweeping movement, "have drowned the scent, even if we had a good lead -from this point; but," he concluded, noting the disappointment in the -face of Roque, "I do not mind making a try for it. Here, Blitz." - -The splendid animal bounded to the side of his master, lifting -expressive eyes, and indulging in a series of short barks, showing -readiness to serve in the best dog language. - -Hasten, dog, there is sore need for aid in a dark place of yonder sea -of mud! - -Schneider, Billy and Henri had not ventured from the ladder since the -early move after the meal-bag, which the first named had decided to -keep within reach, and save further wading to the shelf. The flood on -the floor showed no sign of receding--indeed, the trio had twice been -compelled within the hour to climb a little higher to escape the splash -at their feet. - -Schneider, anything for diversion, pounded on the trapdoor until his -knuckles were a bleeding mass, shouting until he was hoarse. - -"What's the use?" he dully questioned, settling again into an attitude -of sullen indifference. - -The boys set up a duet, but with discord so apparent, even to -themselves, that they quit the singing attempt as a matter of -self-defense. - -This noise had hardly ceased, when Schneider poked his head around the -ladder support on the side of the light, with a hand hollowed behind -his ear. - -"Jumping jingo; listen!" - -They all heard at once the snuffing of a dog, and with the sight of its -black head stuck into the bull's-eye window, Billy dropped into the -flood, breast deep, and struck out for the wall, up which he swarmed, -regardless of scrape or strain. - -He had seen the ambulance dogs in camp, and knew of the breed and -their doings. Holding onto the narrow ledge like grim death with one -hand, he used the other and his teeth in tearing out the scarlet lining -from his cap, which he twisted around the dog's collar band. Blitz--for -Blitz it was--whined his receipt for the red token, backed from the -aperture, and padded away like the wind. - -Two hours later the trap was lifted, and the exhausted survivors of -this desperate adventure were hauled into daylight, joyfully greeted -by a goodly company, including Roque. Stanislaws, sanitary officers, -pioneers, and last, but not least, Blitz, tugging at the line by which -he led the rescue party to the scene of his original discovery. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -DUEL TO THE DEATH. - - -SCHNEIDER was a very walking furnace, with his burning desire to meet -again, on equal footing, any individual of the Cossack band that had -thrust him, lamblike, into the stone tomb under the farmhouse, and, -particularly, the fake peasant for whose wiles he had so foolishly -fallen. - -"Give us a biplane hunt for that gang," he importuned Roque, "or I will -never get the red out of my eyes. Filimonoff himself might have been in -the crowd, for all I know, and you ought to be doing some tall bidding -for his headdress. It was just like one of his tricks." - -The firebrand felt that he had hit the mark with the last part of his -heated argument. Roque would have counted full reward for the chase in -the bagging alone of the wily chieftain of the strange horsemen. - -He turned to Stanislaws, remarking: "You men for awhile will have to -resume the use of your own machines in the carrying service. I have -concluded to give Schneider a chance to retrieve his blunder and return -a lesson that will stick into savage hides." - -"We won't stand in the way for a minute," quickly and earnestly -stated the Austrian flyer, "and more power to you, sir. What's -more," he added, "we can spare an aeroplane or two, and I know -several full-blooded lads who would be mighty willing to join such an -excursion." - -"Meaning that you are one of the volunteers," rejoined Roque. "How -about it, Schneider?" - -"It is hitting the nail on the head," heartily approved the brick-top -warrior, "Stanislaws, Breckens, Bishoff, and Mendell--there's two crews -that would help some." - -"What's the matter with us?" - -The Aeroplane Scouts had edged into the circle. The idea of a biplane -hunt especially appealed to them. - -"Sure you're going," proclaimed Schneider, glancing first at Roque for -sign of assent, which was given by a nod. - -Four military biplanes twelve hours hence lay in readiness to start -for the Cossack roundup. The Austrians in the party carried a supply -of bombs for emergency work, but the most elaborately armed of all was -Schneider, in the role of chief challenger. He bristled with revolvers, -a shoulder-hung carbine and a heavy cavalry saber. - -"If you should have a fall, old fellow," laughed Stanislaws, "it would -sound like a barrel of tinware rolling down a mountain." - -"Never you mind," said the one-man arsenal, "I have a job of making -sieves on hand." - -The plan was to hover for a time in the vicinity of the farm where -Schneider and the boys had been held up, or, rather, down, and if no -sight of the Cossack company, to reconnoiter still further north. - -The flyers were given a great send-off by the soldiers at headquarters. - -"Just like a balloon ascension at a county fair," observed Billy, as he -took his place as pilot in front of Roque. - -"Something new here, I see," Henri calling the attention of his -aviation companion Schneider, to the fact that Stanislaws had provided -telephone helmets for each of the crews, whereby pilot and observer -could communicate with one another without yelling their heads off, -receivers over the ears and a transmitter close to the mouth. - -"This will save my voice for singing," jollied Henri. - -Schneider, remembering the vocal effort in the cellar, came back with -the expression of hope that the telephone invention would not serve to -that extent. - -"Oh, but you are a jealous cuss," declared the boy, as he guided the -machine upward, in compliance with the signal given to all by Roque. - -"We have all the advantage this time,"'phoned Billy to Roque, when the -flight was well under way; "if the outfit below is too heavy for us we -can stay out of reach; if we feel that we can lick them, a dive will -settle the question--our choice both ways." - -For the first few miles all the creeping figures below were of the -friendly forces, but with the onrush of the aeroplanes all traces of -the camp were obliterated and only a trackless waste presented itself -to the view of the lofty travelers. - -Directly, Schneider reported to his pilot that the farm enclosure was -just ahead, with its yellow ribbon border, which the river wound around -it. - -The observers on the four biplanes gave the premises a thorough looking -over with their glasses, but had no announcement to make of any human -movement below. - -Separating the machines, each distant from the other several hundred -yards, the pilots guided northward, at reduced speed, and within a few -hundred feet from the ground. - -Some twenty miles forward, the little fleet encountered a snowstorm, -and the earth was already covered with a dazzling white carpet. - -A range of hills forced a higher flying altitude, and in an atmosphere -growing decidedly chilly. The aviators were quickly compelled to close -their coats at the throat, and to huddle down in the protecting folds -of their service blankets. - -On a high level, Roque instructed Billy to make a stop, so that the -long sitting airmen might work the cramp out of their joints by a -brisk runabout. The snow had little depth on the wind-swept plateau, -and landing could be made with smooth certainty. - -A spot of blackened surface showed bare through the powdery snow -covering, indicating a recent campfire there. - -"Trot out the coffee pot," Henri called to Schneider, "here are the -makings of a blaze." - -The recent heavy rains had filled with water the rocky basins near at -hand, and the thin skim of ice now forming thereover was easily broken. - -The Austrians elected tea as their special inspiration on the occasion, -and the rival fumes soon ascended from the spouts of coffee and teapots. - -As the sky above was now clearing, from the elevation the aviators -could see the brown and white summits of other hills, divided by valley -cuttings, as far as the eye could reach. - -Schneider was just about to light his beloved briar pipe, when all of -a sudden he dropped the ember he was lifting to the bowl, and pointed -toward the high ground edging the opposite side of an intervening gulch -to the right of their bivouac. - -A solitary horseman had ridden into view, and both rider and steed -posed, statue-like, on the verge of the steeply descending slope. - -Roque like a flash covered the smouldering fire with a blanket, -checking tell-tale spirals of smoke. - -Fixing a glass on the equestrian, Stanislaws uttered the one -word--"Cossack." - -"He's our meat," snapped Schneider. - -"It's your first go this time," reluctantly conceded Stanislaws, who -was himself aching to draw first blood. - -Schneider, taking general consent for granted, gave Henri a nod -sidewise, and both moved as quickly as they could on all fours to their -biplane. While the boy was getting the motors in play, the fighting -observer shifted his carbine from shoulder to knee. - -The buzzing of the aeroplane had evidently caught the ear of the wild -cavalryman across the gulch, for the horse was rearing, lifted by an -unexpected wrench of the bit. - -Nothing, however, on four legs or two, would have a ghost of a chance -to outdistance a racing aeroplane. - -Spur as he would, the horseman was overhauled in the space of three -minutes. - -The aeroplane, skimming the earth, mixed its scattering of snow -particles with those raised by the pounding hoofs of the wildly -galloping horse. - -So close together were pursuer and pursued, that the Cossack's first -lance thrust came within a hairline of reaching the ribs of Schneider, -leaning forward in preparation to make a flying leap from the aircraft -when it should lessen speed sufficiently to enable him to keep his -feet when alighting on the stony soil. - -Why the observer did not immediately use carbine or revolver in return -for the lance attack, queerly impressed the young pilot ahead, who, -naturally, would expect such action on the part of his armed companion, -gravely menaced by a wicked weapon too lengthy to be successfully -resisted by counter strokes of a saber. - -Henri's second thought was that Schneider had been touched in a vital -spot by the steel point, and that he, too, would next get into the deal -of death. To send the machine aloft was a third thought, following -in a flash, but the execution of this purpose was as quickly delayed -by a motion indicating a lift of weight behind. Schneider had jumped -from the biplane, now wheeling the ground, and within two lengths of a -precipice, hitherto unobserved. - -The Cossack, on the very brink of this dizzy declivity, had jerked his -horse to its haunches, at the same moment when Henri checked further -movement of the biplane by a skillful side turn. - -"It's you and me for it now," roared Schneider, "and the devil take the -quitter!" - -Turning in his saddle, the Cossack, desperately at bay, accepted the -challenge with ferocious alacrity, backing the fiery animal he bestrode -and taking to foot with drawn sword. - -Henri saw that it was the same man who in the guise of a peasant had -played them such a scurvy trick--the same, but yet seeming hardly -possible, viewing this upstanding, powerful specimen of a hardy, -unconquerable race. - -Schneider, never forgetting a face, had known the impersonator at the -first glance, which added to the incentive of wiping out the score -created by the Cossack company at the farmhouse down on the plain. - -Noting that his adversary was armed only with sword and dagger, having -blunted his lance against the armored side of the biplane, the aviation -firebrand discarded his carbine and pistol, tossing them one by one -onto the snow carpet. He had the notion of settling this affair in a -manner that would completely retrieve certain prestige of which he -conceived himself to be the loser. - -In the meantime, the balance of the aviation party swooped down upon -this level, and leaving their biplanes, advanced to the scene of the -impending duel. - -"Keep back, all of you," shouted Schneider, the bloodlust gleaming -from his eyes; "it is one to one here, and though he put twenty to one -against me, I will give him his chance, and take mine." - -"Better humor him," suggested Stanislaws in an aside to Roque, "he will -never rest easy if he does not get rid of the black mark he has rubbed -on his own nose." - -"He may get a red mark or two in this combat," grimly observed Roque, -"but let them fight it out. Schneider ought to be able to take care of -himself." - -Billy and Henri followed with fascinated gaze the movements of their -champion, who, though he sized up almost half a head shorter than his -extremely tall antagonist, was all wire and a swordsman without equal -in the estimation of the Heidelberg student body. - -The duelists indulged in no time-saving tactics. Schneider rushed his -man from the outset, but every rapid lunge of his heavy saber found -clashing counter from the curved and guardless steel in the practiced -hand of the wily Cossack. - -Forward and back, ever fiercely fencing, the sworn foes panted defiance -at one another, and each with blasting words renewed efforts to strike -a death blow. - -"Oh!" Billy had seen blood dripping from Schneider's left sleeve, and -leaving a tiny trail of carmine splotches in the trampled snow. In -agony of apprehension, the boy again fairly shouted: "Don't let him -down you, Schneider; look out for the next!" - -Roque gave the excited lad a muttered order to hold his tongue. - -"Ha!" This from Stanislaws. A scarlet seam crossed the forehead of the -Cossack, and he wavered for a second, as if partially blinded. Only -for a second, though, did his sword arm hesitate. Schneider received -another wound, this time close to the throat. - -"He's done for," tremulously whispered Henri, wondering why the soldier -onlookers did not interfere, and eager to make a saving move himself. - -Then, as though a whole row of wine glasses had been riven by a knife -stroke, the Cossack's blade, cleft near the haft by a biting downward -cut of the saber, fell tinkling at his feet. - -This was the last flare of Schneider's waning strength, of which, -however, the Cossack was apparently unaware. He did not wait to meet an -expected heart thrust from the victor. - -With a piercing yell, he turned, waved the sword stump about his head, -and leaped far out into the void before him. - -Schneider, on hand and knee, game, but all in, as the saying is, -mournfully shook his head, and faintly murmured: "He would have had -another chance to finish." - -Stanislaws, something of a surgeon, stanched the blood welling from -the wounds of his comrade, applied bandages, and soon had the fallen -fighter on his feet. - -The Cossack's mount had disappeared, a fact first noticed by the acute -Roque. "Mark you," he predicted, "that riderless horse will be sure to -stir up a wasps' nest, and somebody here will get stung if we attempt -to hold this position. Schneider's punctures are enough for one day." - -Roque's prediction was a sure shot, for he had hardly ceased speaking -when a score or more of horsemen charged from the cover of a rocky -defile and bore down in force upon the aviation party. - -"To your places!" thundered Roque. - -The pilots of the several aeroplanes were already making ready for -hurried flight, and Henri, in addition, had assisted the wounded and -weakened Schneider to his seat in their machine. - -Breckens, Bishoff and Mendell emptied their carbines and revolvers in -the direction of the oncoming lancers, clearing a saddle or two, and -swung into the rigging of the waiting biplanes just in time to permit a -clean getaway. - -Right over the brink of the precipice the start was made--it had to -be the quickest way--and a thousand feet of ascent gained without an -upturn. - -Circling about on high the soldier-observers scattered the horsemen on -the plateau with a shower of bombs. - -Schneider had had his innings, and returned in full measure all that -was owing. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -DRAWN FROM THE DEPTHS. - - -"WELL, Mr. Roque, if you did not get Filimonoff this trip, you struck -mighty close to him, for I'll warrant the man whom Schneider vanquished -was a leader in the Cossack horde." - -"And something of a fighter, you might add, Stanislaws," rejoined the -secret agent. "But there's another day, and the kingpin and I may yet -lock horns." - -The aviation party was again at Galician headquarters, and the -interesting invalid, Schneider, was already declaring that he was as -good as ever. - -Roque had a grouch, chafing because of the delay of the Austrian forces -in getting through to the relief of Przemysl. - -"Just think what might be done if we had enough flying machines, -Zeppelins and aeroplanes, to bring over an army corps every week or -so." This idea expressed by the ever-enthusiastic Stanislaws. - -"You are not talking airship now, Stanny; it's an air castle you have -in mind." - -This pleasantry on the part of Billy turned the laugh on the Austrian -aviator, in which he joined himself. - -"There's one thing sure," finally declared Roque, "I know of at least -two airships that are soon to sail over the heads of the Russians who -are now blocking the way to the fortress." - -"I just knew he would be pushing something across before long," said -Henri to his chum. - -"From the way he looked at us when he spoke, it's safe to believe that -we will be somewhere behind the push." - -Billy had a hunch that his job was secure whenever Roque had work above -ground. - -Schneider had heard enough to set him at the task of cleaning and -polishing his personal stock of firearms. - -The four biplanes returned that very night to the besieged fortress, -from which two of the machines were destined to leave in short order on -a most important and perilous journey. - -Our boys had instructions to give the aircraft a thorough going over, -fill the petrol tanks to utmost capacity, and carry all the condensed -foodstuff possible. - -"Maybe he is figuring on a chance of a lay-up in the mountains," -suggested Stanislaws, detailed to assist the younger aviators in the -work of preparation. - -"'Maybe' is a good word to use in connection with the moves of the -chief, for you can't prove anything by us." - -The present was all that counted with the busy lads, hustling to -complete their immediate assignment. - -"Ready and waiting," they soon announced to the chief, who simply -nodded approval, and went on with the work in which he was -engaged--studying and making field maps. - -Henri put in the spare time afforded with continuous instruction of -his chum in the German language, Billy having already acquired, by -hard knocks, talking knowledge of French. They were thus occupied one -morning, when Schneider appeared, in war-like array, with brief order. - -"Buckle up." - -Roque found everything in shipshape for the getaway, and smiled at the -impatience of Schneider, who had been stamping around the hangars since -the first glimpse of daylight. - -While the young pilots were drawing to the elbows their fleece-lined -gauntlets, the secret agent was earnestly assuring the commander of -the garrison of his belief that the way would very soon open for the -long-expected relieving force. - -"I think I can advise them to good effect if we get through in safety," -he said, mounting his perch in the biplane, and giving Billy the word -to go. - -As the biplanes shot through space, only Roque, the directing power, -had knowledge of their destination, though Schneider inferred that the -finish would be somewhere in the thick of battle. - -This inference was not far amiss, for when the aircraft finally -slackened speed, and stood still against the blue vault of heaven, -still as the condor floating above his native mountains, the aviators -looked down upon a thick forest of bayonets, shown on all sides by the -square formation of the Austrian forces, then endeavoring to pierce the -Russian front near Lupkow and thus relieve Przemysl. - -"We are in the Carpathians," Schneider advised his flying mate. - -The fighting in these mountains had then been continuous and intense -for weeks, the two armies contending desperately for the ridges, -the possession of which would give advantage to the holders. Every -concession of a few yards of the rocky slopes had exacted heavy toll of -lives. - -Behind the Austrian lines at Lupkow the aviators made landing, -descending through a sea of smoke, and amid deafening roar of furious -conflict. - -Roque had hasty conference with the commanding officers, and outlined -conditions at the great underground fortress, to save which this day's -engagement had been planned. - -Schneider and the boys had received orders from their chief to stand by -the aeroplanes, and on no account to leave their posts. - -"He evidently does not believe there is much of a show of smashing the -Russian barrier to-day," observed the firebrand, who little relished -the infliction of standing still in the rear while so much powder was -being burned in front. - -It was soon apparent, the way the tide of battle was turning, that the -rear of the Austrian position would not be such a lonesome place after -all. Retreat had begun, and immediately Roque emerged from the ruck. - -"This isn't our day," was the news he brought; "get under way or you -will get under foot." - -It was a stirring scene that spread under the rising biplanes, the -massed formation attacks of the Austrians hurled back again and again -by the sheer weight of the Russians, pouring men forward in seemingly -unending numbers. - -"They're thicker than flies in Egypt," growled Schneider, when his -soldierly eye perceived that the Austrians could no longer stand the -pressure of the numbers arrayed against them, and that the day was lost. - -The aviators decided to adopt the manner of the eagle and nest high -that night. They found a level on a mountain peak not very far removed -from the clouds. - -"You could cut the stillness up here with a knife," asserted Billy, and -his companions agreed that there was a decided difference between the -shell-rent territory from which they had just flown and the awesome -silence of this sublime height. - -"It might also be mentioned that the cold on this top could be sawed -into chunks," put in Henri, taking the precaution of covering the motor -tanks with blankets. - -Schneider volunteered to skirmish for some material with which to -establish a campfire, while the boys busied themselves in opening some -of the tins enclosing the food supply. - -Roque found consolation in keeping alight a long black cigar. - -Presently he concluded to follow in the footsteps of the wood hunter, -and hasten the prospect of a cheery blaze by the time night should fall. - -With the passing of an hour or more, and no sign of the fuel seekers, -Billy and Henri developed an uneasy streak, rendered more acute by the -drear surroundings and the oppressive lack of all sound. - -"We had better do some scouting; I'll go daffy with this waiting -business." - -"I'm with you, Billy," joined in Henri, "anything but sitting 'round -here doing nothing." - -The boys lost no time in picking their way through the rocks in the -direction taken by their absent companions. - -"Let's give them a shout," suggested Billy, himself acting first on the -suggestion. - -No answer to the shouters, when they paused at intervals, hoping for -the welcome response. - -Stumbling along, careless now of bumps and bruises, the lads so often -raised their voices to high pitch that they were hoarse from the effort. - -Rounding a huge boulder that blocked their path, Billy, who was -in the lead, suddenly started back with a cry of alarm, and Henri -instinctively threw his arms about the waist of his chum. - -Lucky move, this, for the Bangor boy was in the closest kind of way -connected with a mass of crumbling earth that swept with a slight -rumble into the darksome depths of Uzsok pass. - -Henri's strong pull landed both boys on their backs--but on the safe -side of the boulder. - -"Narrow shave that, old boy," murmured Billy, raising himself on his -elbow, and reaching for the hand of his chum, "and it's to you that I -owe----" - -"No more of that," interrupted Henri, "it's only a rare occasion when -you were not doing something for me. I think we can account now for -the disappearance of Roque and Schneider. It completely unnerves me, -though, to believe that our companions are lost in this abyss." - -Billy was on his feet in an instant, alert and resourceful. - -"There's a way of finding out whether or not they are down there, and -we will never quit searching as long as there's a speck of hope." - -Gingerly skirting the boulder, he found solid ground on the higher -side, to the right of the treacherous spot on which he had so narrowly -escaped a long fall. - -Stretched out full length at the verge of the steep descent, Billy -peered into the depths, giving vent to several ear-splitting whoops in -rapid succession. - -A faint halloo finally came back from the dim recesses of the pass. - -"Glory be!" cried the strenuous hailer, "there is somebody below--and -that somebody is alive!" Through the hollow of his hands Billy shouted -words of encouragement to the unseen owner of the voice answering from -the bush-grown wall of the chasm. - -"It's a clear drop of twenty feet, and smooth as a billiard ball before -the growth begins and the rocks shelve out," Billy advised his chum, -the latter to the rear and maintaining a firm grip on the ankles of the -venturesome prober of the pass mystery. - -"Oh, for an hour more of daylight," lamented Billy, as dusk began to -envelop the lonely mountain. "Gee! Why didn't I think of it before?" -Imbued with his new idea, he quickly swung around, bounced to his feet, -hauled Henri up by the wrists, and triumphantly demanded: - -"What's the matter with flying around there in the machine?" - -"But it's getting too dark now to see anything in that hole," objected -Henri. - -"Where's your wits, Buddy? What do we carry searchlights for?" - -"I sure am a woodenpate," admitted Henri, using a fist to tap his -forehead; "let's go to the biplane as fast as our legs will carry us." - -The boys raced like mad for camp. - -With every light available from both machines set in one of the -biplanes, fore and aft, the young aviators sailed through the shadows, -got their bearings from the big rock and fearlessly swooped into the -lower strata. - -The glittering gondola of the air trailed a line of illumination along -the rugged face of the chasm wall, but in the first passing, Henri, as -observed, gave no signal of discovery. - -The insistent hum of the motors prevented the hearing of any hail that -might be given from without, and as effectually drowned any call from -within the machine. - -"Another round, Billy boy," shouted Henri, "a little lower down." - -The next circle and come-back brought results, attested by a gleeful -hurrah from the observer. - -"There's a man on the ledge over there--there's two, by jingo! Round -again, pard. Steady now!" - -The aeroplane was dangerously near the ledge, a little above it. -Henri was standing, one hand gripping a stay for balance, and in the -other grasping a ball of whipcord. With a sharp turn the pilot nosed -away, the tail lights of the machine gleamed full for an instant upon -the dark figures silhouetted on the rock face, and in that precious, -fleeting instant, with a round arm swing, Henri sent the cord ball, -unwinding as it dropped, straight down upon the ledge. - -"Up!" sang out the maker of the successful throw, and as the biplane -made almost perpendicular ascent, it tugged, kite like, at a long line -of cord, paid out by one of the men left behind on the rocky shelf. - -Once out of the canyon, the pilot checked his flight at the first -level, and both boys, under the glare of the searchlight, speedily -spliced and knotted two coils of fine-fibered rope, part of the flying -equipment. - -Henri, leaning over the edge, drew the cord connection taut, indicating -to the holders below that all was ready at the top. The boy felt sure -that Roque would understand--for it was Roque he had seen in the circle -of light when the ball was thrown. - -Sure enough, the cord was drawn downward, and the rope followed the -cord, with, happily, plenty to spare for the making of a safe and -secure anchorage. - -"Roque is something of a sailor, as we know, and he'll come up all -right, with a good purchase for his feet against the wall. As for -Schneider, the three of us can hoist him, if necessary." - -Billy's advance arrangement went somewhat awry, for it was Schneider's -red top showing first in the light over the brink, and Roque was the -one hauled, almost a dead weight, to solid ground and safety at the end -of the swaying rope, looped under his armpits. - -The secret agent's right hand rested in an improvised handkerchief -sling, and his face was set in the pallor of pain. - -But how strangely gentle had grown the piercing fixity of those -hard-speaking eyes when turned upon the rescuers who had dared so much -in a feat wonderful to record in aviation annals. - -"You might have waited until daylight," he chided, his voice freighted -with emotion, "and with less risk to yourselves." - -"And the morning found a couple of maniacs cavorting around this -wilderness. No, sir, the rest cure wouldn't have been the right -prescription for us. Eh, Henri?" - -"He's as right as a trivet, Mr. Roque; we took the proper tonic," -assured Henri. - -"A man's size swallow for all that," was Schneider's amen. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -A MIGHTY STONE ROLLER. - - -CAREFUL examination revealed that Roque's injury was not of broken -bones, but a severe sprain, due to the twisting suspension from the -bush which had checked his fall. Schneider had gone down feet foremost, -breaking through the growth until he struck the ledge. - -"I didn't expect Mr. Roque so soon," he said, with a face-wide grin, -"but I knew him by his legs, and gave him an open-arm reception." - -"Until Schneider reached for me," related the secret agent, "I thought -there was nothing underneath but the bottom of nowhere. It was -certainly a curious accident, all in all, the two of us tumbling as we -did, stopping in the very same place, and both of us alive to tell it." - -"There was mighty near a good third on your peculiar track," interposed -Henri, "for Billy had set his heels for that very slide which you two -took." - -"If it had not been for Henri," asserted Billy, "there is no telling -how deep I would have gone." - -"And if it had not been for both of you, there was hardly more to look -for than a miserable end for Schneider and me. We could have proceeded -neither up nor down, for there was nothing to put hand or toe into for -many rods either way." - -Roque did not propose that the boys should lose any of their dues for -gallant achievement by other belief than that two lives had actually -depended upon their prowess. - -When Schneider intimated that he thought it was time for another -attempt to find material for a fire, there were two young rebels -emphatically against the proposition. - -"We'll move where there is wood in sight," was the joint declaration. - -Roque agreed that a change of base was desirable, and a flight from the -mountain top was in immediate order. - -As the machines descended and followed a lower course, ghastly -reminders of the struggle that had recently taken place in and -along the pass were easily discernible from the lookout seat of the -biplanes--the melting snow on the slopes revealing many bodies of -Austrians and Russians. - -In a clearing at the edge of a considerable forest the aeroplanes again -settled, the observers being first convinced that there was no military -occupation, especially hostile, of the wooded tract. - -"This beats the mountain roost a mile and a half," declared Billy, the -leader in hopping out of the aircraft. - -In a big hole in the ground, dug by the impact of a cannon ball, -Schneider started a brush fire, and in a few minutes was passing hot -coffee around. - -"I must say," observed Roque, between bites at a sandwich of corned -beef and hardtack, "that I don't seem to be getting anywhere on this -trip except into pitfalls. All this is sheer waste of time. I had hoped -to see a relief march to Przemysl begun within a day, but here we are -tied in a knot, and not a step forward." - -"Well," consoled Schneider, "you gave them the route that could be won -with the least difficulty." - -"But what's the good of that when the opening wedge couldn't be -driven?" impatiently queried Roque. - -Schneider scratched his head. He had no answer. - -"There is one thing sure," exclaimed the secret agent, "and that is, I -must be on the move, for this isn't the only fish scorching in the pan." - -Billy just then edged into the conversation. He had made an alarming -discovery. The petrol supply in the biplane tanks was at low mark. The -aviators had expected to replenish long before this, and the disaster -at Lupkow had spoiled their last chance. - -"Oil nearly out, sir," were the words that brought Roque to his feet -like a jumping-jack. - -"The devil you say!" - -Here was a quandary that completely upset the chief. - -"We ought to have filled day before yesterday," explained Billy, "but -you know why we didn't." - -"The only thing to do that I see," advanced Henri, "is to add the -supply of one machine to that of the other, and two of us hunt for the -new camp of the Austrians." - -"They could fix us all right," assured Schneider, "for there is quite a -number of aeroplanes with the force which was driven back." - -"It was my intent to get in touch once more with this corps, but it was -not my intent to divide this party in the going. It cannot be helped, -though, and it may take but a few hours at most. You are sure" (turning -to Billy) "that you cannot raise enough power for both motors to go the -distance?" - -"I fear, sir, that both machines would be stranded in less than an -hour; and, with all this uncertainty as to how far we would have -to go, there is no telling into what kind of place and under what -circumstances we would be compelled to drop. There would be much less -odds against the one-machine plan." - -"It's up to you to prove it," challenged Roque, "for you and I are -going to make the trial." - -The transfer of the petrol accomplished, Schneider and Henri were left -in sole possession of the camp in the woods, after a last strained -look at the departing biplane, a little blot on the sky, finally -dissolving in the mist of the mountain top. - -"Let's knock about a bit," said Schneider, suiting action to the words -by starting up the nearest slope, where the gloomy pines were farther -apart than in the dense growth below. - -"Ah! Here's where the Russians must have gotten a severe jolt. See -here, my young friend"--Schneider pointing at a scattered ground array -of discarded rifles, knapsacks, sheepskin coats, and many caisson -shells in baskets. "Not so very long ago, either, for you will notice -that all this is on the top of the snow and not under it. You can -safely wager that here, and at this season, it is not very long between -snows." - -Here and there were other objects, stiff and stark, that sent a shudder -up Henri's spine. - -Picking their way still higher to the apex of the ridge, the man and -boy had view of a land depression, bowl shaped, almost cleared of snow -by exposure to the sun, being free of shade or shadow. - -Something on the far side of the bowl, catching a golden ray from -above, glittered like a big diamond. Henri called Schneider's attention -to the flashing point. - -"Worth a walk across," conceded the soldier-aviator, moving that way. -Henri, interest aroused, made it a point to outpace his companion. - -Drawing nearer, the investigators saw, in half-sitting posture, back -against a blanket roll, a soldier--in dark-blue uniform, Austrian -infantry--marked by emblems of rank, including a sparkling decoration -on the breast. - -A silver flask lay close by, alongside of sword and belt. - -Schneider dropped to his knees, seized one of the nerveless hands -of the officer, and fingered the pulse of the lifted wrist. The old -campaigner had noted that the blood curdle in a tunic fold was yet -unfrozen. - -"Hand me that flask." - -Henri quickly complied with his comrade's request, first unscrewing the -metal top. Schneider tenderly moved the head of the officer to his own -shoulder and poured the contents of the flask through the livid lips. - -"He lives!" cried Schneider. - -The evidence was a faint flutter of the eyelids, a twitching of fingers -and labored breathing. - -Henri unrolled the blanket that served as a backrest, made a pillow of -the wounded soldier's knapsack, and Schneider shifted his burden to -this new resting place. - -It was not long until the vigorous first aid rendered by the aviators -found a more marked response--the heretofore unconscious officer looked -up at the anxious faces of the workers, and perceptibly smiled through -the beard that concealed his mouth. - -He had comprehended that he did not owe a Russian for the help that had -come to him in this extremity. - -Schneider addressed him in the familiar tongue of the Fatherland, and -Henri also added a word of sympathy and encouragement in the same -tongue, at the time bending his head in the hope of a word in reply. - -That word was spoken, and others in faltering train. - -"He says his name is Schwimmer, Johann Schwimmer--captain." - -"A captain without a regiment," was Schneider's sad comment, his eyes -bending further afield, where corpses in blue, in heaps and singly, -marked the path of deadly artillery practice. - -"It does look as if we are caring for the only survivor," said Henri, -realizing that Schneider's mournful observation was founded upon fact. - -That Captain Schwimmer understood what was passing between his rescuers -was manifest, for stoic though he was, he covered his eyes with a -trembling hand and his breast heaved convulsively. - -At the moment there was a startling diversion--the whip-like crack of -rifles from the opposite edge of the bowl, at the very point where the -aviators had stood when first attracted by the shining point on the -captain's tunic. - -Spat, spat--bullets boring the earth close to the right, left, and at -the very feet of the trio on the ridge. - -Schneider, again a firebrand without sentiment, coolly unslung the -carbine from his shoulder, and put a shot across that evidently -counted, for it raised a death-yell. - -Without further ado, the soldier-airman plumped down on the ground, -with his back to the sufferer on the blanket, and hoisted upon his -broad shoulders the sorely wounded soldier, who faintly protested, and -urged Schneider not to so hamper himself. - -But you might as well argue with the wind; the sorrel-top warrior was -up and away, making little of his load, Henri sprinting at his heels. - -The firing company of Russians, either stragglers from the rear of -a corps or scouts in advance of one, had evidently no intention of -permitting the escape of several prospective prisoners, and they took -up the chase as eagerly as the sporting pursuers of a deer, whooping -and shooting as they bounded in a body across the separating hollow. - -But for the good start made, Schneider could not have possibly, -extra-weighted as he was, maintained speed enough to have gained even -the base of the mountain for which he was heading. As it resulted, the -carrier and the carried had hardly reached the first level, some fifty -feet up, when the Muscovite marksmen were in close target range, and -a leaden pellet among the many flattening against the rocks clipped -the visor of Henri's cap as he cast a last look at the oncoming crowd -before climbing like a squirrel into the rocky shelter above. - -Schneider had placed Captain Schwimmer out of any possible line of fire -from below, and was doing some return shooting on his own account. -Unluckily for this style of defense, all of the surplus ammunition was -in the locker of the biplane back in the woods, and the few rounds in -the aviator's pockets were soon exhausted. - -Henri knew that such was the situation by the fervid remarks of his -companion. - -But such was the angle of the aviators' perch that there could be no -attack except from the front, and even that was a climbing approach. - -It occurred to Henri, considering the lay of the land, that lead was -not the only effective substance with which to repel boarders. - -The ground was loaded with natural ammunition--loose rocks and rocks, -thousands of them, from fist size up to a ton. - -"Hey, old scout," hailed the boy, "give them a dose of dornicks." - -Schneider took the hint with a burst of approbation. - -"Two heads are better than one," he facetiously declared, hauling off -his greatcoat for greater freedom as a heaver. - -A dozen or more of the pursuing party were working up the acute -elevation when the first huge stone thundered down the incline. The -boulder made as clean a sweep as a well-placed ball in a bunch of -ninepins. - -"A ten-strike!" whooped Schneider. "Set 'em up again in the other -alley!" - -The Russians back-tracked for a time, finding a better range to fire -at the defenders on the mountainside, and such was the fusillade that -Schneider and Henri were compelled to stay in cover to save their skins. - -"They can't work that game, though, to support a scaling force," said -Schneider, "for the same fire would catch the scalers. If they come any -nearer we can fix them, all right. But what a mercy it is that they -haven't a field gun with them." - -"As it is, we can't stave them off very long," added Henri. "When it -gets dark the stone-rolling game won't work." - -"Let me tell you, young man, when that hour comes, all they'll find -here will be an empty nest." - -The veteran had a moving plan up his sleeve, and the chief reason he -had for making this stand was to give the injured captain a little more -time to mend. - -A scalp wound was what had laid the officer low, and since recovering -consciousness he had rallied remarkably. In the soldier's knapsack, -which Henri had thoughtfully carried, notwithstanding the hasty -leave-taking, was three days' rations, and the invalid had also been -strengthened by the food his new friends prevailed upon him to swallow. - -During the day Schneider several times checked an effort of their foes -to reach the height by starting a little avalanche of rocks at the -critical moment. - -In the periods of enforced peace, he cast an eye about for a likely way -for quick retreat. - -The way presented itself in the shape of a fallen pine that bridged -a narrow pass, deeply dividing this isolated level from the mountain -chain that widely extended back of the occupied position, and rose in -serried crags to the very skyline. - -It was a nerve-testing prospect, alluring alone to a professional rope -walker. - -"We'll tackle it in short order," resolutely declared Schneider, after -final survey. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -TRAILS THAT CROSSED. - - -WHEN the biplane bearing Chief Roque and Billy Barry cleared the -mountain top, the pilot and observer had a fixed understanding that -every Russian camp was to be given a wide berth, for with fuel tanks -going dry it would have been the top of folly to invite a long chase -from the Muscovite airmen. And then, too, it was no part of a safe and -sane program to risk an enforced descent in hostile domain. - -"Keep her nose southward," commanded Roque, "and we may find the -Austrian lines before we have lost our power. It's a desperate chance, -of course, but there is nothing else to be done." - -A precious hour was consumed in fruitless flight, with never a cheering -sign of the friendly forces sought by the anxious aviators. - -"It has just dawned upon me that our army has again entrenched in the -mountains, for we could not possibly have come so far in the open -without a single sight that would encourage further search in this -direction." - -Roque trained his glasses to the east, where the snow-capped peaks of -the Carpathians were showing in the dim distance. - -"It's a good forty miles in that turn," figured Billy, "and whether we -can make it or not with an inch or two of petrol is a close guess." - -"Make a try for it, and count on the wind to help." - -The mind of the chief was set on this last throw. - -One satisfaction to Billy in this change of course was the definite -objective--hit or miss, they were no longer wandering. - -Within a mile of the first slope the pilot knew that the jig was up -with the motors. Over his shoulder, he called to the observer: - -"This is no Zeppelin with a gas range, and it's the turf for us now." - -The motors clanked and ceased to hum. The aeroplane took the downshoot -and skated to a standstill on the slippery soil. - -"Stranded but not wrecked." - -Roque accepted the inevitable with fairly good grace for him. - -"What's the next move?" - -Billy was curious to know what the chief had in stock for the emergency. - -The boy was not immediately enlightened, for Roque evidently proposed -to reach speech through meditation. The secret agent with his long -coat-tail dusted the powdery snow from a flat stone and calmly took -his ease behind the glowing tip of a long cigar. - -"He must have wireless communication with a tobacco shop," thought -Billy, "for he never fails to find one of those black rolls when he -reaches for it." - -The young pilot, muffled in a blanket, stuck to his seat in the -biplane. It was his fortune, however, to see the first rift in their -clouded luck. - -The color scheme of the mountain side, brown, white and gray, added in -the passing minute some new and stirring effects. On a higher slope -were arrayed a number of men wearing crest helmets, blue jackets and -red trousers. - -"Say, boss," drawled Billy, when he caught sight of these gorgeous -figures, "there's a circus band coming down the mountains." - -Roque looked up. "Austrian dragoons!" he exclaimed. "We've rung the -bell this time!" - -Whether or not the dragoons heard Roque's exultant remarks, they were, -nevertheless, gazing at and pointing to the spot where the stranded -aviators were joyfully anticipating discovery. Willing to aid it, -indeed, upstanding and waving welcome. - -The soldiers came in haste to size up the strangely arrived visitors, -and the leader recognized Roque as an oft-seen mixer in official -circles. In calling him by name, however, the name was not "Roque." - -The secret agent promptly explained the situation, and received hearty -assurance that he could have enough petrol to carry him back to -Berlin, if he wanted that much. - -"We have fifteen air cruisers with us," stated the dragoon spokesman. -"By the way, who is your pilot? You must have plucked him young." - -Billy, notwithstanding Henri's patient instruction, was a little short -yet in the Teuton tongue, but he had picked out of the conversation -at this stage enough to put him wise to the fact that he was in the -limelight. - -"A bud as to years, I'll admit, my dear lieutenant, but in genius, -skill and daring a full flower; one of the master craftsmen of the -flying profession, and I left a companion piece on the other side of -the mountain." - -Threading Roque's eloquent tribute no doubt was the memory of that most -recent rescue performance of the Boy Aviators in the black pass of -Uzsok. - -The boy from Bangor felt like the bashful member of a graduating class -when the dragoons committed friendly assault by slapping him between -the shoulders. - -"Roten will steal you," laughingly predicted one of them. Billy later -discovered that Roten was the chief aviator at army headquarters. - -It was decided by Roque that Billy and himself should rejoin Henri and -Schneider at once, the reunited party returning together to this camp, -and remaining until the development of new plans of the secret agent. - -Roten suggested that as it was the intent of the aviation corps to -inaugurate a reconnoitering expedition the following day, it would be -of mutual pleasure and benefit to combine in the trip. Further, he -advised Roque of a much more direct route over the mountains than the -roundabout way uncertainly taken by the secret agent in coming. - -"Consent"--this ready acceptance by Roque. - -The army air scouts who were to participate in the expedition numbered -eight, and the No. 3 piloted by Billy would measure speed with four of -the swiftest biplanes in this branch of the service. - -To the east of the Uzsok pass the Russians had constructed an elaborate -network of cement and earthwork trenches, and to make any headway -against the vigorous Muscovite defense at this point the Austrian -troops would encounter a particularly difficult task. - -It was up to the Austrian aviation corps to determine the true strength -of the position, and to weigh the chances of an assault with the -present artillery equipment in support. - -So it happened that the little fleet was going in just the right -direction to enable Roque to reunite his own party, at the same time -affording him the opportunity to see for himself what was going on. - -Roten had been fully advised of the exact location in the pass of the -forest tract where Schneider and Henri were supposed to be watching for -the return of their companions. - -"We will find it without fail," he confidently declared, "and taking -the nearest way there." - -A blinding snowstorm, beginning in the night, served to hold the -aviators in shelter for another day. At the first sign of clearing -weather, however, Roten decided to fly, though he explained that many -landmarks would be lost sight of under the drifts, markings recorded -during a previous journey. - -"Follow the compass, old man." - -This remark, ventured by one of the lieutenants, the chief airman -ignored with a sniff. - -"Pass the word to pull out," he snapped. - -Five biplanes were off at the signal, and winging their way in perfect -alignment. As far as vision extended billows upon billows of snow -capped the mountaintops and billows and billows of it smothered the -defiles. The observers shaded their eyes as best they could with their -hoods from the trying color effect, heightened by the reflection of the -sun, and many times the pilots made hasty swipes with coat cuffs to dry -wet cheeks. - -Roten changed the course more than once during the first hour out, -indicating that he was missing here and there some familiar formation -that would aid the keeping of undeviating progress. - -"We ought to get to the jumping-off place pretty soon at fifty miles an -hour." - -Billy felt that he had to say something to break the sailing monotony. - -If Roque had an opinion he kept it to himself. - -There was one thing sure, the flight had carried the aviators beyond -the path of the recent blizzard, for brown and gray were again showing -above the white in the checkered landscape. - -That Roten was planning an intermission was apparent by the circling -action of his machine over a plateau of broad expanse, probably an -intermediate station with which he was acquainted. - -His initiative set the balance of the flock on the down grade, and the -pilots rejoiced over the immediate prospect of a thaw-out. - -The chief aviator wore a satisfied smile on his bewhiskered -countenance. "The Carpathians were never built to down me," he briskly -proclaimed; "we'll go to the mark now like a bullet through cheese as -soon as the steering boys get the cricks out of their backs." - -"Come to think of it," volunteered Billy, "it is a tolerably nifty -morning to hold a still curve for a hundred and twenty minutes at a -stretch." - -Roten, who understood American, grinned appreciatively at this -recognition of his welfare action in behalf of the pilots. - -"Right over there, Mr. Roque," he continued, indicating a summit a -quarter of a mile distant, "is a rise exactly on a line west from where -you started the other day to hunt for petrol--some twenty miles or -thereabouts." - -"You ought to have a medal for accuracy, my friend," genially -complimented Roque, "and I apologize for holding the suspicion at least -once to-day that the snow had thrown you out of balance." - -"Can't blame you much, sir; I was mizzled a bit by too much white -shroud back there. But here comes Ansel with the oil stove and the -coffee pot, and we will have a brew that will reach all the cold spots -under the vest." - -"You must have been born for this kind of business," piped Billy, -viewing the food display on a blanket laid like a tablecloth and the -steaming coffee pot topping the little camp stove. - -"I have had some experience in living in and out of an aeroplane," -modestly admitted Roten, "yet I have seen days when I wished that I -hadn't been born for this profession; hungry days, never-resting days, -ever-perilous days. A sailor may be saved from shipwreck, a soldier has -a fighting chance on the ground, but when an aeroplane goes too far -wrong, just save the pieces, that's all." - -"Right you are, sir," earnestly declared Billy; "but get it in the -blood once and there's no quitting." - -"By the way, speaking of military aviation, and the cold we have -endured to-day, it is no more a question of climate in that sort of -work. Why, Russia is away up in the hundreds in the number of its -aircraft." - -"I expect that is true, Mr. Roque; I know I have met a few from over -there myself," grimly conceded Roten. - -"Perhaps some that you will never meet again," suggested the secret -agent. - -"Perhaps," said the veteran airman, reputed to have been mixed up in as -many air duels as there were weeks in the year. - -Billy, chumming it with Ansel, Roten's pilot, had challenged the new -friend for a footrace, which led the runners to the edge of the plateau -on the north. - -Looking across the intervening defile, their attention was attracted by -a movement on the opposite slope, the first sign of life below observed -since they took flight from the Austrian camp early that morning. - -"There is something doing over there," panted Billy, not yet recovered -from the exertion of beating his companion a foot or two in their speed -contest. - -"I can't tell what it is, though," replied Ansel in broken English. - -"It might be a bear," surmised Billy. - -"More than one bear, then," claimed the Austrian, "for I just saw two -of the kind between the bushes." - -"Your eyes are the better," conceded the boy; "there are two, one with -a big hump on its back. I wish we could get over there." - -Ansel shook his head. "You can't cross there on foot. Too deep." - -"We can chase back and get the glasses anyhow." - -Billy was already on the way for the means of satisfying his curiosity. - -When the boy had secured the glasses and was hastening by the group -around the little stove, Roque hailed him. - -"What are you up to now?" - -"Just going to take a pike at some mountain freak on the other side of -the gully." - -"Wait a minute, young man; I'll come and see what you have started." -Roque carried a big bump of curiosity under his cap. - -In the meantime, Ansel had told Roten about the slope climbers, -whatever they were, and the aviation leader concluded that any sort of -investigation on this trip required his presence. - -The whole company, then, trailed after Billy across the plateau, with a -general view of deciding in force the value of the alleged discovery. - -From the lookout point a battery of glasses were soon trained upon the -slope designated by Billy and Ansel. - -Roten hit the moving mark first this time. - -"I'll be blest," he ejaculated, behind the steady aim of the binocle, -"if it isn't one big man carrying another on his shoulders, and a -shorter fellow bringing up the rear!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -RABBIT'S FOOT FOR LUCK. - - -FOR an hour the Russians in front of the rocky rise, where Schneider -and Henri stood sentinel over the prostrate Austrian officer, had -maintained an ominous silence. - -Not a shot had been fired in the mentioned time, and no opportunity had -been afforded the champion stone roller to make another ten-strike in -repulsing attack. - -"You can put it in your pipe and smoke it that this brooding over there -means no good to us." - -While Henri was not addicted to the pipe, he accepted the figure of -speech, and fully agreed with his companion that the calm had sinister -portent. - -"The minute is about ripe," he volunteered, "for us to make ourselves -scarce." - -That Schneider was in accord with the proposition had evidence in -the action of removing his boots. To cross a cavity that lowered two -hundred feet or more on the unstable and untried support of a fallen -pine warranted every precaution. There could be no crawling for the -venturesome bricktop. He had human freight to carry on his back. - -"Sorry to disturb you, captain," he apologized to the invalid soldier, -"but it has to be done." - -Henri, keeping watch at the front, sounded a note of alarm: - -"Quick! I see what they're doing--it's a spread, and a three-cornered -charge--they've stolen to the bushes right and left, and the firing -gang in the middle is prepared to pot us if we show head or hand!" - -Schneider bent to the task of lifting Schwimmer, the latter groaning at -the movement. - -Henri, balanced by Schneider's boots thonged over one shoulder and the -knapsack swinging from the other, made a dash for the slender bridge. -He had determined to first essay the perilous passage, and test the -solidity required to bear the fourfold weight that would follow. - -A single misstep, and for the error maker there yawned a pit of death, -a mangling on jagged rocks lashed by the ice-laden rush of a brawling -mountain stream. - -But, sure-footed as the native chamois, with never a falter nor a -backward look, the boy made the crossing, backed against the mound of -upturned earth in which the roots of the fallen pine were imbedded, -and fixed apprehensive eyes upon the burdened Schneider bravely and -steadily advancing over the shaking bridge. Once the boy fancied -that, with the earth clods tumbling from the mound behind, the whole -structure was about to give, and he instinctively reached out for what -would have been a vain endeavor to prevent the threatened disaster. - -A moment later, with mingled sighs of exertion and relief, the man and -boy clasped hands--on solid ground once more. The wounded officer had -not realized other than that he suffered by the necessary lifting of -his nerve-racked body. - -Hardly a second, though, for the silent congratulation. On the level -the defenders had just quitted in such thrilling manner swarmed Russian -pursuers, seeking with fierce activity those who had conducted baffling -resistance for several hours. - -"Hear them yell," said Henri in suppressed tone. - -"It's a sound better for the distance." - -As Schneider made this comment he set shoulder against the -root-threaded mound that anchored the fallen pine. With cracking of -straining sinew the powerful pusher put every ounce of his wonderful -strength into the effort of dislodgment. Thrice he failed, and then, -with a tearing, grinding give, the mass loosened; another heave, and, -as the perspiring giant threw himself backward, just escaping the void, -the great trunk left its moorings and crashed with a tremendous shower -of soil and stone into the abyss. - -Schneider in a jiffy, and breathing like a porpoise, dragged on his -boots, again picked up the feebly remonstrating captain, and led Henri -a merry chase around a rocky bend into the bush-grown level tabled -between this and the next mountainous range. - -Finally halting, and now beyond hearing of the whoops of the -discomfited Russians, apprised of the escape of their prey by the -crashing fall of the old pine, Schneider indulged in a cheer on his own -account. - -"Tough sledding, my boy, but a clean pair of heels to the gentlemen -with the sheepskin overcoats. I don't know what's coming next, yet we -can count on a 'next' coming." - -Henri had to put in a sad word, owing to the depletion of the food -store--the knapsack contained less than two days' rations for one man. - -The eyes of the two aviators met in meaning glance--meaning that the -remaining food should all be reserved for the ailing soldier, now -sleeping quietly in his blanket roll. - -Many a time in the hours of weary tramping did the aviators tighten -their belts, but without a single utterance of complaint or bemoaning -of sad fate. To the gnawings of hunger happily were not added the -torments of thirst. Snow and ice served that desire. - -The rations were sparingly fed to the invalid, who, unsuspicious -of the sacrifice of his slowly starving companions, appeared to be -gaining a measure of strength. He expressed sorrow that he must so -burden Schneider in the march, noting that the latter had begun to -occasionally stumble and stagger under the load. - -"Don't you bother a bit, captain," as often assured the valiant -aviator, "we will run into a friendly camp before long, and you will be -in fighting trim before the moon changes again." - -On the quiet to Henri, however, the big fellow confided that rest hours -must lengthen if he had to fare much farther as a carrier. - -He had discovered that in one of his revolvers there were still two -cartridges that had not been exploded, and this find was due to the -intention of throwing away these weapons as useless and cumbersome and -a lucky farewell inspection of the long-possessed arms. - -Schneider was a famous shot, with these same pistols had won several -trophies, and, too, in war service had with them seldom failed to stop -an antagonist lusting for his own life. - -"Two bullets and three human lives at stake," he mused, weighing the -revolver in his right hand, and aiming it at some imaginary living -target. Several times during the day both Henri and himself had noted -hare tracks in the snow, and Schneider even talked in a hopeful way of -rigging up some sort of trap in the night. While the boy was inclined -to be doubtful as to their possible success as trappers, under the -circumstances, he did not spoil sport, in the mind of his companion, by -adverse argument. - -Now there was something tangible in the anticipation that Schneider -might stalk and shoot a rabbit, and so hearten the weakened wayfarers -to renew the battle for existence. They were beginning to lag with -every additional mile traversed. - -"Here is a good place to rest," announced Henri, whose sharp eyes had -marked the mouth of a cave among the bushes covering the sides of the -ridge, along which line the footsore travelers had been continuously -plodding for an hour or more. - -"We can't stop too quick to suit me," said Schneider, easing his living -burden to the ground. - -The cave was shallow, but ample in dimensions for the three invaders, -clean and dry, and containing a quantity of dried moss. - -Comfortably placing the invalid, Schneider dropped like a log in his -tracks. He was completely exhausted, and knew no more of discomfort or -the waking world until roused by Henri vigorously tugging at his coat -sleeve. "There's game in sight," excitedly whispered the boy, "bring -your revolver; crawl, and don't make any noise!" - -The suddenly awakened sleeper rubbed his eyes, and, comprehending what -was wanted, instantly produced the trusty shooting iron, and as quickly -crawled to the mouth of the cave. Henri pointed a trembling hand to -the little clearing a few yards below them. - -Several hares, pure white, were hopping about, scratching and burrowing -in the brown loam, there free of snow. - -Schneider had for a second an attack of nerves, similar to that fever -in the amateur Nimrod when first blundering upon the wallow of a buck -deer. - -Henri gave the shaking marksman a poke in the ribs. - -"Shoot, old scout, or give me the gun!" - -By the poke and the hissed demand, Schneider was himself again. - -He drew bead on the nearest hare, and with the puff of smoke from -the revolver muzzle the little animal made a frantic leap, ending -in a complete somersault and an inert heap of fur. Another whiplike -crack--and over went a second rabbit, stopped on the first jump to -cover. - -"Another cartridge or two and I would have potted the lot," boasted -Schneider, "but even a pair of them is a mighty big draw for us." - -Henri missed these remarks, for he was Johnny-on-the-spot to retrieve -the game. - -The pistol practice had startled Captain Schwimmer from a doze, and he -was under impression that his friends were fighting off another attack -by the Russians. The captain had begun to take notice of and interest -in what was going on about him. - -Raising himself on his elbows, he saw the result of the shooting match -in the pair of plump bunnies swinging across Henri's shoulder when the -boy capered into the cave. - -It occurred to the captain to inspect the knapsack upon which his head -had been pillowed. "Is this all the food in the camp?" he questioned, -handling the few scraps in the sack. - -Henri nodded in the affirmative, taken unawares by the quick query. - -"And I have been eating my fill regularly on this march, have I not?" - -"I hope you have not been hungry, captain," evaded Henri, realizing -that the officer was putting two and two together. - -"I see it all now," exclaimed the invalid, "you two have starved -yourselves that I might live." - -"Shucks, captain, don't put it that way: the rations were yours in the -first place, and, besides, look at the glorious feast we're all going -to have." - -Henri's attempt to lightly pass the soldier's revolt against the -self-denial practiced by Schneider and himself resulted only in the -invalid turning face downward on the nearly empty knapsack, his emotion -shown by convulsive movement between the shoulders. - -Schneider, wise unto himself, had kept out of the discussion, and had -practically contributed to the settlement of the hunger question by -neatly skinning and cleaning the hare meat. - -A hasty fire of dried moss and twigs and Schneider's big knife utilized -as a spit raised a savory odor in the cave, and the picking of one set -of bones that evening helped a lot to revive courage and hope. The -captain, "by the doctor's orders," was compelled to accept his share. - -The other hare made the breakfast for the third day out. Schneider -alleged that he had a hunch that this rabbit business had turned the -scale of luck, and to insure the belief he carefully pocketed the left -hind foot of one of the animals. - -During the morning the pedestrians, rested and fed, moved in fine style -for the first few miles, Schneider stoutly holding to the efficacy of a -rabbit's foot as a luck producer. - -At the foot of the summit finally cutting off the level over which the -party had been so long traveling, it was in order to do some climbing. - -"It will give us a chance to look around," cheerfully observed Henri, -"and which chance isn't coming to us down here." - -Halfway up the height the boy was again heard from. He insisted that he -had seen a flock of eagles in the western sky. - -"Eagles your foot," bantered Schneider; "whoever saw a flock of eagles?" - -"Wild geese, then," insisted Henri. - -"How many did you see?" quizzed Schneider. - -"Five or six, maybe." - -"Guess again," laughed the big fellow; "geese would be lonesome if that -was all in a flight." - -"Have it any way you please; I suppose you will be claiming next that I -am suffering with liver spots." - -Henri was a bit nettled that Schneider did not take seriously his sky -story. - -About twenty minutes later, Henri called another halt. "Now, old -scout," he cried triumphantly, "just look up for yourself and say what -you would call 'em." - -Schneider, shading his eyes under a hand, scanned the blue expanse -above. "By the great hornspoon," he almost shouted, "I believe they're -aeroplanes!" - -Henri was more than willing to be convinced that such was the fact. - -"What do you think about it, captain?" - -Schwimmer had from the first joined in the sky-gazing contest. - -"I think our friend Schneider has solved the problem. I never saw a -real bird with exactly that motion." - -The blots on the sky were increasing in size. - -"It's a sure thing," hurrahed Henri, "and they're circling for a -landing!" - -"Perhaps they're Russians," mildly suggested the captain. - -"Not while I'm carrying this rabbit's foot," firmly asserted Schneider. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -WINNING OF THE IRON CROSS. - - -THE aviators in the party of Roten were all for sailing, post-haste, -to the slope where the mysterious climbers had been sighted, and very -shortly the little fleet was in the air, headed that way. - -Flying low, the observers kept a sharp lookout for the near appearance -of the man with the burden and the "shorter fellow." - -Roque caught the first glimpse, and called to his pilot to risk a look -for himself. Billy had only a side glance, as the machine rounded the -summit, but that was enough for him. - -"It's Henri and Schneider, or their ghosts!" he shouted. - -Roque fixed his glasses for the close view. - -"As sure as shooting it is, but how in the world did they get here?" - -Billy had no ear for this--he was for landing right there, even with -a chance of plowing through the bushes. However, reason ruled, and he -steered for a clearing, into which the biplane promptly plumped. - -Hardly waiting until the machine had run its length, the boy was out -and speeding to greet his chum. - -It was a regular collision, the manner in which the youngsters came -together. - -"Glory be!" This was Billy's high-pitched note. - -"Here's to you, Buddy, bully old boy!" Henri cried. - -The "bully old boy" then made a dash for Schneider and worked the -latter's brawny arm up and down like a pump handle. - -Roque repeated the last-named performance with both the recovered -members of his crew. - -In the meantime the Austrians were saluting Captain Schwimmer, well -known to them as a gallant officer in a famous command. - -"But for them, gentlemen," gravely stated the captain, nodding toward -Schneider and Henri, "I had been in my last fight. Through danger, -cold and hunger have they brought me, and neither needs a patent of -nobility--nature took care of that." - -Roque had only to listen to the happy reunion chatter of the boys to -get the side of the story he wanted to hear. - -"It seems," he commented, "that Billy and I were not in the same class -this time with these trouble hunters." - -"Do you suppose that there is anything left of our biplane?" - -Henri had taken on the air of a sea captain who had lost his ship. - -"That is an important question," said Roque, "There is only one fit -mate to that craft in this part of the country." - -Fortunately for the preservation of good feeling, Roten did not hear -this latter statement. - -It was necessary to detail two corporal aviators to take the wounded -captain back to army headquarters, where he could have the skilled -surgical attention that would hasten his recovery. - -As the invalid was lifted into the machine that was to do ambulance -service, he gave a hand each to Henri and Schneider. - -"From my heart I thank you both," were his last words in profoundly -earnest farewell. - -Henri traveled as a passenger with Billy and Roque in the brief journey -to the forest station in the pass where it was hoped to find intact the -stranded biplane. - -Schneider, who had been given a lift by Roten in the trip, was in high -glee when it developed that the No. 3, behind its screen of bushes, had -sustained no damage. - -"See that?" The big fellow held aloft the rabbit's foot. "There's no -jinx that can beat it." - -Roque was delighted to learn, as the aerial expedition proceeded, that -one of his cherished desires had matured--a large German contingent -had arrived to support the determined effort of the Austrian forces to -relieve the Przemysl fortress. - -He had made up his mind that it was well worth the risk to carry back -the new word of hope to the hemmed in garrison, and Roten was informed -of his purpose. - -"I regret that you must quit us, Mr. Roque," said the aviation chief, -"but it's the big thing you are going to do, and I certainly wish the -best for your undertaking. Let me advise, however, that not a screw -should be loose when you make that dash. You can't fall in that country -now without bumping a Russian." - -"I'll back my boys to make the riffle," confidently asserted Roque. - -"They'll need the keen eye every inch of the way," persisted Roten. - -"We came out safely, and I guess we can repeat," declared the secret -agent. - -"Well, good-bye, sir, and look out for the big guns at Malkovista; the -Russians are there now, and it's only three miles from Przemysl." - -"We've come into our own again." Billy and Henri were standing -together, viewing with satisfaction the graceful lines of the No. 3's, -every part adjusted to a nicety. Both boys were well aware that they -were to run a through express. - -Schneider had been supplied by a brother aviator with a new outfit of -firearms, and, as usual, was spoiling for an uproar. - -"Going, going, gone." His imitation of an auctioneer was excellent, and -with this send-off the biplanes bolted for Przemysl. - -The pilots themselves knew the route this time, and they sent the -biplanes over the course at sixty miles an hour. - -Three times they were over the fire of long-range guns, but too high -for harm. - -Settling in the fortress enclosure, their initial greeting came from -Stanislaws. - -"Here's a cure for sore eyes." - -This delighted individual capered around the welcome incomers like a -dancing master. - -The garrison received with acclaim the news that Roque conveyed. - -They had been advised in a general way by wireless from the nearest -Austrian point of the upcoming of the German reinforcements, and this -confirmation in person and in detail added to the enthusiasm created by -the first report. - -"Now, boys," said Roque to his pilots, the next evening, "I am seeking -a sight of the gray lines again, and there's another hard flight in -store for you. So get a good night's rest. We start at daybreak." - -Facing a bitter, biting wind, the aviators left Przemysl at dawn, and -when they, numbed but undaunted, finally reached the far-away German -lines it was a battle front that they crossed. There the atmosphere -was being warmed by gunpowder flashes, and below was burning petrol, -thawing out the ground that the troops might dig themselves in. - -Before the entrenchments, in wide range, combined forces of Austrians -and Germans were locked in a life and death struggle with Russian -contenders for the possession of Warsaw--a bloody repetition in one -spot of the never ending conflict. - -Though completing a continuous flight of seven hours, the aviators were -there offered no temptation to alight. Hovering over the banks of the -Bzura they saw a German cavalry detachment all but totally destroyed -by the exploding of a Russian mine, and in turn the big guns of the -Germans cut wide swathes in the Muscovite ranks. - -Schneider cheered or groaned as the tide of battle swept forward and -back, when victory favored or defeat menaced his comrades in the fray. -The firebrand, in every quivering fiber, madly craved the chance to -brave the shot and shell on the blackened battlefield. - -He saw a German color bearer go down in the press of a hand-to-hand -conflict, and as the mass was dissolved by artillery fire, that -one still figure, among the many scattered in the open, presented -irresistible appeal to the soldier-aviator. - -"Land me, boy--have you the red blood to do it? Have you the courage, -lad? You have, I know. Do it, lad--do it now!" - -With his incoherent address, the big observer spasmodically clutched -the shoulders of the young pilot. - -Carried away by the vehement pleading of the man behind him, Henri set -the planes for a straight fall. - -Schneider bounded from the skimming machine, made it the work of a few -seconds to reach the flag, which the dead man had wrapped around his -body, and as quickly returned. - -The powerful motors drove the biplane up and across the field, with -the colors trailing over the shoulders of the observer, who, in his -excitement, sang a mighty war song. - -This deed of daring, directly in view of the trenches, and under the -very eye of the German commander and staff, raised a tremendous cheer. - -Of all this Schneider seemed oblivious. His was a blind patriotism. - -Roque wore a look of mild reproach when he encountered Henri behind the -lines that night, but he could not resist the prompting of forgiving -admiration when Schneider stood before him in attitude of apology. - -"Had no orders, of course, boss, but something stuck to my crazybone, -and everything went." - -"You will have something stuck on the breast of your coat, or I am very -much mistaken," said Roque, extending his hand, which Schneider grasped -with fervor. - -That "something" was to be the Iron Cross, the famous decoration for -valorous service, and the most coveted distinction in the German -empire, a badge of courage woven into its military history. - -"Were this boy a soldier of and for the Fatherland," solemnly continued -Roque, "the royal gift might well be bestowed upon him." - -Schneider threw an arm around the shoulders of the young aviator. "Of -nothing else is he lacking to claim the honor," feelingly maintained -the big fellow, and his eyes were moist as he spoke. - -Henri shook his head. Then with a roguish glance at his chum, he said: - -"The only medal I am hankering after is the one Billy and I are -expecting for making the first aeroplane flight across the Atlantic." - -"Have the 'made in Germany' mark on your machine and I believe you can -establish the record," laughed Roque. - -"Not on your life," exclaimed Billy. "We are going to build the -crossing craft ourselves." - -The No. 3's were lying idle behind the lines. Roque had ceased -overground work for the time being, and like a mole was engaged in some -undermining scheme, of which the boys had no inkling. - -Resorting to his remarkable aptitude as a lightning change artist, -and also applying the magic touch to Schneider, the pair of them were -scarcely recognizable to even the lads with whom they had been so long -and so closely associated. - -The secret agent and his trusty lieutenant were masquerading as natives -of Russian Poland, and it may be told that their desperate mission was -to enter Warsaw, where the slightest indiscretion or betrayal would put -them in graves alongside of that daring spy of Roque's who failed to -conceal his identity. - -It was the midnight hour when Billy was awakened by a man enveloped -from neck to foot in a grayish-brown overcoat, from under the head cape -of which came the voice of Roque: - -"Take this" (slipping a fold of coarse paper into the hand of the -drowsy lad), "and if you do not hear from me after three days, read -what is written, and follow the instructions to the letter. Not a look -at the message, remember, for three days; to be exact, the morning of -the fourth day. You hear me?" Billy sleepily nodded his head. - -Out on the turbid tide of the yellow river beyond the German trenches -two shrouded figures silently launched a flatboat and drifted away in -the darkness. - -"What's doing?" This was Henri's morning question, preceding a swallow -of coffee. - -"If I knew what was in here I could probably tell you a whole lot that -I don't know at present." - -Billy displayed the closely folded packet containing Roque's -instructions. - -When Henri was advised of the conditions imposed he accepted the trust -as a matter of course. - -It had never been a habit of the boys to break faith. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -HELD IN WARSAW. - - -THE din of battle had long since ceased to be an inspiration of terror -with the Boy Aviators. They were case-hardened by continual contact -with the war game, and too careless, perhaps, of flying lead. - -Reclining in the trenches, they indulged in all sorts of surmises as to -the whereabouts of Roque and Schneider, wagered back and forth, one way -and the other, on the proposition of whether the chief would appear in -person within the allotted time or put it up to them to interpret the -message in Billy's pocket. - -With the passing of two days, the hours in the next one seemed to move -on leaden wings. - -"I don't even know in what direction to look for his coming," -complained Henri. "If he is coming," he corrected himself. - -"No use getting in a stew about it," advised Billy, concealing the fact -that he himself was nearing the boiling point as the last few hours of -waiting wore away. - -The morning of the fourth day, and no sign or sight of the absentees. - -Billy and Henri sat in council, and the former opened the paper that -had haunted his dreams during the previous restless night. - - "If alive, we are in Warsaw." - -"I guessed that once." Billy lifted his eyes from the paper. - -"Go on," impatiently urged Henri. - - "Of either fact you may learn by following instructions. - You are to bring both biplanes, early morning, and circle - over the city. In the south section you will note tall - column with figure on top in center of square. Back of same - is elevation on which rise two towers. Watch these. If - one flag shows, hold over high road running west; if two - flags, sail north and land at lodge house where canary sang - for us. There wait. If highroad route (one flag), see red - scarf signal for drop. When you read and commit these lines - destroy." - -"What a system that old fox controls," observed the reader. "Killing -one of his men didn't close the show in Warsaw. Do you get all this, -pard?" - -"I think I do," asserted Henri, "but let me go over it again to be -sure." - -Both boys having Roque's communication pat in their minds, Billy tossed -it into the flames of the nearest campfire. - -The aviation lieutenant serving with the division gave them free reign -and all possible assistance in preparing for their flight. He asked no -questions. - -Crossing the river, the young aviators ascended to great altitude, -hardly visible to any casual ground view, and taking lower levels -gradually over the city. Each with an eye on the compass, the pilots -mentally rehearsed their instructions. - -Operating in unison, though a hundred yards or more apart, they checked -speed when sighting the burnished tower tops showing above all other -structures on the south line, first identified by the tall column and -its surmounting statue in the square. - -The aerial maneuvering continued for a seeming quarter of an hour, and -while the sun rays splintered on the glistening turrets over which they -were keeping vigil, no other manifestation appeared. - -Through this long exposure to the danger of attracting unwelcome -attention, the boys were momentarily expecting some aeroplane -demonstration from the Russian military camps showing to the east. - -On the highroad, finally, the aviators saw two horsemen galloping their -mounts towards the hill, and then lost to view between the twin bases -of the towers. - -A flag swung out from one of the tiny windows under the gilded domes. - -One flag: - -The signal to hold over the road, which stretched whitely for a mile or -more and merged into the fertile fields without the city. - -The red scarf next. Would it call the suspended biplanes in swift swoop -to the earth? - -Skilled hands gripped the levers in readiness to instantly respond to -the signal. - -A cart with two muffled figures in it rumbled leisurely down the road. -There was no urging of the sorry steed straining at its belled collar. - -The biplanes perceptibly lowered, though it was merely guess work on -the part of the aviators. The movement of the cart might have been just -one of ordinary traffic, the occupants just plain, everyday peasants. - -Suddenly the hovering airmen got a signal, but not the expected flash -of scarlet. One of the carters, a big fellow, rose from his seat and -frantically waved his arms, and the boys were then so near that they -could plainly see that he varied the queer performance by pointing -skyward with the long whip he was holding. - -So intent had been the aviators in trailing the cart that they had -neglected for a time to look elsewhere about them. - -The gestures of apparent warning that they were witnessing returned -their wits to normal, and what they had from the first low flight -feared was about to be realized. Barely a half mile away, and buzzing -toward them, were three aeroplanes, which, unnoticed by the otherwise -engaged lads, had risen from the Russian camp. - -Billy and Henri, now wholly confident that the antics that had awakened -them to the impending peril were those of no other than Schneider, gave -that good friend a parting salute of cap waving and turned about at -full speed to lead a stern chase over and beyond the city--far beyond, -it proved. - -The pursuing biplanes, of the largest type, carried a crew of three men -each, and that they had tremendous motor power was evidenced by their -catapult coming. - -But, light-weighted, the No. 3's were not to be easily overhauled. It -must have been a contrary spirit that induced Billy and Henri to do -other than head across the river to the German camp. - -They were in their element, however, and it was the kind of exploiting -that most appealed to them. Keeping out of range of the guns of their -armed pursuers was the first care, and no other care had the lads how -long the chase continued. - -They would even hold, as a bait to keep the fun going. That grave -consequences might follow capture was not at all an issue. The boys had -no thought of aught else than that they were jockeying in an aeroplane -race. - -How far afield they had driven they did not realize until with waning -day they had outdistanced their pursuers. - -They were compelled to land in strange territory, for they feared -to take the chance of exhausting the supply of petrol carried by -the aeroplanes, and, besides, the continued strain on the aviators -themselves was beginning to tell. - -"Oh, for a 'lodge in some vast wilderness,'" spouted Billy in actor -style. He had a very pleasant memory of that lodgekeeper's kitchen, in -which they, cold and hungry, had been warmed and fed. "I'd like mighty -well," he added, "to hear that canary twitter right now." - -"Barring all that," remarked Henri, "we might be in a worse fix, -considering that we have something to eat with us and a good pair of -blankets for a bed." - -"I am not particularly impressed with these surroundings, though," -argued Billy, "a swamp on one side, a bunch of stunted willows on the -other, and a regular no man's land front and back." - -"Oh, quit your kicking, Buddy, and let's make the best of it." - -Henri started for the willows, in the hope of finding enough dry -material to make a fire. - -He succeeded in coaxing a small blaze out of a little pile of twigs. - -Dead tired, the boys rolled into their blankets and slept like logs. -But they had a rude awakening, particularly in the case of Billy. - -As he lay snoring, a flash more vivid than lightning dragged him out -of dreamland, and his hands flew to his eyes to protect them from -the blinding glare. A searchlight was playing full on his face. He -heard the clatter of horses' hoofs, and before he could see what was -happening, a hand was on his shoulder and a revolver was pressed -against his breast. - -Henri, startled into sitting posture, looked dazedly upon the -proceedings. - -A Russian cavalryman, dismounted, was behind the revolver, and the -searchlight was directed from a wagon. - -A stalwart figure in gold and brown, an officer in the service of the -Czar, moved briskly into the circle of light to inspect the prisoners. - -Stroking his tawny mustache, he concluded brief comment with a short -laugh. Translated, what he said was: - -"You have caught a pair of lambs, Peter." - -The soldier addressed as Peter hastily restored the revolver to his -belt. - -Another soldier just then discovered the biplanes, and the officer -deemed this find of great importance. He tried the French language on -the boys in starting a series of blunt questions. - -"Who and what are you?" he demanded. - -"Aviators by profession, foreigners by birth, and prisoners because we -couldn't help ourselves." - -The officer smiled at Henri's smart answer. - -"I suppose you came to this spot in those machines?" - -"Yes, sir," replied Henri, less snappy in tone. - -"We will hear more from you when we get to Warsaw," advised the Russian. - -"Shades of Tom Walker," thought Henri, "'out of the frying pan into the -fire.'" - -"Peter and I will go along with you by the air route," proposed the -officer; "I like the looks of those machines. We need them. Now, Peter, -you must not let your pilot run away with you." - -Peter grinned and tapped the butt of his revolver. - -Captain Neva, for such was the Russian officer's title and name, was -a rather advanced amateur in knowledge of aircraft, and he shrewdly -estimated the value of the prizes that had come to his hand on this -night's march. The subaltern, Peter, had also some flying experience, -though he preferred a good horse under him rather than a board, and -he, too, noted the fine points of the No. 3's. - -"A pretty present for the general, my captain," he rejoiced, "and all -ready for delivery." - -The boys were given a substantial breakfast, and Henri learned that -they were about 150 miles north of Warsaw. As this was figured on -straight line measurement, the aviators realized that in the excitement -of yesterday's racing they must have left the direct course many times, -for considering the time they were in the air and the speed maintained, -150 miles was not a great distance. - -From one of the many wagons, loaded with ammunition and military -supplies of all sorts, was produced a fresh supply of petrol for the -biplanes. - -"You see, we have quite a number of these flying machines up in -Warsaw," explained Captain Neva to Henri, "and we are carrying plenty -of this stuff to feed them." - -In a few minutes the biplanes were off for Warsaw, Henri and the -captain in one machine, Billy and Peter in the other. - -Three hours later the boys walked behind the captain into army -headquarters, and soon into the presence of a man of most distinguished -bearing, in full field uniform of a Russian general. Though gold lace -sparkled on his shoulders and his cuffs, the striking note of his -attire was the orange and black ribbon of the Cross of St. George that -appeared along the buttoned edge of his field coat. - -Captain Neva presented the compliments of his colonel, told of the -near approach of the supply wagons and convoying troops, and mentioned -the handsome addition to the aerial fleet so luckily and peculiarly -acquired. The captain's brief relation of the latter incident, a little -break in the pall of war, seemed to interest the general, for he -glanced at the lads, standing at respectful attention nearby. - -"What is your name?" he asked, speaking in French, and looking directly -at Henri. - -The boy politely bowed and named himself. - -"I would conclude from the sound that I have spoken in a tongue within -your complete understanding. And the other?" - -Henri registered Billy, name and nation. - -The boy from Bangor flushed with gratification when the general, in -excellent American, called him forward. - -"You're a long way from home, young man." - -Billy admitted the fact, and added, "I have been wishing many times of -late, sir, that the distance could be reduced three-fourths and I had -already traveled the other fourth." - -With the incoming of the staff members, reporting from the front, the -general consigned the boys for the present to the custody of Captain -Neva. - -"They've wasted no time," observed Billy, pointing to the familiar -lines of the No. 3's, glistening with new color. - -That a couple of Polish carters should happen to be gaping at the -aviation show was not an unusual occurrence or usually worthy of notice. - -But there are carters and carters, and some seeming carters are not -carters at all! - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -AN HOUR TOO SOON. - - -WITH incoming of the troops convoying the supply train, Captain Neva -rejoined his company, and Billy and Henri were promptly adopted by -the aviation corps, most of whom spoke both French and English, and -all very much inclined to express their admiration of the aeroplane -knowledge displayed by the youngsters. - -The boys were right on the job, so to speak, when it came to -reassembling the parts of new aircraft received by wagon shipment, and -so grew in the confidence of the aviation lieutenants that they were -quite often permitted to make flying tests of the various machines with -only themselves in charge. - -If the young airmen enjoyed this concession without watching on the -part of the lieutenants, there was no such inattention on the part of -a couple of frequenters of a city tavern not far removed from the -aviation camp. - -Work was evidently slack with this pair of citizens, for hardly a day -passed that they did not spend several hours at a tavern table located -near a bow-window, which afforded an excellent view of the parade -ground and aviation quarters. - -One of these constant spectators was remarkable for his size and the -vivid hue of his hair, the other for the reason that he paid absolutely -no heed to the other patrons of the place, though all appeared to be of -his kind, both in manner and attire. - -On a particular afternoon, the strangely silent one was deeply engaged -with a stump of a pencil in the labor, no doubt, of casting up his -accounts on a piece of dirty brown paper, in which had been wrapped his -lunch of black bread and sausage. - -The puckered lines over his nose indicated thought labor, but the -furtively keen glance he occasionally gave to outside movement -contradicted the impression that he was of slow order of mind. - -The chief actors in the mentioned "outside movement" at the time were -two trimly set up lads in new suits of service green, one pulling and -the other pushing an armored biplane into its hangar. - -"This machine," said the puller, "ran like an ice-wagon to-day but -maybe use will smooth her out." - -"It's all in the motors," confidently asserted the pusher, "and I'll -have the kinks out of them in a day or two." - -The man at the table across the way had completed his task, shoved the -paper and pencil into his pocket, and was placidly puffing a huge cigar. - -His red-topped companion stamped into the room, returning from some -excursion in the city, but the smoker did not pass a word of greeting, -though the other idlers filled in with noisy welcome. - -It was not until the room had been vacated by all but themselves that -the curiously assorted pair put their heads together. - -"Ricker showed you where the ammunition was stored?" - -The red-topped nodded. - -"You arranged for the plans with Westrich?" - -Again the nod of assent, but this time with softly spoken supplement: - -"All good, but there is no chance of us getting to the river now. It's -lined with a wall of steel, and even a rat could not pass, day or -night, without a triple stamp of authority on its back. And let me tell -you, if we light the match for that explosion without an outlet, all -the information we will carry will be to the next world." - -"If we cannot get through the wall of steel you mention there might be -a way of going over it." - -The speaker gave a meaning glance out of the window at the aviation -camp. A biplane was just rising for test flight, and it was manned by -two experts easily identified by the conspiring couple in the tavern. - -"Oh, ho, I see," mused the brick-top, "you expect to use those boys in -the matter of pulling us out." - -"Why not? Have they ever failed us in extremity? Is the peril greater -than when they dived into the canyon that our lease on life might be -lengthened; did they fail to respond to my summons to do this very work -of rescue, delayed through no fault on their part?" - -This subject had served to draw the clam out of his shell, and he found -relief in relaxing temporarily his studied pose of stolid indifference. - -"How are we going to get at them?" asked the willing listener to the -rapid-fire praise of the young heroes. - -The crafty secret agent (it was Roque, of course) had not been -wool-gathering during the silent hour of his sitting at the table. - -He had devised several ways of apprising the boys that he needed their -services and acquainting them with a working plan that would enable -them all to sail out of Warsaw in safety. - -Something was going to happen when he willed it that would make the -outward passage a memorable one, and success or complete failure of the -project was in the close balance of a few more hours. - -In real truth, however, Roque did not so greatly weigh his personal -welfare as against the service he could render by doing damage to the -foe from without as well as from within. - -Ready for his call were papers of supreme import, and to lose which at -the hands of a searching party would be a calamity the secret agent -dreaded even to anticipate. - -By the air route he had determined to leave, if by any hook or crook -Schneider and himself could get hold of an aeroplane. - -Billy and Henri had been aloft for several hours, enjoying a bird's-eye -view of the really magnificent city, for the possession of which -carnage held sway for hundreds of miles. - -"Some town this," Billy remarked as he stepped from the machine, -completing the sightseeing tour; "after the war I'd like to start a -branch factory here." - -"Oh, go 'way," laughed Henri, "it would take a derrick to haul you out -of Boston or Bangor, once you set foot again in those burgs." - -"You forget, old top," suggested Billy, "that we have already on tap a -comeback aeroplane trip across the Atlantic. I'm no quitter." - -From a coal-laden wagon the contents was being shot into a chute -running into the cellar of one of the big houses taken over for -officers' occupancy. - -One of the grimy heavers, at sight of the boys, came forward to meet -them, wiping his hands on the leather apron he wore, removed his fur -cap, and took therefrom a scrap of smutty brown paper and tendered it -to Billy. - -"Guess he wants you to sign a receipt," said Henri, looking over his -chum's shoulder. - -Billy's glance at the paper set him staring at the man who presented it. - -The latter never raised his eyes--he was using them sidewise upon a -group of soldiers standing in front of the mess hall. - -The boys saw in the scrawl these words: "Orders for No. 3's, Two -Towers, St. Michael road, eight sharp, Thursday evening." - -Without a word, Billy returned the paper to the heaver. The officer of -the day was approaching. He signed the delivery receipt, but the paper -had queerly changed color in the handling. - -As the lads slowly walked toward aviation headquarters their minds were -all in a whirl. Prisoners they were and prisoners they had been, yet in -both instances it had been but the semblance of captivity. While they -were held, the rein had been a loose one. - -Just back of them the ties of long association, immediately in front -of them a trust imposed, a generous parole, when they had gone to the -limit in giving the best of themselves, in the one capacity they could -serve, to the former rule. - -Thursday evening at eight, and this was Tuesday evening at six. Long -enough, indeed, for the boys to torment themselves with the reflection -that if they did not appear at the appointed hour Roque and Schneider -would curse their perfidy, and if they did betray the confidence of the -aviation chief in this camp he would pay the penalty. - -"It will be no trick at all to take the biplanes for an evening spin; -we have done it before without question." - -"That's the trouble, Henri", lamented Billy, "it's too easy. If we -had to steal the machines, risk our lives before the guns of the -sentries, and all that sort of thing, it wouldn't seem such a trial of -conscience. But they take us on trust, and without question." - -"Yet, here's Roque and Schneider in the lurch, and looking to us for -aid. With them we have met about all that is coming to a fellow in this -war zone, except death, and pretty near that; we have eaten and slept -and starved together." - -"There you are again, Henri, and it's 'twixt the devil and the deep -blue sea!' any way you put it." - -Thursday morning, and as clear as a bell. The Boy Aviators looked -red-eyed on the smile of nature. Their cots had squeaked protest all -through the night against the tossing of the uneasy nappers. - -At noon they had about made up their minds to keep the appointment at -Two Towers, and seeking to strengthen this resolution they avoided in -every way they could meetings with the aviation chief. - -Along about three in the afternoon the wavering youngsters had arranged -a compromise, this to be positive. They would deliver the No. 3's to -their former owner for choice, and so enable their old friends to get -safely away. As for themselves, they proposed to return to camp and -"take their medicine"--their dose and the portion that the aviation -chief would otherwise be likely to get. - -But fate shuffled it another way. - -The workday was in the closing minutes. The remaining city thousands -who were not in military service were swelling the stream of homegoers -in the busy streets. - -The driver of a coal wagon, which had drawn up before an imposing -structure devoted to the storage of army supplies, and supposed to -contain an immense supply of ammunition, suddenly conceived the notion -that he was doing overtime duty. At least such was his manner when one -of the Big Ben clocks overhead ding-donged the hour of six. Perhaps, -too, the movement of gathering up reins and whip had its measure of -prompting in the appearance of the driver's mate from some underground -space in the big building. - -At any rate, the old nags dragging the heavy vehicle were given the -full benefit, and without warning, of a long and knotted whip-lash, -and covered several city blocks at a lively gait before they realized -that they were traveling out of their class. - -The heaver who had emerged from the building in response to the clock -summons showed tremor of the hands when he lifted them to draw the cape -of his greatcoat closer about his throat. - -"It's set for eight," he hoarsely whispered; "I turned the key when I -heard the strokes outside." - -Strangely enough, the wagon kept a course directly to a residence -section at once fashionable and quiet, and hardly the possible location -of a coal yard or the home, either, of a humble employee thereof. - -One of the men in the wagon, the fellow with the hoarse whisper, left -the vehicle in a square marked by a tall column with a statue on -top, while the driver continued the urging of his horses up the ever -ascending street. - -Gaining the level above, the horses were given their own heads, which -meant a snail's pace. Close at hand were two towers of considerable -height. - -While the horses plodded on the highroad stretching to the west, -pressure on their bits was lacking. The wagon was empty. - -Two figures appeared on the terrace back of the twin towers, these -terraces rising in tiers from the bank of the fast-flowing river below. - -"You left Ricker in the square?" This question put by the man who -evidently had just returned from a mission that did not include a ride -in a coal wagon. - -"He left me, rather," replied the late driver, with a touch of grim -humor. - -The first speaker held a watch in his hand, consulting it frequently, -holding it closer and closer to his eyes as the light faded before the -advance of night's shadows. - -"Seven o'clock," he announced. "Another hour." - -This was the last notation of time by the watch holder. - -There was an explosion that, notwithstanding the distance, seemed to -shake the everlasting hills to their very foundations. - -The men on the terrace stared aghast, each at the other. - -"The die is cast," cried the one with the commanding voice, "and an -hour too soon!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -A LEAP FOR LIBERTY. - - -THE Boy Aviators had just left the mess hall, and were proceeding to -the hangars where the No. 3's were housed, fully intending to carry -out their compromise plan of giving Roque and Schneider the means to -escape, and return themselves as hostages for the honor of the aviation -chief. - -Shortly before seven o'clock on this eventful evening, Billy and Henri -had the biplanes in order for the arranged visit to St. Michael road, -and the delivery of one or both of the machines to their former owner, -supposedly in waiting in the shadow of the two towers. - -"It is really a relief that the time is drawing nigh for us to get off -the rack. I believe we are doing the square thing, but sure we have had -few easy moments during these last forty-eight hours." - -Billy heaved a sigh when reviewing this disturbing experience. - -Henri turned just then to salute the aviation chief. The boy's greeting -had none of the cheery note usually there. He did not know how it would -be several hours hence. - -"Looks like a chance for you boys on the next dispatch trip to -Petrograd," advised the chief; "we can illy spare more than two at a -time of our regular air scouts, and here's a deal by which we have two -extra machines and a pair of pilots thrown in." - -With their minds clear and no cloud like the one looming ahead, the -prospect of biplaning to the wonder city of Russia would have set the -boys on the top floor of enthusiasm. - -As it was, they could only say that they would welcome the work if it -should be assigned to them. - -The aviation chief had hardly taken a dozen steps in his continuing -round of inspection when there was a shakeup that might have come by a -combination of volcano and earthquake. - -"Geeminy!" gasped Billy, clapping his hands to his ears, "somebody must -have fired a ton of powder!" - -A roll of drums preceded the hasty assembling of several regiments in -this division, and a squadron of cavalry jingled madly down the street. - -"That was a whopper, all right," exclaimed Henri, righting himself -after his first little stagger from the shock, "but big noises ought -not to queer us, pard. Get in and get away." - -Following his chum's example, Billy was close behind the former in -upward flight. - -They could see that the streets below held literally surging masses of -humanity, all trending in the same direction. - -The aviators speedily gained an idea of what had happened. That which -only the other day they had observed as a solid front of granite and -iron on a building covering practically a whole city square had fallen -in ruins, completely blockading the broad avenue it had faced. - -About the square a cordon had been drawn, and it could be seen, even -through the dusk, that troops were spreading fan-shape from this point -throughout the entire northern section, while the police darted right -and left and everywhere. - -The select neighborhood of St. Michael road had not been omitted from -the general round-up, the boys found, when they approached the site of -the two towers. - -It seemed that the abandoned team and wagon had been found somewhere -along the highroad, and as suspicion was now acute, the discovery set -the fine-comb going along every terrace and police poking in every -likely hiding-place. - -There had been instant acceptance of the theory that the storehouse and -magazine had been deliberately blown up by the cunning contrivance of a -spy or spies within the city. - -Every stranger must give an account of himself, and even some -individuals here and there who were not newcomers. - -Billy and Henri could see no opening where two full length military -biplanes could alight without notice, and not a morsel of encouragement -to try for negotiation on the quiet with the disguised secret agent who -had summoned them. - -But the aviators hung about, not knowing what else to do for the -present, thinking that Roque would make a showing of some sort, as he -usually did in tight places. - -Flying lower and lower, the two biplanes were sweeping within earshot -of the terraced heights along the river front, and though now of dim -vision, searching parties could be seen flashing lights up and down the -ground tiers. - -There was a hullabaloo breaking out on the lowest terrace, immediately -overhanging the river--a shot--another and another--like a bunch of -firecrackers, so fast did they follow! - -A stentorian note of defiance, a rush, two shapes springing out into -space, a great splash in the icy waters below! - -If the morning revealed a single trace of the daring fugitives dead -or alive, no word of it reached the aviation camp, to which the young -airmen had returned, conscious that of this mission they were acquitted. - -"Do you know, I can't help believing that they got across?" - -Henri had a thought, perhaps, of the rabbit's foot that Schneider -carried. - -The boys had many under-the-breath discussions as to the possible -connection of Roque with the explosion that had destroyed the war -depot. They had no reckoning that in the little shop of a silversmith, -not far removed from the very column and statue that had twice served -them as a guide-post, the whole story might have been told by a wily -confederate posing as a peaceful artisan. This same man could also have -confessed to the first error of his expert career in the handling of a -time-clock. - -With plots and counterplots, however, the young aviators had no time or -inclination to meddle. They would rather work in the open. - -"I wonder if that lieutenant meant what he said about giving us a peek -at Petrograd?" - -Billy put the question to his chum as they contemplated with -satisfaction a particularly neat job of aeroplane repair they had just -completed. - -"Don't see why he should say it if he did not mean it," replied Henri. -"Next time he comes this way there would be no harm in reminding him of -what he said." - -It so happened that the aviation chief at the very moment was headed -for the hangars. He was accompanied by two officers of apparent high -rank, who gave the various types of aircraft close and critical -inspection. - -When the No. 3's came to their notice, one of the officers, a grizzled -veteran, with a livid scar showing from temple to chin, halted with a -pointed word of commendation. - -"There's speed, balance and strength for you. Where were they built?" - -The aviation chief explained. - -"Ah, I see," said the officer, "the paint only is ours. Well, I think -we need look no further. Get them ready for immediate use. Where are -the pilots for this assignment?" - -A call was passed for Billy and Henri. - -When they faced the official visitors, both of the latter turned a -stare full of question marks at the aviation chief. - -"Are these the sons of our pilots to be?" - -The senior colonel meant to be a bit sarcastic. - -"No; but if the fathers really were as remarkably skilled in the high -art of aeroplaning as 'the sons' you see here, I would request the -general to let me go after them without delay." - -The airman was very much in earnest in his firm but respectful effort -to correct the impression of his superiors in command that he had been -guilty of some error of judgment. - -Henri unconsciously contributed another entering wedge when he gave -his name to the younger of the colonels, who had taken a hand in -the examination of the youthful candidates proposed by the aviation -lieutenant for special aeroplane service. - -"Trouville!" exclaimed the officer; "are you of the house founded by -the first Francois and the motto 'Sans Peur'?" (Without Fear.) - -"That's in my family record, sir," admitted Henri, who could not -imagine what on earth his ancestry had to do with his ability to run an -aeroplane. - -"Then you will find an open door in Petrograd," proclaimed the colonel, -"that of my father, who in his day of travel was often a guest at the -Chateau Trouville, when your grandfather lived and they were kindred -spirits in the world of art." - -"Chateau Trouville and its art treasures are no more," sadly recalled -Henri. - -"My father will mourn with you there," assured the colonel. - -Another assurance came from the aviation chief when the officers -had returned to army headquarters to assist in the preparation of -dispatches that were to go forward by aeroplane within the hour. Said -the lieutenant: - -"It is settled, my flying friends, that you are to go on this journey, -which is imperative, owing to the investment of railroad connections. -The observers behind you will point out the route, and easy to -follow, as the river is ever in sight. As to the rest, you need no -instructions." - -"We are ready to start at the drop of a hat, sir," declared Billy. The -boys had tuned the No. 3's to the point of perfection. - -The observers and dispatch bearers, Marovitch and Salisky, honor men in -the service, soon appeared, hooded and enveloped in furs. - -The first named handed Henri a card. "From Colonel Malinkoff," he said. -The boy saw that it contained the words "He is a Trouville," signed -"Alexander," and directing to a certain street and number in Petrograd. -Henri carefully pocketed the valuable reference. - -In the early afternoon the young aviators had their first view of the -capital city of the Russians, at the mouth of the Neva, and they made -landing upon a massive granite quay on the south bank of the big river. - -As the boys walked with the special messengers to Admiralty Place, -they marveled at the colossal proportions of the public buildings, and -looking up and down one magnificent avenue, five or six miles in length -and 130 feet wide, Billy squeezed the elbow of his comrade, with the -awed comment: "There's all outdoors in that street." - -"That's the Nevskoi Prospekt," advised Marovitch. - -"The very name on the colonel's card," cried Henri, "Malinkoff palace, -too." - -"Know it very well," put in Salisky, "a twenty-minute ride, and you are -there." - -When the dispatches were delivered the boys were not present, but -there was no lack of interest for them outside. Standing near the -copper-inlaid doors through which the messengers had passed were a -number of Cossacks, dressed in scarlet, gold-braided caftans, white -waistcoats and blue trousers. - -"That's a fancy looking bunch," whispered Billy; "I guess they are -something extra. And--say, Buddy, if my eyes don't deceive me that -fellow in the middle, the one with the bushiest beard, is no other -than the boss of the crowd who shoved us in the cellar over in Galicia!" - -"Cracky, what a pair of eyes you've got, old scout, and sure it's the -very same, though he doesn't look as rusty as he did then." - -Henri seemed to be fascinated by the discovery, and watched like a hawk -every movement of the old enemy in the new garb. - -About that time the Cossack happened to cast a glance in the direction -of the spot where the boys were stationed, and two pairs of eyes met -in a single flash. In the fierce orbs, and under the beetling eyebrows -of the knight of the mountains and deserts, the flash plainly conveyed -a puzzled expression. Henri lowered his look. This risk of recognition -was more than he intended his bid to bring. - -Turning away, the boy sought to show his indifference of the now -strained situation. He managed to get an aside to Billy, in effect: - -"I'm afraid I've put my foot in it now." - -With the reappearance of Marovitch and Salisky, Henri, in subdued tone, -requested information regarding their brilliantly attired neighbors. - -"Why," responded Marovitch, "they are of the personal escort of the -Czar." - -"Good-night," thought Henri, "it's a fix we are into, and less than two -hours in the town." - -"How far did you say it was to the Malinkoff palace?" he suddenly -asked. - -"Oh, about two miles up the Prospekt," said Salisky. - -"Hail one of those carryalls, please," requested the aviator, pointing -to the nearest stand of vehicles for hire. - -The Cossack had followed them, and was slowly descending the marble -steps just quitted by the boys and their companions. He was evidently -still debating with himself. - -The driver of the chartered vehicle cracked his whip and carried his -passengers up the street as fast as his heavy horses could gallop. - -With a speed ordinance he had no acquaintance. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -AGAIN THEY WON OUT. - - -DRAWING up with a flourish in front of a most pretentious example of -old-time architecture, the fur shrouded jehu reached for his fare, -which matter was adjusted by Salisky, who had orders from his colonel -to see the boys through from start to finish. - -At the onyx-studded entrance of the palace the party was halted by -a gorgeous flunky, who immediately unbent at a word from the useful -Salisky. - -"The colonel must belong up in the pictures here," suggested Billy, -duly impressed by the surroundings. - -"He is a great noble as well as a great soldier," reverently remarked -Marovitch. - -"Well," chuckled Billy, "I'm going to keep on my shoes, even though I -walk on velvet." - -Salisky gave the lad a side glance of disapproval of this levity, of -which the young aviator took not the slightest notice. - -But Billy warmed to the gracious presence revealed by cordial greeting -in the spacious drawing-room. - -The card from Colonel Malinkoff had preceded the visitors. - -With Marovitch and Salisky in the background, the boys were ushered -forward to meet a real, live duke, but, withal, a kindly gentleman -without a mark or an affectation of exalted rank. - -"Which, may I ask, is the Trouville, the grandson of my old friend?" - -Henri bowed acceptance of the honor. With fine and delicate courtesy -Billy was made to feel that he was not counted a crowd by being the -third participant in a cozy chat. - -The duke delighted in his memories of the close alliance he had -maintained with the house of Trouville, and received with extreme -regret the information that the old chateau had been razed by the -engines of war. - -"I well remember the underground passages, the walled ways, the secret -panels, and the like of the ancient place." - -Henri nudged his chum, and then briefly narrated how the fortune of -the Trouvilles had been saved through the use of these same concealed -avenues and by the plan of the same two boys now sitting in this -drawing-room. - -The old noble listened intently to the story, told without -embellishment or boast, and at the point where Henri referred to the -delivery of the treasure to his mother the duke clapped his hands in -applause. - -"Salisky," he called to the special messenger, "I desire to keep -these young gentlemen as long as possible. Is there an emergency that -commands their return?" - -"Your grace," stated Salisky, "it grieves me to say that it is most -important that they serve as pilots in our journey back to the front. -Even now dispatches are being prepared, and we must be on the wing at -sunrise to-morrow." - -"Ah, the same duty that holds my son in its grip, the call of country, -and which by my infirmity of years I may not answer. Not your country, -my boy, but your trust, nevertheless. But this is not your last visit -by many, I sincerely hope. A Trouville, a Trouville," he muttered, -"without fear." - -"Oh, another thought, you have not broken bread with me." The duke -struck a bell on the table at his side. - -The gorgeous flunky led the way to the smaller of the dining-rooms, the -other would have held a regiment, and if the food was plain, on the war -basis of all alike, there was a bountiful service of it. - -From the dining-room windows the Prospekt could be seen, and Henri -saw something besides the Prospekt--several horsemen in parti-colored -uniforms pacing their mounts slowly up and down in front of the palace. - -He telegraphed with a wink to his chum, who was seated with his back -to the windows. Billy took the tip, and managed to get an overshoulder -look on his own account. - -The interest of the boys as to affairs inside instantly began to flag. -True, they were under powerful protection for the time being, but there -was a later time coming. - -The Cossack must have struck the lost chord in his memory. There had -since the encounter in the Galician farmhouse been a life added to the -claim of the red rider--the duelist that Schneider had forced over the -cliff. - -Henri had a game to play--playing for time. Appeal to their host, for -various reasons, did not impress the boy as a desirable proceeding. - -"There is no need of our going back to Admiralty Place right away, is -there, Salisky? We don't sail until morning and we haven't even seen -the paintings here." - -"The paintings"--here was a master stroke. The duke was touched at a -point nearest his heart. - -"You must have at least a passing look," he insisted. - -Salisky uneasily shook his head. "We have orders to be within call from -and after six o'clock, and, sir, it is already very near that hour." - -"Now, I will tell you what to do, Salisky; you and your comrade here -take my car, report yourselves, and if it then be necessary for my -young friends to join you, return here for them. It is only the matter -of a very few minutes, either way." - -Protesting under his breath, Salisky and his companion heard the -summons for the duke's automobile, and were whirled away in that swift -conveyance. - -They could not understand the action of a company of imperial Cossacks -in ranging alongside of the machine, and only withdrawing when the -indignant chauffeur sent the machine forward with a vicious plunge. - -An hour passed, and no word from the departed special messengers. - -The boys walked with the duke through his magnificent gallery, but it -is doubtful if they had any high appreciation of the treat. In every -picture they saw a Cossack wrapped in a rainbow. - -Finally, observing their inattention, and attributing it to anxiety -on their part at the committing of a breach of discipline, the duke -instituted inquiry as to the whereabouts of his chauffeur, intending to -forward the boys at once to Admiralty Place. Neither driver nor machine -could be found on the premises. - -Billy felt that it was his turn to get into the figuring. - -"It is such a fine evening, sir, and a straight way, that, if it is all -the same to you, Henri and I would like the exercise of walking back to -headquarters." - -Henri could not fathom the scheme that his chum was nursing, but he -made no objection to the proposition. - -The duke did not accompany the boys further than the door of the art -gallery, stating, with a grim smile, that he had always with him a -reminder of his fighting days in the shape of a "game leg." He gave -them both a kindly farewell and exacted a mutual promise of a longer -visit next time. - -Behind the broad back of the flunky the lads proceeded as far as the -drawing-room, when Billy "happened to think" that he had left his -gloves in the dining-hall. There he looked for his missing gloves--out -of the window! - -In the glow of the high-lights on the broad avenue were revealed the -gold-braided cavalrymen of the earlier hours, still patiently pacing -their horses up and down in front of the palace. - -"Tell his nobs to see if the automobile has arrived," softly urged -Billy. - -Henri sent the flunky ahead to investigate. He guessed now, and -correctly, that his chum did not intend that they should leave by the -front door. - -Like ghosts they flitted through the dimly lighted corridors of the -palace, into the unknown backstairs regions, hoping to find an easy -outlet at the rear. - -An open window coming handy, the boys essayed a jump therefrom, landing -on all fours in the walk leading to the tradesman's gate. Darting out -into a side street, the fugitives relapsed into a brisk walk, fearing -to here excite suspicion by undue haste. - -Alone in a great and strange city, as ignorant of locality as of the -language spoken by the average inhabitant, Billy and Henri, as the -former would have put it, "were up against it, good and strong." - -Yet they won out, and meeting the wildly searching special messengers -in the gray dawn, without ado climbed into the pilots' places of the -waiting biplanes and sent the powerful machines in whirring flight -toward the distant towers of Warsaw. - -To follow them beyond this fixed destination is to turn the leaves of -the next record, under the title of "Our Young Aeroplane Scouts in -Russia; or, Lost on the Frozen Steppes." - - - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -The original text did not include a table of contents. One was created -by the transcriber. - -Inconsistent hyphenation was retained. - -Page 179, "though" changed to "thought" (I thought there was) - -Page 239, "supposedlv" changed to "supposedly" (supposedly in waiting -in) - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN -GERMANY*** - - -******* This file should be named 43683.txt or 43683.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/3/6/8/43683 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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