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diff --git a/45202.txt b/45202.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 259ce64..0000000 --- a/45202.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4534 +0,0 @@ - THE BOY SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE - - - - -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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: The Boy Scouts to the Rescue -Author: George Durston -Release Date: March 24, 2014 [EBook #45202] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE -*** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - -[Illustration: Cover art] - - - - -[Illustration: They sent the message quickly, accurately.] - - - - - THE BOY SCOUTS - TO THE RESCUE - - - By - GEORGE DURSTON - - - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Chicago -- AKRON, OHIO -- New York - - Made in U. S. A. - - - - - Copyright, MCMXXI - By - The Saalfield Publishing Co. - - - - - *THE BOY SCOUTS - TO THE RESCUE* - - - - CHAPTER I - - *FROM SHELL CRATER TO FIRST AID* - - -There were three figures lying in the bottom of the great shell crater -that yawned close to the German line. It had been made by a French -shell, so a great mound of dirt had been cast up on the side next the -enemy. One of the bodies in the close group lay in the stiff, distorted -attitude in which a sudden and horrible death had frozen him. The second -lay quite limp, unseeing, uncaring--the attitude of a man desperately -hurt. Only the third, rather small and slender, lay curled up much as a -vigilant cat might, trying to give the impression of sleep or death, but -with every faculty and nerve like live wires. His eyes were open, and -with every ounce of force in him he was listening, plotting and -planning. - -Under the thick mud the uniforms worn by the different men were -indistinguishable. The coating was a thick, slimy, even gray. The -figure whose alert, piercing eyes studied his surroundings so carefully -shivered steadily. He was chilled to the bone. As it grew darker, he -rolled slowly over on his back, and for a while studied the edge of the -crater as its rough edges showed dark against the sky. All seemed well. -Not a head, not a bayonet, could cut that jagged line without his -knowing it. The Huns would not make a sortie now. Exhausted -themselves, they were depending on the exhaustion of the French for a -short, unspoken truce of a few hours. - -The living figure in the crater rolled over and on hands and knees crept -to the body nearest him. He felt over it carefully. The face, drained -of blood, was ghastly cold in the steady, fine rain that beat on it; but -there was life in that still body. If he could only get help! - -He laid the head back on its slimy resting place and crawled carefully -to the top of the crater next the French trenches. He must get help! -Otherwise the Lieutenant would die. The wet ground gave with him, but -he persisted and with a mighty effort raised his face over the edge. -Then with a stifled cry he dropped back. Another face, dim and strange -in the darkness, was there. It met him eye to eye, not three inches -from his face. - - -The cold, drizzling rain fell steadily into the sodden trench chilling -the soldiers who crouched and huddled against the streaming sides of the -shelter, if shelter it could be called. The trench was very close to -the enemy. An almost constant succession of flares sent up by the -Germans lit the racked and tattered landscape. In the fitful light it -looked unreal, impossible. - -Torn fields, shattered trees, ploughed fields everywhere, with yawning -shell craters on every side. - -The expanse of ground between the lines was made terrible by the shell -craters. Day was ending, and in the dim, yellow half light the uneven, -edges of the deep and ragged holes threw narrow, black shadows that -seemed to gash the riven fields. Above, a couple of French airships -circled. The German planes had disappeared, and the Frenchmen flew in -widening circles above the enemies' lines. The roar of the guns had -diminished to an occasional popping, with once in a while a bellowing -roar as some iron giant launched its terrible missile. All day the Huns -had hammered at the stubborn line; all day the French, with their -American allies, had hammered in return. It had commenced, this big -battle, at daybreak; all day had it raged without lull or pause, now -from the trenches, now frightful conflicts in the open. Now, as though -both sides acknowledged exhaustion though not defeat, a lull had come. -The men in the trenches, almost delirious with fatigue, dropped in the -mud and water and slept. Red Cross bearers came splashing along with -their burdens. Men wounded to the death whimpered pitifully and babbled -of home, or bore their agony in stony silence. Out somewhere in -No-Man's-Land, the terrible stretch lying between the two lines, out -there in the gathering darkness, a clear, high tenor voice commenced to -sing: - - "We're going home, we're going home, - We're going home to-morrow." - - -Clear and sweet the voice sounded. Another flare went up; then a German -gun commenced to drop shells in the direction of the voice. It was as -though they would gladly waste a dozen shells on the chance of stilling -that sweet singer. The voice went on, growing gradually weaker, but -lifting true, sweet notes until there came a little break -and--stillness. A last venomous shot whined toward the spot where the -singer lay, his young voice hushed forever. - -The darkness deepened, and the flares, increasing in number, gave the -place an unreal, ghastly light, like some gigantic and unending -nightmare. Something that could not be possible, _must_ not be possible, -but which was to go on and on and on endlessly, relentlessly. - -At last it was black night. - -A sergeant made his way along the trench, slipping and sliding through -the mud and ooze. He gave commands in muffled whispers, and a number of -the exhausted men turned and followed him when he returned to the outlet -of the trench. Lying so close to the border of No-Man's-Land, across -which it was possible for an occasional spy to invade their trench, the -greatest care was taken in every possible way to discover and check such -invasion. When there was no firing to cover the sound, the men talked -in whispers when they talked at all, which was seldom. The bitter -business of war had seemed to strip from them all desire to talk. - -They were moving stealthily along when a slight figure bounded into the -trench and slid and tumbled to the bottom. He hurried back and forth -the length of the trench, then plunged like a human ferret into the -small, twisted tunnel that led down and down twenty feet or more -underground to the rest house, a scooped-out chamber of clay where there -was actual safety unless--unless the tunnel caved! Looking in on the -group of wounded and exhausted men who occupied the space, he spoke a -name. No one answered. The men paid no attention. They were wholly -wrapped up in their own misery. He climbed once more into the trench, -then, glancing round to see if he was observed, he scrambled lightly up -the side and in another moment was over the top and, flat on the ground, -was wriggling a cautious, snake-like way across the horrors of -No-Man's-Land. - -His heart beat heavily; it seemed as though it could be heard twenty -feet away. He was bent on a fearful and almost impossible errand; an -errand that might cost him his life. And life was sweet to the boy who -proceeded to work his way across the terrible stretch of No-Man's-Land. - -He had no reason for going, no plan; simply something told him the -direction to take in his strange quest. Every time a flare burst -against the murky sky he dropped flat on his face and, assuming some -strained, distorted position, lay motionless until the light died out -once more. This happened every two minutes or so. It took endless -patience to work his way forward. He was impelled to hurry, to take the -chance of continuing his course even under the bright light of the -flares. But he knew that it would be death to him and possible death to -the one he sought. As he wormed his way forward he turned slowly to the -right. Stronger and stronger he felt the strange certainty that never -failed to tell him that he was right. He was approaching the person -whom he sought. - -The feeling of coming success buoyed him and gave him courage. He -scarcely dared to breathe. Slower and slower he crawled, worming his way -along, over and around the horrors in his path. The moments seemed like -hours, the hours like days. Finally he came to a huge shell crater. He -approached its edge and looked over as a flare, brighter than usual, lit -the desolation of No-Man's-Land. And as he looked, a face, mud covered, -bruised yet familiar, looked into his. So close were the two faces that -they nearly touched. Just for an instant the face in the deep ditch -drew back; then two voices, whispering in a low tone, said, "Hello!" - -The fellow in the crater sagged wearily against the steep incline of the -side of the pit. He looked at the other and sighed a sigh of -unutterable relief. - -"Gee, I thought you would never come!" he said in a low tone. - -"Keep still!" whispered the other, taking the boy below him by the -collar and scarcely breathing the words aloud. "Are you hurt?" - -"Not a scratch!" - -"Well, take a hand and come along out. This is no place for us; and you -have some tall explaining to do to the General!" - -"We have to take the Lieutenant with us," said the boy in the crater. - -"What Lieutenant?" demanded the other. - -"Lieutenant Bogardus. The General sent me after him. That's why I am -here." - -"What ails him?" demanded the boy on the ledge. - -"All shot up," said the other. "Darned if I know how badly. He is -unconscious but was alive the last time I felt of him." - -The boy on top turned cautiously around and slid, feet first, into the -slippery, oozy pit. He followed to the side of the unconscious man, and -as the next flare illumined the sky he ran a hand delicately over the -tattered body. He shook his head. - -"Not much hope, I should say," he whispered. - -"It doesn't matter," declared the other; "we have got to get him back to -our lines." - -"All right!" said the other. - -Together they lifted and pulled the limp body to the level of the -ground, and then as carefully as they could they lifted it and, -stumbling and swaying and falling, they made their way back. They could -not wait for caution; the flares went up unheeded. A sharpshooter near -the enemy's line discovered the strange, shambling group and commenced -peppering at it as each flare brought them into view. The bullets -whined over and around them. One cut its way through the sleeve of one -boy, but did not touch the skin beneath. They felt no fear. The man -whom they were carrying was thin and rather small, but his limp body -weighed cruelly on their young muscles. With set teeth and streaming -faces they kept on in their flight. At last when their breath cut them -like knives and their knees almost refused to support them, they reached -the safety of their own line and, laying their burden down on the edge -of the trench, they slipped down and in a moment were surrounded by -helpers. The wounded man was hustled into the nearest shelter and given -first aid, while a quick little corporal scrambled off and was back -almost at once with stretcher bearers and a canvas litter. The two boys -accompanied the wounded man back to the First Aid Station, an -underground, roughly boarded chamber where desperate looking men worked -silently at their task of keeping life in the tattered forms brought in -to them. - -While they labored over the still form just brought in, the boys dropped -wearily down on the wet ground outside the first aid room, and looked at -each other. - -A pale glow from the first aid room below them shone upward on their -white faces. They were caked with mud and grime but even through that -mask a marvelous resemblance could be seen. Feature for feature, line -for line, they were alike. Even their gestures were alike. As they sat -staring at each other, they looked like some queer, repeated design; a -double boy smirched and hollow-eyed. - -They stared steadily at each other, then the boy on the ledge cleared -his throat and spoke, still in the guardedly low tone that gets to be a -habit with the men in the trenches. - -"Well, Porky, old sport," he said, affectionately patting the other's -soggy knee, "you gave me a nice little old jolt this time for fair! How -in the name of time did you get out there in that shell crater? Gosh, -if it wasn't for my hunches I dunno where you would be when you pull off -these stunts!" - -"What's the matter with _my_ hunches?" demanded the boy called Porky. -"I don't see but what I have about as many as you have. I was waitin' -for you. Knew you would hunt me up if I gave you time." - -"Gave me _time_!" exclaimed the boy addressed. "Gave me _time_! I -hustled out there as soon as I commenced to feel you wanted me. Honest, -I don't see how people who are not twins ever get along. But I tell you -they are laying for you at headquarters. The General is mad; just plain -honest-to-goodness mad at you. I don't see why you had to pull off this -and get us in all wrong." He leaned forward and whispered. "There is -something doing up there--something big; and I think we are in on it. I -don't know just how, but I heard enough to let me know that much. -Perhaps you have queered it by cutting up this caper. Honest, Porky, -what possessed you?" - -"Possessed me?" exploded Porky. "Possessed me! Why, all I did was what -I was _told_ to do!" - -"According to the General, you were sent on an errand that should have -taken you half an hour. Instead you stay all day and I have to come dig -you out of a shell crater about fifty feet from the German line. That's -a peach of a way to do!" - -"Say, hold up a minute!" said Porky. "Just you hold on! Of course I -was sent on an errand! Know what it was? I was told to go get -Lieutenant Bogardus and fetch him over to the General's headquarters. -Well, I'm bringing him, ain't I? I have got him this far, anyhow. I am -doing the best I can. I wish you could have seen me chasing that loon -all over the place. I'm all in! I tell you, Beany, I have had some -time! It makes me sore, too. I might have brought in a prisoner all by -myself if I hadn't had to fool with the Lieutenant. Go down and see -what they are doing, will you, please? I'm dog tired, and I've got to -get a move on and report to the General as soon as I know whether -Bogardus can go along up there with me. I bet he can't; and I was told -to bring him back with me!" - -He leaned back and shut his eyes while Beany slid down to the first aid -room. A glance showed him the condition of the unfortunate Lieutenant, -and he hurried back to his brother. - -"He won't go anywhere with you _this_ evening," he said with the -unconcern of those who are used to terrible scenes and fearful wounds. - -"Let's get on, then," said his brother, rising stiffly and moving off in -the darkness. - -The other followed, and without further conversation they wound their -way through the ruined streets of a devastated village where unsightly -heaps of stones and mortar marked the site of pleasant homes. Stumbling -along over the shell-ploughed, uneven ground, they walked for perhaps a -mile until they turned into what had been a magnificent private estate. -Nothing but cracked and crumbling posts were left of the splendid -gateway. They passed onward through the ruins of a wonderful old park -where they were twice stopped by vigilant sentries who demanded the -countersign and turned a flashlight on their muddy faces. Turning and -twisting, they followed the path up to the ruined castle which stood on -a little rise of ground. - -At the door, a high carved portal hanging and swaying on one hinge, they -were stopped by another soldier, who recognized them, saluted, and -stepped aside. They were not delayed again. Through what had once been -a magnificent entrance hall they went, turned down one passage after -another, sometimes finding themselves in unroofed and utterly wrecked -portions of the great building. At last they were in a narrow, covered -hallway, at the end of which was a door. - -The hall was quite dark; they could just see to make their way along. -As they approached the door at the end, the form of a man stooping -against the panels slipped aside and seemed to disappear into space. -There was no turn, no further passage down which he could have gone. One -moment he was outlined against the white surface; the next he had -vanished. - -The boys stopped involuntarily and turned to each other. - -"Did you see that?" said Porky. "Or am I getting batty?" - -"Where did he go!" said Beany quickly for answer. - -They slowly approached the door. There was a little L in the passage at -the end but no outlet, no doorway. The walls, heavily faced with -ancient oak, had no opening. - -"What was he doing?" said Porky. - -"Listening, I should say," said his brother. - -They looked the door over carefully, and listened with keen ears pressed -against it. Not a murmur could be heard through its heavy surface. It -was queer. Behind that door was the council room and private office of -General Pershing. No one without proper credentials was ever allowed to -enter the passageway leading to it. Yet both boys had seen the stooping -figure, and both boys had seen it apparently vanish into space. - -"Come on in," said Porky at last. "I have got to make my report." - -"You go on," said Beany. "I don't have to report anything, and I want -to look into this a little. It looks mighty queer to me. Where do you -suppose that guy went?" - -"Search me!" said Porky. "I know where _this_ guy will go if I don't -get on something dry and have a chance for a little sleep. Go ahead, -prowl around and see what you can find." - -He knocked, using a peculiar shuffling rap on the white panel. The door -was instantly opened by a soldier and Porky stepped into the presence of -the Commanding General. - - - - - *CHAPTER II* - - *THE PANEL IN THE WALL* - - -A pair of piercing yet kindly eyes were fixed on Porky as he came to -attention and awaited permission to approach the huge table at which sat -General Pershing and several members of his staff. Porky was conscious -of something serious in the air. The faces that looked up as he entered -were serious, and some of them frowning. Colonel Bright threw him a -glance, then continued his restless tramp up and down the further end of -the large apartment. Only General Pershing seemed wholly at ease. He -beckoned the boy. Porky came and stood opposite the General, the width -of the table between them. - -"Your report," said the General. - -Porky breathed more freely. He was to be given a chance to explain his -tardy arrival, at least, before being reprimanded. - -"I report, sir, that I brought Lieutenant Bogardus as far as the First -Aid Station in trench D," he said. "He is unconscious and could not -come here. They think he will not die." - -"He is unconscious," repeated the General, while Colonel Bright stopped -his steady stride and stared at the boy. - -"Yes, sir," said Beany. - -"Did you find him at the wireless station?" asked the General. - -"No, sir," said Porky. - -"Where then?" snapped the officer with seeming impatience. - -"In a shell crater, sir, just outside the German lines," said the boy. - -The General started to his feet, then settled back in his chair. - -"Make your report," he said quietly. "Make it unofficially, in your own -way. I can follow it better." - -"Yes, sir," said Porky, saluting again. He was so tired that he swayed, -and involuntarily he caught at the edge of the table. The keen eyes -watching him noticed. - -"A chair!" he demanded, and some one shoved a seat toward Porky, who -gratefully sank into it. He passed a weary, shaking hand across his -brow. - -"It is a pity to make you tell your story now," said the General kindly. -"I am sorry. When you have finished you shall have a rest for a few -days. But time means everything just now." - -"I don't mind, sir," said Porky. Some one offered him a cup of hot tea -and he drank it greedily. It revived him. - -"I'm awfully obliged, General, sir," he said gratefully. "I guess I can -tell the story clearer if I tell it sort of plain and fast. - -"I went away from here, and went straight to the wireless station where -you told me. I found the men all working over the instrument. One of -the pins had come loose and had fallen out. They couldn't find it -anywhere, and they were having a great fuss. - -"The planes were trying to communicate with them, and signaling them to -answer. One plane came so low we could see that they were crazy to say -something. We didn't find out what they wanted, at least I didn't, -because I started on after Lieutenant Bogardus. He had left the station -just before I got there. I kept after him all afternoon. It seemed -like every place he went, I got there just after he had gone on. He had -that bunch of papers you gave him, General, and was leaving them all -around at the different sectors and with the different officers you had -had them addressed to. He certainly was a busy chap. I never _could_ -catch up with him. I guess I walked a million miles. It was fierce, -too. Wherever I went, I found trouble. Just one of those days, you -know, General." - -"I know," said the General, smiling strangely. - -"Well, sir, just before dark I was up in that opening between the -trenches, just beyond the next village, you know, where the church used -to stand. Somebody had told me that Lieutenant Bogardus had been seen -walking that way, and it struck me that perhaps he had a few hours' -leave, and was just roaming around for a rest. But I knew I had to -collar him, so I went on looking, and pretty soon I saw somebody way -ahead sort of going along among the tree trunks, as though he didn't -care much to see anybody. He had on our uniform, and I had a hunch it -was Lieutenant Bogardus. So I followed. - -"He went on to a rise of ground, and before I could get close enough to -see who it was, he whipped out a little bit of a pistol that made a -funny little pop when it went off, and he shot it off; all the shots it -held, I guess. He made a sort of code of it like a telegraph. Right -off there was a couple of little pops in the same sort of voice, from -over by the Germans. I thought it came from a tree over there. Anyhow, -the man I was following looked around, didn't see anybody, and started -right across in the open. Well, sir, that was pretty queer, it seemed -to me! _Some_ one in our uniform walking around out there and it made -me forget all about Lieutenant Bogardus, and I commenced to follow. -Only I got down and crawled. It was getting darker, but I could see -perfectly plain. Then I guess somebody saw us, or a plane reported, or -something. Anyhow, all at once both sides commenced to shoot. Well I -thought I was a gone goose, sir. They hit everything but me, I should -say. Then the Germans commenced to throw smoke bombs, and I nearly lost -my man. But I hurried and most caught up to him, when I saw a German -captain come sneaking along, and I guessed I would wait before I spoke -to Lieutenant Bogardus, if it _was_ him. Of course I was sure I was on -the wrong trail by this time, but I thought as long as I was there I had -better see what was doing, and look for Lieutenant Bogardus when I got -back. I knew something pretty important was up, because those men -wouldn't risk moseying around right in daylight almost. Gee, I didn't -feel as big as anything! - -"And in a minute I felt smaller than ever because a shell the size of a -church came along from our lines, and _bing_! I was all dirt, and cut -up with little stones, and when I could look around, there ahead was a -big shell crater. I ran over and looked in. There was a bayonet lying -there right on the edge, and I grabbed it. I don't know why, except you -know how you feel about having a stick or something to hold and I was -pretty glad I did afterwards. The man I had followed was lying there in -the shell crater, on his back. I could see he was hurt pretty bad. A -flare went up, and I saw it was Bogardus. He looked pretty bad. But -what got my alleys, General, was that the German was beside him, and he -was going through his pockets just like lightning. The German had a -broken leg himself, but I didn't know that. Well, I let out a yell that -was some yell, and I jumped down, bayonet and all, right on the German's -neck. I was so mad I didn't think what I did. And I guess I sort of -twisted his neck or something, because he crumpled right up, and I -thought I had killed him. So I tried to straighten Bogardus out, and I -put the papers that the Germ had back in his pocket, and what to do next -I didn't know. - -"And all at once I felt something behind me, and it was the other man. -He had come to, and was trying to get his revolver out of his pocket. -Gee, he looked at me ugly! I said as polite as I could, 'You cut that -out!' but he got it loose, and shot at me, and he just _did_ miss me and -that was all. And then he tried again, and I had to do something quick, -so I just took that bayonet--just took that bayonet--" - -"All right," said the General. "All in the day's work, my boy. Go on!" - -Porky swallowed hard a couple of times. - -"Well, sir, there I was with Bogardus, and your orders to have him -report to you; and he was not in any condition to report to _anybody_. -So I had to wait until my brother could come and help me." - -"How did he know where you were?" demanded the General in astonishment. - -"He always knows," said Porky. "We are twins, and we always know when -the other is in trouble of any sort. So I knew he would find me, and I -just sat tight, and I did get a little worried, but I knew he would -come, and he did." - -Porky chuckled. - -"And when he looked at me over the edge of that crater, I most threw a -fit. I was looking for him so hard that it scared me when I saw him. -Anyhow, there he was, and it was dark pretty soon, and we brought -Bogardus back." - -"You carried him?" asked the General. - -"Yes, sir. He is pretty thin," said Porky simply. - -"What became of the German?" asked the General. - -"Back there in the shell crater," said Porky, frowning. - -"I wonder if he had any valuable papers on him," mused the General. - -"I don't know, sir," said Porky, beginning to fish in his pockets. "I -thought of that, so I just went through him and took everything he had." -He commenced to lay things out on the table in little piles. The men -watched him with interest. - -The collection was well worth while. Several official letters, some -maps, a number of orders, and some codes. There was also a packet of -blank paper that Porky put carefully aside. The General leaned over and -picked it up. - -"Nothing here," he said, tossing it down. - -Porky picked it up. - -"I don't know, sir," he said. "We had something like this at home -awhile ago. We came near missing out on it, too. If you will excuse -me!" - -He leaned over and held the first page near the heat of the candle. On -the instant the sheet was covered with fine writing. - -The General gave a muttered exclamation and leaned back in his chair. -"What next?" he demanded. - -"That's about all," said Porky. "Bogardus is in hospital by now, I -suppose, and I'm sorry it took me so long. I certainly did seem to miss -him all around. I'm real sorry, sir. Next time you give me anything to -do, I will try to do better." - -"That would be impossible," said the General. "Just a moment, my boy, -while I make a note or two, and then you can be relieved from all duty -for forty-eight hours. You have earned a rest. We will have to go -through these papers and plans carefully before we can decide anything -for your future reference. Just sit there while I write." - -He turned to his desk and, pulling a sheet of paper toward him, -commenced covering it with his strong, distinctive handwriting. Porky, -in the big chair opposite, watched him for a little, then he rested his -head on his hand and commenced to think of all the events of the long, -gruelling, wearisome day. - -And presently he did not think at all; just listened to the steady -scratch, scratch, scratch of the General's pen and the steady tramp, -tramp, tramp of the Colonel as he softly paced up and down the length of -the somber room. And presently that sound died away. Porky was asleep. - -Beany, left to himself in the hall, went cautiously and with noiseless -touch over every portion of the oak paneling. He could not find a joint -or crack that looked like a secret door or hidden entrance. Then he -examined the floor. It too appeared solid. But Beany had one of his -hunches. It _looked_ solid but he felt that it _wasn't_ solid. The man -he had seen was not a ghost. He was certainly too solid to disappear -into thin air. He had come from somewhere, and he had gone somewhere. -Benny made up his mind that he would find out if it took all night. He -stood thinking. Then he whistled in an offhand manner, and walked -loudly down the hall to the turn. Round the turn he went, until well -out of sight. Then Beany tried a trick of his boyhood days. He knew -from experience that any one watching for any one else always fixes his -eyes about where they expect to see the face appear, never lower than -that. - -So Beany, dropping flat on the floor, worked his way back to the corner, -flattened himself out to his flattest, and with face against the tiles -waited patiently, his eyes fixed on the distant doorway. The hallway was -lighted with a small and feeble kerosene lamp set high on a bracket. It -gave a dim light, but Beany could see the door distinctly and the high -wainscot on either side. - -He stared at it steadily--so steadily and so long that when at last a -narrow panel in the woodwork slid noiselessly over and a face looked out -into the hall, Beany did not start; he did not feel surprised. All he -was conscious of was a sort of triumph. He wanted to sing out for his -own benefit, "I told you so." - -The face staring from the panel looked straight down the hall, as Beany -had known it would. A pair of bright, ferrety eyes stared at the turn, -but not once did they drop to the floor where Beany's bright eyes -watched every move. Beany had to smile, it was so funny. The unknown -person leaned from the panel and watched four feet above Beany's face, -while in plain sight on the floor Beany lay motionless and unnoticed. - -He watched while the person (he could not tell at first whether it was a -man or woman) looked and listened. Then as if assured that the coast -was clear, the man, (for it was a man), stepped out of the dark slit in -the wall, carefully closed the panel, and once more stood listening at -the door. He listened intently, then stooped, and bending in a -comfortable position on one knee, looked fixedly through the great -old-fashioned keyhole. - -Beany watched breathlessly. - -For a long time--it seemed days to Beany--the man held his stooping -position. Beany wished he too could see what was going on inside that -door. He was sure, however, that it was nothing more exciting than -Porky's account of his chase after Bogardus; and as Porky was an -aggravatingly low talker, he was pretty sure the man at the keyhole -would not be able to hear very much. Just the same, Beany knew that -here was something serious and threatening. The man listened and looked -so intently that Beany seriously thought of trying to creep up behind -him, give the alarm, grab him and hang on, trusting to luck that the -door would be opened soon enough to prevent the man from killing him. -It was a crazy idea and Beany banished it. It was well that he did, for -at that moment the panel, which had been left partly opened, slid wide -and a second man appeared. He was a tall man, apparently in uniform. -What his uniform was, Beany could not see. It was closely covered with -a long, closely-buttoned linen coat and a nondescript cap covered his -head. He tapped the man at the keyhole sharply, and the fellow -straightened to a stiff salute. Beany could not help admiring their -utter coolness in the face of discovery. At any moment the door might -open; at any moment some one might come down the hall. Of course in -that case, reflected our self-appointed sleuth, they would walk over his -legs, and stop to make a fuss, during which the two men would pop into -the wall again. - -Then while Beany watched, there followed a violent, soundless discussion -between the two. One and then the other stooped to the keyhole. Then -the second man noiselessly stepped back into the hole in the wall and -closed the panel after him. - -By this time Beany was so excited that he had no conception of time. It -seemed a long while before he saw the man at the door turn his head and -look at the panel. Then at last Beany saw what he so wanted to see--the -secret of its opening. The man's hand sought something in the upper -left corner, Beany could not see in the poor light just what it was, but -the man pressed hard, swinging considerable weight against it, and the -panel slid smoothly back. Another figure appeared. It was a little, -stooped woman. She had a worn broom in her hands. - -Beany recognized her at once as the deaf and dumb peasant woman who -pottered around the offices brushing up and doing what odd jobs they -could make her understand about. - -At the present moment, however, she was anything but deaf and dumb. She -seized the man at the door by the shoulder and shook him violently, -whispering a stream of comment in his ear. She waved her broom -threateningly, with an eye on the door meanwhile. Beany wondered what -she would do if any one _did_ come out. - -He felt sure she would manage to carry off the situation. - -Whatever she said was badly received by the man. He pulled back and -shook his head violently. She stamped her old foot noiselessly. He -still rebelled, but she insisted in a continuous rush of whispered -words, while Beany felt his mouth sag open and his eyes bulge with -amazement. Even in the midst of his surprise he could not help wondering -just what personal remarks he and Porky had made about her on a dozen -different occasions in the few weeks that they had been there. However, -there was _one_ happy thought. He and his brother had spoken in English, -a tongue that must as a matter of course have meant nothing to her -ignorant old ears. - -Beany was not to learn for a long while that the old, stooped, ugly -peasant, looking so typically French and so pitifully silent and stupid, -had once been a famous German actress, as well as one of the most -brilliantly educated women of her time. Once there had been a day when -her parlors in Berlin had been filled with the most renowned and -high-born men and women in the world. Not only members of the highest -circles of Germany, but representatives from every other country. To be -asked to the home of Madame Z---- was the dream of every young diplomat, -writer, artist and court favorite. - -Yet now, perfectly disguised, stooped, bent, and old, clad in rags, she -stood clutching in one hand a coarse home-made broom, while with the -other she kept a tight grip on the shoulder of the rebellious man beside -her. - -At last he nodded, and she turned and shoved him before her into the -passage in the wall, following close behind and closing the panel. - -Beany was alone. - -He leaped to his feet and tiptoed down to the door, a cautious eye on -the panel. He lifted a hand to knock on the door, then paused, and in -his turn applied an eye to the keyhole. It was a huge old keyhole, made -in the days when keys were large enough to almost take the places of -trench billies. He could see most of the room. The General sat writing -at the desk. Across in an armchair Porky leaned on the table, sound -asleep. There had been nothing for the spies to see this time, at any -rate. Then a wild thought came into Beany's head. - -He did not wait to consider it. It was a crazy thought, but to Beany in -his excited state it was a sane idea. - -He approached the panel, felt carefully in the upper corner, pressed a -dozen carvings and then, just as he despaired, felt the heavy wood give -under his touch. He pushed the trap open and without a moment's -hesitation entered and closed the door behind him. - -The passage was pitch dark. - - - - - *CHAPTER III* - - *MARKING TIME* - - -Sitting at his great carved table, once part of the fittings of a -glorious old library and now a desk littered with official papers and -maps, in the room of one of the greatest commanders in the world, the -General finished the paper he was filling out with so much care, and -lifted his eyes to the boy sitting so silently across the table. Then a -smile lighted the General's tired eyes. - -"Asleep!" he said. "Brave lad, he is worn out! Can't we manage to get -him off to bed without waking him?" - -He pointed to a room opening off the one they were in. "There is an -extra cot in my room," said the General. "A couple of you take him in -there." He beckoned his orderly. '"Get him undressed and cover him -well. Let him sleep as long as he may." - -So it came about that this was done; and in the General's own room, -Porky, like the healthy boy that he was, slept and slept and slept. He -did not dream of the past hard hours. He did not think of home, the -pleasant house so far away where the dear father and mother, Mr. and -Mrs. Potter, lived their busy, helpful lives, trying not to let each -other know just how they longed for the two splendid boys they had given -to their country. But like others who had given their all, each knew -just how the other felt, and so tried by countless little unaccustomed -acts of tenderness to help each other along. Nor did Porky dream of the -other boys, or the famous swimming hole. There were no nightmares of -school; no visions of Professor Wilcox bearing a sheaf of examination -papers. Porky just slept and slept! - -Night passed, breaking into such a wild and storm-tossed morning that it -was scarcely light at all. There was a lull in the fighting that day -and, except for the sound of distant guns booming at close intervals, -the place was silent enough. The office work went on quietly. A couple -of typewriters clacked busily. It might almost have been an office on -Broadway. The General sat long at his desk, then mounted and rode off, -accompanied by his orderlies. - -Colonel Bright, after scribbling a note which he addressed to "the -Potter boys" and left on the desk, also took his horse and went -clattering away toward Paris. - -Noon came. Still Porky slept, but at about two o'clock he was awakened -by the most faithful of all the alarm clocks that a boy can have. He -was hungry, he was frightfully hungry, and his eyes came open with a pop -as he rose to his elbow and tried to place himself. - -When he recognized his surroundings, he bounded to his feet in a moment, -and after some prodigious stretching, hurried into his clothes, which he -found nicely dried and on a stool by his cot. There was a table by the -cot, and on it a good breakfast; cold, of course, but it was food, and -there was plenty of it. What more can a fellow ask? - -When he went out into the office expecting to find the group he had left -the night before, there were only a couple of Captains, strangers to -him, officers who had just been transferred. Porky, found the note from -Colonel Bright. - -It said simply: - - -"_Boys_: - -"General Pershing has gone away for a conference. I am off on almost the -same errand, in another direction. When you wake up, Porky, you are to -do as you like for forty-eight hours. It is a leave given you on account -of your good work yesterday. I have not seen Beany at all to-day. I -enclose a pass that will take you wherever you want to go within the -lines. Don't go to the outer trenches. Better take time to write some -letters home. We are in for some hot work here. I don't mind telling -you that there is a leak somewhere. Keep your eyes and ears open. - -"Your friend, - "COLONEL BRIGHT." - - -Porky folded the note and put it deep down in his pocket. Then he -turned to look at the two officers. One of them was running the -typewriter like a veteran; the other, with a puckered brow, was stabbing -the keys with his middle fingers. He was making awful work of it. - -Porky watched him for a while, then he went over and saluted. - -"I would be glad to write to your dictation, sir," he said. "That is, -if it is nothing personal." - -"Well, I should say not!" said the officer. "I am Captain Dowd, and -this is a letter to a military journal back home. They wrote me some -time ago for some dope, and I jotted down something then. It is on -scraps of paper, and they couldn't read it as it is now written. I -wanted to put it in shape, and then add something of our later -experiences. Do you think you can do it, and do you want to take the -trouble?" - -"Yes, sir," said Porky heartily. "I just woke up, and there is nothing -for me to do until my brother blows in. There is no use for me to go -after him, because he knows where I am. I can write it for you in no -time." - -"That's fine!" said the Captain in a relieved tone. "At the rate I can -work that old machine, the war will be over about the time I finish; and -that's not hurrying the war any too much either. I have a page done. -You may go on from where I left off if you will." - -Porky sat down and the Captain drew up a chair, and lighted a cigarette -while he scanned the soiled, ragged sheets of paper in his hand. - -"Here we are," he said. "Fire away!" - -"We are now getting the finishing touches to our training, and you can -rest assured that it is of the most finished description, and we are -ready to get into the big fight at any time. Our regiment, one of the -first over, was inspected by General Pershing the other day, and we feel -that he was fully satisfied with it. We have been told so at any rate. -Our regiment has learned the French open order drills which is by -sections instead of squads. We have also had any amount of rifle -shooting and certainly know how to shoot. Then, besides, we have had -practice in throwing live hand-grenades until our arms ached, but the -use of this deadly bomb is of the utmost importance for close fighting -as one grenade properly thrown among the enemy is liable to wipe out a -hundred men. Besides this, we have been taught to shoot hand-grenades -and automatic rifles, and do about everything that is infernal in -warfare. Our regiment and many of the others have all been supplied -with steel helmets, which have been dubbed 'tin lizzies.' They are not -so very comfortable to wear, but they have proved extremely valuable, -just the same, and have saved many lives and more bad head wounds. - -"We understand that the gas we are to greet the Germans with is a better -article than their own. We surely do hope it is. We have had trench -work galore, with dugouts and wire entanglements, some of them close on -the enemy's front, and others in our own training area. We have marched -about ten miles to the trenches, relieving other battalions about three -A.M. and holding the trench until about six P.M. next day. At that time -we are relieved by another battalion and get back to our billet about -ten P.M. and by that time, what with trench work and the tramp of twenty -miles, oh how precious we do find sleep! - -"When we are within our training area, we do everything exactly as it is -done on the firing line, including the guard work, which is divided into -two reliefs, and everybody turns out at dawn, which is the usual time -the enemy makes his raids, and we must be on the alert. - -"We have had long marches, battalion, regimental and divisional -maneuvers, and we always march with full pack and a gas mask slung over -each shoulder." - -The Captain laid down his papers and rolled another cigarette. Porky -rested his hands on the desk. - -"They have some new kind of mask, haven't they?" he asked. - -"Yes; haven't you seen them!" asked the Captain. - -"No, sir," said Porky. "I just heard them talking about them." - -"They are similar to the old ones, but I believe they last longer," said -the Captain. "They have a filter can for the air that is strapped at -your belt Then there is the usual tube to your mouth. There is a rubber -cap that sets over the front teeth and fits close to the gums, with -little rubber dew hickeys to bite on so you won't lose it out. There -are automatic rubber lips that close tight if you try to breathe in any -outside air, but open for the air from the filter can." - -Once more he picked up his papers. - -"Our gas masks and our rifles we consider our best friends and never -lose them. - -"Perhaps some data regarding the numerous details of the military life -we have to meet here may be of interest, and I will give you some of it. - -"Stringent orders have been given to all organization commanders that -they will be held strictly responsible for any dirty or rusty arms and -equipment found among their men, and they must also see that their men -are clean-shaven and that their billets are clean and orderly. - -"A number of men who have disregarded orders have been seriously injured -while riding on the top of cars. The French tunnels are very low, and -the men have been knocked off. Other men, through carelessness, have -fallen out of the cars. The failure to assemble organizations at the -time set before the departure of trains has resulted in the leaving of a -number of men behind, and the provost guards have had the job of -rounding the men up and forwarding them to their command. - -"Even in France the destination of the detachment must be kept -absolutely secret throughout the journey. No matter how long or how -short the journey turns out to be, the preparations are the same. -Organizations must entrain with two days' field rations on the person of -each man, two days' travel rations for each man in the car with men, and -ten days' field rations in the baggage car. - -"The field train of the organization entraining, must accompany it, with -all its wagons loaded for the field, especially with the cooking -utensils, water cans, paulins, three days' field rations for each man, -together with two days' field rations for each animal. - -"The French town major points out the training area and no other area -can be used. Distances to other posts will generally be found on posts -on the side of the road, shown in kilometers. A kilometer is -five-eighths of a mile. - -"All time commences at naught, and ends at twenty-four. Thus, for -instance six P.M. would be eighteen." - -"That's what gets my goat!" said Porky, stopping to fix the ribbon. "It -does make the longest day, even after you get the hang of things, so you -know whether you are in to-day, or some time next week." - -"It would seem something that way," said the Captain, laughing. He -continued to read from his paper. - -"All troops proceeding to the front will have issued to them a small -quantity of firewood with which to cook one meal on detraining. In the -area of concentration a supply train will be forwarded each day to the -rail head, from which supplies will be carried to the troops by the -wagons of the train. All arrangements for the movements of troops and -supplies by rail are made by the railway transport officer at the base -port." - -"Gee, some busy officer!" commented Porky. - -"I'll say so," said the Captain, and went on reading. - -"French military trains are made up as follows: One passenger car -(first- or second-class, or mixed), thirty box cars, or third-class -cars; seventeen flat or gondola cars; two caboose; total, fifty. -Third-class cars are not provided for troops. They will carry eight men -to a compartment. Box cars are usually provided for the troops. They -will hold from thirty-two to forty men. Sometimes seats are provided, -sometimes straw to lie on. Spaces at each end of the car are to be left -clear for rifles, travel rations, and accouterments, the rifles being -secured by a temporary rack made with screw rings and a strap for same. -The horse cars hold eight horses in two rows of four, facing each other. -The central space between doors is used for saddles and harness, forage, -water cans and buckets, as well as the two men who travel in each car. -Flat cars usually accommodate one, but sometimes two, wagons." - -The Captain folded up the paper. - -"Is that all?" asked Porky. "It sounds mighty interesting." - -"I would like to add something more, if you don't mind writing it," -said, the Captain. - -"Of course not," said Porky. "I'm mighty glad to do it." - -"Thanks," said the Captain. "It is certainly a relief to me." He -leaned back in his chair, stared up at the ceiling, and commenced to -dictate. - -"The pages sent under this cover were jotted down by me some time ago. -I can not give you the exact date, and up to the present time have not -had the opportunity to put my notes in readable order or to get them -mailed. We are now doing very interesting work at the front, living -underground. We have very comfortable and well ventilated quarters, and -are sleeping in bunks, on clean bed sacks filled with clean straw. The -only objection is the rats, of which there are great numbers, but we -have a cat and two dogs. The cat is a crackajack. I don't know how -many rats he averages a day--would be afraid to say, in fact--but he is -on the job all the time, and is wearing himself thin over it. The two -dogs, small and of no known breed, run the cat a close second. - -"I have never seen the boys happier than they are now. They feel as if -they were really doing something worth while. I have heard the German -shells and have seen German territory, and it certainly puts pep into a -fellow, but as yet I can't say I've been scared. - -"This place has seen some very heavy fighting, and the ground is covered -with all sorts of debris. For many square miles there is not a single -tree to be seen which has not been hit and killed. The ground is torn -up to such an extent that there is no grass to be seen, and the only way -I can describe it is to say that it looks like the ocean on a very rough -day. The shell holes run into each other, and are often ten or twelve -feet deep and thirty feet across. This place, which was once a French -village, has been taken from the Germans, and the ground is covered with -unexploded shells, hand-grenades, German helmets, old rifles, and all -sorts of things that would make wonderful souvenirs if we could only get -them home. In every little village around here, there is not a house or -tree standing. I am writing in a room in the wing of what was once a -magnificent old castle. It was evidently saved from destruction by the -Germans, who wished it for the accommodation of their higher officers. -We are using it for that same purpose. - -"One of the most interesting things here is to watch the airplanes, both -ours and the Germans. They are very hard to hit, and they usually don't -pay much attention to the firing, but we watch the little bursts of -white smoke from the French shells, and the black smoke from the -Germans. I have often seen twenty-five or thirty little puffs of smoke -at the same time around one machine, but have never seen one hit. The -other day a German came over in a cloud while other German planes -attracted the attention of our guns. - -"He went right up to one of our observation balloons and fired his -machine gun into the balloon, setting it on fire. The two men, an -American and a Frenchman, came down in a parachute. They said they -didn't mind it. Perhaps they didn't, but both were about as pale as -they could be. I watched the whole performance. To-day we sent up -another observation balloon with exactly the same result, except that -the balloon didn't burn, but both men jumped out, coming down in two -parachutes. - -"It was exciting and a very pretty sight to see the white silk -parachutes open up and glisten in the sun. Both landed safely, and -wanted to go up again immediately, but could not, owing to the damaged -balloon. - -"There is some firing going on most of the time, even when there is no -pitched battle, and our guns shake the dugout a bit, but we are supposed -to be safe here underground and, anyway, the Boche shells don't seem to -come this way, though we often hear them. By the way, our machine guns -drove the Boche planes off this afternoon, and the balloon was pulled -down safely. - -"Another day, if I remain unhurt, which I have every intention of doing, -I will give you further details of the life and work. As I said in the -beginning, the men are well and happy. Strange as it may seem, there is -much less illness than there in the training camps at home. I can't -make this out unless the men as a general rule reach here greatly -benefited by the sea voyage. Certainly the work is much harder, the -conditions no better, and I guess 'sunny France' is an invention of the -poets. However that may be, our splendid fellows are fit and fine, -trim, and hard. We are going to win!" - -The Captain leaned over and clapped Porky on the shoulder. "Kid, you're -a brick!" he said. "That's all, and thank you a thousand times. It -ought to hold 'em for a while, don't you think?" - -"I should say it was some letter," said Porky. "And you are perfectly -welcome." He rose and looked at his wrist watch, frowning as he did so. -"Most night again," he said. "Seventeen o'clock by their queer old way -of counting. It's mighty funny where my brother is." He walked -restlessly to the window and with unseeing eyes stared hard at the -ragged uptorn world outside. - - - - - *CHAPTER IV* - - *WHERE WAS PORKY?* - - -Where _was_ Beany? - -Beany himself, trussed up neatly with many cords and wearing a -scientific gag which made speech or yells impossible, yet which did not -hurt him very much, would have been glad to have been able to answer -that question. - -Where was Beany? Beany didn't know where Beany was, and also he felt a -natural and lively curiosity as to where Beany was _going_ to be in the -near future. - -He had entered the passage in the wall on the spur of the moment; he had -acted without counting the possible cost or the probable consequences. - -Usually the boys acted together; if possible, they always left some clue -for the other to follow. Hence they had hitherto come out of some pretty -dark and serious scrapes with whole skins and a desire for further -adventures. But this time Porky, in the General's office, Porky, sound -asleep with his head on the General's desk, could not know that his twin -brother was faring forth alone on a desperate adventure. If he had -known at the moment what was happening, if any warning could have -pierced his sleep-drugged brain, well, this story would not have been -written. - -Beany popped into the secret passage and slid the panel shut behind him -with a careless backward-reaching hand. His eyes and his thoughts were -on the pitchy dark before him. He thought with a sense of relief that -he had a tiny flashlight in his pocket, but whether it would flash when -required to do so was quite another matter. - -Beany was bitter on the subject of flashlights, knowing well how apt -they are to respond to every touch when not required particularly to do -so, and having learned by sad experience that it was when the festive -burglar was _in the room_, the pet kitten _down the well_, or the -diamond _in the crack_ that they would not flash at all. So he merely -felt of the pocket where the flash reposed, and stood silent, back -against the panel, waiting to accustom those marvelous eyes of his to -the dense darkness. - -Beany Potter had a gift given to few--eyesight that served him almost -equally well by day or by night. There was scarcely a limit to his -strange focus. And at night, like members of the cat family, he was -able to make out not only forms, but in many cases features and colors -as well. - -When he had become used to the pitch blackness of the tunnel, he -discovered that he was in an arched stone passage just wide enough for -one person to walk without brushing the sides. It wound forward on an -incline, and ten feet from where Beany stood turned a corner. Still -forgetful of danger, he ran noiselessly forward and gained the turn, -where he stood listening. There was not a sound to guide or warn him, -so he went on, scarcely breathing. His footsteps made not the slightest -sound, and he could feel that there was something soft and deadening -under his feet, either fine sand or bran, or something of that nature, -that had been spread for the purpose of stifling the sound of passing -steps. Now he could clearly hear voices above, and decided that he was -near or right under the room where the General had his office and held -all his staff meetings. - -Beany stopped at once and commenced tracing the sound. After a little -he found the source. At one side of the passage a common funnel was set -in the wall. Beany placed his ear to the funnel and was startled by the -clearness with which he was able to distinguish sounds in the General's -office. He could hear the scratching of the pen as the General wrote, -the steady tramp, tramp of Colonel Bright as he paced the room. Even -the steady breathing of his sleeping brother was plainly audible. - -Beany seized the edge of the funnel and was about to tear it loose but -decided that it was better to leave it apparently untouched. So he -rammed his handkerchief tightly down the neck of the funnel, and -chuckled to note that the sounds from the room were suddenly silenced. -If any one should come behind him and try to listen, they would get one -good big surprise, but no information, for the handkerchief was packed -well out of sight. - -This done, Beany turned and, smiling over his precious information, -started back, when a sound, a far distant sound, rooted him to the spot. -It was a woman crying in a low stifled tone. "Oh, oh, oh!" cried the -voice with choking sobs. - -Then another voice spoke, and a sneering, low laugh floated back to -Beany. The sobbing voice cried out again in English. - -"Oh, don't! Oh, please! Oh, I can't tell you because I don't know! -Don't hurt him! Don't hurt him!" - -Beany forgot that he was alone, unarmed, a boy. He forgot the dark -passage; he forgot caution. Afterwards he wondered why he did not think -to call up the funnel for the help he needed. He just turned and, -trusting to his wonderful eyes to take him safely over the black unknown -path, he ran swiftly in the direction of the voice. - -Around a corner, down a short, straight passage, around another corner, -then through a low, narrow door that swung half way open, Beany shot -into a large room or cavern. He did not stop to see where he was, but -continued his chase across the space. There was another door beyond. A -light shone through this door and Beany headed for it. From within the -choked sobbing continued. Half way he smashed into something--a piece -of heavy furniture of some sort. He rebounded as if from a blow, and -staggered. Before he could get his balance again, a form appeared -against the light in the door ahead and another form seemed to take -shape from the dark bulk of the piece of furniture he had stumbled -against. He was seized in a pair of steel-muscled arms, a heavy cloth -was thrown over him and rolled tightly around him. - -In the instant he was made helpless, powerless. - -He heard rapid orders. Through the thick cloth he could see a dim -glimmer of light. He was laid down on a couch of some sort, and tied, -hands and feet. - -Then and only then was the heavy cloth removed, and Beany, blinking in -the glare of half a dozen electric lanterns, stared at the group around -him. - -He was lying on a great bed that was occupying the middle of the room. -It seemed a funny place for a bed, but later Beany noticed that the -moisture was thick on the walls and was dripping down the corners. The -middle was about the only dry place. The covers had been -luxurious--soft and silken comfortables padded with feathers, and -delicate blankets, but they were soiled and torn by careless spurs. At -the foot of the bed, staring at him with amazement in her face, was the -old scrubwoman. It was evident that she recognized him. She had seen -him often enough, Beany reflected. He returned her look and nodded. A -big man, the one in the duster, standing close at Beany's side, noted -the nod and rasped out a remark, directing it at the old woman. She did -not condescend to notice him. Two other men were there. From the inner -room the sobbing continued. Beany scowled. He fixed his eyes on the -old woman. - -"Somebody is being hurt," he remarked. - -No one spoke. Beany did not take his eyes from the woman's face. - -"I know you can hear," he informed her, "and I bet my hat you speak -English! I wish you would talk and tell me who is getting hurt. I -can't do any harm just at present." - -The woman continued to stare at him for a moment, then bared her -toothless gums in a cackling laugh. She nodded quite gaily. - -"No, you can't do much harm either now or later, my little -sparrow-hawk." - -She spoke in clear, perfect English, with only the slightest accent to -betray her German blood. - -"I liked you two boys, up above. You were always agreeable to the poor -old deaf and dumb woman. No sneers, no jokes about her, always nice and -pleasant. Two nice boys! Made just alike, and such fonny names--Peany -and Borky; so fonny!" She laughed again. - -The man in the duster commenced to swear in German. Beany knew it was -swearing, and recognized it as German. - -The old woman raised her hand. - -"Calm yourself, Excellency!" she said, with the air of royalty. "There -is no need for excitement. Why should I not say what I please to this -foolish child who has made such a great mistake; ah, such a great -mistake?" - -"It iss his last!" snarled the man in the duster, breaking into English. -"His last; his last!" he kept repeating. - -"Calm yourself," said the old woman, frowning. "We know that; it is all -so easy; why do you annoy yourself? I am only sorry that it is one of -those nice boys. Such pleasant, _polite_ boys! The other will feel the -lonesomeness very much; is it not so, my little sparrow-hawk?" - -She smiled in the boy's face. Then she came to the side of the bed, and -with a not ungentle hand arranged him in a more comfortable position. -Then she touched the man in the duster, whom she called Excellency, and -together they went into the farthest corner of the big room and -whispered for a long time, while the two other men stood motionless -beside the bed and watched Beany as closely as though they thought he -might float off through the ceiling. Presently, as though they had come -to a decision, Excellency returned, the old woman, whom he called -Madame, at his side. They too stood and looked long at the boy. - -"How did you get here?" asked Madame finally. - -"Through the panel," said Beany, who knew there was no use keeping back -anything they could so easily find out for themselves. - -The old woman started to ask another question when the low sobbing in -the other room was accented by a moan. With a glance at Beany's cords, -the group beside him all went out of sight through the open doorway. In -a few moments there was silence, with the sound of heavy breathing. - -"Drugged!" guessed Beany. - -Presently the two men returned. They took Beany from the bed, and sat -him down in a chair, binding his legs tightly and, after searching him -for a pistol, released his arms. A cord cunningly wrapped around his -waist held him firmly in his seat. Beany was glad to have his hands -free. - -Hours passed. Beany felt cramped and was furiously hungry. His brain -milled round and round in a ceaseless effort to find some way out of the -situation. He did not feel proud of this last exploit. He had acted -rashly and without the least glimmer of caution. He knew well that he -was doomed. There was no possible finish but death, and if it could be -a swift death without torture, it would only be on account of the ray of -friendship that Madame felt for the two youngsters who had respected her -infirmities and age. - -Beany was against a blank wall. Knowing that he had no possible chance -of escape, Madame climbed up on the bed, the three men disappeared in -the inner room, and finally, to his amazement, Beany too dozed off, -although he could not help thinking that it was not at all the thing to -do under the circumstances. - -When he woke, he was dazed and stiff. His legs, strapped tightly to the -chair, felt asleep. Madame, fully dressed, as she had lain down hours -before, sat blinking on the side of the bed. - -"Well! Wie befinden sie sich?" she said, grinning at the prisoner. - -Beany accepted the friendly tone, although he did not understand the -words. - -"Morning!" he offered in return. - -Madame clapped her wrinkled hands sharply. - -The man who had stared through the keyhole appeared. - -"Coffee!" said Madame abruptly. It was a command. - -The man saluted and withdrew, to return with a tray and a. steaming -cup. Madame sat sipping the boiling draft, gazing at the boy meanwhile. - -"It is really too bad," she said finally, in her careful, clear English. -"Such a boyish, _silly_ thing to do! And you see how it is. You are -such a nice boy; I do hate to let them kill you, yet you cannot go back; -you must see that. However, you shall have an easy way. I shall assert -my authority. You look surprised. Do you think it strange that so old -a woman, so _frightful_ an old woman, should still have authority? Even -so, I have plenty of it. I am powerful. If I chose, I could call the -Emperor cousin. What do you say to that?" - -She seemed to expect an answer. Beany did not know what to say, but -after a pause in which she stared at him unwinkingly, he managed to -retort, "Some dope!" - -"Indeed, yes!" said Madame, to whom the slang was Greek. "Indeed, yes! -Well, your coming has spoiled nothing but your own life. We have the -information that we want, we have two prisoners who are most valuable. -The others will go on to-day, while I, the cousin of an emperor, will -for the time continue to wait on those pigs of officers upstairs. Deaf -and dumb!" - -She laughed silently, with queer little cackles. Then setting down the -empty cup, she went into the inner room. - -Beany sat thinking the big thoughts that come at hours so filled with -doom. Yet somehow it did not seem possible to him that he was to be -snuffed out so soon; he, Beany Potter! He looked at his wrist watch. -The crystal was broken but the watch was still running. Beany started -to wind it, then stopped. What would be the use? - -"Well, it may as well go as long as I do," he reflected, and finished -winding it. It sounded loud as thunder in the quiet room. - -He commenced to think of his brother with all his might. His spirit -called to him over and over. He thought again of the time and remembered -that although he had looked at his watch, he had not noticed the time at -all. - -Once more he looked. To his amazement it was noon. - -Beany commenced idly feeling through his pockets. If he could only find -some way of communicating with Porky before it was too late! All at -once his fingers closed on an object that he knew. His face lighted..... -If there was any way--Oh, if there was _any_ way! - -Then Beany's clean boy soul went down upon its knees, while Beany, -lashed to the chair, closed his eyes and prayed. Earnestly, humbly he -prayed for help; and then, feeling that he had done all he could in the -way of asking, opened his eyes and set his whole mind on Porky. He kept -his hand in his pocket closed on the object he had chanced on. - -Presently the two men came back, untied the cords that bound Beany to -the massive chair, tied his hands behind his back, untied his ankles and -led him into the inner room. Beany flashed a curious glance around it. - -The room was not dark, like the room he had just left. It was well -lighted by grated windows overgrown outside with heavy underbrush. Beany -guessed that they were away from the ruined castle itself and somewhere -out on the grounds. There was more furniture, and another bed like the -one in the room that he had just left. - -On this tumbled couch lay a form closely covered with a blanket. - -"Dead, whoever he is," said Beany to himself. - -Facing him was a straight chair and in it, bound and gagged, was a young -man in the uniform of the French army. He was trussed up until movement -of any sort seemed impossible. Most of his face was covered with the -cloths that formed the gag, but over the bandages a pair of sharp, -intelligent eyes flashed a message to Beany. He had been buffeted and -racked, threatened with all the horrors imaginable and subjected to some -of them, but from out those eyes looked a spirit that blows could never -break and death itself could never quell. Beany returned the look with -a long gaze. He underwent a new agony. Not only was he unable, through -his foolhardy action, to save his own life, but here was another as well -that he could not save. For he knew that the youth before him must be -doomed. His gaze roved to the bed. There was something strangely -graceful and soft about the outlines of the form under the comfortable. -He felt his hair prickle on his head. All at once he knew. It was a -girl! It had been _her_ voice he had heard sobbing. As he looked, he -hoped and prayed that she was indeed dead. He stifled a groan. - -Madame gave an order. He was once more fastened securely in a chair and -the old woman came beside him and offered him a paper and pencil. - -"You may write a note to that twin brother of yours," she said. "We are -through with this underground hole. It is damp, anyway. I do not need -any further help. But you shall write and tell your brother where to -look for you. I will see that he gets it in good season. Not to-day, -nor yet to-morrow. Little boys in these war-times must be taught not to -meddle. Write what you will." - -Beany took the pencil obediently, and wrote: - - -"Open panel at right of office door by pressing upper left-hand carving. -Send some one else to look for me. Love to Mother and Father. Good-by. - -"BEANY." - - -Madame took the brief note and read it. "That is short, but it will -do," she said. Then she turned to the others. "As soon as it is dark -take your prisoners to the foot of the garden. There will be a French -car there. The girl, as you know, is to be taken unharmed. Go to our -own base. We will make her speak when we get her there. You know what -to do with this other." - -She picked up a broom and grinned down at Beany. "I am going up to see -what they are doing above. Don't you wish you had had the sense not to -meddle?" - -As she passed him Beany strained forward against his bonds and caught -her by the dress. He clasped her knees in his agony. - -"Please, _please_, Madame!" he cried. "_Please_ don't let them kill me! -I promise that I won't tell!" His voice went up in a cry that was -almost a whine. The old woman broke away from him in disgust. - -"Bah! You are all alike! live, live, live always! Why don't you learn -to die, you Americans! That is what we have got to teach you!" She -struck him smartly across the face, and moved to the door with a -backward look of command. - -"Be ready when I return," she said. "In the meantime _not a sound_!" -She grinned at Porky. "I will see you once more, young man," she -chuckled, and left the room. - -As the door hid her from view, Beany drew a long breath. He seemed -strangely excited and relieved. Once more he consulted his watch. It -would be at least an hour before dark. There was a fighting chance. -Death or life? Life or death? His fate was trembling in the balance. - -Where was Porky? - - - - - *CHAPTER V* - - *TO THE RESCUE* - - -Porky was getting worried. It was growing late, and there was no sign -of Beany. - -He asked a couple of the aides when they came in if they had seen -anything of his brother, but no one had any news for him. Porky looked -into the narrow hall at intervals, and twice he went out and wandered -around the grounds that surrounded the castle. But nothing of Beany! - -Finally he returned to the office, and took up his station at the window -where he could see far down what had been the drive. The office was in -a room in what had been the wing, and jutted out into the space now -soiled and useless, which had once been a lovely, widespread garden of -lawns and flowers, but which now looked worse than any ploughed field. - -Something kept pulling at Porky's heart. He knew the feeling, had had -it often; and it told him, as it always did, that his twin brother, whom -he loved so well, was in trouble and needed him. Usually he felt -something that impelled him to go in a certain direction in search of -Beany; something, a _force_ directing him--he never could tell just what -it was. But he always obeyed it, and so did Beany, to whom the same -feelings came. But now Porky sat irresolutely at the window, baffled -and worried. He felt anchored to the spot, yet knew in his heart that -his brother's need was great. Every time he got to his feet and started -out of the room, something pulled him back. Finally in despair, he -settled down and stared with unseeing eyes into the growing darkness of -the ruined gardens. - -His heart beat heavily. His mind and soul called his brother, demanding -an answer from the silence and the night. The officers and aides who -had been in the room left it, and Porky was alone. Presently, as the -waiting grew almost more than the boy could endure, a slight sound -caused him to turn around. It was the old scrubwoman, broom in hand. - -"Hullo!" said Porky, and turned back to the window. He was too badly -worried to be polite. - -"Hay-loo!" said the old cracked voice in broken English. Porky looked -around again. She was standing at his side, smiling at him, a queer -grinning leer not at all pleasant. Porky felt an insane desire to ask -her if that was the best she could do. But he did not. He simply stared -at her, at the wrinkled face and bright, twinkling, keen eyes. Porky -felt that those eyes were almost too keen, almost too intelligent for -that old peasant woman. - -They looked steadily at each other, Porky wondering more and more at the -expression on the old mask of a face. She was little, bent and feeble; -she scarcely came to tall Porky's shoulder; yet to the sensitive, -worried boy as he gazed at her there came a feeling of something wicked, -powerful, and threatening. There seemed to the alert senses of the boy -that there was a knowing twinkle in the old eyes when she looked -questioningly around the room, and said, "Your brodder. Ware iss he?" - -"I don't know," said Porky slowly. "You didn't see him outside, did -you?" - -"No, I dit not see heem outsite; me, I have seen nozzing outsite." - -She smiled and wagged her old head, looked piercingly at Porky again, -and turned away. Porky watched her squat old bent figure, then drew his -breath sharply as something caught his eye! It was something caught on -one of the ample folds of her ragged skirt, something that glittered! -All the blood in Porky's body seemed to make a mad rush to his head, -then ebbed back to his heart. He started toward the old woman, then -stopped and thought, staring at the object on her skirt. He knew it -well. The old woman stooped to pick up something and the object on her -skirt swung free and glittered in the uncertain light. Porky drew a -sharp breath as he recognized his brother's message. For a message he -knew it to be. The little glittering object was a leather fob strap. -At the end dangled a swimming medal that Beany had won long ago. He had -always carried it as a pocket piece, and in some way it had accompanied -him on the Great Adventure. It had never been out of Beany's pocket. - -Yet there it was, hanging to a fold of the old woman's tattered dress -swinging and glittering! Evidently she did not know that it was there. - -Porky, suddenly alert, started to his feet and took an impulsive step -toward the old woman. Then, before she had time to notice his action, he -stopped. He could not remove the dangling medal without letting her -know that something was up, and his only move was to watch her when she -left the room. Somewhere, Beany was in trouble! Porky realized that the -message of the medal was a desperate, last resort. A million to one -shot, he told himself anxiously; but it had reached him, and while he -lived there was hope for Beany. He studied the old scrubwoman with a -new understanding. She no longer appeared harmless, stupid and -ignorant. The keen twinkle in her old eyes; what had it meant? The -seemingly simple and innocent question, "Your brodder. Ware iss he?" -was just to sound him, the boy decided. He knew, all at once, that she -knew all about Beany. To follow her was to find his brother, alive, or -... Porky could not say the rest even to his own soul. He _would_ -follow her! He would _find_ the brother whom he loved better than his -own life! His blood boiled when he thought of the condition he might -find that dear one in, and he set his jaw in a way that promised -desperate things. - -Old Elise went pottering around the room, unconscious of the glittering -eyes bent steadfastly on her, and ignorant of the glittering trifle -fastened to her dress. Porky felt that he would gladly barter years of -his life to know how it came to be there, but he clung to the happiest -reason that he could think up: Beany himself had in some way fastened it -on the old woman. Porky decided to obey the summons as he imagined them -to have been sent. By hook or crook, he would follow the old woman, sly -and crafty as he now believed her to be. By hook or crook, he would -find his brother. Starting towards the old woman, he waited until she -stooped over the General's table, wiping off the papers with a careful, -shaking old hand. Porky, suspicious of everything now, fancied that she -swiftly read the words on the uppermost pages, but he was busy with deft -fingers unfastening the fob from the tattered skirt. He slipped it in -his pocket, picked up a pencil and pad from the table, and once more sat -down by the window. A few minutes later, while the old woman still -pottered around, Porky rose and idly left the room, whistling as he did -so. He unconsciously repeated Beany's performance in the dusky hall. He -went to the turn, and dropping on one knee, bent a steady gaze on the -door he had just closed. He was rewarded in a moment by a sight of the -old woman. She came out of the General's office, softly closing the -door behind her, and commenced feeling over the secret panel. It -opened, and she entered, closing it as she went, but not before Porky -was beside it, his eye on the spot he had seen her old fingers press. -He waited for what seemed to him an eternity, then pressed the carved -ornament of old oak. It gave, and the opening panel disclosed the -passage in the wall down which Beany had so recklessly followed his -quarry. - -Porky was cautious, yet determined. Noiselessly he trailed the old spy -until they reached the great chamber where the big bed was. Not once -did she look behind. It did not occur to her that she could possibly be -watched or followed. She had grown careless. She did not even mind the -fact that she had left the heavy door swinging ajar behind her. Why, -indeed, should she? Was not the door in the panel too cunningly -contrived for any one to find, except perhaps that Boy Scout who now sat -fettered in his chair waiting his end? His brother ... bah! She had -left him above. She crossed the room, and stooped to reach a shawl she -had thrown on the high bed. As she bent, something light and strong and -cat-like leaped upon her seizing her wrinkled throat in a vise-like -grip. She could not scream. In a second the curtain of the bed was -wrapped over her, fold on fold. She struggled furiously, but to no -avail. She was nearly smothered. Porky didn't much care. He worked in -a frenzy of haste. He pulled down the thick cords that had been used to -pull the bed curtains open and shut, and tied his human bundle securely. -Then with a cautious thought he shoved her under the high bed, and made -for the inner room. - -It was silent. A single candle burned on the table. Beany sat in his -chair. He was bound and gagged. As Porky sped across the room he saw -the diabolical contrivance hanging above the boy's head. - -A massive blade with a heavily weighted handle hung directly over the -boy, point down. The cord which held the weapon passed through a pulley -to another pulley, and from there to the table. There it was fastened to -a short stick that was strapped to the alarm key of a common alarm -clock. As Porky's quick glance took in the whole scene, the little -alarm clock gave the cluck that precedes the striking of the alarm. -Porky made a dash across the room, as the alarm commenced to sound and, -seizing his brother's chair, swung him aside as the whirling alarm key -tightened the cord. One after another, with deadly swiftness, the cords -tightened until a quick pull on the smallest cord of all, a mere thread, -snapped it. - -The heavy blade seemed for a moment to balance in air, then it dropped -down and buried its razor point six inches deep in the old floor. - -Not until then did Porky slash the cords which bound his brother, and as -Beany shook himself free, with many faces to ease his tired jaw where -the gag had pressed it, Porky dropped limply into a chair and mopped his -brow. - -"The sword of Damocles!" was all he said. - -"Don't know the gent," said Beany huskily. "Did some guy play this trick -on him! If he felt as nervous as I did before you came, I feel good and -sorry for him. Gosh, I have been sitting all trussed up there for about -a year! Let's get out of this!" - -"No special hurry," said Porky wearily. He could not recover at once -from the shock, but Beany was chipper as a cricket. - -"Well, I don't know," he said, "I have not grown so fond of this little -old dungeon that I want to reside here long. Besides, perhaps you don't -know the old lady who sweeps upstairs as well as I do. She is apt to be -up to almost any trick." - -"Not if the Court knows himself, and he thinks he does," said Porky -positively. "I left her under the bed in the other room with about a -mile of flossy curtain cord twined around her. She is safe enough. We -will go up and report this little affair, and get a couple of men to -come down and take her to the General. She is a hard character. A spy, -in fact." - -"I guess I know that!" said Beany, rising and rubbing his stiff legs and -arms. "I have a lot more to report than you have. Let's be off!" - -Together they hurried into the first chamber, and made for the door -leading into the passage. Porky, in passing, looked under the bed. Then -with a gasp he looked again and, dropping on one knee, seized a bundle -of ragged clothing and a tangle of crimson curtain cords. - -He looked at them, turning them over and over. Then he shook them. Then -he looked under the great high bed again. - -"What ails you?" demanded Beany impatiently. - -"She's--she's gone!" said Porky feebly. - -The old woman had vanished. - - - - - *CHAPTER VI* - - *DEATH CLOSE BEHIND* - - -"Cut for the passage!" cried Porky as he realized that his quarry had -escaped and knew that her release meant fresh dangers for them. -Instinctively he held on to the bundle in his hands, and with Beany at -his heels raced through the door and up the narrow passage that led to -the secret door in the panel. - -They found it closed tight. Furiously the boys shook and tugged at the -heavy handle which was wont to turn and release the sliding panel. It -did not budge. They shook and banged. - -"It's no good," said Porky finally, as they paused, gasping and out of -breath. "We are trapped!" - -"Some one will hear us if we bang long enough," said Beany, kicking at -the secret door. - -"Not so you would know it," said his brother bitterly. "You can't hear -a sound. That paneling is six inches thick along here. Made so on -purpose, I suppose. We had better go down and try to get out by the -passage that leads into the garden." - -They turned and hurried back, retracing their steps through the passage -and the two underground rooms. As Beany passed the great sword, he -dragged it from its upright position in the floor and took it with him. - -"I guess this belongs to me as much as to any one," he said grimly. -"I'll take it home to Pop." - -As he, spoke, the candles on the table shook in a sudden draft and went -out. - -"That's about the last straw!" said Porky, falling over a chair. - -"Gimme your hand!" said Beany. "I know where the passage is and it is -short, because I counted the number of steps they took before I heard -the outside door open and smelled the outside air. I know it opens into -the castle garden because I heard them talking about going out that way. -Oh, I have a long story to tell you, Porky, but it will have to wait -until we are well out of this. I don't feel any too happy yet." - -He clasped his brother's hand in his with a sudden close pressure. -Porky returned it, and laid an affectionate arm around his brother's -shoulder as together they went cautiously toward the passage leading to -the garden. - -They found it easily; Beany had used his eyes to good advantage. -Feeling carefully as they went, they reached the end where a massive, -rough door barred their way. - -Porky drew a box of safety matches from his pocket, and by their feeble -light they examined the heavy barrier. There was no sign of a latch or -keyhole, but the door was securely fastened on the other side. - -They were trapped! - -"Well, what do you know about that!" muttered Beany, scowling. He felt -slowly along the crack of the closely set door and pressed the barred -surface, but it did not give under his touch. - -Porky flipped a match out of his fingers as it burned him, and the boys -stood motionless in the darkness, wondering what to do next. Beany -leaned on the hilt of the long sword; Porky traced figure eights on the -wall beside him with the tip or the scorched finger that had held the -match. - -Beany leaned over and tapped his shoulder. - -"What's the noise back there?" he whispered. - -"Didn't hear anything," answered Porky after a breathless pause of -listening. - -"I certainly heard something," declared Beany. "Let's pussyfoot back and -see if we can find out what it was. I _know_ I heard something. -Perhaps our dear friend the old dame is somewhere around." - -"There was nothing for her to hide in or behind," said Porky. "The bed -was the only piece of furniture large enough and, besides, I feel sure -she skipped out the other passage. What would she come back for? She -must have known that we were here." - -"There is mighty little she _doesn't_ know if any one should ask you," -answered Beany. "Oh, just wait until I have a chance to tell you the -whole yarn! Only it is not finished yet. There were a couple of -prisoners in the room I was in, a young fellow in uniform and a girl. -They must have carried them into the garden when they turned my chair -around so I could look toward the way you came in. I heard them -scuffling about." - -"Well, let's go take a look," said Porky. - -They silently retraced their steps back to the great chamber where the -bed stood. Carefully, with their backs to the wall, they lighted a -couple of candles they had taken from the table. The room was empty, -but with the keen trained sensitiveness of young animals, they sensed -danger. - -"I bet it is the bed," said Porky as though answering a question. -"Let's look it over." - -Beany, holding the candles, stood by as Porky carefully removed the -tumbled and tattered fragments which had once been satin and down -coverlets fit for queens to dream under. He cautiously lifted the top -feather bed in his arms and laid it on the floor. Beany gave a gasp -and, reaching forward, almost flung himself on a black object which -rolled down into a depression in the under bed. He fumbled with it, then -stood erect, his face glistening with a cold sweat. He pointed to the -object in silence. - -Porky stooped over it. It was a time bomb, large enough and vicious -enough to wreck the entire wing. - -"That's funny," said Porky. "You turned the trick that time but it does -seem they are taking a lot of bother just to get rid of us." - -"Why, you're crazy!" said Beany. "What's over this room? The General's -office, of course! That was the trick. They had us in here, and after -she got away, the old woman came back and set that thing where she -thought we would never think to look for it. I think she heard us in -the passage that goes to the garden, and thought we would stay there -fussing with that outside door. If this thing went off, of course it -would wreck this room, and even if we were not killed by falling stones, -we would be trapped in there like a couple of rats. Well, it will never -harm any one now, but we have got to get out of here somehow or other." - -Both boys were unnerved and shaken They stood looking at each other. -They knew that it must be very late, but overhead they could hear the -muffled tramp of booted feet in the General's office. They stood gazing -at the oak paneled ceiling. A big square directly over the high bed was -sagging, and it was there that they could hear the sounds from above. -Porky commenced to study the situation. - -The bed was a four poster, hundreds of years old. When the castle had -been shelled, it had been brought down from some upper room of state. - -The high, massive posts, beautifully carved, supported a great roof of -heavily carved black oak. - -"Look here," said Porky. "Can't we shin up on top and beat on the floor -with the hilt of that sword?" - -"What good would that do?" demanded Beany. "They wouldn't know where to -find us. I don't believe we could make enough racket anyhow so they -would pay any attention to it." - -Porky thought a moment, then to Beany's disgust he commenced to caper -around in a manner that Beany thought little befitted their serious -position. He knew that when the explosion failed to occur, some one -would be sent back by the master spy, and Beany could not doubt that -that would mean a quick death for them both. - -"What ails you?" he demanded. - -"Just this," said Porky. "We will rap out a call for help in the -code--the Morse code. Half the fellows in that office understand it. -If there is any one there at all, they will catch on." - -"Honest, Porky--" said Beany, then he stopped. He certainly was proud -of Porky but decided not to tell him so. - -Porky chuckled. He knew what his brother was thinking. "Some little -nut, eh?" he asked, patting his own head. - -"Tell better after you have tried it," growled Beany, shinning up the -post nearest him. Porky started after him. - -"Wait!" said Beany. "We will have to have a chair. You can't reach -high enough." - -It was difficult to get one of the massive carved chairs aloft. They -had to tear the bedding into ropes and pull it up in that way; but once -on the top, Porky shinned hastily up and mounted it. He was rather -quicker at telegraphy than Beany. - -He wrapped his handkerchief around the blade of the long sword, so he -could grasp it, and beat heavily on the paneled ceiling. Then he shook -his head. - -"Listen to that!" he complained. "That loose panel will have to come -down. You couldn't hear that little clack a foot away. Steady me." - -He handed the sword to Beany and, springing up, clutched the loose -sagging edge of woodwork in his lean, muscular hands. It sprung up and -down under his weight, but did not give. - -"Grab my feet and pull!" he ordered over his shoulder. - -Beany obeyed. - -There was a sharp tussle but the old, centuries old wood was not proof -against the fresh young strength measured against it. It suddenly gave -way and a couple of yards fell with a clatter and cloud of dust, hurling -the boys flat on the top of the bed canopy, which swayed in an alarming -manner. - -They shoved the paneling over the edge, and stood up. Once more their -candles were out, but Porky lit a match and soon the little flame made a -light about them. Beany kicked something with his toe. - -"What's that?" he said. - -"Don't know," said Porky, rubbing his hands together. "There's a couple -more of them. - -"Don't bother with that junk! Bundles of rags, I suppose. We have got -to get out of here. You don't know what those spies will be up to -next." - -But Beany, always curious, ripped a hole in the side of the rough, pouch -in his hand. - -"It's full of gold money," he said. - -"My word!" said Porky, looking down from the chair. "Scoop 'em all into -your pockets, for the love of Mike!" - -"Pockets!" said Beany scornfully. "There's a couple of _quarts_ of -stuff in these three bags!" - -He slipped out of his blouse and, tying the sleeves together, made a -sort of bag in which he carefully placed the sacks. Then he stepped -carefully across their swaying platform and steadied the chair on which -his brother stood with the sword hilt thrust between the huge rafters -against the floor above. - -The tramping in the room overhead sounded quite clear now that the -paneling was gone. It annoyed Porky, who was trying the best he knew to -make his pounding heard. - -"Why don't the geezers sit down?" he complained. And as though in -answer, there was a sudden silence above. - -"It won't be so funny if they have all gone away," said Beany, listening -intently. - -"You bet it won't!" said Porky, beating still harder. - -"They are all there," said Beany. "If they had gone out, we would have -heard the steps all turning in the direction of the door, which is over -there behind you." - -"Well, here goes!" said Porky, pausing a moment to rest. "I am going to -give the wireless call for help." - -Then while both boys almost stopped breathing, Porky slowly and -distinctly tapped out the thrilling summons that turns great ships out -of their courses to race across leagues of angry sea to help the -perishing. - -"S.O.S! S.O.S!" Over and over, carefully, slowly Porky rapped, pausing -now and then to listen. - -"No go!" said Beany despondently. - -"Wait," whispered Porky; "they are stirring up there." - -Once more he rapped out his message, and gave a groan of relief as -faintly but distinctly a spurred heel on the floor above beat the -answer: - -"We hear. Where are you? Who speaks?" - -As rapidly as he dared Porky, who was an expert in the code, explained -their position, gave the necessary directions for opening the secret -door in the panel, received an "All right!" from above, and the boys, -leaving the chair standing in its lofty position, slid down the bed -post, Beany still clinging stubbornly to the sword. - -As they stood for a moment beside the great bed, a gust of fresh air -entered the room. - -"The garden door!" Beany hissed in his brother's ear. "They are coming! -Run for it!" - -The boys turned and raced for the passage leading to the upper hall. As -they ran Porky stumbled against a chair. It went over with a crash. -They turned as they hurried through the door leading into the passage. - -Behind them, just perceptible to their eyes now accustomed to the -darkness, three forms came running in relentless pursuit. One form -reached them just as they turned into the passage. Beany paused in his -flight and blindly hurled the heavy sword full at his pursuer, then -slammed the door and followed Porky, now several yards ahead of him. -Death was close behind. - - - - - *CHAPTER VII* - - *THE IRON BOX* - - -There was no need for silence now. The boys heard a stumble as though -someone had crashed over some obstruction. The door behind them was -flung open. Swift feet pursued them. - -"Hope the door's open!" gasped Porky, as he ran fleetly on up the -uneven, winding passage. - -In the office above there had been an anxious period. Two members of a -staff, even though they are only boys, cannot disappear as though the -earth had swallowed them without a suspicion of foul play. When General -Pershing received the report, he at once sent couriers and scouts to -every station where the boys might have gone. On being questioned, the -sentries one and all declared that the two boys had not been seen -outside of the building. This resulted in a combing out of every cranny -that could possibly hold a boy alive or dead. - -The hours dragged on. There was a continual passing to and fro for -hours until at last there seemed to be absolutely nothing more to do -until morning. The tired staff threw themselves into the office chairs, -while the General, at the typewriter, commenced a letter. Out of -respect to him, there was a complete silence in the room. - -On and on clicked the typewriter while the waiting men dozed or smoked -or thought of home. - -"What's that?" said one of them suddenly, listening intently. - -The General stopped writing and looked at the speaker. - -"What's what?" questioned a captain, frowning. - -"That tapping," said the first speaker. "Sounds like _code_." - -"You have been asleep," said the captain, grinning. - -"I hear it," said the General. - -There was a general gathering up of forces, as the whole room tried to -place the faint, monotonous tapping. - -"The call for help!" said the first speaker triumphantly. "I _knew_ I -heard it. The code is my native language almost. It sounds as though -some one was calling from below the floor." - -"Send an answer, Lieutenant Reed!" ordered the General. - -The young officer obeyed, while his hearers listened breathlessly. -Tap-tap went the spurred heel, dash and dot, dash and dot in many -combinations. - -The reply followed swiftly. The Lieutenant, rather pale, turned to the -General. "It's the boys!" he reported. "They are together, in a closed -chamber,--a dungeon, I take it--right below us. They are in danger. -Don't say what. Something about spies and dynamite. Want help -instantly." - -"How?" asked the General - -"There's a secret door in the oak panel in the hall. They gave -directions for opening it." - -"Go at once, six of you--you six nearest the door!" The officers -designated rose. - -"Rush!" said Lieutenant Reed crisply. For the moment he was in command. -He alone knew how to open the panel. They hurried outside, where Reed -felt swiftly but carefully in the place described by Porky. Twice he -went over the heavy carving, pushing here and there unavailingly. Then -without a sound the secret door opened and before any one could enter -the passage that yawned in inky blackness before them, there was a rush -of running feet and the two boys, carrying Beany's coat between them, -bolted into the hall. Porky made a motion for silence, and listened. - -There was no sound. - -"Somebody chased us!" he panted. "Somebody was close behind us in the -dark!" - -"Men?" asked an officer in an excited whisper. - -Porky wanted to say "No, sir, _rabbits_!" but he knew that every one -felt nervous and edgy and, besides, he did not want to be disrespectful -to the officer who had spoken. - -"They came in through the other door," he said. "A door at the other -end of the passage that is on the other side of the two big rooms down -below there." - -"Let's go down," said one of the men, loosening his revolver. - -"Please don't try it!" begged Beany. "We could never get down without -light and then they would have the drop on us. It's no use now. -Besides, they could go out of that outside door without the least -trouble after they had shot us all up." - -"The kid is right," said Lieutenant Reed. "He knows how the land lies -down there. Come up to the General, boys, and make a report. He will -tell us what he wants done." - -Sliding the panel shut, the Lieutenant called a guard and, leaving the -hallway patrolled by a couple of stalwart Americans, the group -surrounding the two boys entered the office and saluted the General. - -General Pershing bent his serious, keen gaze on the boys, then a bright, -sudden smile lighted the strong, handsome face that had grown sad and -still in the troubled, anxious months at the front. - -"Always up to something, boys," he said. "Well, your friend the Colonel -warned me how it would be. Now suppose you tell me all about it." - -Beany with a sigh of relief lifted his blouse and deposited it on the -table. It struck the surface with a clank and as he pulled the cloth -away a regular flood of gold pieces covered the papers where the General -had been writing. - -"Part of the story, sir," said Beany. And then talking together, or -taking turns, as the spirit moved them, the boys pieced out the account -of their adventures. The part that Beany kept harking back to was the -presence of the prisoners in the big room. He described carefully and -accurately the appearance of the young soldier and told as well as he -could about the limp, unconscious girl who had been carried out into the -dark garden. Beany shuddered as he spoke. - -"I am sure the girl was dead, sir. She laid there for hours, I guess, -and she never moved at all, never batted an eyelash. And she was -white.... I never saw anybody so white. It was as though all her blood -had been drained out of her." - -"Was she wounded?" asked the General. - -"She must have been, sir," answered Beany. "I saw blood, just a little -of it running down her wrist under her sleeve. She had nice clothes on, -and I had a hunch all the time that I ought to know who she was; but I -couldn't tell. Wish we knew what they did with them. When it comes -light, General, I can show you just where the door is. I am sure I know -where it opens." - -"It is light now," said the General, pointing to the window. Every one -looked. Sure enough, the whole sky was a mass of pale gold and pink and -greenish blue, as lovely and soft and joyous as though the distant -rumble of the big guns was not shaking the casement as they spoke. It -was light; morning had come. - -The General ordered coffee and rolls and insisted on both boys eating -something. They were tired and heavy eyed but excited at the thought of -unraveling perhaps a little more of the mystery of the past night. - -When at last the General dismissed them with a few terse orders, they -sped ahead of their escort through the silent garden, fearless and -curious and unconscious of the careful marksmen who followed, protecting -each foot of their advance. - -Beany had spoken the truth. With the sureness of a young hound he took -his way through a wilderness of stones and bricks and beams and plaster -through the tangled, torn old garden, and round to a spot marked by what -seemed to be a clump of dense bushes like low growing lilacs. -Approaching this, Beany parted the branches and peered in. Then he drew -back with a cry of horror. - -"Look!" he whispered. - -It was indeed the ambush set over the outside entrance to the dungeons. -Down in the depths of the hole that yawned under the encircling bushes -something was tumbled in a pitiful, distorted heap. Eagerly a half dozen -men leaped down and with careful hands straightened out the two forms -lying in the bloody ooze. One after the other they were lifted to the -surface. - -The man was quite dead but the girl still lived, though breathing -feebly. - -Placing her on an improvised stretcher, a couple of the men hurried away -with her to the hospital while a couple more knelt beside the dead boy -and searched carefully through his torn and blood-stained clothing for -papers, letters--anything that could be used as clues to his identity. -There was not a scrap left to guide them. The young officer's pockets -had been turned inside out. Even the hems in his tunic and breeches had -been slit and the soles had been torn from his shoes. If there had been -papers of any sort secreted about him, they were gone--carried away by -the ruthless hands that had slain him. - -Leaving a guard beside the body, the others leaped boldly into the -shallow pit and lifted the heavy bar which held the massive nail-studded -oaken door. It opened inward, and Beany led the way through the passage -into the chamber where he had sat bound, gagged and waiting for the -relentless hands of the clock to reach the moment of his doom. He -showed the device, and then, lighting the stubs of candles, they went -into the inner room. The dungeons were dark as midnight, even in the -clear morning light. - -A careful search was made of the rooms. They stamped on the floors, -rapped on the walls with pistol butts, ripped up the silken covers and -the thick mattresses, but found nothing. The men finally stopped their -search, and gathered in a group around the massive table. Beany, -sitting on the edge of the table, jounced up and down and thought that -he had never seen a piece of furniture quite so solid. He took out a -penknife and tried to whittle the edge but the keen blade scarcely made -an impression on the ironwood seasoned for ages. Porky, watching his -brother, listened to the conversation. - -"Somewhere down here there is a hiding place for papers or money, or -perhaps both," said one of the officers, a keen-faced, thoughtful man, -studying the room as he could see it in the flickering light of the two -candles which, now burned down to the merest stubs, afforded a dim, -uncertain light. - -"We have given it a pretty thorough combing over," said another officer, -frowning. - -"I can't help it," stubbornly answered the other. "It is in just such -places as this where valuable secrets are often hidden." - -"What about the dynamite?" demanded some one else. "It does not seem as -though they would hide anything of any value to themselves in a spot -that they were willing to blow up." - -"A bomb that size would not have wrecked this room. Did you notice the -thickness of the walls?" - -The talk went on while Beany whittled and pried away industriously at -the table edge. He found a crack in the wood and pried his knife blade -into that. The blade entered in a tantalizing manner, slipped smoothly -along, then struck metal. Beany pushed. Porky, who was watching, came -closer and peered down the crack. Beany pushed harder, pushed as hard -as he could, and suddenly felt himself flung off the table as the big -top flew up and hurled him aside. - -Powerful springs had opened the two heavy slabs of oak that formed the -table. Two pieces now stood open like a pair of doors and within lay a -long, flat box which completely filled the space. The box was of iron, -heavily barred and padlocked. Four soldiers pried it from its place and, -escorted by the whole party, it was carried to General Pershing, still -working at his desk. - -Once more the boys had unearthed a mystery. - - - - - *CHAPTER VIII* - - *THE CELLAR'S SECRET* - - -Porky and Beany were too tired to care what happened next and, taking -quick advantage of a brief smile and nod of dismissal from the General, -they made their way to their quarters and soon were as sound asleep as -though they were lying on the softest down. They slept and slept, -losing all track of time, and by the General's orders were undisturbed. -When they finally woke, really wide awake, they found that a whole day -and a night had passed since the early dawn when they had staggered off -to bed. - -They woke at the same instant, as was their habit, and sitting bolt -upright, stared unblinkingly at the young officer sitting at the window -writing. - -"Morning, Lieutenant," said Porky, rubbing his eyes. - -"What's the time, sir?" said Beany, looking curiously at his wrist -watch. - -"Yours stopped too?" asked Porky. "Mine has. Funny!" - -"Not so very funny," said Lieutenant Parker, closing his writing tablet. -"You have been asleep since yesterday morning, and I imagine the watches -ran down." - -"Yesterday morning!" gasped Porky. "Why didn't some one call us?" - -"General's orders," said the Lieutenant. He laughed, "Gee, I wish he -would order me to bed for a week. You can bet I would go!" - -"Well, it makes me mad to sleep like this," said Porky in irritation. -"What all have we missed, anyhow?" - -"Nothing much," said the Lieutenant. "The biggest drive of the war is -on and to-morrow General Pershing with his staff will make the trip -along the front line trenches. I hope he counts me in on that." - -"You liked to be in the trenches, didn't you?" asked Porky, stooping to -lace his puttees. - -"You are right I did," said Lieutenant Parker, wrinkling his smooth -young forehead. "I came over to fight, and it was just my luck to get -this measly scratch on my head, and blamed if they didn't put me here in -this office doing paper work!" - -"Well, you got to give your skull time to get well, haven't you?" asked -Beany. "It was cracked, wasn't it?" - -"No, just a piece scooped out of it," said the Lieutenant in a bored -tone. - -The boys grinned. Lieutenant Parker was one of the best friends they -had, and they had learned that nothing teased him like being quizzed -about the deep, palpitating scar that creased his dark head, the truth -being that he had received the wound in an encounter that had won him -the coveted French war cross with the palms. Porky and Beany considered -modesty in others little less than a sin. They were always so thirsty -for tales of blood and glory that they could not see why any one should -hesitate to tell every possible detail of any adventure. It happened, -strangely enough, that they did not apply the same rule to their own -conduct. To get details out of the Potter twins was, as their own -father said, like drawing nails out of a green oak board, accompanied by -screeches of protest. The boys had had the Lieutenant's story, however, -and they harked back to the news of the day. - -"I am going on that hike," said Porky, standing up and stamping himself -comfortably into his clothes. - -"So'm I," said his brother, likewise stamping. - -"Try for something else, kid," said the Lieutenant. "You can't get in -on this. It is strictly staff." - -"Watch me!" said young Porky, the cocksure. He hurried to the door and -disappeared, while Beany, a trifle slower in his dressing, roared, "Wait -for me!" - -A muttered response of some sort was the only satisfaction given. - -Beany grinned. "He is always so sudden!" he complained, addressing the -Lieutenant. - -"Might as well stay here until he comes back. I never like to butt in on -Porky's talky-talks. He most generally knows what he wants to say, and -he don't need any help in getting it out of his system. I certainly -hope we can go with the General. You are always yelling about that old -silver plate you have on your topknot. Look at us: seems like we just -can't get into a trench. Honest Injun, I'm so sick of this old -chateau--" - -"I never did see such a pair!" said Lieutenant Parker. "Didn't you have -enough of an adventure the other night to last you two or three days?" - -He was going on, when Porky burst into the room. He threw up his hat. - -"Better, much better than I ever hoped," he crowed. - -"Hand it out!" demanded Beany anxiously. - -"Why, I was going to give the General a great line of talk, and I didn't -have a chance to do a thing but salute. He was talking to a French -officer and the minute he went out, the General just said, 'All right -to-day, young man?' I said, 'Yes, sir,' and he said, 'No time to talk! -Report in the courtyard to-morrow morning five-thirty, field equipment, -for special duty with my staff.' - -"I saluted again and turned to come out, and the General said, 'Potter, -this is in the way of a reward for that little affair in the dungeons,' -and I said, 'Thank you, sir, but the pleasure was all ours, sir,' and he -said, 'No, not quite all; because some of the papers you unearthed _WILL -HELP TO TURN THE TIDE_.' How's that, old Beans, _will help to turn the -tide_. Gosh! you did it with your little penknife, didn't you?" - -"Well, never mind that," said Beany, wriggling. "Don't you know anything -about this trip to-morrow?" - -"Nary word," said Porky, "but why should we worry? Main fact is clear, -we are going to be among those present." - -The boys spent a restless day getting their traveling equipment in order -and taking it apart again to put it together in some way they fancied -would make an eighth of an inch difference in some of its dimensions. -They strutted a little perhaps. It was truly a wonderful thing to go -with General Pershing on a trip of that sort. They marveled at their -good luck. - -That good luck had hinged entirely on their ability to keep their own -counsel. That desire some have to tell all they know, a lot that they -guess, and a few things that they fear, did not exist in the Potter -twins. They could keep a secret without being told to, and that's some -test. Whatever they overheard was safe. When they saw things that were -not intended for their eyes, they ignored them, or made an effort to -forget all about them. This high sense of what was honorable and right -was noticed immediately by the General as well as by others whom they -met daily. - -So they spent the long day patting each other on the back, and wondering -at their great good fortune. - -They kept closely to the rooms frequented by the officers. As Porky -pointed out to his brother, there was one old lady at least who was not -wasting any love on them, and they didn't want to give her a chance to -turn a key on them and spoil all their fun. They had at least gained a -little caution, but how very little the trip was going to show. - -It was barely five next morning when Porky and Beany, like two shadows, -slipped from their quarters and went silently down to the courtyard. -Several automobiles stood ready, heavily guarded, and a couple of -mechanics were busily tightening nuts and testing various parts of the -machinery. No one spoke. The boys crossed the open space, and in -accordance with an agreement made previously, sat down back to back on a -ledge of the broken fountain. They were taking no risks of surprise or -attack from the rear. Silently the minutes passed. The steady tramp of -the sentries and the grating of metal on metal as the mechanics worked -quietly on the cars made so little sound that distant noises were loud -and acute. - -The guns of the enemy had been silent for twelve hours. Even Porky and -Beany sensed something big and terrible in the air. - -"Want to bet something!" asked Porky, poking his brother with a backhand -jab in the ribs. - -He never found out whether Beany was game to bet or not for the door of -the chateau opened and a group of officers came out. General Pershing -led the group. The boys leaped to salute, the sentries stopped and -presented arms. Even the mechanics straightened to their feet. There -was perfect quiet, however, and five minutes later they started away -full speed in the darkness. On and on they went, passing first through -a country which showed very little of the effects of war. It was a sort -of spur that had escaped the enemy's assaults in the beginning of the -struggle, and which, since the arrival of millions of Americans, had -been lying too far behind the lines to suffer. - -The sun rose: it was day. They stopped in the shelter of a dense grove -and breakfasted on the provisions put up for them by the cooks back at -headquarters. While they ate the drivers of the cars watched the clear -morning skies for airplanes. The sandwiches and coffee, boiling hot in -big thermos bottles, tasted good to the hungry boys, although they were -eaten in silence, and in silence the journey was continued. Now they -commenced to see signs of the frightful struggle. First great shell -craters, then trees uprooted or hacked down, and village after village -lying a mere mass of wreckage. There were worse things too; sad -reminders that made the boys turn pale with horror. - -The stop for dinner was made the occasion of a careful examination of -all the parts of the cars, as any accident in the next few miles might -be most dangerous and disastrous. One of the aides announced to the -several groups of officers that a start would not be made under two -hours so the boys wandered about, looking at the ruined landscape and -picking up here and there sad little mementoes of friend and foe. -Buttons, scraps of jewelry, mostly cheap rings that girls might have -worn and given to their departing sweethearts. There were dozens of -crushed and stained pictures too, so many that the boys did not bother -to pick them up after the first dozen or so. Pinned to one picture of a -chubby child was a little sock. Across the back of the picture was -written, "A year old to-day. My son. Wish I could see him." - -"Gosh," said Beany, "I sure do hope he didn't get his! Perhaps this -just fell out of his pocket." - -"Why didn't he sign it?" demanded the practical Porky. - -"Well, I suppose he didn't have a hunch we would want his address," said -Beany. "I'm going to keep this and send it back home to one of the -papers. They will be glad to copy the picture of the fat little geezer, -and p'raps it will get back to his folks." - -The boys wandered on. Coming from a country rich in magnificent old -maples and elms, the ruin, so cowardly and so ruthless, of the great -trees seemed one of the most terrible aspects of the war. Not only were -they torn by shells, but mile after mile stood dead and dying from the -effects of the gas attacks of the enemy. The gas seemed to be as fatal -to the trees as it was to human beings. Not only had the leaves curled -up and fallen, but the trunks themselves were blackened and dead -looking. It was like a country in a nightmare, everything in the way of -buildings flat on the ground, literally not one stone left on another. -The dead and dying trees, leafless and twisted, let the sunshine down -upon it all with scarce a shadow. - -The boys reached the site of what had evidently once been a fine farm. -It was a total ruin. They went clambering over the loose heaped-up -stones of what had once been a fine old dwelling, and sat down for a -moment on a flat block that had made the broad and generous doorstep. - -"Gee, this must have been an old place," said Porky. "See the way the -edge of this stone is worn--and it is granite at that." - -"Look at the size of it, too," said Beany. - -They sat studying the stone when a faint feeble wail was heard. They -looked at each other, startled. - -"Aw, gee, there's a kitten shut up some place," said Beany, jumping up. -"Let's find it." - -"Sure we will," said Porky, "but we can't take it along. I don't -suppose General Pershing would want to add a cat to his traveling -party." - -"It sounded most dead," said Porky. "Kitty, kitty! Here, kitty," he -called in his most persuasive, voice. - -Another little cry answered him and gave them the direction. "It's the -cellar," said both boys together, and with one accord they seized a -couple of stout timbers and commenced to pry away part of the wreckage -in what seemed the likeliest entrance to the pitch black: hollow under -the bent and broken floor timbers, on which still rested masses of -stone. - -Suddenly, in response to their efforts, a huge stone, mate to the one -they had been sitting on, tipped sidewise and slowly slid down into the -darkness, followed by a shaft of light. - -There was a sharp cry from below, and the boys looked at each other, a -sort of horror on each face. - -"That's no kitten!" gasped Beany. - -For answer Porky slid feet first in the wake of the big stone, landed on -it, and stepped off into a gloomy chamber now feebly lighted from above. -In a moment his eyes were accustomed to the dim light, and he stepped -aside, making way for Beany, who came helter-skeltering down behind him. - -What they saw was a room that had been used as a store-room for the -farmhouse. By some trick of fate the falling walls, while they had made -a tight prison of it, had spared the most of the shelves of provisions, -and rows of preserves and tins of fruit still stood safely in their -places. - -A thin, emaciated figure lay in the corner on a pile of dirt over which -a cloak had been spread. The sunken eyes fixed themselves on the two -boys, but there was no recognition in their glassy depths. What looked -like two little piles of rags were huddled close, and as the boys came -nearer, the dying woman, for it was a woman and she was close to death, -clutched them convulsively. The bundles stirred, and a couple of small -heads were raised. Two children, tousled and covered with dirt, lifted -frightened eyes and clung frantically to the prostrate figure. - -Porky crossed swiftly and dropped on his knees by the dying woman. Very -gently he slipped an arm under her heavy head and lifted her a little on -his strong young arm. - -"Get a move on!" he flung at Beany, and that young man scrambled up the -pile of debris where the big stone had fallen and instantly disappeared. -Porky, left alone with the woman and the two terrified children, who -tried frantically to burrow out of sight under the mother's nerveless -arm, could think of nothing better to do than clasp the woman closely to -him in an effort to give her some of his own heat and vitality. She -seemed already stone cold. - -Almost at once Beany returned with some of the officers. They came down -and with tender hands lifted the sufferer out of the chilly dampness of -the cellar, and laid her on a pile of coats and cushions. Some one -carefully fed her a few drops of the hot coffee still left in the -thermos bottles. It was very evident, however, that her moments were -numbered. - -One of the French officers in the party knelt beside her. Softly, -tenderly, pityingly, he spoke to her in her native tongue. - -The weary eyes opened, and rested on his face. - - - - - *CHAPTER IX* - - *A VEXING PROBLEM* - - -The boys, who had attained a good working knowledge of the French -language, listened breathlessly. The gentle questions of the officer -were easy to follow, but without pressing too close to the sad group -they were unable to hear the whispered, broken replies of the woman. -That the story was a sad one, one of the uncounted tragedies of the -invasion of a cruel and heartless enemy, they could easily guess by the -break in the French officer's voice and the unashamed and manly tears -that filled his eyes. Slowly, painfully she told her story, the two -tiny children clutching her closely the while. Fainter and fainter grew -the feeble voice. Porky and Beany knew instinctively that they were -standing in the presence of death; not the glorious and gallant passing -that the soldier finds on the battlefield, but the coming of release -from a long and undeserved agony. As the little group watched, one -bloodless hand reached up and drew the thin shawl away from her breast. -There was a wound there; a cruel death wound that she had stanched as -best she could and had covered from the eyes of the two babies. As -though her story was all ended, the pitiful eyes fixed themselves on the -face of the officer who held her. Rapidly he made the sign of the -cross, then with his hand held high, he spoke to the dying woman. It -was enough. A smile of peace lighted the worn face, one long look she -bent on the two children, and turning her head as if for protection -toward the blue tunic against which she rested, she closed her eyes, -sighed, and was still. - -Reverently laying down his burden, the officer rose to his feet. And -while the group stood with bared heads, he told the story as he had just -heard it. - -The dead woman's name was Marie Duval. For two hundred years her people -had lived in simple ease and comfort on the well tilled farm. - -In rapid, thrilling sentences, he sketched the story of their happy, -blameless lives, through Marie's innocent childhood, her girlhood, and -up to the time of her meeting with young Pierre Duval. Pierre had a good -farm of his own down the valley, and there they lived in simple -happiness and prosperity. Three children were born, the two little -creatures crouching before them and one a little older, now dead. - -When the war broke out, Pierre put on his uniform and went away. For a -while, like other heroic women, she tilled the little farm until one -night when a small scouting party of Huns swept down, burning and -destroying all that lay in their path. She escaped with her children -under cover of the darkness and made her way back to her father's house. -For a long time they escaped the tide of war, and lived on and on from -day to day, the old, old father and mother and the young mother waiting -for news from Pierre. It came at last.... He was dead. - -"Then," said the French officer, "then her heart seemed to die too, but -she knew that she must live for the sake of the little ones. Already -she could see that the agony and terror of it all was killing the aged -parents. Four sons were fighting, and one by one they followed Pierre -to death. - -"Nearer and nearer came the German lines until one awful day a horde of -heartless warriors swept over them. - -"Sirs, you know the rest," said the French officer, his fine face -twitching with emotion. "It is the same old story, the old man -ruthlessly tortured and killed, his old wife kept alive just long enough -to see him die. The oldest grandchild was with her. He too was -tortured while his mother, hidden and imprisoned in a portion of the -cellar under the smoking ruins of the farmhouse, heard his childish -screams of agony. - -"She tried frantically to free herself from the ruins. A soldier saw -her, brought the fainting child almost within reach of her hand and -killed him. Then with the same weapon he made a savage thrust for her -heart, but could only reach close enough to inflict a deep wound. Then -making sure that she could not escape from the cellar, he rode away -after his troop. She became unconscious, and for days the two little -children must have lived on the vegetables stored about them. When she -regained consciousness she found strength to drag herself to the shelves -where the family provisions were stored. All that was not spoiled she -fed to the children, but they were without water save for the rainwater -that dripped down upon them. She felt herself growing steadily weaker -as the untended wound grew worse. The whole neighborhood seemed -abandoned, and their feeble cries brought no help. The children pined, -and suffering as they were from shock, soon gave way to the cold -dampness and insufficient food. - -"Marie herself lived solely through her determination not to leave the -two helpless babies to their fate. She prayed that they might die -first, and she was glad to note their failing strength, so fearful was -she of leaving them alone to a horrible, lingering death. - -"She herself grew so weak that much of the time she lay almost -unconscious with the little ones huddled against her. She commenced to -see visions. Pierre came and comforted her and promised that she should -soon be free to be with him. The little martyred son clasped her in his -loving little arms, assuring her that he no longer suffered. The old -mother and father sat beside her and told her to be brave and patient. -But with all her courage she felt that her end was near. She could not -endure much longer." - -The French officer bowed his head. - -"Then came deliverance," he said softly, "deliverance from all her pain -and anguish. She has been released. She is with Pierre!" - -One of the officers stepped forward and tenderly covered the still -figure with his cloak. He took the younger child in his arms, but it -screamed and struggled while the other one fought off the friendly hands -stretched down to it. The French officer spoke to them pleadingly, but -they only stared stupidly at him. - -"They are almost done for," said one of the officers. "We have got to -get them away from here and right away." He made another effort to take -the older child but the little fellow fought with the fury of a little -wildcat. One after another tried in vain to get hold of the terrified -little fellow, who grew more and more frightened. - -Porky and Beany, standing modestly in the rear of the group, watched the -proceedings with growing uneasiness. Finally Porky stepped forwards, -saluting as he did so. - -"Will you please let us try?" he asked, and taking a worried nod from -the Captain for answer, he sat down beside the dead mother, and for a -long time, as it seemed to the watching group, stared idly ahead, -without so much as a glance at the trembling children. - -Then he turned, nodded as though he had just noticed them, and taking a -cake of chocolate from his pocket, bit off a piece and then broke off a -small corner for each child. It was only a taste, but as the delicious -morsel melted on their tongues, they crept to Porky like a couple of -starved kittens. He showed them the rest of the chocolate and hitched -off a few feet. Beany came after. The children followed, and Porky -broke off another small bit for each. Some one brought water from the -cars for them to drink and in fifteen minutes the thing was done. Porky -and Beany, each with a little skeleton in their arms, wandered well away -from the spot where unaccustomed hands were awkwardly digging a grave -for the dead young mother. - -"This," said Porky, as the child in his arms sagged on his shoulder and -seemed to sleep, "this is the worst thing yet!" - -"You bet!" said Beany dismally. "Say, did you see me cry back there? I -did!" - -"Well, what of it?" demanded Porky. "Didn't everybody? I'd like to -know how they could help it!" - -"I wasn't looking," said Beany. "Oh, gosh, they didn't have to do -things like this." - -"Who, the Huns?" asked his brother. "Why, it's all like this and a -million times worse!" - -"Well, I wish I was grown up," mourned Beany. "To think we can't do much -of anything! I want to get even! I want to look some of those fellows -in the face!" - -"What's your idea? Want to tell him what you think?" Porky laughed -unpleasantly, as he shifted the weight of the child. "What's worrying -me now is what is going to be done with these poor little kids. Isn't -the one you have a pretty little thing? Even all the dirt and hunger -can't hide her looks. I suppose they will have to go into some asylum!" - -"I don't see why," said Beany suddenly. "Do you remember Mom and Pop -said they wished if we brought them anything from across, it would be -something good and worth while? They didn't want German helmets and -junk like that. What do you suppose they would say to a couple of dandy -little kids like these?" - -"For the love of the board of health!" said his brother solemnly. "It's -a great thought, sonny, but do you suppose Mom _wants_ to start in -bringing up another lot of children! You know if she ever started, she -would make a good job of it; you know how thorough she always is." - -"Yes, she is thorough, all right!" grinned Mom's son. "Look at us!" - -"She did the best she could with us, anyhow," retorted Mom's other son -solemnly, "and I think, no, I _know_ she would be tickled to death to do -something as real and important as taking these two little chaps to -bring up. And we could help support them if we had to, later." - -"That's silly," said Porky. "You know Dad has made a lot of money. And -he could afford to bring up six of them if he wanted to." - -"Well, all _he_ ever wants is what Mom wants," said Beany. - -"I guess that's so too," said Porky, "but perhaps some of those officers -will have some other plans for them." - -He looked down at the child on his arm. Already he felt a tenderness -for the starved, sickly little creature who had trusted him. - -"One apiece," he said, looking at Beany. - -"One's a girl, though," said Beany. - -Porky wanted to be fair. - -"That's so," he said. "Well, we can draw straws to see which has to -take her." - -"Straws nothing!" said Beany. "She came to me, so she is mine. Darned -if I know what to do with a girl, though! Can't teach her to play ball -or marbles, and besides that she can't be a Boy Scout." - -"Well, she can be a girl one. You know they have 'em, and if she can't -play ball she can learn to swim and dive and ride and shoot, and it will -be pretty handy to have her round the house when it comes to buttons and -things. Mother must get tired sewing for three of us." - -"Wonder how long it takes 'em to grow up to button size," said Beany, -studying the tiny bundle in his arms. - -"Don't know," said Porky. He looked anxiously at his brother. His -generosity in accepting the care of the little girl worried him. He had -to watch Beany, who was always more than generous and self-sacrificing. - -"Why can't we both have both kids?" he asked. "I don't want you to be -stung with a girl all the time. It isn't fair." - -"Stuck with a girl!" said Beany. "Why, Porky, I _like_ it! I never -could see why when any one has a baby, everybody says, 'Gee, it's a boy! -Isn't that bully!' or else 'Huh, it's a girl, too bad!' I never could -see it. Course when they get _our_ size they mostly are silly pills, -but if _I_ have a hand in bringing up _this_ girl, why, you just watch -her, that's all! I bet when she's fifteen she won't look cross-eyed at -a boy. I bet she knocks their blocks off! She is going to have some -sense!" - -"Looks as though you mean to make a scrapper of her," laughed Porky. - -"No, she has got to grow up just as much like Mom as she can." - -"Well, Mom likes boys all right," was Porky's reminder. - -"Yes, but I bet when she was young she never googled at 'em or passed -notes or accidentally sat down in the same seat with them or any of -that. She isn't that kind. You can _see_ she isn't." And Beany, whose -wavy hair and clear blue eyes had already caused him to suffer, nodded -his head vigorously. - -"Go ahead!" said Porky, "I think it's great having an assortment, only I -didn't want you to feel as though you had the worst end of the bargain." - -"Not a bit of it!" said Beany. "Not a bit, and I'll lend you my girl to -look at or play with whenever you want." - -"Much obliged," said Porky, "but I can't help thinking it might be a -good plan to break the news to somebody." - -"Your kidlet is asleep, so he won't notice. Suppose you go back there -and see what they are doing." - -"I can see from here," said Porky with a slight shudder. "They are sort -of boarding up a place to put the youngster's mother. They have no way -of getting a casket or even a box for her." - -"It will be fixed all right," said Beany. "The Captain does everything -all right. He will fix it just as well as ever he can. I'd like to go -over and see just what they are doing." - -"Better not; you might wake the baby, and we don't want her to see her -mother again." - -"Well, anyhow, one thing is settled. The pair is ours," said Porky with -a sigh. - -"They are ours if we can have them," said his brother. - -"You watch me!" said Porky grimly. - - - - - *CHAPTER X* - - *DECIDING DESTINIES* - - -Tired of carrying the children about, the two boys sat down on a bench -beside what had once been a large barn. The destructive fire started by -the invaders had apparently been checked by a heavy rainfall as the half -burned structures and charred timbers testified. There was still a -chance to rebuild and save enough from the wreckage to enable the owners -to start their lives afresh. But alas, of those owners but two were -left--the two tiny, terrified, war-racked creatures in the arms of the -two Boy Scouts. While their little charges slept, the boys continued -their talk in a low tone. Their arms, unaccustomed to such burdens, were -tired and stiff by the time one of the officers left the distant group -and approached them. - -"Why don't you lay the poor little cubs down somewhere?" he asked, -looking round vainly for a fit place. - -"No place to put 'em, sir," said Porky, "and every time we start to move -them, they clutch us and start to scream. As long as we sort of keep -'em hugged up tight, they sleep." - -"It's awful--awful!" said the officer. "I wish I knew what to do with -them now. There's not an asylum of any sort, not a place fit to leave -them within miles and miles, and what's to become of them _I_ don't -know. Every orphan asylum in France is crowded." - -"Oh, that's all right," said Porky. "We don't intend they shall go to -any asylum. Our mother has adopted them." - -"Your what?" asked the captain after a prolonged stare. - -"Our mother," repeated Porky. - -"Your mother has _WHAT_?" said the captain. "Just repeat it all." - -"Our mother has adopted them," said Porky patiently and distinctly. The -captain pushed back his cap and stared. - -"Where is your mother?" he asked. - -"Home," said Porky. - -"New York state," added Beany. "She wanted something to remember the -war by, so we are going to take her these. She didn't want any German -helmets or anything of that sort. She said she didn't want ever to be -reminded of helmets, so we will take her these instead." - -"But, good heavens!" said the officer. "You ought not do anything like -that! She would have to bring them up." - -"That's all right, too," said Porky. "Mom has had experience. She has -had us, and one of these is a girl. Girls ought to be easier than -boys." - -"No, she won't mind and, anyhow, we are going to do all the hard work -ourselves. Teaching them swimming and baseball and all that." - -"The girl will like that," said the officer dryly. - -"Course she will!" said Beany, looking proudly down at the future -baseballess. - -"It's like this," said Porky. "Our people always trust us, and we know -it will be all right. I do hope you can fix it for us, Captain." - -"It would be a wonderful thing for those poor little orphans," mused the -Captain. "But how would you get them home?" - -"That's easy," said Porky. "Our time is up pretty soon. You see we -were only allowed a limited stay. That was the agreement when we came, -and we can take the kids over with us. Won't you _please_ get General -Pershing to fix it up for us? There will be some woman on board to tell -us what they ought to eat, and when to put 'em to bed and all that." - -"It would be a wonderful thing," said the Captain again. "If you are -sure about your mother. It's a good deal to wish off on her." - -"Feel in my left pocket," said Porky. "Feel that letter? Now take it -out and read it. It's all right. She wouldn't mind, and I'm proud of -mother's letters." - -The Captain drew out the letter which was much thumbed and soiled, and -read: - - -"_My own dear boys_: - -"It was good to hear from you both again after the long time between -letters. A whole month, in which we received not so much as a post -card. But something told me that you were safe and well, so I did not -worry. You know, dears, I am not the worrying kind when it comes to -that. Your dad, who boasts continually that he never worries over -_any_thing, does all the fussing for the whole family, but as long as he -doesn't know it, and we never tell him, why, I suppose it is all right. - -"I wrote you a long letter yesterday, telling you all the news of the -neighborhood, and this is only a note to acknowledge your letter at once -because in my letter I said that we had not heard in a long time. - -"Well, dears, it will not be very many weeks now before we will hope to -see our boys again. I am counting the very days. I wonder what -souvenir of the war you will bring me. It will be something I will love -to have, I know, and not a horrid helmet or anything of that sort. Of -course the thing I would like best you can't possibly bring me, and that -is a house full of those poor pitiful little Belgian refugees. When I -think of our big house, this splendid home we have built since you went -away, when I think that soon it will be finished, and we will be in it, -just we four, I can scarcely bear it. So _many_ little children -homeless! - -"Well, some day, boys, we must manage to do something for some of those -suffering little ones. I know of no other way in which to thank God for -our two boys and our many, many blessings. Your father is prospering -more and more in his business, and we both feel that we must all four -unite in doing for those less fortunate than we. - -"However, I know I can't hope for a couple of Belgians just at present. -After the war, we will go and collect a few! - -"Take care of yourselves always for the sake of the two who love you so -well. - -"Your always loving - "MOTHER." - - -"Well, I declare!" said the Captain as he finished the clearly written -page. - -"Doesn't that about fix it?" asked Porky triumphantly. "Of course these -are French, but I guess she won't mind that. They couldn't be worse off -in the way of parents or more destitute, no matter _what_ they were." - -"Mother will be in her glory," Beany cut in. "I hope they don't get fat -before we get them home." - -"I should say not! The thinner, the better as far as mother is -concerned. She snaked a private right out of the camp hospital last -summer and took him home. He had had pneumonia and looked like a sick -sparrow. Mother fed him and nursed him and he gained seventeen pounds -in three weeks." - -"Well, it does beat all!" said the Captain. "Of course, you understand -there may be some reason that will make it impossible for you to take -these children out of the country." - -"All I can say is, there hadn't _better_ be," said Porky, thrusting out -his square jaw. "Think I want to give up my kid after it came to me and -I lugged it around for an hour?" - -"And do you suppose I want anybody but mother and me to bring up this -girl?" said Beany, awkwardly hugging the sleeping mite in his arms -closer. - -"Besides," said Porky, "what about mother! It's up to us to bring her -what she likes best, and you read that letter. What she wants is -_orphans_, and she's _got_ to _have_ 'em if we _steal_ 'em! So long as -we are around, mother has got to have what she wants." - -"I should think that nearly settled it," said the officer. He laughed -but there was a queer gleam in his eyes that looked suspiciously like -tears. "I am going to report this to the General now," he said. "Of -course we cannot take the children with us, and some way must be found -of sending them back to headquarters. I don't see just how it is to be -done, as it would be a pity to make you go back with them when this trip -is only beginning and be a wonderful thing for you." - -"No, we hate to lose the trip," said Porky wistfully. "I don't suppose -two other Boy Scouts in the whole world ever had such a chance and we -sort of earned it." - -"Stay here," said the Captain, "and I will be back presently." - -He walked away, and the two boys, holding the two children, sat quietly -on the old bench planning in low tones for the future. - -"This girl is going to be a peach," said Beany proudly. "See the way -her hair crinkles up? She is rank dirty, but you wait till mother gets -her cleaned up." - -"My word!" said Porky. "She's got to be washed before _that_! Why, -they have to have a bath right off as soon as we get hold of a nurse or -some woman who understands enough about kids to do it." - -"Yes, it's an awful job," said Beany. "All the soap gets in their eyes -and nose, and there's the mischief to pay. And I want an expert to wash -this kid. It makes their eyes red to get soap in 'em, and I don't want -hers spoiled." - -"Wonder what their names are," said Porky. - -"Oh, they are named all right. I suppose we didn't get 'em soon enough -to attend to that, but we can call 'em what we like. Don't you know how -it is with a registered dog? Don't you remember the two collies Skippy -Fields has, one named Knocklayde King Ben and the other Nut Brown -Maiden, and Skippy's folks called 'em Benny and Nutty. I bet they each -have about thirteen names apiece, but while I'm bringing her up, this -girl's going to be called Peggy." - -"And this is Bill," said Porky without the least hesitation. "Bill. -Just _Bill_ so you can yell at him good and easy." - -They went on planning while behind them, over the soft, uneven ground -the staff approached unheard and stood watching the little group. - -Presently, still unheard and unnoticed by the boys, they turned away. - -"And there are those," said General Pershing solemnly, "who do not -believe that a special Providence watches over children! The boys -_shall_ take those two orphans home to that good mother of theirs, if it -takes an Act of Congress. You say," he continued, talking to the French -officer in his own musical tongue, "you say that poor woman said that -all her people were gone?" - -"All dead, all lost in this war," answered the Frenchman. - -"Well, if this was only in a movie show," said the great General, "we -would presently see a car headed for the rear, coming around that bend -ahead, and we would be able to--well, I declare," he exclaimed, as one -of the officers laughed and pointed. "That's positively _too_ much!" as -the group laughed with him. - -A large car _was_ coming along around the bend, it _was_ headed for the -rear, and in the tonneau sat a couple of nurses in their snug caps and -dark capes! - -The General himself halted it, and in a few words explained the -situation. A couple of the officers, accompanied by the nurses, went -over to the boys and at once the children, still sleeping the heavy -sleep of exhaustion, were transferred to arms more accustomed to holding -them, and carried back to the car. Almost before they realized it, the -car was off and Porky turned to the General, saluting. - -"Out with it, young man," said the kindly General, smiling down into the -eager and troubled face. - -"We will get 'em back, won't we, sir?" he asked. "They can't work some -game on us, so we will lose 'em?" - -"We lost a pup that way once," said Beany dolefully, also coming to -salute. - -"Well, you won't lose your orphans," the General promised. "I wish I -could see your mother's face when your little party appears." - -"Why, we will write you what she says if you will let us, sir," Porky -volunteered. - -"She will be crazy over Bill and Peggy," added Beany, looking fondly -after the car vanishing with their new possessions. - -"Beel ant Pekky!" groaned the Frenchman. - -"Wee, Mussoo, we have named them already," said Porky proudly. "We know -they have some other names, kind of names, they were registered under, -but that kid has to have _something_ easy to yell at him when he makes a -home run, and Beany picked on Peggy right off." - -"That about settles it," laughed the General. "We must be off if we -reach our first sector by nightfall." - - - - - *CHAPTER XI* - - *WHISPERS IN THE NIGHT* - - -It was nine o'clock when they reached the first post of observation in -their journey, an outpost on the top of a densely wooded hill where they -were to remain as long as the General wished to stay. It was a splendid -post of observation. A vast battle-torn valley stretched below them for -miles and miles. From their vantage point they could see it brilliantly -lighted at short intervals by the flares of the enemy. The flares lit -the trenches--black, ragged gashes running along the earth--and beyond, -where the awful desolation of No-Man's-Land stretched, peopled only with -its dead. Seen with field glasses, the plain drew near and they could -see the torn surface and the tumbled groups here and there. A great -battle had been fought and both sides were resting. Rest was absolutely -necessary. The Allies had advanced three miles, pushing back a foe that -stubbornly contested every step of the way. The Germans had brought -vast numbers of reserves into action but even then the whirlwind tactics -and savage rushes of their oversea foe had driven them back rod by rod. - -Porky and Beany looked on and trembled with excitement. There ahead, -hidden in the darkness, were the Huns. There were the barbarians who -had shown a civilized world how men can slip back into worse than -savagery. Wasted lands, ruined homes, orphaned and mutilated little -children, butchered old people. All the unspeakable horrors of war -trooped through the boys' minds, a hideous train of ghosts, as they -looked across the valley. Ahead lay the heartless and ruthless killers, -wolves that had come to worry and tear the sheep, but behind in the -darkness, the boys knew with a thrill, every possible mode of -transportation was swiftly bringing up the reserve American troops, -thousands and thousands of them; men in their prime and beardless boys -grim, determined, yet light-hearted, ready to fight as only Americans -can fight. Men from the farms, farms in the east where fifty -well-tilled acres was a fine homestead; farmers from that great and -spacious west where a man called miles of land his own. Professional -men, clerks, divinity students, adventurers, all welded by this great -need into a common likeness. Eager for life, yet fearlessly ready to die -if need be, a mighty army was on its way, was drawing nearer and nearer -to the tired troops below. Overhead an adventurous plane or two hummed -in the darkness. - -"And we can't help!" said Porky mournfully. "Not a thing we can do, not -a thing!" - -"Oh, well, we are doing all we can," said Beany. "I don't just see what -_more_ we can do. We can't help our age." - -"No, but if we are not told just _where_ to stay, and _where_ to go, I -mean to take a little stroll around to-night," said Porky. - -The boys went over to the General, who stood looking across the valley -and saluted. He looked, and gravely returned the salute. - -"Good-night, boys," he said. - -"Good-night, sir," said the boys, and then as an afterthought, "May we -walk around a bit, sir?" - -The General was busy studying the vast field below him as the flashes of -light revealed it. - -"Yes, if you don't get lost," he said absently, "and be on hand at eight -to-morrow morning. I may be ready to go on then." - -"Yes, sir," said both boys cheerfully. What luck! The General -certainly didn't know what he was getting himself into. - -"The whole night to ourselves, and no bounds, and only we mustn't get -lost!" chuckled Porky. - -"Peach pie!" murmured Beany. "Let's be off! Where will we go first?" - -"Down there," said Porky, waving a hand widely over the valley. - -"That's where I thought. But we can't get into any scrape on account of -the General. You know he wasn't thinking about us at all when he spoke, -and, besides, there would be an awful fuss if we got into any trouble. -It would be good-by to our little trip. We would be sent back quicker -than they sent Bill and Peggy." - -"Who wants to get into any scrape?" said Porky. "All I want to do is to -see--to see--well, to see just what I _can_ do." - -"Well, come on," said Beany mournfully. "I bet we are in for some fun, -because when we look for things we generally find 'em." - -"What hurts me," said Porky, "is not carrying weapons of any sort. It's -a good safe rule for the Boy Scouts, but I'd be glad of some little -thing like a sling shot or a putty blower." - -"I don't need anything," said Beany, "I've got the neatest thing you -ever _did_ see." Quite suddenly he drew something from his hip pocket -and shoved it under his brother's nose. Porky side-stepped. - -"Ha!" said Beany. "It works!" He showed Porky his weapon. It was a -monkey wrench from the auto tool chest. In his hand it looked like a -revolver. - -"Pretty neat," said Porky. "Is there another one in the box?" - -"Yes, I saw another," said Beany. "I don't see any harm in this. Any -one might carry a monkey wrench," and replaced it carefully in his -pocket. - -"Sure thing," said Porky, making for the car, followed by his brother. -"Didn't the Reverend Hannibal Butts get up to preach one Sunday, and dig -for a clean handky to wipe his face with and come up with a bunch of -waste and use it before he saw what he was doing?" - -"I remember that," said Beany. "I thought I'd die! And so did -everybody else. It 'most broke up the meeting." - -"Well, when you flashed that monkey wrench I thought it was a revolver -sure enough. But it was only an innocent little wrench, and here is the -mate to it!" He pocketed the tool, and slipping cautiously out of sight -of the group of officers, they went scrambling noiselessly down the -steep trail into the valley. Reaching the foot of the hill, they struck -cautiously out toward the entanglements, dropping on their faces -whenever a flare went up. Presently Beany, a little in the rear, pulled -his brother's leg. Porky stopped, and waited for Beany to wriggle up. -He muttered, "What?" but did not turn his face. He knew too well that a -face turned upwards in the darkness can be seen by an observant watcher -overhead in some prowling plane. - -"Men whispering over toward the right," said Beany of the marvelous -ears. - -"No business for any one to be there," said Porky, listening intently. -"We are well on our side yet." - -"It's over there on that little hillock," said Beany positively, "and I -think they are whispering in German." - -"Why, they _can't_ be, Bean," said Porky. "We are away inside our -lines, and we wouldn't have men out there and, besides, they wouldn't be -whispering German or anything else. When our men are supposed to keep -still, they _keep still_!" - -"I can't help it," said Beany. "They are whispering in German." - -"All right," said Porky, reluctantly turning toward the spot indicated -by Beany. "We'll go over and see what it is, and if there are any -Germans holed up around here, we'll sick on a few troops." - -They did not stand up again, but slowly and with the greatest caution -approached a small hillock that stood slightly away from the steeper -hills. It was not wooded enough to afford any shelter, nor was it high -enough to be a good spot for a gun. For that or for some other reason, -the enemy had failed to shell it. - -On the side toward the Allies a pile of high boulders was tumbled. The -rest was grass grown. Beany, whispering softly in his brother's ear, -insisted that the voices came from this place. - -"Then they are underground," whispered Porky in his turn. - -Slowly, ever so slowly they crept up to the little hill and lay in the -darkness, listening. Certainly through the grass and stones of the -mound came the muffled sound of cautious voices. If they had been -speaking English, it is probable that even Beany's wizard ears would not -have caught the sound. But the harsh guttural German, even when -whispered, seemed to carry far. - -"I don't see how you heard 'em," breathed Porky. "It's hard enough to -believe now. What do you suppose it all means!" - -"Search me!" Beany breathed in return. - -"What they doing over on our side?" wondered Porky. - -"It's a good place all right," said Beany against his brother's ear as -they lay close to the grass. - -They were silent for a while, when the unbelievable happened. It was so -amazing, so stunning, that both boys at first could not believe that -they heard aright. They heard a sound like a windlass or crank turning, -a few clods tumbled down on them, and a voice once more whispered -hoarsely three words: - -"Gee, it's hot!" - -"_Gee, it's hot!_" said the German voice and the simple words seemed to -the astounded boys to ring across the valley! On the contrary, they -were spoken in a low whisper. - -Another voice replied. "He won't like it if you speak English, you -know." - -"I can't help it," said the first speaker. "We are two to one anyhow, -and I am tired of talking that lingo. I'm a good German all right, but -I wasn't brought up to _speak_ German and it comes hard. And this is -the hottest place I ever did get in. I don't like it. Do you know what -will happen about to-morrow? I'll tell you. We will find ourselves -miles behind the Allies' lines, and then what do you propose to do, -Peter?" - -"Bosh!" said the man called Peter. "You think because a handful of -Americans are here that the tide has turned. Be careful what you think. -I tell you _no_. What can a few hundred of these fellows do against the -perfect, trained millions of the Fatherland?" - -"You don't know them," said Fritz. - -"Yes, I do," said the man Peter. "Now let me tell you. For years I was -in England; sent there to study those foolish bull-headed people and to -create all the unrest I could. It was _so_ easy. I saw these Americans -there, crazy, loud-mouthed, boasting, always boasting. They talked -fight, they told wild tales about the bad men of their west, always -boasting. So I tried them. I am a big man, Fritz, and strong; I was -not afraid of a little fight, me, myself. I tried them. I slurred -their government, sneered at their president, laughed at their -institutions. What think you? They laughed. They _laughed_! Quite as -if I said the most kindly things. I said, 'What I say is true, is it -not?' and they said, 'Perhaps, but it is so funny!' That is what they -said, '_so funny_!' They should have slain me where I stood." - -"They don't care what you say or what the rest of the world says," -whispered Fritz. "They are too big. Their country is too big. When -they fight.... Wait until you have seen them fight! They fight with -grunts and gasps and bared teeth. They do not need trenches, they will -go over the top with a shout. You will see, friend Peter. They are back -there in the darkness now. I feel them!" - -"A few of them, only a few," said Peter. "This little castle of sod and -stone is getting on your nerves, my friend. Look you! Do you think the -Highest would deceive us? Never, never! There is nothing to this talk -of the Americans coming over here. To be sure, they have declared war, -but what of it? They are no good. They have no army. All their boasted -possessions, all their harbors, all their wealth, yet they have no army. -No army! That shows how inefficient they are. Never fear, my Fritz. -Not a hundred thousand will reach this soil. I have it from our -commanding officer himself." - -"Then here's hoping for a quick release from this hole," said Fritz -bitterly. - -"To-morrow," said Peter; "to-morrow our hosts will sweep across this -valley, and we will be with our own again." - -"Oh, I hope for some release. It's the hardest duty I have ever been -given." - -"But think how we have been able to guide our guns, talking as we can to -the airplanes through the clever arrangement of our three little trees -on top of our delightful little hill." He laughed. "How clever it all -is! And no one will ever suspect!" He paused again to chuckle, and -Porky quite suddenly shoved a sharp elbow into Beany's ribs. - -"Well, I'm sick of it," said Fritz still in his low, hoarse whisper, and -seemed to move away from the side of the hill where he had been -standing. - -The boys with the greatest caution wriggled away. - -"Now what do you think of _that_?" said Porky when they were in a -position where they could talk in safety. "_What do you think of -that?_" - -"Anyhow," said Beany, "they aren't spies. I'm sort of fed up on spies. -I can stand for most anything else." - -"No, they are not spies. I can't make out just what their little game -is. It's important, though; you can see that. And we have got to stop -it somehow." - -"That ought to be easy enough. Just go back and get the bunch and a few -soldiers, and take 'em." - -"What's the time, anyhow?" asked Porky. He answered his own question by -fishing his wrist watch out of his pocket. He had put it there for fear -the luminous dial might be seen. - -"Only eleven," he said. "Plenty of time." He sat staring into the -darkness. There were very few flares now, although the night was -usually kept bright with them. - -"Wonder why that is," Porky said. - -"Something to do with our little mud house, don't you think so?" said -Beany. - -"Yes, I do," answered his brother, "I wish I could make it out. Give us -time, give us time!" - -"Well, come on! I want to get some one on. the job," said Beany. "I -feel fidgety." - -"Sit still," said Porky. "I want to think." - -"What you got in your head now?" said Beany. His voice sounded anxious. - -"We are going to take those men prisoners with our own little wrenches -and just by our two selves." - -"Three of them?" gasped Beany. - -"Three of them!" said Porky. "Come on!" - - - - - *CHAPTER XII* - - *TAKING THREE PRISONERS* - - -"Come nothing!" said Beany slangily. "You stay right here until we can -talk this thing over, and make some sort of a plan. I don't propose to -go into something we can't get out of." - -"Well," said Porky, "the only plan I have is so crazy that I'm sort of -afraid to tell you about it. But it would certainly be sort of nifty to -take those men ourselves instead of running back to the bunch for help. -It would kind of put a little gilt on things and would be something to -tell Bill and Peggy about when they grow up a little." - -Beany was impressed. "I hadn't thought of that," he said. "Looks like -we haven't much to tell them about, nothing but the submarine and the -secret passage and that sort of thing." - -"And the spies back home," added Porky. "No, we ought to wind up with -something else. Beside, if I don't get hold of a Hun or two after what -we saw and heard back at the Duval farm, I don't think I'll ever live." - -"Well, I'm with you," agreed Beany. "Now let's plan. We sure have got -to get a prisoner or two our own selves. What's next?" - -For twenty minutes the boys, heads close together, whispered rapidly. -Then they rose and went noiselessly toward the false hillock. - -The last hundred yards they crept, lying flat and motionless whenever a -flare lit the sky. They were not frequent, however, and the boys made -good progress. When they reached the mound, Porky, who was the best -climber, crept to the top. He used the most infinite caution, and there -was not a sound to betray his slow, sure progress. Gaining the top, he -found what he had expected to find. A sodded opening, like a double -trap door, operated from the inside, was slightly opened for air. So -cleverly was it arranged with small bushes and grass growing on the trap -doors, that it would have been impossible to detect it. Porky felt -cautiously about the edges. Then he listened. From below came an -unmistakable sound--the noise of a couple of men snoring. The sound was -so muffled by the thick steel walls, the earth and stones and sod -outside them, that they were able to sleep without fear of detection. -Porky shook his head admiringly. He was forced to acknowledge that the -ingenuity of the foe seemed to know no bounds. Again he tried the trap -doors. They were balanced to a hair and moved upward at his touch. He -felt in his pocket, arranged something in either hand, then swung the -doors both upward. - -It would be untrue to say that a flash of doubt did not pass over the -reckless boy at that instant. He thought of the General and of the way -in which that great man trusted them to do their part in keeping out of -trouble. He had surmised that there were three men below. There was -room for a dozen. He had taken it for granted that he and Beany could -pull off a stunt that instead might end in their immediate death or -worse. But there he was, perched on the top, the heavy trap doors -swinging wide, and below in the dense darkness the sound of men snoring. -Porky took time to listen. There were snores from two, that was clear, -and still another man talked and muttered fretfully in his sleep. Porky -could hear no others. - -He took a long breath, leaned over the opening, and turned a flashlight -below. - -As though electrified; three big men sat up and blinked in the glare of -the flashlight. - -Two of the men cried, "Kamarad!" and instantly held up their hands. The -third said calmly, "Thank the Lord! I surrender!" and stood up. - -"Not so fast!" said Porky in his deepest tones. He fiddled with the -button on his flashlight. The light wavered. Porky kept his face to -the men and called back over his shoulder: - -"Sergeant, something's wrong with my flash. Send up another!" - -"Yes, sir!" answered Beany as gruffly as possible from below. He waited -a moment, then scrambling up passed his flash to his brother. Porky put -his in his pocket, and bent the light on the men below. An ax stood in -one corner with a coil of rope. In another corner was a rough table -loaded with strange instruments that Porky did not understand. - -"Turn out your pockets!" he commanded, and three revolvers were tossed -up, one after the other. - -"See that rope?" demanded Porky, pointing his flash directly at the man -who had spoken English. "You tell those other fellows to tie you up -quick, and tell them to make a good job of it!" - -"I surrender," said the man Fritz. "Please don't tie me up, sir!" - -"You hear!" said Porky grimly. He called back over his shoulder. -"Forward ten paces, Sergeant!" - -"Yes, sir," said Beany, and Porky almost giggled as he heard his brother -scuffling violently around trying to sound like a squad. But he dared -not look away from the men below, who were hastily tying up the man -called Fritz. They did a good job, eager to make good with the unseen -and most unexpected captors. If the officer above with the boyish voice -wanted Fritz tied up, tied up he would be so he could not move. When -they finished, the bulky form looked like a mummy. - -"Is that a door in the side?" Porky demanded of Fritz. - -"Yes, sir," said Fritz. - -Porky waited a little. The worst was coming now. - -"Tell those men to open that door, and step outside, and if they value -their lives, to keep their hands up." - -Fritz spoke rapidly in German. What he said was, "These are Americans, -you fools! The officer says to step outside, and keep your hands up. -You had better do it, if you want to live. They would rather shoot than -eat. I know them! Obey, no matter what they tell you." - -When he had finished, one of the men, lowering one hand and keeping the -other well up in the air, pressed a long lever and a narrow door opened, -dislodging a little shower of stones and earth as it moved outward. - -"Vorwarts zwei!" cried Porky, making a wild stab at German. - -It was understood however. Fear makes men quick, and the two walked -briskly out and stood side by side. One of them had stepped through a -loop of the rope, and it came trailing after him. - -"Tie those men's hands and tie them together. Sergeant," said Porky. He -watched, cold with a fright he would never have felt for himself, while -Beany, keeping as much out of the light as possible, tied the men, and -sawed off the end of the rope. - -"Close the door!" demanded Porky. - -Beany did so. - -"Don't leave me here, sir," cried the man below suddenly. "If the -Germans find that we have allowed this spot to be discovered, they will -shoot me. If the enemy comes I shall be shot. I will come quietly. I -am glad to surrender." - -"That's all right," growled Porky. "You are safe for a while. I am -leaving a guard here. We want a few English-speaking prisoners, so you -are quite safe for a while." - -"One of those men outside speaks English also," cried Fritz. - -"All right," said Porky. "I advise you to keep still. Sergeant, detail -a guard for this place with orders to shoot him at the first outcry." - -"Yes, sir," said Beany. He retreated under cover of the darkness, -thoughtfully going around the corner of the mound as a flare brightened -the sky, and he remembered, in the nick of time, that it wouldn't do to -let the two men, carefully bound as they were, see him roaring -directions at an imaginary squad. He returned in a minute and saluted, -although his form was only a darker shadow in the darkness of the night. - -Above, Porky closed the trap doors, and as he did so, cut the ropes by -which they were opened and closed. Not even with his teeth could the -trussed up prisoner below open them. - -Beany had already shut the door in the side and wedged it with a broken -piece of gun-carriage. - -"Come with me, Sergeant," said Porky, for the benefit of the -English-speaking prisoner. "Vorwarts!" - -It was a strange group that gave the password a half hour later and -advanced to the General's tent. The tent, hidden from observation by -blankets and thick masses of boughs, was brightly lighted. General -Pershing seemed to scorn sleep. Surrounded by his staff and a group of -officers from the lines below, he sat puzzling over the reports they had -made. Information was steadily leaking across. Every move they made -was reported correctly. Only that very night as soon as it was -definitely decided that no attack would be made, the flares from the -enemy's lines almost ceased and their guns were silenced, as though they -were glad to be assured of a few hours of peace. The positions of the -American guns, no matter how cleverly camouflaged, were speedily -discovered and gun fire trained on them. - -The thing had assumed a very serious look. Losses were piling up. The -General listened in worried and puzzled silence. - -It was at this moment that the flap of the tent was suddenly opened, and -two Germans, their hands tightly bound, stumbled blinkingly into the -light. Behind them stood the two boys. There was a moment of surprised -silence broken by the older prisoner, as he accustomed his eyes to the -light. He glanced about the group, then his eyes rested curiously on -his captors. - -A look of fury and amazement crossed his face. - -"Kinder, kleine kinder!" he muttered scornfully. - -The other man was silent. - -General Pershing gave a sigh. - -"Those twins again!" he said. The boys saluted. "Where shall we leave -these, sir?" said Porky respectfully. "We left another back there." He -waved into space. _Back there_ might have been anywhere on the -continent, as far as his direction showed. "It's sort of a queer place, -sir, and we would like some one to see it, because we can't tell what -it's all for, and we don't know that we could make the other fellow -tell. He speaks English." - -Rapidly the General gave the necessary orders. The two men were led off -a short distance and placed under close guard. An escort, with a couple -of captains and an expert electrician, was named for the boys, and -without a question from the General, who knew how to bide his time, the -little party filed out of the tent and went back down the trail. - -When they were out of hearing, the General laughed and spoke. - -"I often wonder," he said, "how those two boys pass the time in their -own home. I don't mind trying to run an army, but running those twins -is a bigger task than I like to tackle. I am glad they don't know just -how glad I will be to hear the story they will tell us when they get the -job finished. Three prisoners, and they want an escort of officers and -an electrician! Well, they are on the trail of something, I'll be -bound! I would like to question those prisoners but I won't spoil the -boys' innocent pleasure in what they are doing. But I must say that I -want one of you to keep an eye on them every second now until we return -to headquarters. They are to be shipped home from there with a special -passport, and I will be able to sleep better." - -"They came with General Bright, did they not?" asked a Captain. - -"Yes, and when he was called to Paris, I foolishly offered to let them -stay at headquarters. I thought they would play around and kill time -until Bright came back. That's what I get for overlooking their -records. Things are bound to happen wherever they go." - -"All boys are like that more or less, but this is a lively pair," said -the Captain. "They seem to want to know everything. They are studying -all my books on the French and English guns now, and I heard one of them -say the other day that he had some good ideas on airplanes." - -"I hope he takes them home then," said the General. "They are good -youngsters, and I'll be glad to get a receipt from their parents for -them. They are perfectly obedient, and strict as any old regular about -discipline, but no matter _what_ good care we try to take of them, they -are always getting into tight places." - -"Their coming over here seems a strange thing," said one of the -officers. "Sort of irregular." - -"There is a reason," said the General. "They don't know it themselves. -They were sent across because it seemed a good thing to have a boy's -point of view for the boys over there of things over here. When I say -they were sent, I do not mean that their expenses were paid. The -Potters are amply able to spend money, but it was a good and patriotic -thing for them to risk the lives of a fine pair like Porky and Beany. I -don't even know their real names. Not that it matters. They would make -themselves felt if they were called Percy and Willie. They are that -sort." - -Talk drifted to other things and time passed until a stir and footsteps -outside made it evident that the expedition had returned. The door flap -opened and the party filed in, the remaining prisoner in their midst. - -The General glanced at him, then bent a steady, steely look on the man's -face. - -"You!" he said. "A German prisoner, you--" - -The man's face lighted. - -He stood erect and made an effort to salute with his bound hands. - -"Yes, sir," he said in a low tone. "If I'm to be shot, sir, won't you -let me tell you how it all happened?" - -The General glanced at his wrist watch. - -"It is three o'clock," he said. He nodded toward the sergeant. "Take -this man in charge. To-morrow at seven o'clock bring him to my tent and -I will talk with him." - -He turned away and did not glance again at the prisoner as he was led -away. - -"He knew you," said a Captain. - -"He worked for me four years on my apple ranch in Oregon. The foreman -wrote me that he and seven others had left suddenly soon after the -beginning of the war. I think we will get some very interesting -information out of that young man. In the meantime," he turned to the -two boys standing as stiffly at attention as their fagged out bodies -would permit, "in the meantime, boys, can you tell your little story in -half an hour? It is very late, and we have a hard day before us -to-morrow." - -"It won't take that long," said Porky. "We just went down a little -ways, inside our own lines, General, so you wouldn't worry, and Beany, -he hears things just like a cat, and there was a little hill, with these -men inside, and I climbed on top and talked to them through the trap -door, and Beany made believe he was a squad." - -"And Porky had two of 'em tie up that Fritz fellow," interrupted Beany, -"and made 'em come out the door, and we just made 'em think the squad -was guarding the hill, and we brought 'em up here, and they came too -easy. And we didn't try to carry arms, General, we just had a couple of -monkey wrenches, and say, Porky, I've lost mine! That chauffeur will -murder me!" - -"A few details missing, however," said the General. "However, that will -do for to-night. In the morning, if you like, you may be present when I -see the prisoner. Good-night!" - - - - - *CHAPTER XIII* - - *THE PRISONER'S STORY* - - -Some three minutes later (so the boys thought), some one shook them -awake. It was morning. - -"Six o'clock!" said their tormentor, prodding them viciously. It was -the driver of their car. "Say, did youse have my monkey wrench!" he -demanded of both boys. - -"Sure!" said Porky quickly. "Here it is!" He handed out his wrench, -while Beany tried to pretend to sleep again. The chauffeur looked it -over. - -"Naw, that ain't me wrench," he declared. "Same size and shape but it -ain't me wrench!" - -"Why not?" asked Porky. "One of us took your wrench last night, and if -this is the same size and shape, why isn't it the same wrench?" - -"Because it ain't," said the man. "That ain't got the same feel as my -wrench. You can't wish off any strange wrench on this guy! I gotta -have me own wrench! If General Pershing is goin' to let youse kids go -stealin' wrenches, I'll--I'll--well, you'll _see_ what I'll do, -discipline ner no discipline!" He glared at the boys and at the -unoffending wrench. - -Beany sadly allowed himself to wake up. - -"I had your old wrench," he said, "and I guess I lost it. I will buy -you a new one if I can't find it." - -"You find it!" said the man. "I don't want no new one! I know the feel -of me own tools, and no others need apply!" - -He went off grumbling, and the boys, now wide awake, watched him. - -"I told you how it would be," groaned Beany. "He'll never let up on me. -Wonder where I could have dropped it. In No-Man's-Land probably, where -it would be as easy to find as a needle in a haystack, and where we -can't go anyhow, now it's light. Look there! Oh praise be, I believe -he has found it himself!" - -It was so. The man suddenly pounced on an object lying on the ground, -took it up, examined it with a tenderer care than would usually be -bestowed on a tool, and with a scornful look turned and waved it at the -watching boys. "Got it!" he called. - -"Good!" said Beany affably. - -"No thanks to you!" called the chauffeur. He stalked away. - -"I would never let myself get so wrapped up in a little thing like -that," said Beany. He threw himself back on his bed. - -"Don't do that," said Porky. "We are going to the General's tent at -seven, you know, to hear what the Fritz person is going to say for -himself. I bet he tells the truth anyhow. If the General fixes his -gimlet eye on him once, he will tell the truth, the whole truth, and -nothing but the truth." - -"I would in his place," said Beany. "It wouldn't seem just healthy to -lie to the General." He commenced the simple process of dressing as -practiced by soldiers in the field. It consisted of very brief bathing -in a couple of teacups of water in a collapsible, and usually collapsing -washpan, made of canvas waterproofed, and after that the simple drawing -on of breeches, canvas puttees and shirt. A soldier sleeps in his -underwear, but sleeping in his outer garments is very strictly -forbidden, no matter how cold the weather may be. - -The boys reached the General's tent at ten minutes to seven, and -although they knew that the great man had been up for a couple of hours, -they sat quietly outside until their watches told off the very tick of -the expected hour. Then, just as they saw the guard bringing up the -prisoner, they tapped on the tent flap, and at a word of summons -entered. - -The General, looking as though he had never stirred since the night -before, sat in his accustomed place at the head of the table, over which -a number of papers were strewn. He bade the boys good morning and -nodded them to seats. In another moment the prisoner entered. - -For a few moments the General took no notice of the man, keeping his -eyes on his papers, while the fellow shifted uneasily from one foot to -the other. - -Then General Pershing looked up. - -"Prisoner," he said, "it is not customary to accord a prisoner of war -the sort of interview I am about to give you, but the circumstances -alter this case. I want the truth, and the whole truth." - -Porky and Beany nudged each other slyly. - -"I want some of the information that it is in your power to give me, and -I want it straight. You know you are in my power. There is always a -firing squad for men like you. But I want you to unravel this puzzle. -I want you to commence when you left the ranch--yes, even before that." - -The prisoner spoke eagerly. "I _will_ tell you the truth, sir. I am -glad to be here, no matter what you do to me. And I swear to tell you -the truth." He held up his right hand, and the boys saw it tremble. -They commenced to believe him. It was evident that the General did, for -he nodded and the man plunged into his story. - -It held the boys breathless. - -"There were eight of us working for you, General, before America went -into this war. Eight men of German ancestry or birth. Most of them -were naturalized, but one night a man came to my house and commanded me -to meet him in a certain place. He was a German officer and of course I -was curious to know what he wanted. When I arrived at the meeting place -I found the others there. The officer, showing credentials of his rank -that we could not doubt, told us that we were wanted as interpreters. -Just that, General. He explained that Germany was obliged to use all the -men within her borders as fighting men, and as they were most anxious to -have no misunderstanding with America, they were picking a German born, -or German bred man here and there as they could without rousing -suspicion. They were taking them from the farms rather than from the -cities. He said that several hundred would be needed. He assured us -that education was not necessary. It sounded very plausible, General, -and the salary we were promised was magnificent. We all bit, General, -and he took us away that very night in a couple of automobiles." - -"The foreman told me," said the General, "that you went away in the -middle of the busy season without giving warning." - -"Yes, we did, General. I am sorry, and I was sorry then, but the -pay--it was a _great_ temptation. We have been punished since. We went -down through Mexico and took ship. There were five hundred men on board -who were all going over to be 'interpreters.' And we never guessed, -poor fools, that ship after ship was bearing each a like load. We never -suspicioned the outcome. When we reached German soil, we were -scattered, two going one place, two another, and instead of having any -interpreting to do, we were outfitted as soldiers and attached to -different regiments. Men kept coming day after day. I dare not say how -many thousands of Germans have been taken out of the United States in -this way. We were virtually prisoners. Of course to the most of us it -did not matter much. After all Germany was our fatherland before -America adopted us. As long as we were fighting the French and English -and the Russians, we did not care. - -"But then, when we were already very tired, came the news that President -Wilson had declared war. - -"General, it is not yet believed in Germany. All of them, the highest -officers, even the Emperor, on occasion, all have addressed the troops -and have explained that war was declared solely for political purposes -and that no troops were to be sent over sea. - -"They know now, do they not?" asked the General. - -"Very few of them, General. They think that the English have adopted -the American uniform as a blind." - -"What did you think, Fritz?" asked the General. - -"I saw them fight, and I knew," said Fritz simply. "I know them; I know -how they fight. I told the others so. And when they came across the -plain I wanted to hurrah. I suppose I will be shot as a German -prisoner, but I could not help it. All my mistake was in the beginning. -I would have deserted if I could have done so. Why, General, if those -fellows over there behind the German lines knew the truth, a third of -them would walk right over here. They are lied to again and again." - -"How is the army faring as regards food!" asked the General. - -"There is not enough to feed a third of the men. All Germany is dying -slowly of substitutes. Substitutes for bread, for meat, for tea, for -sugar, for coffee, for milk. At first the army was fed well, at the -expense of the civilians. Now all suffer together, and no man in the -world works well or fights well on an empty and aching stomach." He -groaned. - -"What were you doing ont there in that hillock?" asked the General. - -"We were well behind the German lines a few days ago," said Fritz, "but -whether they retired purposely or not, I cannot say. Since then, -however, we have been kept there to communicate with the airplanes. It -was possible to signal them by means of electric flashes down on the -floor of our hiding place, through the open trap doors on top. Peter was -in command. He took and sent the messages, and repeatedly he crept out -in the night. I was never allowed to do anything, but if the Allies took -the plain, and those ridges beyond it, Peter said we would all go out in -American uniforms and learn what we could. We were expected to discover -things too cleverly hidden from the airplanes." - -"This is interesting at least, Fritz," said the General. "It would be -still more interesting to know just how true it is that the German army -in general does not know that we are seriously in the war. There are -two millions of us here now, Fritz, and more coming." - -"Two millions!" echoed the astounded prisoner. "Two millions! When they -learn that, the war is over. But how will they ever learn it? Your -airplanes scattered leaflets along the front several times. Not where I -was stationed, but I heard the order that any man who saw another stoop -to pick up one of those leaflets, any man who was caught reading one was -to be shot dead by the nearest soldier, who would receive the cross for -doing it. I tell you, sir, they are doing _everything_ they can to keep -the army from learning that you are in the fight." - -"I wonder how true all this is," mused the General. - -Porky and Beany watched him narrowly. They were sure he had some plan, -but it was clear that he wanted the prisoner to speak first. - -"It is _all_ true," said Fritz. "General, won't you let me earn my -life, set me free for two hours--only that? And I will prove it to -you." - -"You will disappear just as you did from the ranch, I suppose," grated -the General in a harsh voice. "Why should I give you any chance?" - -"I don't deserve it," said the prisoner, "except that if my plan fails, -I will certainly be shot by the Germans." - -"What do you propose?" asked the General. - -"Two, perhaps three hours of freedom!" begged Fritz. "And if I can -reach the German lines alive, I will return with twenty prisoners to -prove to you that every man who is told that the Americans are here and -are promised that they will not be shot, will follow me across." - -"They are having a skirmish now," said the General, listening, "and a -thunder storm is coming beside." He was lost in thought. "Fritz, make -good!" he said. "I release you. You are but one man, no loss to us, -but you have told me a story of what amounts to kidnapping. I would -like to know if this is true. Just one thing. Prove it to me by -bringing twenty men back; but while you are there _set the word free -that the Americans have arrived_. Two millions, remember, perhaps -three." He smiled. "And do not attempt to go or come until nightfall. -I will remain here until midnight to-night. You are under guard until -dark. You may go." He rapped sharply on the table, the guards entered -and removed the prisoner. - -The General began to smoke. - -"What do you think, boys? Will he come back?" - -"Yes, sir," said both boys together. - -"Why?" asked the General. - -"Why, he was telling the truth!" said Porky, - -"They don't look like that other times," said Beany. "He was straight, -all right." - -"He will have to prove it," said the General grimly. "Men who leave a -job without warning, no matter what the needs of the situation, do not -fill me with confidence." - -"I guess he is sorry now, anyway," said tender-hearted Beany. - -"We will hope so," said the General. "Porky, you may typewrite these -letters for me, and you, Beany, may check up these lists. If you can do -this properly, it will release a man for other duty." - -For two hours the two boys were too busy to know what went on in the -tent. When the task was done the General dismissed them with strict -orders that they were not to go more than thirty feet in any direction -from his tent. - -When the Germans had occupied that side of the valley, they had also -used the hill as a temporary headquarters. Porky and Beany, like a pair -of very restless and inquisitive hounds, went over the ground inch by -inch. They could not help feeling that something good must be waiting -for them within their screen of trees. The fighting miles away went on -all day, and the time dragged for the boys until about three in the -afternoon. - -And then Porky found it--a tiny piece of wire sticking out of the ground -under a root of the big tree under which they were sitting, feeling like -a couple of prisoners themselves. They had never been on such close -bounds before, and they didn't like it. - -Porky started to pull the wire, when Beany fell on him with a yell. - -"A bomb!" he cried, flinging Porky on his back. - -"My word! You have scared me to death anyhow," said Porky. - -Together they dug around the wire and followed it down and down until -they almost gave up. At last, however, they had their reward, a square -black tin box which they carried carefully to the General's tent. - -Even then the greatest care was taken in opening it, for fear of an -infernal machine of some sort. It opened easily, however, and without -harm and disclosed a mass of papers. So many that the German officer -who had been in charge of them, fearing capture, had evidently buried -them, thinking that with the turn of battle he could easily reclaim them -from the earth. - -Among the papers were several cypher keys, and one of them was found to -fit the papers found by Beany in the oak table in the dungeon at the -chateau back at headquarters. - -Even the General was delighted, as a little study disclosed the most -important plans of the coming campaign and a scheme for the expected -drive, which now could be met point for point. - -It was dusk before the General and his staff finished with an -examination of the papers, fitting the new keys to the papers already in -their possession. - -Porky allowed himself to crow. "Guess we are sort of little old -Handy-to-have-around!" he chortled. "Guess we get to go all the way -with _this_ distinguished mob!" - -"Looks so," said Beany, "but you never can tell." - -_And they couldn't_. - - - - - *CHAPTER XIV* - - *ORDERS ARE ORDERS* - - -Night fell dark and stormy. As soon as it was dusk Fritz begged to be -released and, receiving the General's permission, slipped away. - -"I doubt if he comes back," said the General, "but it will spread the -news at least. No, it is too much to expect that a man will persuade a -couple of men, to say nothing of twenty, to give themselves into the -hands of an enemy they have been taught to believe is ruthless, but if -he does, we will know that the conditions in the German army are worse -than we dream." - -Time dragged away. The boys, still believing in Fritz, sat at the head -of the only trail, watching. They almost wore their watches out looking -at them, and trying them to see if they were wound. Time seemed to -stand still and yet, somehow, ten o'clock came, and eleven and a quarter -past. At half past the drivers prepared the cars for their silent night -journey to the next sector. The tents were down, all but the screen of -blankets behind which, with a closely shaded light, the General sat. - -Ten minutes and the boys looked once more at the illuminated dials, and -sighed. - -"I'd have bet on that duck, if I was a betting man," said Porky sadly. -"I bet he _meant_ to come." - -"Hark!" said Beany, listening. - -Porky listened too. He could always hear what Beany heard, if Beany -called his attention to it. A soft tramp of feet could be heard. The -boys leaped to their feet. Tramp, tramp, scuffle, scuffle, up the hill -in the darkness! - -"They are coming!" gasped Beany. - -They were. - -A flash of lightning preceding the storm that had hung off all day split -the sky, and in its momentary glare the boys saw a small squad of -American soldiers come out into the little clearing. The boys stood -aside as they passed. Another squad brought up the rear, and between -them--yes, between them marched, or rather staggered, a dismal company -of twenty haggard skeletons headed by Fritz! - -He had kept his word. The men were evidently frightened badly and Fritz -kept talking to them as they advanced. The General came out of his -shelter and surveyed them by the light of his flash. - -"Here they are, sir," said Fritz. "Ask them what you like." - -The General spoke to the weary men and they replied rapidly in harsh, -hoarse voices. Porky and Beany stood in an agony of curiosity, wishing -that they had studied German instead of Latin in high school. - -Finally the General took time to explain to the officers who did not -understand. - -He gave orders to have the prisoners fed, and soon the strange little -company wound off down the hill again on its way to the prison camp. -Fritz, as a sort of trusty, was given special privileges. - -"It is quite true, gentlemen," said the General. "The conditions in the -enemy's army are most serious. They are only half fed, poorly clothed -and letters occasionally smuggled from home report a frightful state of -affairs--famine, disease and intense suffering among the families of the -soldiers. This alone you know will break the morale of their troops. - -"And Fritz said he could have brought five hundred men as well as this -twenty, but they are taught that we torture them and always shoot our -prisoners sooner or later. That is why they fight so desperately. - -"They think death awaits them in any case, and that death on the -battlefield is far preferable to that which we will mete out to them if -taken prisoners. - -"Fritz assured me that he had set the ball rolling, however, the news of -our millions of men in the field. This has been a surprising experience -but we are already late. We must be off!" - -Rapidly the party took their seats in the automobiles. The first was -about to start when a motor was heard in the darkness. It was -approaching, apparently from headquarters. - -"Word for the General!" was the whispered word, and sure enough, the -driver of the swift, low car had a letter for the General. He read it -and called the boys. - -"News for you, young men," he said regretfully. "General Bright has been -recalled to the States, and you are to return with him. This cuts your -stay several weeks and, I regret to say, makes it impossible for you to -continue with us. You are to return in this car." - -The boys, desperately disappointed, hopped out, found their field kits, -and advanced to say good-by to the General. - -He shook hands heartily and patted each on the shoulder. - -"I shall miss you, boys," he said. "You have certainly done your bit! -Some day, when we are all back in America, I shall expect you to come -and see how _real_ apples grow on a ranch in Oregon." - -The boys thanked him. They could not say much. It was a great -disappointment. - -They settled back in the car which was to take them back to General -Bright. They heard the other cars glide quietly and swiftly away in the -distance. They too shot out at high speed. - -Soberly they stared into the darkness. Their thoughts flew forward to -the tiresome trip to the port of embarkation, the long ocean voyage with -its deadly inaction. They had been living in confusion, danger, and -uncertainty. They commenced to see before them their home, their father -and mother, the familiar fellows. - -"We have to get Bill and Peggy," said Beany. - -"Yep!" said Porky briefly. - -They could just _see_ their mother, with oceans of love for them and -plenty for the two orphans beside. - -For the first time a great wave of homesickness swept over the boys. -That they were to have a pleasant, safe trip would not have interested -them if they could have been told of it. They were homesick. Silently -they rolled on and on in the dark. Presently Beany slipped an arm -around the hunched up shoulders of his twin. - -"Wish we were home _now_!" he said huskily. - -"Gosh!" said Porky. - - - - - FINIS - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45202 - -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. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. 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