A Boy Scout's Courage

by Percy F. Westerman

  Produced by Al Haines.

  Cover]

  A BOY SCOUT'S COURAGE

  _By_

  EDWARD GRIGGS

  THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING CO. AKRON, OHIO ---- NEW YORK

  Copyright, 1921 By The Saalfield Publishing Co.

  MADE IN THE U.S.A.

  TWELVE VOLUMES

  1 A BOY SCOUT'S ADVENTURE2 A BOY SCOUT'S DESTINY3 A BOY SCOUT'S HOLIDAY4 A BOY SCOUT'S CHANCE5 A BOY SCOUT ON THE TRAIL6 A BOY SCOUT MYSTERY7 A BOY SCOUT PATRIOT8 A BOY SCOUT HERO9 A BOY SCOUT'S DARING10 A BOY SCOUT'S COURAGE11 A BOY SCOUT'S STRUGGLE12 A BOY SCOUT'S SUCCESS

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  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER I-A FRIEND IN NEED CHAPTER II-AN UNEXPECTED BLOW CHAPTER III-A GOOD WITNESS CHAPTER IV-THE FIRST BLOW CHAPTER V-THE SILENT WIRE CHAPTER VI-A TREACHEROUS DEED CHAPTER VII-THE TRAP CHAPTER VIII-A DARING RUSE CHAPTER IX-THE CIPHER CHAPTER X-A CAPTURE FROM THE SKIES CHAPTER XI-VINDICATION

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  A BOY SCOUT'S COURAGE

  CHAPTER I-A FRIEND IN NEED

  "As long as I can't be at home, I'd rather be here than anywhere in theworld I can think of!"

  Was it little more than a week, thought Harry Fleming, American BoyScout living in London, since he had uttered those words so lightly?Was it just a week since Grenfel, his English scoutmaster, had biddenthe boys good-bye? Was it just two days since father and mother hadbeen so suddenly recalled to the States? Was it just that very morningthat he and his good chum Dick Mercer had been detailed on this missionwhich had led to the discovery of the secret heliographs so busilysending messages to the enemy across the North Sea? Was it just a fewhours since the two Scouts, hot on the trail, had cached papers andmotorcycles and started the closer exploration of that mysterious estateoutside the sleepy English village, leased, so the village gossip hadit, by a rich American who eccentrically denied himself to all comersand zealously guarded the privacy of his grounds?

  Was it just a few moments since he had urged, even commanded Dick Mercerto leave him, caught in a trap set for just such trespassers as they?Had he urged his chum to leave him in his agony, for the ankle was badlywrenched, and seek safety in flight? For it was Harry Fleming, hero of"A Boy Scout's Daring," whom we now find listening in an agony of fearrather than of pain to such sounds as came to him after Dick had, soreluctantly, left him pinned in the trap. He could hear, plainlyenough, the advance of the two searchers who had scared Dick into hidingin the rhododendron bush; he could even see the gleam of theirflashlights, and was able, therefore, to guess what they were doing.For the moment it seemed impossible to him that Dick should escape.

  As to himself, he was quite sure that he would be captured in a fewminutes, and, as a matter of fact, there were things that made theprospect decidedly bearable. The pain in his ankle from the trap inwhich he had been caught was excruciating. It seemed to him that hemust cry out, but he kept silence resolutely. As long as there was achance that he might not fall into the hands of the spies who weresearching the grounds, he meant to cling to it.

  But the chance was a very slim one, as he knew. He could imagine,without difficulty, just about what the men with the flashlights woulddo, by reasoning out his own course. They would look for footprints.These would lead them to the spot where he and Dick had watched theraising of the wireless mast, and thence along the path they had takento return to the wall and to safety. Thus they would come to him, andhe would be found, literally like a rat in a trap.

  And then, quite suddenly, came the diversion created by Dick's daringdash for escape, when he sped from the bush and climbed the wall,followed by the bullets that the searchers fired after him. Harrystarted, hurting his imprisoned ankle terribly by the wrench his suddenmovement gave it. Then he listened eagerly for the cry he dreaded yetexpected to hear, that would tell him that Dick had been hit. It didnot come. Instead, he heard more men running, and then in a moment allwithin the wall was quiet, and he could hear the hue and cry dying awayas they chased him along the road outside.

  "Well, by Jove!" he said to himself, enthusiastically, "I believe Dick'sfooled them! I didn't think he had it in him! That's bully for him!He ought to get a medal for that!"

  It was some moments before he realized fully that he had gained arespite, temporarily, at least. Obviously the two men who had beensearching with flashlights had followed Dick; there was at least a goodchance that no one else knew about him. He had decided that there wassome system of signal wires that rang an alarm when a trap was sprung.But it might be that these two men were the only ones who were supposedto follow up such an alarm.

  He carried a flashlight himself, and now he took the chance of playingit on his ankle, to see if there was any chance of escape. He hoodedthe light with his hand and looked carefully. But what he saw was notencouraging. The steel band looked most formidable. It was on thehandcuff principle and any attempt to work his foot loose would onlymake the grip tighter and increase his suffering. His spirits fell atthat. Then the only thing his brief immunity would do for him would beto keep him in pain a little longer. He would be caught anyhow, and heguessed that, if Dick got away, he would find his captors in a savagemood.

  Even as he let the flashlight wink out, since it was dangerous to use itmore than was necessary, he heard a cautious movement within a few feet.At first he thought it was an animal he had heard, so silent were itsmovements. But in a moment a hand touched his own. He startedslightly, but kept quiet.

  "Hush-I'm a friend," said a voice, almost at his elbow. "I thought youwere somewhere around here, but I couldn't find you until you flashedyour light. You're caught in a trap, aren't you?"

  "Yes," said Dick. "Who are you?"

  "That's what I want to know about you, first," said the other boy-for itwas another boy, as Harry learned from his voice. Never had a soundbeen more welcome in his ears than that voice! "Tell me who you are andwhat you two were doing around here. I saw you this afternoon andtracked you. I tried to before, but I couldn't, on account of yourmotorcycles. Then I just happened to see you, when you were on foot.Are you Boy Scouts?"

  "Yes," said Harry. "Are you?"

  "Yes. That's why I followed-especially when I saw you coming in here.We've got a patrol in the village, but most of the scouts are at work inthe fields."

  Rapidly, and in a whisper, Harry explained a little, enough to make thisnew ally understand.

  "You'd better get out, if you know how, and take word," said Harry. "Ithink my chum got away, but it would be better to be sure. And they'llbe after me soon."

  "If they give us two or three minutes we'll both get out," said thenewcomer, confidently. "I know this place with my eyes shut. I used toplay here before the old family moved away. I'm the vicar's son, in thevillage, and I always had the run of the park until these new peoplecame. And I've been in here a few times since then, too."

  "That's all right," said Harry. "But how am I going to get out of thistrap?"

  "Let me have your flashlight a moment," said the stranger.

  Harry gave it to him, and the other scout bent over his ankle. Harrysaw that he had a long, slender piece of wire. He guessed that he wasgoing to try to pick the lock. And in a minute or less Harry heard awelcome click that told him his new found friend-a friend in need,indeed, he was proving himself to be!-had succeeded. His ankle wasfree.

  He struggled to his feet, and there was a moment of exquisite pa
in asthe blood rushed through his ankle and circulation was restored to hisnumbed foot. But he was able to stand, and, although limpingly, towalk. He had been fortunate, as a matter of fact, in that no bone hadbeen crushed. That might well have happened with such a trap, or aligament or tendon might have been wrenched or torn, in which case hewould have found it just about impossible to move at all. As it was,however, he was able to get along, though he suffered considerable painevery time he put his foot to the ground.

  It was no time, however, in which to think of discomforts socomparatively trifling as that. When he was outside he would be able,with the other scout's aid, to give his foot some attention, using thefirst aid outfit that he always carried, as every scout should do. Butnow the one thing to be done was to make good his escape.

  Harry realized, as soon as he was free, that he was not by any means outof the woods. He was still decidedly in the enemy's country, andgetting out of it promised to be a difficult and a perilous task. Hewas handicapped by his lack of knowledge of the place and what little hedid know was discouraging. He had proof that human enemies were not theonly ones he had to fear. And the only way he knew that offered achance of getting out offered, as well, the prospect of encountering themen who had pursued Dick Mercer, returning. It was just as he made uphis mind to this that the other scout spoke again.

  "We can't get out the way you came in," he said. "Or, if we could, it'stoo risky. But there's another way. I've been in here since thesepeople started putting their traps around, and I know where most of themare. Come on!"

  Harry was glad to obey. He had no hankering for command. The thing todo was to get out as quickly as he could. And so he followed, though hehad qualms when he saw that, instead of going toward the wall, they wereheading straight in and toward the great grey house. They circled thewoods that gave them the essential protection of darkness, and alwaysthey got further and further from the place where Dick and Harry hadentered. Harry understood, of course, that there were other ways ofgetting out but it took a few words to make him realize the presentsituation as it actually was.

  "There's a spot on the other side they don't really guard at all," saidhis companion. "It's where the river runs by the place. They think noone would come that way. And I don't believe they know anything at allabout what I'm going to show you."

  Soon Harry heard the water rustling. And then, to his surprise, hisguide led him straight into a tangle of shrubbery. It was hard goingfor him, for his ankle pained him a good deal, but he managed it. Andin a moment the other boy spoke, and, for the first time, in a naturalvoice.

  "I say, I'm glad we're here!" he said, heartily. "D'ye see?"

  "It looks like a cave," said Harry.

  "It is, but it's more than that, too. This place is no end old, youknow. It was here when they fought the Wars of the Roses, I've heard.And come on-I'll show you something!"

  He led the way on into the cave, which narrowed as they went. ButHarry, pointing his flashlight ahead, saw that it was not going to stop.

  "Oh! A secret passage! I understand now!" he exclaimed, finally.

  "Isn't it jolly?" said the other. "Can't you imagine what fun we usedto have here when we played about? You see, this may have been used tobring in food in time of siege. There used to be another spur of thistunnel that ran right into the house. But that was all let go to pot,for some reason. This is all that is left. But it's enough. It runsway down under the river-and in a jiffy we'll be out in the meadows onthe other side. I say, what's your name?"

  They hadn't had time to exchange the information each naturally cravedabout the other before. And now, as they realized it, they bothlaughed. Harry told his name.

  "Mine's Jack Young," said the other scout. "I say, you don't talk likean Englishman?"

  "I'm not," explained Harry. "I'm American. But I'm for England justnow-and we were caught here trying to find out something about thatplace."

  They came out into the open then, where the light of the stars enabledthem to see one another. Jack nodded.

  "I got an idea of what you were after-you two," he said. "The otherone's English, isn't he?"

  "Dick Mercer? Yes!" said Harry, astonished. "But how did you find outabout us?"

  "Stalked you," said Jack, happily. "Oh, I'm no end of a scout! Ifollowed you as soon as I caught you without your bicycles."

  "We must have been pretty stupid to let you do it, though," said Harry,a little crestfallen. "I'm glad we did, but suppose you'd been anenemy! A nice fix we'd have been in!"

  "That's just what I thought about you," admitted Jack. "You see,everyone has sort of laughed at me down here because I said there mightbe German spies about. I've always been suspicious of the people whotook Bray Park. They didn't act the way English people do. They didn'tcome to church, and when the pater-I told you he was the vicar here,didn't I?-went to call, they wouldn't let him in! Just sent word theywere out! Fancy treating the vicar like that!" he concluded withspirit.

  Harry knew enough of the customs of the English countryside tounderstand that the new tenants of Bray Park could not have chosen asurer method of bringing down both dislike and suspicion uponthemselves.

  "That was a bit too thick, you know," Jack went on. "So when the warstarted, I decided I'd keep my eyes open, especially on any strangerswho came around. So there you have it. I say! You'd better let me tryto make that ankle easier. You're limping badly."

  That was true, and Harry submitted gladly to such ministrations as Jackknew how to offer. Cold water helped considerably; it reduced theswelling. And then Jack skillfully improvised a brace, that, binding theankle tightly, gave it a fair measure of support.

  "Now try that!" he said. "See if it doesn't feel better!"

  "It certainly does," said Harry. "You're quite a doctor, aren't you?Well, now the next thing to do is to try to find where Dick is. I knowwhere he went-to the place where we cached our cycles and our papers."

  Like Dick, he was hopelessly at sea, for the moment, as to hiswhereabouts. And he had, moreover, to reckon with the turns and twistsof the tunnel, which there had been no way of following in the utterdarkness. But Jack Young, who, of course, could have found his wayanywhere within five miles of them blindfolded, helped him, and theysoon found that they were less than half a mile from the place.

  "Can you come on with me, Jack?" asked Harry. He felt that in hisrescuer he had found a new friend, and one whom he was going to likevery well, indeed, and he wanted his company, if it was possible.

  "Yes. No one knows I am out," said Jack, frankly. "The pater's likethe rest of them here-he doesn't take the war seriously yet. When Isaid the other day that it might last long enough for me to be oldenough to go, he laughed at me. I really hope it won't, but I wouldn'tbe surprised if it did, would you?"

  "No, I wouldn't. It's too early to tell anything about it yet, really.But if the Germans fight the way they always have before, it's going tobe a long war."

  They talked as they went, and, though Harry's ankle was still painful,the increased speed the bandaging made possible more than made up forthe time it had required. Harry was anxious about Dick; he wanted torejoin him as soon as possible.

  And so it was not long before they came near to the place where thecycles had been cached.

  "We'd better go slow. In case anyone else watched us this afternoon, wedon't want to walk into a trap," said Harry. He was more upset than hehad cared to admit by the discovery that he and Dick had been spied uponby Jack, excellent though it had been that it was so. For what Jack haddone it was conceivable that someone else, too, might have accomplished.

  "All right. You go ahead," said Jack. "I'll form a rear guard-d'yesee? Then you can't be surprised."

  "That's a good idea," said Harry. "There, see that big tree, thatblasted one over there? I marked that. The cache is in a straightline, almost, from that, where the ground dips a little. There's aclump of bushes."

  "There's someone th
ere, too," said Jack. "He's tugging at a cycle, asif he were trying to get ready to start it."

  "That'll be Dick, then," said Harry, greatly relieved. "All right-I'llgo ahead!"

  He went on then, and soon he, too, saw Dick busy with the motorcycle.

  "Won't he be glad to see me, though?" he thought. "Poor old Dick! Ibet he's had a hard time."

  Then he called, softly. And Dick turned. But-it was not Dick. It wasErnest Graves!