Dave Dawson at Dunkirk

by Robert Sidney Bowen

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  _Belgium Gives Up!_

  As Freddy recounted their experiences one by one Dave checked them inhis own mind. Presently, though, he only half listened to his pal. Hebecame fascinated looking at the British Chief of Staff. Many times hehad seen General Caldwell's picture in the papers back home. And he hadread a lot of the General's reputation as a fighter and leader of men.It thrilled him through and through to see the great man sitting just afew feet from him. It was another great experience he would rememberalways.

  The one thing that pleased Dave most about the famous general was thathe looked exactly like what Dave had always believed a general shouldlook like. Tall, strong looking, and a face that could be stern and hardas rock. Right now the General could indeed be made entirely of solidrock. He didn't so much as blink an eye as Freddy talked. Not a musclein his face moved. And his steel grey eyes instead of looking intoFreddy's, looked at Freddy's lips as though to draw the words out. Heremained that way right up until Freddy had spoken his last word. ThenGeneral Caldwell took his eyes off Freddy's lips and stared unblinkinglyat the opposite wall.

  "Well done, lads," he suddenly said, speaking in a soft voice thatseemed strange coming from his stern looking face. "I'll certainly seethat others hear of this, you can mark my words. And you, America! DaveDawson, can you add anything to the story?"

  Dave furrowed his brows in thought for a moment, then shook his head.

  "No, guess not, General," he said. "Except that Freddy didn't tell youhalf of the things he did to get us out of jams. He...."

  "Rot!" Freddy snorted. "Who got us out of that room? And who flew thatplane and didn't break our necks, I'd like to know?"

  "Yeah?" Dave grinned at him. "Well, who stopped the sergeant fromrunning us smack into those Germans? And who stopped those wild Belgiansfrom stabbing us with their bayonets? And who drove that scouting carwhen the sergeant had been killed? And who...?"

  "All right, all right, boys!" General Caldwell broke it up. "You bothdid splendid jobs, and that's fine. And now, about that map. Let's goback to that. Just a minute."

  The General turned and looked at one of his officers.

  "Let's have that map, Saunders," he said.

  A major whipped a rolled map from under his arm and passed it over.Another officer got a table and moved it between the two beds. A thirdofficer dug up thumb tacks some place, and the General unrolled the mapand tacked it flat on the table.

  "Now," he said in his soft voice and leaned over the map. "This littletown here. It's named Spontin. Do you remember if there was a coloredpin there?"

  The boys bent over and peered at the place on the map where the Generalhad put a finger tip. Freddy answered first.

  "Yes sir," he said. "There was a blue pin there. In fact, sir, therewere three blue pins all in a line. About a quarter of an inch apart. Iremember that distinctly."

  "I see," the General murmured. "And do you recall if there was a dateprinted under those pins?"

  "Yes, there was!" Dave cried. "Wait a minute. Yes, it was May Sixteenth.I'll bet on it!"

  "No need of that, my boy," General Caldwell said quietly, and moved hisfinger. "Now, here. At Vervins, in France. What about that?"

  "A blue pin also, sir," Freddy spoke up. "And the date marked under itwas May Eighteenth."

  "And here at Guise?" General Caldwell asked and moved his finger acrossthe map again.

  "Check on the blue pin!" Dave said.

  "And I'm pretty sure that date was May Nineteenth, sir," Freddy said.

  General Caldwell didn't move his finger any more. He straightened up andlooked around at his officers. They all nodded together and looked verygrave. A little bit of panic raced through Dave.

  "We're all wet, General?" he blurted out. "You think we've just made allthis up? So help me, honest, we...."

  Dave cut himself off short as the Chief of Staff shook his head and gavehim the ghost of a smile.

  "On the contrary, not at all, my boy," he said. "As they would say inthe States, I was just checking up. You two most certainly saw theGerman plan of invasion attack and execution."

  "We could be a bit mistaken about the dates, sir," Freddy said in ahesitating voice. "But I'm pretty sure those we gave you were correct."

  "They were," the General said, and there was a faint ironic edge to hisvoice. "You saw what the Germans _planned_ to do. We saw them _do_ it!They occupied Spontin on the Sixteenth, Vervins on the Eighteenth, andGuise on the Nineteenth. That's a matter of history, now."

  "Good grief!" Freddy exclaimed with a sob in his voice. "They've gainedthat much, sir?"

  "And much more," General Caldwell said grimly and took a little box fromhis tunic pocket. "Now, I have a very important job for you two. Veryimportant! A whole lot depends on your memories, so sharpen them upwell. Here is a box of pins. I want you two lads to try and put a pin inthis map for every pin you saw in that Intelligence map. Colors don'tmatter. These here are all the same. All white, as you see. Now, studythis map and shake up your memories well. And here's a couple ofpencils, too. Write down all the dates you can remember. And put themunder the right pins, of course."

  "Gosh, there must have been a couple of hundred pins on that map, sir!"Dave said in a weak voice.

  "Just stick in the pins you remember," General Caldwell said quietly."And the dates, too. All right, let's get at it, shall we?"

  It was well over an hour later when Freddy and Dave leaned back from themap well nigh mentally exhausted.

  "Anything else would be just a wild guess, sir," Freddy said. "Iwouldn't be sure of it at all."

  "Me too," Dave said. "I'd just get all balled up. Those are all I canremember."

  General Caldwell seemed not even to hear them. Once again he was likesomething made out of solid rock. He sat forward a little, an elbow onthe edge of the table and his broad chin cupped in the palm of his hand.His eyes were fixed on the map, moving from pin to pin. The otherofficers, and the medical captain stood like statues, almost not daringto breathe. The silence that hung over the office was so charged thatDave was filled with the crazy desire to let out a yell, just to seewhat would happen. But, of course, he didn't so much as let out a peep.Like the others, he waited motionless for the General to speak.

  Presently the General raised his head and smiled at them.

  "Yes, I most certainly will make it a point that others be told aboutyou two," he said. "I know His Majesty King George will certainly beinterested to hear it. You have done a splendid job, boys. I'm proud ofyou. All England will be proud of you, too. And, as you know, Freddy,England never forgets."

  "But, sir," Freddy began as his face got red with embarrassment. "But,sir, if the Germans have advanced so far what good is the informationwe've given you? We've given it to you too late."

  "In war it's never too late," General Caldwell said quietly. "True, if Icould have seen the map the day you did, why, perhaps things might nowbe different. But even at that you can't tell. No, lad, the informationhas not come to me too late. In fact, it has come to me just in time. Ithink, boys, that this information will save a considerable part of theBritish Army in France and Belgium."

  The General suddenly got to his feet, and Dave gulped as he saw thefiery look that leaped into the officer's eyes.

  "It depends a lot on the King of the Belgians," he said as though hewere talking to himself. "If he lets us down, exposes our left flank, itwill be bad. But, without this information I have now, it could well betwice as bad."

  "Then there's something to that rumor, sir?" the medical officer spokeup. "The Belgians may quit?"

  "It's more than rumor," General Caldwell said in a hard voice. "But Ipray to God they don't. Saunders! Bring this map along, will you? AndFreddy, and you, Dave, it was a job well done. I'm proud of you. Veryproud. You'll hear more of this, later, mark you."

  As the two boys stared wide eyed and open mouthed, General Caldwell andhis Staff officers clicked their heels and saluted smartly. The boyswere still i
n their Seventh Heaven trance when the medical officerreturned after seeing the General and his officers to their carsoutside.

  "A red letter day for you two, what?" he beamed.

  Dave gulped for air and slowly came back to earth.

  "Boy oh boy!" he breathed. "What do you know! A salute from a General!Gosh! Say, Captain, could we have some food, and our clothes, now,maybe?"

  "All the food you can put in your stomachs," the medical officer said."But jolly well no clothes. You two young heroes stay in bed for a fewmore days, at least. Mind you, now, that's an order. I may not be ageneral, but I'm jolly well in charge of this hospital!"

  And the medical captain meant exactly what he said. Both Dave and Freddybegged and pleaded to be allowed to get up. They had found that thehospital was terribly short handed, and they were both anxious to dowhat they could to help. Besides, staying in bed thinking and talking,and talking and thinking was slowly driving them crazy. Regardless ofwhat the General had said each nursed the tiny fear that they hadarrived too late with their information. They now knew how far theGerman hordes really had smashed through toward the coast of France andBelgium, and even to their untrained minds it held horrible and terriblesignificance.

  But the medical captain stuck to his order, and would not let them go.On the second day after the visit by General Caldwell they were allowedto get up and wander about the hospital wards at will. It was then theydiscovered that every one in the hospital had learned of their brave andcourageous work, and the wounded soldiers heaped praises upon them fromall sides. Yet, underneath the praise and the attempts by the soldiersto be cheerful, there was a note of worry, and strain, and a sort ofbreathless waiting. Dave and Freddy caught the feeling at once and itserved to add to the doubt and fears in their own minds that all theyhad done, and all they had suffered had gone for nought.

  Everybody was waiting, waiting. Waiting for what, they did not know. Orif they did they kept it to themselves. News of the battles siftedgradually into the hospital wards. Some of it was true, and a lot of itwas false. But all of it rasped nerves and cut deep into the torturedminds of men.

  And then, on the third day, it happened!

  The news flew from lip to lip, and a pall of misery and bitterness hungover the entire hospital. Belgium has quit! The Belgians have throwndown their guns and given up! The whole left side of the British Army isnow exposed to the Germans racing down out of Holland! On the south theFrench and the British have been split by a German wedge driven straightacross France to Abbeville on the Channel coast. The entire BritishArmy, and part of the French, is surrounded on three sides. There isonly one door of escape left open. That door is Dunkirk!

  The instant they heard the news Dave and Freddy rushed to the office ofthe medical captain. They found there a very worried and very harassedman. He was just hanging up on the telephone when they burst in. He sawthem, started to wave them outside, but suddenly checked the motion.

  "Come in, you two," he called to them. "How do you feel?"

  "Swell," Dave said.

  "Very fit, sir," Freddy said.

  The medical officer nodded and then stared at them a moment or two anddrummed nervous fingers on the top of his desk.

  "You've heard the news?" he suddenly asked.

  They nodded, and waited.

  "It puts us in a tight corner," the officer said. "And it puts me in a_very_ tight corner. I've just received orders from G.H.Q. to evacuatethis hospital at once. There are over five hundred wounded men here, andonly a dozen ambulances. We're to evacuate to the Base Hospital at St.Omer. Now ... You chaps told me the truth, eh? You _do_ feel fit?"

  "Gee, yes!" Dave exclaimed. "We came in here to see if there wasn'tsomething we could do to help. We feel swell, honest."

  "That's right, sir," Freddy nodded. "And there _is_ something we cando?"

  "There is," the medical officer said. "I haven't enough ambulancedrivers, and we've got to get these wounded men out of here at once.Before tonight, in fact. I'll tell you the truth, boys. At the speed theGermans are advancing, now that the Belgians have given up, they'll behere in Lille, tonight!"

  "Gee!" Dave breathed softly. "Right here in this place, tonight?"

  The medical officer nodded and held up a hand.

  "Hear those guns?" he said gravely. "They are not more than twenty milesaway, and they are German. We've got to work fast, boys. Every man wehave to leave here will become a German prisoner of war. I wouldn't askyou, except that the situation is desperate. By rights, you two shouldgo along with the wounded, instead of driving them. But it is a graveemergency, and every one who can, _must_ help."

  "We're ready, sir," Freddy said quietly. "What are your orders?"

  A smile of deep gratitude flickered across the officer's face.

  "Get into your regular clothes, first," he said with a smile. "Thenreport to Lieutenant Baker in the ambulance parking lot by the southwing. And, thank you, boys. We'll meet again at St. Omer."

  The two boys grinned, then turned on their heels and raced back to theward for their clothes. The wounded soldiers suspected that somethingwas up, and a hundred questions were hurled at them. They didn't botherto answer any of them. They simply piled into their clothes and hurriedoutside and around to the parking lot by the south wing.

  "Gee, Freddy!" Dave panted as they raced along side by side. "I wasafraid I was going to stay in that hospital for the rest of the war, andnot get another chance to do anything."

  "A bit worried, myself," Freddy said. "I was afraid that we'd done ourjob, and that it was all over as far as we were concerned. But, I have afeeling, Dave, that perhaps it's really just beginning for us."

  And Freddy Farmer never spoke a truer word in his life, as they wereboth soon to realize!