CHAPTER XII
The Mail Escort
During the next few days the Belgian field army had no respite. Landenwas occupied by the Germans on the 10th of August, and strong cavalryscreens of the enemy advanced along the Dutch border to within a fewmiles of the capital. Other large bodies of cavalry threatened theBelgian right wing, and in consequence a retirement of the small yetdetermined army was necessary.
Two days later the Belgians gained a brilliant success at Haelen, wherethe Germans, incautiously attempting to force a passage of the RiverGethe, were driven back in disorder and with great loss.
Of this action Kenneth Everest and his companion saw nothing, havingbeen sent on duty to the Belgian capital.
In Brussels the lads remained two days, having to await a reply to thedispatch they had brought. During their brief periods of leisure theyhastened to call at the house of Major Resimont in the Rue de laTribune, but the place was in charge of servants. No news was to beobtained of Mademoiselle Yvonne Resimont or of Kenneth's sister.Beyond the unauthenticated report that the two girls had left theschool at Vise a few hours before the commencement of the Germanbombardment, all traces of them were lost.
"Perhaps," suggested Rollo, "your sister went back to England and tookYvonne with her. They say that numbers of refugees have passed throughRotterdam on their way across the North Sea."
"Possibly," agreed Kenneth. "In which case we are completely in thedark until we are lucky enough to get letters from home."
The inhabitants of Brussels were strangely calm. The fact that theGerman invaders had gained a firm footing in their country did notdrive them into a panic. Possibly events of past history had taughtthem to regard the overrunning of Belgium as a foregone conclusion whenthe neighbouring Great Powers were at war. Above all, they continuedsteadfastly to rely upon the prompt arrival of the BritishExpeditionary Force, which, in conjunction with their own army and thatof the French nation, would quickly send the barbarous Teutons fleeingfor their lives across the Rhine.
"Hark!" exclaimed Rollo. "The papers are out. Something important hashappened."
The chums had retired early to bed in their modest lodgings of the RuePontus, as they had been warned for duty at five on the followingmorning. Their stock of money, although augmented by their scanty armypay, was visibly dwindling; but after more than a week in bivouacs theywere grateful to sleep under a roof, undisturbed by thenerve-shattering roar of hostile guns.
"It can wait till to-morrow," said Kenneth with a prodigious yawn. "Ifeel too jolly tired----"
The next moment he was out of bed and making for the window, for abovethe cheering on the Grands Boulevards came the oft-repeated cries of:"The English Army in Belgium".
Hastily scrambling into their clothes, the two excited lads made theirway into the street and through the swarm of wildly exuberant citizens.After a struggle they succeeded, at the cost of a franc, in obtaining acopy of one of the local papers, and bore it back to their room intriumph.
In huge letters were the words: "LES ANGLAIS SUR LE CONTINENT", thereport being taken from the French paper, _Le Journal_, dated Thursday,the 13th August:--
"By our Special Correspondent.--For several days the valiant Britishtroops, who are to co-operate with our soldiers to repel the Germanaggression in Belgium, have been crossing the Straits. Kept back atfirst by the risks of a naval combat which the English fleet waswaiting to offer, in the North Sea, to the principal units of the enemymarine, the disembarkation has now taken place in perfect order andwith surprising regularity. Up to the present the contingents sentforward in the direction of Namur are considerable.
"Under the favour of darkness and in great mystery the transports wereorganized. During Saturday night, by small detachments all along theBelgian coast from Ostend to Zeebrugge, the steamers chartered by theBritish Admiralty disembarked at first a small army, which moved beforedawn to the position allotted to it. Farther south, that same night,semaphores signalled the arrival of mysterious ships, which, after abrief stay, returned towards English shores. On the following day,too, at the same hour, similar operations and disembarkations tookplace with such rapidity and such silence that the inhabitants sawnothing."
"Sounds promising," remarked Rollo thoughtfully. "But this is Friday.Do you think it likely that our troops have been on Belgian soil fornearly a week and this is the first we've heard of it?"
"The Press Censor perhaps----"
"Cannot gag the mouths of a million, old chap. However, I hope it'strue. Of course I know an army cannot be expected to land and proceedstraight to the front, but if they are to do anything they'll have tojolly well hurry up."
"Don't put a damper on the good news, old man."
"All right, I won't, Kenneth; but, until I see a khaki regiment onBelgian soil, I'm hanged if I will believe. Take me for a doubtingThomas if you will. Anyway, I'm going to turn in again; we've to be upearly, you know."
In spite of the deafening clamour without, the chums slept soundlyuntil the concierge knocked loudly at the door to announce that it wasa quarter to five, and that the breakfast of messieurs les Anglais wasready to be served as ordered.
Upon arriving at the place indicated in their order, the twodispatch-riders found that they were to be temporarily attached to themail escort. Letters and parcels for the troops in the field hadaccumulated during the last three days to enormous proportions. Fivelarge motor-cars had been requisitioned to take this mass ofcorrespondence from the capital, the convoy being accompanied by apatrol of lancers, cyclists, and motor-cyclists.
"Wonder if there's anything for us in that lot?" hazarded Kenneth, asfour large wicker hampers addressed to the 9th Regiment of the Linewere unceremoniously dumped into a car. The correspondence had alreadybeen passed by a Belgian censor, and the baskets had been secured by animposing wax seal.
"Perhaps," replied Rollo. "At all events we'll keep a special eye onthe car. One never knows where to expect the unwelcome attentions ofthose ubiquitous Uhlans, and it will never do to let them pry into thefamily secrets of our comrades of the 9th."
Through the flag-bedecked streets of Brussels the mail convoy made itsway. The route, as supplied to the officer in command, was acircuitous one. Proceeding in an almost southerly direction, past thevillages of Waterloo, Genappe, and Quatre Bras, the mails for Namur andthe left flank of the Belgian field army were to be detached at thevillage of Sombreffe. The remainder of the convoy was then to proceedthrough Gembloux to Tirlemont, dropping the crates addressed to variousregiments at the nearest points to their ultimate destinations.
The motor-cars set out at a rapid pace, so much so that by the timethey were clear of the Forest of Soignies, less than ten miles from thecapital, the horses and the cyclists were almost "done up". Eitherspeed or the force at the disposal of the convoy had to be sacrificed,and after a hasty consultation with his subordinates, the officer incharge decided upon the latter alternative.
Accordingly the lancers were sent back, while a dozen of the cyclistswere ordered to leave their machines at a wayside inn and to ride onthe cars. From information received from various sources, there wasevery reason to believe that that part of the country was free from theattentions of the invaders, and no cause to doubt that the mail wouldbe delivered in safety and with celerity. Again the convoy was set inmotion, Kenneth and Rollo riding at a distance of about two hundredyards ahead, for their wish to keep an eye on one particular car hadbeen abruptly nipped in the bud.
"We've seen the field of Waterloo at all events," shouted Rollo, inorder to make himself heard above the noise of the motors. "But it'sunder different circumstances from those we expected."
They had had but a distant and momentary glimpse of the famous pyramidof earth surmounted by the Lion of Belgium. The ground that, less thana century before, was drenched with the blood of men of half a dozennationalities was again being prepared for a similar object on a vasterscale. Belgian troops and peasants were busily engaged in di
ggingtrenches; for here, according to the expectations of military experts,was to be fought the decisive battle that was to save Brussels andBelgium from the Teutonic invasion.
At Quatre Bras the convoy struck the Namur road. A couple of milesfarther on Kenneth's keen eyes detected a movement towards their leftfront. In double-quick time the lads dismounted and held up theirhands, a signal that brought the convoy to a standstill.
"Cavalry, sir!" said Kenneth, pointing in the direction of a clump oftrees.
"Our vedettes, without doubt," declared the Belgian officer, leisurelyunstrapping his field-glasses. Before he could get them to bear,Kenneth was sweeping the country with his powerful binoculars. Therewas no mistake: the cavalry were Uhlans. They had already spotted theconvoy, and were advancing at the trot to capture or destroy theweakly-protected mail escort.
Just then came a dull rumble at some distance to the rear of the lineof halted cars. The enemy had blown up the railway bridge on the linebetween Charleroi and the north, thus cutting off the retreat of theconvoy.
"Mon capitaine," exclaimed one of the cyclists who had been given aplace in one of the cars; "I know this part of the country well. Akilometre farther on is a road to the right. It will bring us toLigny."
The officer gave one glance towards the advancing Uhlans, now barely amile and a half away.
"En avant!" he ordered.
It was touch-and-go which would first reach the junction of the roads.Only a momentary hesitation on the part of the Uhlans saved thesituation, for, seeing the convoy advance at full speed, they feared anattack by the already dreaded motor-cars armed with mitrailleuses.
But as the convoy swung round the sharp corner a hail of bullets camefrom the carbines of the German cavalry; then, realizing that theirdiscretion had got the better of their valour, the Uhlans dashed inpursuit.
The Belgians cheered ironically. The idea of horses competing withmotor-cars seemed absurd. The latter covered three yards to theUhlans' one, and every moment the animals were becoming more and morefatigued.
Suddenly Rollo gave vent to a warning shout. Ahead was the village ofLigny, but between the convoy and the nearest houses were dense massesof cavalry. Their capture seemed inevitable.
Again the motor-cars came to a halt. The Belgian captain saw that hewas in a trap.
"Turn about!" he ordered. "We must charge these Prussians behind us.It will be easier to force our way through a hundred than----"
"Mon capitaine!" shouted an excited voice.
The Belgian officer turned, almost angrily.
"We are saved--regardez!" continued the speaker, pointing to therailway line about three hundred yards to the right of the road.
Making their way along the hollow by the side of the line were swarmsof men in blue coats, red trousers, and kepis. There was no mistakingthem: they were French troops. The cavalry, too, close to the villageof Ligny were French chasseurs. The long-expected aid had become anaccomplished fact. French armies were on Belgian soil.
Already the Uhlans had perceived their peril. They turned and rode fordear life.
Up came a group of French officers. Gravely they exchanged saluteswith the commander of the convoy.
"We hope to effect a junction with the Belgian army before nightfall,monsieur," announced a colonel. "We have been instructed to occupy theline Ligny-Tirlemont. It is to be hoped that these pigs of Prussianshave not tampered with the railway."
"Unfortunately they have, sir," replied the Belgian captain. "Alreadythey have blown up a bridge on the Quatre Bras road."
The Frenchman rapped out an oath.
"More work for our engineers," he remarked. "Nevertheless, thePrussians shall pay. We have them. With the English between Antwerpand Louvain, and your army between Louvain and Tirlemont, these Germansare in front of a wall that cannot be climbed. You say that part ofyour convoy is destined for Namur? Send them on, monsieur. We holdboth banks of the Sambre. For the rest we cannot, unfortunately, offeryou any guarantees."
Accordingly the convoy was split up, Kenneth and Rollo going with thecars containing the mails for the Belgian troops at Tirlemont.
"The papers were right after all, old man," remarked Kenneth. "Ourtroops are in Belgium. Now, admit that your doubts were ill-founded."
"I suppose so," admitted Rollo; "but all the same I should like to seea khaki regiment, if only for the sake of ocular demonstration."
Before four that afternoon the mail for the 9th Regiment of the Linewas safely delivered, and with the utmost dispatch the work ofdistribution began. It seemed a fitting reward that Kenneth shouldreceive half a dozen letters, three of which, bearing different dates,were from his father. Rollo had to be content with four.
While the latter, with his usual deliberation, opened hiscommunications in the order of their postmarks, Kenneth impetuouslytore the envelope of his latest-dated one, and read as follows:--
"DEAR KENNETH,
"I wrote you at the Poste Restante at Liege, on the off-chance that youmight receive it on the eve of the declaration of war. From thecontents of your letter I have reason to believe that you did not. Iam naturally most anxious concerning Thelma. Up to the time of writingI have had no tidings whatsoever, although I made enquiries of theBritish Consuls at Antwerp, Rotterdam, and The Hague.
"In my previous letters addressed to you at the Field Post Office ofthe 9th Regiment of the Line, I expressed my fullest approval of thestep you have taken. In case you have not received my former letters Imust repeat these sentiments. You are doing your duty to your countryby serving under the Belgian flag as faithfully as if you were underyour own--for ours is a united cause. Perhaps more so, since you arenot yet of an age to accept a commission. Should you be in need offunds, I have placed the sum of Fifty Pounds to your account in theCredit Belgique at Brussels.
"I am also sending you a batch of newspapers ["They have gone adrift,"thought Kenneth] which will be of interest to you.
"I hear also that ... [Here was a long excision by the Censor.]
"Once more, good luck. Do your duty manfully and fearlessly. Regardsto young Barrington. I made a point of seeing his father the otherday, and he is with me in my view of the step you two have taken.Needless to say, my Mediterranean trip is off. There is other workeven for an old buffer such as I am.
"Your affectionate father, "THOMAS EVEREST."
"The pater's a brick," declared Kenneth, after he had finished wadingthrough his other correspondence; then, observing that Rollo was stillscanning his budget, he made his way across to the motor-cycles. Inhis excitement he had forgotten to turn off the petrol tap of hismount, and had just remembered the fact.
On the way back he ran across Major Resimont, whom he had not seensince the night of the evacuation of Liege.
The Major greeted him warmly, congratulated him upon gaining hisstripes, and asked him how he had fared.
"I have, unfortunately, bad news," said the Major sadly. "It would bewell to keep the information to yourself: the Liege forts have fallen,and General Leman is a prisoner."
"I thought they could hold out for months," Kenneth blurted out, hissense of discretion overcome by the suddenness of the news.
"We all thought so," rejoined Major Resimont quietly. "But those hugeGerman guns, they cracked the cupolas like nutshells, and killed orwounded every man in the forts."
"The French are here, though," announced Kenneth. "We came in touchwith them this morning."
"I know," said the Belgian. "They have already succeeded in takingDinant. We have certain hopes in the French."
"And the British troops are in Belgium."
The Major shook his head.
"See, sir," persisted Kenneth, producing the copy of the paper he hadpurchased in Brussels.
"I have already seen it," said Major Resimont; "it is only a rumour.It is, moreover, false; there is not a single English regiment inBelgium. Your country is, I fear, too late to save Brussels from theinvaders."
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The Dispatch-Riders: The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Page 12