Boy Scout Aviators

by Richard Harding Davis

  CHAPTER II

  QUICK WORK

  At home, Harry had an early dinner with his father and mother, who weregoing to the theatre. They lived in a comfortable house, which Mr.Fleming had taken on a five-year lease when they came to England tolive. It was one of a row of houses that looked very much alike, which,itself, was one of four sides of a square. In the centre of the squarewas a park-like space, a garden, really. In this garden were severaltennis courts, with plenty of space, also, for nurses and children.There are many such squares in London, and they help to make the Britishcapital a delightful place in which to live.

  As he went in, Harry saw a lot of the younger men who lived in thesquare playing tennis. It was still broad daylight, although, at home,dusk would have fallen. But this was England at the end of July and thebeginning of August, and the light of day would hold until ten o'clockor thereabout. That was one of the things that had helped to reconcileHarry to living in England. He loved the long evenings and the chancethey gave to get plenty of sport and exercise after school hours.

  The school that he and Dick attended was not far away; they went to iteach day. A great many of the boys boarded at the school, but there wereplenty who, like Dick and Harry, did not. But school was over now, forthe time. The summer holidays had just begun.

  At the table there was much talk of the war that was in the air. But Mr.Fleming did not even yet believe that war was sure.

  "They'll patch it up," he said, confidently. "They can't be so mad as toset the whole world ablaze over a little scrap like the trouble betweenAustria and Servia."

  "Would it affect your business, dear?" asked Mrs. Fleming. "If therereally should be war, I mean?"

  "I don't think so," said he. "I might have to make a flying trip home,but I'd be back. Come on--time for us to go. What are you going to do,boy? Going over to Grenfel's, aren't you?"

  "Yes, father," said Harry.

  "All right. Get home early. Good-night!"

  A good many of the boys were already there when Dick and Harry reachedGrenfel's house. The troop--the Forty-second, of London--was acomparatively small one, having only three patrols. But nearly all ofthem were present, and the scout-master took them out into his garden.

  "I'm going to change the order a bit," he said, gravely. "I want to dosome talking, and then I expect to answer questions. Boys, Germany hasdeclared war on Russia. There are reports already of fighting on theborder between France and Germany. And there seems to be an idea thatthe Germans are certain to strike at France through Belgium. I may notbe here very long--I may have to turn over the troop to anotherscoutmaster. So I want to have a long talk tonight." There was adismayed chorus.

  "What? You going away, sir? Why?"

  But Harry did not join. He saw the quiet blaze in John Grenfel's eyes,and he thought he knew.

  "I've volunteered for foreign service already," Grenfel explained. "Isaw a little fighting in the Boer war, you know. And I may be useful. SoI thought I'd get my application in directly. If I go, I'll probably goquietly and quickly. And there may be no other chance for me to saygood-bye."

  'Then you think England will be drawn in, sir?" asked Leslie Franklin,leader of the patrol to which Dick and Harry belonged, the Royal Blues.

  "I'm afraid so," said Grenfels grimly. "There's just a chance still, butthat's all--the ghost of a chance, you might call it. I think it mightbe as well if I explained a little of what's back of all this trouble.Want to listen? If you do, I'll try. And if I'm not making myself clear,ask all the questions you like."

  There was a chorus of assent. Grenfel sat in the middle, the scoutsranged about him in a circle. "In the first place," he began, "thisServian business is only an excuse. I'm not defending the Servians--I'mtaking no sides between Servia and Austria. Here in England we don'tcare about that, because we know that if that hadn't started the war,something else would have been found.

  "England wants peace. And it seems that, every so often, she has tofight for it. It was so when the Duke of Marlborough won his battles atBlenheim and Ramillies and Malplaquet. Then France was the strongestnation in Europe. And she tried to crush the others and dominateeverything. If she had, she would have been strong enough, after hervictories, to fight us over here--to invade England. So we went intothat war, more than two hundred years ago, not because we hated France,but to make a real peace possible. And it lasted a long time.

  "Then, after the French revolution, there was Napoleon. Again France,under him, was the strongest nation in Europe. He conquered Germany, andAustria, Italy and Spain, the Netherlands. And he tried to conquerEngland, so that France could rule the world. But Nelson beat his fleetat Trafalgar--"

  "Hurrah!" interrupted Dick, carried away. "Three cheers for Nelson!"

  Grenfel smiled as the cheers were given.

  "Even after Trafalgar," he went on, "Napoleon hoped to conquer England.He had massed a great army near Boulogne, ready to send it across thechannel. And so we took the side of the weaker nations again. AllEurope, led by England, rose against Napoleon. And you know whathappened. He was beaten finally at Waterloo. And so there was peaceagain in Europe for a long time, with no one nation strong enough todictate to all the others." But then Germany began to rise. She beatAustria, and that made her the strongest German country. Then she beatFrance, in 1870, and that gave her her start toward being the strongestnation on the continent.

  "And then, I believe--and so do most Englishmen--she began to be jealousof England. She wanted our colonies. She began, finally, to build agreat navy. For years we have had to spend great sums of money to keepour fleet stronger than hers. And she made an alliance with Austria andItaly. Because of that France and Russia made an alliance, too, and wehad to be friendly with them. And now it looks to me as if Germanythought she saw a chance to beat France and Russia. Perhaps she thinksthat we won't fight, on account of the trouble in Ireland. And what weEnglish fear is that, if she wins, she will take Belgium and Holland.Then she would be so close to our coasts that we would never be safe. Wewould have to be prepared always for invasion. So, you see, it seems tome that we are facing the same sort of danger we have faced before. Onlythis time it is Germany, instead of France, that we shall have tofight--if we do fight."

  "If the Germans go through Belgium, will that mean that we shall fight?"asked Leslie Franklin.

  "Almost certainly, yes," said Grenfel. "And it is through Belgium thatGermany has her best chance to strike at France. So you see how seriousthings are. I don't want to go into all the history that is back of allthis. I just want you to understand what England's interest is. If wemake war, it will be a war of self-defence. Suppose you owned a house.And suppose the house next door caught fire. You would try to put outthat fire, wouldn't you, to save your own house from being burned up?Well, that's England's position. If the Germans held Belgium orHolland--and they would hold both, if they beat France andRussia--England would then be in just as much danger as your house wouldbe. So if we fight, it will be to put out the German fire in the housenext door.

  "Now I want you to understand one thing. I'm talking as an Englishman. AGerman would tell you all this in a very different way. I don't like thepeople who are always slandering their enemies. Germany has her reasonsfor acting as she does. I think her reasons are wrong. But the Germansbelieve that they are right. We can respect even people who are wrong ifthey themselves believe that they are right. There may be two sides tothis quarrel. And Germans, even if they are to be our enemies, may bejust as patriotic, just as devoted to their country, as we are. Neverforget that, no matter what may happen."

  He stopped then, waiting for questions. None came.

  "Then you understand pretty well?" he asked. There was a murmur ofassent from the whole circle.

  "All right, then," he said. "Now there's work for Scouts to do. Beprepared! That's our motto, isn't it? Suppose there's war. Franklin,what's your idea of what the Boy Scouts would be able to do?"

  "I suppose those who are old enough could volunteer, sir,
" saidFranklin, doubtfully. "I can't think of anything else--"

  "Time enough for that later," said Grenfel, with a short laugh. "Englandmay have to call boys to the colors before she's done, if she oncestarts to fight. But long before that time comes, there will be a greatwork for the organization we all love and honor. Work that won't beshowy, work that will be very hard. Boys, everyone in England, man andwoman and child will have work to do! And we, who are organized, andwhose motto Be Prepared, ought to be able to show what stuff there is inus.

  "Think of all the places that must be guarded. The waterworks, the gastanks, the railroads that lead to the seaports and that will be used bythe troops."

  A startled burst of exclamations answered him. "Why, there won't be anyfighting in England, sir, will there?" asked Dick Mercer, in surprise.

  "We all hope not," said Grenfel. "But that's not what I mean. It doesn'ttake an army to destroy a railroad. One man with a bomb and a time fuseattached to it can blow up a culvert and block a whole line so thatprecious hours might be lost in getting troops aboard a transport. Oneman could blow up a waterworks or a gas tank or cut an importanttelegraph or telephone wire!"

  "You mean that there will be Germans here trying to hurt England any waythey can, don't you sir? asked Harry Fleming.

  "I mean exactly that," said Grenfel. "We don't know this--we can't besure of it. But we've got good reason to believe that there are a greatmany Germans here, seemingly peaceable enough, who are regularly in thepay of the German government as spies. We don't know the German plans.But there is no reason, so far as we know, why their great Zeppelinairships shouldn't come sailing over England, to drop bombs down wherethey can do the most harm. There is nothing except our own vigilance tokeep these spies, even if they have to work alone, from doing untolddamage!"

  'We could be useful as sentries, then?" said Leslie Franklin. He drew adeep breath. "I never thought of things like that, sir! I'm justbeginning to see how useful we really might be. We could do a lot ofthings instead of soldiers, couldn't we? So that they would be free togo and fight?"

  "Yes," answered the scoutmaster. "And I can tell you now that theNational Scout Council has always planned to 'Be Prepared!' It decided,a long time ago, what should be done in case of war. A great many troopswill be offered to the War Department to do odd jobs. They will carrymessages and dispatches. They will act as clerks, so far as they can.They will patrol the railways and other places that ought to be underguard, where soldiers can be spared if we take their places. So far assuch things can be planned, they have been planned.

  "But most of the ways in which we can be useful haven't showedthemselves, at all yet. They will develop, if war comes. We shall haveto be alert and watchful, and do whatever there is to be done ..."

  "Who will be scoutmaster, sir, if you go to the war?" asked Harry.

  "I'm not quite sure," said Grenfel. "We haven't decided yet. But it willbe someone you can trust--be sure of that. And I think I needn't saythat if you scouts have any real regard for me you will show it best byserving as loyally and as faithfully under him as you have under me. Ishall be with you in spirit, no matter where I am. Now it's, gettinglate. I think we'd better break up for tonight. We will make a specialorder, too, for the present. Every scout in the troop will report atscout headquarters until further notice, every day, at nine o'clock inthe morning.

  "I think we'll have to make up our minds not to play many games for thetime that is coming. There is real work ahead of us if war comes--workjust as real and just as hard, in its way, as if we were all going tofight for England. Everyone cannot fight, but the ones who stay at homeand do the work that comes to their hands will serve England just asloyally as if they were on the firing line. Now up, all of you! Threecheers for King George!"

  They were given with a will--and Harry Fleming joined in as heartily asany of them. He was as much of an American as he had ever been, butsomething in him responded with a strange thrill to England's need, asGrenfel had expressed it. After all, England had been and was the mothercountry. England and America had fought, in their time, and America hadwon, but now, for a hundred years, there had been peace between them.And he and these English boys were of the same blood and the samelanguage, binding them very closely together. "Blood is thicker thanwater, after all!" he thought.

  Then every scout there shook hands with John Grenfel. He smiled as hegreeted them.

  "I hope this will pass over," he said, "and that we'll do togetherduring this vacation all the things we've planned to do. But if wecan't, and if I'm called away, good-bye! Do your duty as scouts, andI'll know it somehow! And, in case I don't see you again, good-bye!"

  "You're going to stand with us, then, Fleming?" he said, as Harry cameup to shake hands. "Good boy! We're of one blood, we English and youAmericans. We've had our quarrels, but relatives always do quarrel. Andyou'll not be asked, as a scout here, to do anything an Americanshouldn't do."

  Then it was over. They were out in the street. In the distance newsboyswere yelling their extra still. Many people were out, something unusualin that quiet neighborhood. And suddenly one of the scouts lifted hisvoice, and in a moment they were all singing:

  Rule, rule, Britannia! Britannia rules the waves! Britons never, never,never shall be slaves!

  Scores of voices swelled the chorus, joining the fresh young voices ofthe scouts. And then someone started that swinging march song that hadleaped into popularity at the time of the Boer War, Soldiers of theQueen. The words were trifling, but there was a fine swing to the music,and it was not the words that counted--it was the spirit of those whosang.

  As he marched along with the others Harry noticed one thing. In a fewhours the whole appearance of the streets had changed. From every house,in the still night air, drooped a Union Jack. The flag was everywhere;some houses had flung out half a dozen to the wind.

  Harry was seeing a sight, that once seen, can never be forgotten. He wasseeing a nation aroused, preparing to fight. If war came to England itwould be no war decreed by a few men. It would be a war proclaimed bythe people themselves, demanded by them. The nation was stirring; it wascasting off the proverbial lethargy and indifference of the English.Even here, in this usually quiet suburb of London, the home of businessand professional men who were comfortably well off, the stirring of thespirit of England was evident. And suddenly the song of the scouts andthose who had joined them was drowned out by a new noise, sinister,threatening. It was the angry note that is raised by a mob.

  Leslie Franklin took command at once. "Here, we must see what's wrong!"he cried. "Scouts, attention! Fall in! Double quick--follow me!"

  He ran in the direction of the sound, and they followed. Five minutesbrought them to the scene of the disturbance. They reached a street ofcheaper houses and small shops. About one of these a crowd was surging,made up largely of young men of the lower class, for in West Kensington,as in all parts of London, the homes of the rich and of the poor rub oneanother's elbows in easy familiarity. The crowd seemed to be trying tobreak in the door of this shop. Already all the glass of the showwindows had been broken, and from within there came guttural cries ofalarm and anger.

  "It's Dutchy's place!" cried Dick Mercer. "He's a German, and they'retrying to smash his place up!"

  "Halt!" cried Franklin. He gathered the scouts about him. "This won'tdo," he said, angry spots of color showing on his cheek bones. "No one'sgone for the police--or, if they have, this crowd of muckers will smasheverything up and maybe hurt the old Dutchman before the Bobbies gethere. Form together now--and when I give the word, go through! Once weget between them and the shop, we can stop them. Maybe they won't knowwho we are at first, and our uniforms may stop them."

  "Now!" he said, a moment later. And, with a shout, the scouts chargedthrough the little mob in a body.

  They had no trouble in getting through. A few determined people, knowingjust what they mean to do, can always overcome a greater number ofdisorganized ones. That is why disciplined troops can conquer five t
imestheir number of rioters or savages. And so in a moment they reached theshop.

  "Let us in! We're here to protect you!" cried Franklin to old Schmidt,who was cowering within, with his wife. Then he turned to the rioters,who, getting over their first surprise, were threatening again.

  "For shame!" he cried. "Do you think you're doing anything for England?War's not declared yet--and, if it was, you might better be looking forGerman soldiers to shoot at than trying to hurt an old man who never didanyone any harm!"

  There was a threatening noise from the crowd, but Franklin wasundismayed.

  "You'll have to get through us to reach them!" he cried. "We--"

  But he was interrupted. A whistle sounded. The next moment the policewere there.