by E. J. Craine
CHAPTER III. ANXIOUS WAITING
Nellie Leroy--for such the boys learned was her name--broke the silence,that was growing tense, by asking:
"Is there any hope? Tell me, do you think there is a chance that mybrother may be alive?"
"Yes, there is, certainly!" exclaimed Tom quickly, before Jack had anopportunity to give, possibly, a less hopeful answer.
"And if he is alive, is there a chance that he may be rescued--that Imay go to him?" she went on.
"Hardly that," said Tom, slowly. "It's a wonder you ever got as near tothe front as this. But as for getting past the German lines--"
"Then what can I do?" asked Nellie Leroy, eagerly. "Oh, tell mesomething that I can do. I'm used to hard work," she went on. "I've beena Red Cross nurse for some time, and I helped in one big explosion of amunitions plant in New Jersey before I came over. That's one reason theylet me come--because I proved that I could do things!" and she didlook very efficient, in spite of her paleness, in spite of her, seemingfrailness. There was an indefinable air about her which showed thatshe would carry through whatever she undertook. "I never faintedbefore--never."
"It's like this," said Tom, and Jack seemed content, now, to let hischum play the chief role. "When one of us goes down in his machine backof the enemy's lines, those left over here never really know what hashappened for a few days."
"And how do they know then?' she asked.
"The German airmen are more decent than some of the other Hun forceswe're fighting," explained Torn. "Generally after they capture one ofour escadrille members, dead or alive, they fly over our lines a fewdays later and drop a cap, or a glove, or something that belongs to theprisoner. Sometimes they attach a note, written by one of their airmenor from the prisoner, giving news of his condition."
"And you think they may do this in my brother's case?" asked Nellie.
"They are very likely to," assented Tom, and Jack, to whom the girllooked for confirmation, nodded, his agreement.
"How long shall we have to wait?" Harry's sister asked.
"There is no telling," said Tom "Sometimes it's a week before theirairmen get a chance to fly over our lines. It all depends."
"On what?"
"On how the battle goes," answered Tom. "If there is much fighting, andmany engagements in the air, the Boches don't get a chance to fly overand drop tokens of our men they may have shot down. We do the same forthem, so it's six of one and a half dozen of the other. Often for a weekwe don't get a chance to let them know about prisoners we have, becausethe fighting is so severe."
"Will it be that way now?" the girl went on.
"Hard to say--we don't have the ordering of battles," replied Jack. "Butit's been rather quiet for a few days, and it's likely to continue so.If it does one of their men may fly over to-morrow, or the next day, anddrop something your brother wore--or even a note from him."
"Oh, I hope they do the last!" she murmured. "If I could have a notefrom him I'd be the happiest girl alive I I'd know, then, that he wasall right."
"He may be," said Tom, trying to be hopeful. "You see Du Boise, who waswith Harry when the fight took place, is himself wounded, so he can'ttell us much about it."
"Yes, they told me that my brother's companion reached here badlyhurt. He is so brave! I wish they would let me help take care of him. Iunderstand a great deal about wounds, and I'm not at all afraid of thesight of blood. It was silly of me to faint just now, but--I--I couldn'thelp it. I'd been counting so much on seeing Harry, and when they toldme he was gone--"
She covered her face with her hands, and endeavored to repress heremotion.
"You're not Harry's little sister, are you?" asked Jack, hoping tochange the current of talk into other and happier channels.
"No; that's Mabel--Mab he calls her. She's younger than I. Did he oftenspeak of her?"
"Oh, yes; and you too!" exclaimed Tom, so warmly that Nellie blushed,and the damask tint in her hitherto pale cheeks was most becoming.
"We've seen your picture, and Mab's too," went on Tom. "Harry keeps themjust over his cot in the barracks. But I didn't recognize you when I sawyou a little while ago in the machine. Though I might have, if so manythings hadn't happened all at once, and made me sort of hazy," Tomexplained.
"Then are you and my brother good friends?" asked Nellie.
"The best ever!" exclaimed Tom, and Jack warmly assented. "Not so manyAmericans are in this branch of the escadrille as are in others," Tornwent on; "so Harry and Jack and I are a sort of little trio all byourselves. He hardly ever goes up without us, but we are on a restbillet; and to-day he went up with Du Boise."
"If he had only come back!" sighed Nellie. "But there! I mustn'tcomplain. Harry wouldn't let me if he were here. We both have to do ourduty. Now I'm going to see what I can do to help, and not be silly anddo any more fainting. I hope you'll pardon me," and she smiled at thetwo boys.
"Of course!" exclaimed Tom, with great emphasis, and again Miss Leroyblushed.
"Then, is to wait the only thing we can do?" she asked.
"That's all," assented Tom. "We may get a message from the clouds anyday."
"And, oh! I shall pray that it may be favorable!" murmured the girl."Perhaps I may question this Mr. Du Boise, and learn from him just whathappened?" she interrogated.
"Yes, we want to talk to him ourselves, as soon as he's able to sit up,"said Jack. "We want to get a shot at the Boche who downed Harry."
"So you are as fond of Harry as all that! I am glad!" exclaimed hissister. "Have you known him long?"
"We knew him slightly before we went to the flying school inVirginia with him," said Tom. "But down there, when we started in at'grass-cutting,' and worked our way up, we grew to know him better. ThenJack and I got our chance to come over. But Harry had a smash, and hehad to wait a year."
"Yes, I know. It almost broke his heart," said Miss Leroy. "I was awayat school at the time, which accounts for my not knowing more of youboys, since Harry always wrote me, or told me, about his chums. Then,when I came back after my graduation, I found that he had sailed forFrance."
"And maybe we weren't glad to see him!" exclaimed Tom. "It was likegetting letters from home."
"Yes, I recall, now, his mentioning that he had met over here somestudents from the Virginia school," said Miss Leroy. "Well, after Harrysailed I was wild to go, but father and mother would not hear of it atfirst. Then, when the war grew worse, and I showed them that I could dohard work for the Red Cross, they consented. So I sailed, but I neverexpected to get like this."
"Oh, well, everything may come out all right," said Tom, as cheerfullyas he could. But, in very truth, he was not very hopeful in his heart.
For once an aviator succumbs to the hail of bullets from the Germanmachine guns in an aircraft, and his own creature of steel and wingsgoes hurtling down, there is only a scant chance that the disabledairman will land alive.
Of course some have done it, and, even with their machines out ofcontrol and on fire, they have lived through the awful experience. Butthe chances were and are against them.
Harry Leroy had been seen to go down, apparently with his machine out ofcontrol, after a fusillade of Boche bullets. This much Du Boise had saidbefore his collapse. As to what the fallen aviator's real fate was, timealone could disclose.
"I can only wait!" sighed Nellie, as the boys took their leave. "Thedays will be anxious ones--days of waiting. I shall help here all Ican. You'll let me know the moment there is any news--good or bad--won'tyou?" she begged; and her eyes filled with tears.
"We'll bring you the news at once--night or day!" exclaimed Tom,vigorously.
As he and Jack walked out of the hospital, the latter remarked:
"You seem to be a favorite there, all right, Tom, my boy. If we weren'tsuch good chums I might be a bit jealous."
"If you feel that way I'll drop Bessie Gleason a note!" suggested Tom,quickly.
"Don't!" begged Jack. "I'll be good!"