Belgians to the Front

by Ralph Henry Barbour

  CHAPTER X

  PRISONERS OF WAR

  For five minutes the two scouts, appalled, horrified, stood as if gluedto the floor, staring at the scene of destruction. The guns in FortBoncelles had the range now. Nothing more than Paul's hurried message,"Your shell landed beyond the guns," had been necessary. Now shellafter shell was dropped in the midst of the battery that had been wipedout before it could fire even a single shot. There was a deadly,terrifying accuracy about the whole proceeding. Miles away the Belgiangunners, safe in their concrete and steel turrets, were producing thiswaste and destruction--not by fighting, it seemed to Paul and Arthur,but by a blackboard exercise. That was all it really was.

  "You see, they know just where their gun is, and they can adjust it tofire a certain distance. They can take a map, and fire a shell at anygiven spot, just by mathematics. They know the angle they must use,and they know just how far, and how fast that shell will go. It won'talways go quite true, of course; that was why the first shell didn'tstrike just the right spot."

  "But why is that, if everything is so exact? I shouldn't think they'dever make a miss."

  "Oh, there are lots of reasons. For one, after a gun has been fired afew times the inside is affected. The rifling is worn in places, andthat gives a slightly different spin to the shell. It doesn't takemuch of a change in conditions to alter the course of a shell a gooddeal. And the weather counts, too. Sometimes there is more airresistance; on a day when it is damp and foggy, with low lying clouds,for instance. So, though they have the range exactly, they may have toalter what they call the formula a little."

  "And they find out by shooting how nearly right they are?"

  "Yes, that's just what they do. It's the only way they can do it, too.That's why it's so important, when guns are being fired at targetsmiles away, to have some one report the effect of the first shot ortwo. In a regular battle, in open country, both armies will probablyuse aeroplanes in this war. The man in the aeroplane can see justwhere the shells strike, and send back word."

  "How?"

  "In lots of ways. Some of the bigger ones have a small wirelessequipment. Sometimes they drop bombs, that make a smoky patch in theair when they explode--they drop them right over the place theartillery wants to hit, and then the men with the guns get theirinstruments and figure out just what the range is."

  "I don't think the Germans are so very brave, after all," said Arthur,in a moment. "They all ran as soon as the shells began to come."

  "That doesn't show they're not brave--it only shows that their officershave some common sense. What good could they do if they stayed thereto be killed? They couldn't save those guns, could they? I'm sorrythey couldn't have been warned, that's all. You see, they might havethought the first shell was just a chance, lucky shot and so theystayed after that, and tried to fire themselves. But when the secondone came plumping into them they knew the truth--and the officers sentthem to cover, just as any officers who knew their business would havedone."

  "I suppose it's war," said Arthur, a little gloomily. "But--"

  "It's war right enough," said Paul, with a shudder. "It's not like thepictures we've seen of Waterloo, but it's war. But there'll be plentyof the other sort, too, before it's over, Arthur. You needn't worryabout that. The Germans haven't had time to bring up very many menyet, but I expect they will, and they may try to rush the forts. Didyou notice that they were stretching a lot of wire fencing near FortBoncelles when we passed it last night?"

  "Yes. What was that for?"

  "To stop an infantry charge, or to help to stop it. You see, an attackby infantry is likely to be made at night, when it's harder to see themen being massed. And the wire fence piles up a charge. Oh, I thinkthere'll be some pretty bad fighting of the old-fashioned sort beforethey capture Liege!"

  "I don't see how they can capture Liege at all," said Arthur, stoutly."The firing of the guns has almost stopped; it seems to me that they'vebeen beaten back."

  "It seems so, but I'm afraid it isn't really true," said Paul, with asmile. "The Germans haven't begun yet, Arthur. And there are millionsof them. They can put thousands of men in the field to ourhundreds--they will outnumber us ten to one, at least. Liege isn'tsupposed to hold out against them very long. No one expects it to. Ifit checks them, keeps them from spreading all over Belgium in theirfirst rush, it will have done its part fully."

  "I'd like to see them beaten here, just the same," said Arthur,stubbornly.

  "I'm going down to report what happened," said Paul. "Keep watch,Arthur, but I don't think we can do much more here. I believe that wewon't have to stay here very much longer."

  Boncelles had ceased firing by this time, and the close, immediate dinwas at an end for the time, at least. There was still heavy firingfrom the northwest, which Paul guessed was from the guns of FortPontisse, replying to an attack launched from Vise and Argenteau.Major du Chaillu had said that the Germans would almost certainly tryto cross the Meuse at Vise, which was the best place they could chooseto launch the cavalry raid he said would be likely to form a part oftheir strategy.

  "We will have troops there," he said, "to try to hold them back,supported by Fort Pontisse. But if they come in great force they canprobably break through there, for the place is not well suited todefence."

  Everywhere else in the circle that was closing about Liege the firingseemed to have died away. And Paul was anxious to know how the openingskirmish--as he correctly judged it to have been--had gone, as well asto make his report of what he and Arthur had seen. Delaunay waswaiting at the Boncelles end of the wire.

  "You are there at last!" he said, relief in his voice. "I was afraidyou and your brave friend had been hurt."

  "No, we're all right. It's the Germans who were hurt! You smashedthat battery to pieces, lieutenant! They never got a single gun readyto fire. Your second shell smashed the two that were in position, andthe shells after that simply swept the location of the battery. Idon't think the guns can be of much use--not for a long time, and untilthey have been thoroughly repaired, at any rate. How has the fightinggone elsewhere?"

  "We are holding them along the Meuse, north of Pontisse. They attackedwith their infantry there, but we beat them back easily."

  "That is good news! We are holding them all along the line, then?"

  "Yes, for the present. But they have not brought up large forces yet.When they do, it will soon be over unless we receive heavyreenforcements. You two had better come in, if you can get away fromyour position without being detected. There is no more for you to dothere. You have already accomplished far more than we hoped."

  "We are to report to you at Fort Boncelles?"

  "It makes no difference. No, I think you had better try to get intoLiege itself and find Major du Chaillu. Good luck!"

  "Thank you, lieutenant, and the same to Fort Boncelles! We will try toescape from here. I should think we ought to have no great trouble,for the Germans will be busy at their battery again, as soon as theyfind the shelling has ceased."

  "Yes. We will give them another round or two at intervals during thenight, just to let them know that we still think of them."

  When he had finished talking to the fort, Paul proceeded to hide thetelephone as well as he could. Sooner or later the Germans werecertain to come to the garage and it was desirable, for a good manyreasons, that they should find no evidences of the use to which it hadbeen put. For one thing, it was impossible to tell what was going tohappen. It might well turn out that further use could be made of thetelephone later. And when Paul had done, he felt that it was highlyimprobable that the Germans could discover the installation. And then,just as he finished, Arthur cried out in a voice sharp with alarm, andPaul rushed up to join him.

  The ground about the garage seemed suddenly to have sprouted soldiers.There were men everywhere, hundreds of them, advancing in loose order.For a moment Paul hung to the window, fascinated by the sight. Then hecaught himself.
/>   "It's an attack on Boncelles!" he said. "I'm going to warn them if Ihave time. I don't care what happens. Arthur, get away from here! Ifthey come in, pretend you can't speak at all."

  And on the word he was off, rushing down again, tearing away the coverhe had provided for the telephone. He had to wait an agonizing two orthree minutes before there was any answer, and once more he was surethat the wire must have been discovered and cut. But at last there wasan answering voice in his ear, and he gave his news.

  "Infantry?" asked Delaunay. "They must be mad!"

  "They are planning a surprise attack, I suppose," said Paul. "Thereare a great many of them--and I am almost sure I saw some machine guns."

  "If their battery hadn't been put out, I could understand," saidDelaunay. "They might have attacked under the cover of a heavy firefrom that. But to bring infantry against fortifications! It seemslike suicide."

  "I must go now," said Paul. "They are all around us. I don't know howsoon they may come in. You will be ready for them?"

  "Don't worry about that! We'll give them a hotter reception than theyexpect!"

  Paul smashed the telephone now. Perhaps the Germans, if they found it,would think it had been useless from the beginning of the fighting.And, just as he went upstairs, there was a crash at the door, and halfa dozen German soldiers, led by an officer, broke in. In a moment Paulwas seized; in another two men had gone upstairs, and returned, eachwith a hand gripping one of Arthur's arms.

  "What are you doing here?" asked the officer, in German. Paulunderstood him very well, but thought it better to pretend ignorance.He answered in French, saying he did not understand, and the Germanofficer repeated his question in French.

  "We--we lived in the house that was burned,"' said Paul, pretending tobe greatly frightened. "We did not know where to go or what to do. Sowe stayed here."

  "How long have you been here?"

  "Since last night."

  "You heard the explosions just now?"

  "Yes. I did not know what they were."

  "Take them back," said the lieutenant to a corporal. "You are interritory occupied by our forces where no civilians have any right tobe," he added, speaking to Paul. "Unless you can prove that you areinnocent, you will be tried and condemned as spies. Have you any armshere?"

  "No, sir," said Paul.

  A quick search confirmed his statement. But though that seemed tocount in their favor, the order was not countermanded. In a fewmoments they were on their way through the German lines, and in half anhour they reached what was plainly the headquarters of a brigade atleast, perhaps of a whole division. There they were thrust into asmall hut that already contained three other prisoners, Belgianpeasants. Outside the door there was a guard. They were prisoners ofwar and if the truth about their doings came out, they would almostcertainly be shot, despite their youth.