Boy Scouts on the Trail
Page 20
CHAPTER XX
A DESPERATE GAME
Frank had sped away because he was afraid that the officer mightrecognize him in a moment also. And yet it was not fear, in the sensethat he was fearful of what might happen to him, that led him seeminglyto abandon his comrade. It was the knowledge that were he too aprisoner, there would be no hope for either of them. He knew how theGermans must have regarded the destruction of the Zeppelins. It was ablow that might prove, when the final accounting was made, to have costthem the success of the invasion of France. And he had no illusions asto the fate of those who might be proved to be responsible for that.
Technically, they had not acted as spies when they had played the daringtrick that had resulted in such a disaster to the German cause. But theyhad been non-combatants, civilians, and by the laws of war the civilianwho takes active measures of any sort against the enemy is liable todeath. The German army enforced this rule strictly and invariably.Neither age nor sex was a reason for sparing one who had violated it. Awoman spy, a boy of fifteen who fired at Germans, would alike be made toface a firing squad.
No. If he and Henri were caught, and this officer, who had already shownhis venomous hate for them, was their accuser, they would never live tosee the German defeat for which they prayed. Frank hoped that Henriwould understand, that he would know that he had taken to flight becauseit afforded the only chance of saving him.
Frank had reasoned quickly. He had been sure that the next move of theGerman officer would have been to denounce him also. But while theGerman officer had had a good look at Henri on the night of the Zeppelindisaster, he had not seen Frank. Frank had been in the shadow when theofficer had tried to murder Henri; he had taken the German by surprise,and stunned him. And so there was no way in which the German could knowhim again, unless he saw him with Henri and so leaped to the conclusionthat he must also have been with him on the night of disaster.
By that process of reasoning Frank argued that he might remain free togo about the town. The Germans had come to trust the Boy Scouts,understanding that their honor was pledged when they gave their word,even to an enemy. Some of the restrictions applying to the othercitizens of Amiens did not restrain them. They were allowed to be on thestreets after the hour of curfew, for one thing. And between the scoutsand a good many of the German privates and younger officers a relationalmost friendly had been established. Frank, for instance, was welcomedat one Bavarian mess, which contained several soldiers who had studiedat English schools, and liked a chance to air their knowledge of theEnglish tongue. He hoped to gain some information in this way.
Nor was he wrong. His friends had heard of the arrest of Henri, who,like Frank, was popular with them. And it turned out that they hadlittle use for the officer who had caused the arrest. He was known as atyrant who had more than once during the campaign shot down his own menfor slight breaches of discipline. Frank learned that he had beendegraded for the destruction of the Zeppelins, for which he had beenheld responsible. His superiors had scouted his story of two boys whohad burned the dirigibles, and had assumed that he had been careless.
Therefore Frank found it easy to discover where Henri was confined. Hewas to be tried by court-martial early in the morning, and for the nighthe was in a room on the ground floor of the Hotel de Ville.
"He's only a boy," said a Bavarian corporal. "No need to guard himclosely. Even if he escaped, where could he go? Our men are everywhere."
Frank smiled to himself. He had made a discovery a day or two beforethat had not escaped his mind. That afternoon he managed to makecertain preparations unobserved. And when night came he was ready tohazard his own liberty, and his life, if that should prove to benecessary, in an attempt to rescue Henri. He knew the room in whichHenri was confined. It was on the side of the Hotel de Ville thatoverlooked the river. No sentries were posted there, and it was easy forFrank to get to a spot directly underneath Henri's window. The otherbank of the river was well guarded, and that was why no sentries watchedthe side on which was the town hall. It was argued, Frank supposed, thatanyone escaping must attempt to swim the river and that when they triedto climb the other bank it would be easy to find them.
In principle, too, that was a good idea. What it did not take intoaccount was the discovery that Frank had made--and kept to himself.
It was just before midnight when he began a faint tapping at Henri'swindow. He used a light bamboo cane, tipped with soft cloth, so that thesound, audible to anyone in the room, would not carry more than a fewfeet. And he tapped out his signal in the Morse code very slowly,knowing that Henri would hear and understand.
In a few moments there was the sound of the window opening very gently.And then Henri slipped down beside him, taking the short drop by hangingfrom the window with his hands. He seized Frank's hand.
"I knew you would try to help me," he whispered. "But I had better goback. We cannot escape. There are sentries on the other bank of theSomme. They would catch us together, and you would be a prisoner, too."
"Follow me," said Frank. "Take off your shoes. Drop quietly into thewater--make no sound of a splash. Swim after me. I shall show yousomething you do not expect to see."
Frank slipped into the water. Both boys were expert swimmers, and Frank,leading the way, slipped along in the deep shadow, without a sound.Henri swam after him. At last Frank stopped and whispered to Henri.
"You see this buttress? Dive just beyond it, and swim under water forten feet. Put up your hands then, and rise. There will be room."
At once he dived and disappeared, and Henri followed. When they came tothe surface they were in a dark, damp hole, that smelled of slime andfilth. But in a moment Henri felt steps, and then there was a faintlight that illuminated a vault full of water. And, to his wonder, he sawa boat, covered, except at one end, with a dark cloth.
"In with you!" whispered Frank. "Under the cloth, and lie still!"
Frank followed when Henri had obeyed. And then the boat began to move ina direction different from that by which they had entered the vault.
"I am pushing it with my hands along the wall," explained Frank, stillin a whisper. "That will bring us to the opening--the smallest possiblethat would allow the boat to pass into the stream. Then the current willcarry us down. I have a rudder, that will hold us in the shadow of theleft bank through all the turns. It is a chance--the only one we had. Ifall goes well, we shall drift down below the city and be safe!"
Soon they were caught in the current of the Somme. There followed a timeof terrible and desperate trial and terror. At every shout they heardthey thought they had been discovered. Never did they dare to raisetheir heads to look out. Their chance was a double one, but of thefaintest, at best. Perhaps they would not be seen at all; perhaps, evenif the boat was seen, no sentry would consider it worth remark.
For hours they drifted, unable to tell how far they had gone. Frank,guessing their distance by the time it had taken a piece of wood tofloat a certain distance during the afternoon, had hoped to be wellbeyond the city when daylight came. But he had not been certain.
Gradually a faint light crept through the dark, stifling cloth. Thetemptation to raise it and look out was terrible. But they resisted,speaking only occasionally in whispers. With every minute that passedtheir chance for success grew greater. And yet at the last minute theymight be caught.
At last there could be no doubt that the sun was up, and that there wasfull daylight. And then, suddenly, there was a sharp tug at the boat.With a groan Frank started up, and Henri too.
And what they saw was an amazed French peasant, and all around thesmiling country below Amiens, which was far behind!