by Gordon Bates
CHAPTER III
ANOTHER PUZZLE
"What's the matter up ahead there?" came the demand from Schnitzel,who, with Bob, was helping along the disabled Iggy. "Why don't you goon, Jimmy?"
"Is the way blocked?" asked Bob. "Are we stuck again?"
"Keep still back there!" fiercely whispered Sergeant Jimmy. "Don't makesuch a row, or they'll hear you!"
"Who?" asked Franz, and this time he lowered his voice to the desiredpitch. "Are there some Germans up ahead? Did the blowing up of ourdugout mean that our lines are smashed?" His voice was anxious. He andBob could not see beyond the place where Roger and Jimmy had come to ahalt.
"Just wait a minute," advised Jimmy, still keeping to a whisper. "Rodgeand I just saw something that may be all right, and may be all wrong.We're going to see what it is. We'll tell you when we come back. Staywhere you are with Iggy. It may not be safe to go on any farther."
Bob and Schnitzel let Iggy lean up against the tunnel wall. The Polishlad closed his eyes and made himself as comfortable as possible. Histwo companions looked ahead along the dark shaft which connected thetwo former German dugouts. They could dimly see Jimmy and Roger movingahead, now and then cautiously flashing their pocket torches.
And the strange sight that had so startled the two leading Khaki Boyswas this. In the second dugout, which did not seem to have been muchdamaged by the blast that, for a time, had buried the Khaki Boys, Rogerand Jimmy saw four men. They stood in the middle of the old dugout,which had not been used in some time, and on a table, about which theywere congregated, burned a candle stuck in the neck of a bottle.
But the curious fact about it all was that while two of the men worethe regulation American army uniform, the other two were in civilianattire. And it needed but an instant's thought on the part of Roger andJimmy to make them understand that there was something vitally wronghere.
Civilians were not only not supposed to be so far within the frontlines, but they were actually forbidden. It was against all militaryrules and regulations. No one without a uniform was allowed so nearthe front--even the newspaper correspondents being rigidly required toconform to certain rules in this respect.
The reason for this was obvious. So stern were the necessities of warthat it was imperative that each man bear some distinctive mark. He waseither a friend or a foe, and the only way this could be told, wherethere were so many thousands, was by a uniform.
Of course, the wearing of a uniform did not guarantee that the maninside it was a friend. He might be a spy. But the appearance of men incivilian garb within the army lines caused suspicion at once. And thissuspicion was at once engendered in the minds of Roger and Jimmy.
"What do you think of that?" whispered Roger.
"I don't think very much," was Jimmy's answer, as they paused at anangle in the tunnel and gazed forward into the candle-lighted dugout."It looks bad to me."
"That's what I say. Those are two doughboys, or some of our Sammies,anyhow. As for the other two--say, I haven't seen anyone in civies forso long it looks strange. What do you think those two civilians can bedoing there talking to two of our men?"
"I give it up--at least for the present," said Jimmy. "It's anotherpuzzle--like the time when we saw Captain Frank Dickerson at the redmill, maybe."
"They could be French refugees," went on Roger. "Maybe they have beenheld prisoners by the Germans, and just got away."
"Well, that's a possibility, of course," assented his chum. "But theydon't look as if they had been in prison. They're too well dressed, andthey look too well fed for that. In fact they look more like Germansthan Frenchmen."
"They do," assented Roger, as he peered over his friend's shoulder."Still you can't always tell. At one time we thought Captain Dickersonlooked like a German, but he wasn't. But the fact that these men are incivilian clothes is what gets me. They haven't any right so far insideour lines dressed like that."
"You're right," said Jimmy. "There's some sort of a mystery here. Itmay turn out all right, and it may be all wrong. I'm going to----"
Jimmy interrupted himself to utter an exclamation of surprise, forsuddenly one of the men leaned over the table and blew out the candle,leaving the dugout in darkness. And, almost as if this was a signal ofsome sort, there began a furious bombardment, the echoes of which cameto the ears of the Khaki Boys.
"They're at it again!" cried Roger.
"Those are our guns!" declared Jimmy. "We're paying the Huns back forsmashing our fine dugout!"
"The one we took from the Germans," added his chum. "Say, Jimmy," hewent on. "You know all this around here used to be within the Germanlines; this tunnel and the dugouts."
"Of course I know it," returned Jimmy. "What of it?"
"Well, maybe there's a secret passage leading over to their new linesand trenches from here. Maybe that's how those two civilians got inhere."
"Nothing like that!" declared Jimmy. "The German lines are too far awayfrom here now. Besides, why would two lone Germans venture back in theenemy's camp? It isn't reasonable."
"Well, there's something queer," declared Roger, "and we'd betterreport it."
"I guess so," agreed the young sergeant. "But now what shall we do--goahead or wait here?"
"Let's show a light and go on," decided Roger, for they had darkenedtheir flash torches on seeing the burning candle. They had stood inthe darkness while looking into the dugout containing the four men.
Jimmy hesitated a moment. He did not at all like the situation. It was"extremely ticklish," he said afterward. To show a light now, whenthe four men were in darkness, would mean that Jimmy and Roger wouldbe targets for any hostile act. They would be in plain view while theothers were not. Roger guessed something of what was passing in Jimmy'smind for he said:
"There can't be any danger. Those were two of our own doughboys there."
"Yes," was the answer. "I guess we can take a chance. But have yourautomatic ready while I show the glim. No telling what may happen."
Roger let a faint gleam escape from between two fingers which hepressed over the small bulb of his pocket flash lamp. He directedthis gleam into the dugout, and then he and his chum received anothersurprise.
For the place was empty. The four men--two soldiers and twocivilians--had disappeared!
As Jimmy and Roger stood in the tunnel, a few feet away from the doorleading into the dugout, from behind them came Bob's voice.
"Say!" he whispered, "are you fellows going to stand there chinning allday? We want to get Iggy somewhere so we can see what the matter withhim is! What's the row, anyhow--why the traffic hold-up?"
"Something queer going on here, that's all," answered Roger. "Come onnow--the way's clear. Wow! Hear that gun!"
"One of our big new ones," remarked Jimmy, as the concussion shook thetunnel and rattled down particles of dirt from the sides and roof.
"If there's fighting going on we ought to be in it!" exclaimed Franz,as he and Bob started on again with the disabled Iggy. They could seethe dim gleam of Roger's lamp ahead of them.
"Oh, we'll get in it as soon as anyone," remarked Jimmy. "But first wewant to find out what's going on here. Come on, fellows. We can get outof the tunnel and into this dugout, anyhow. This place seems to be allright. I know my way out. The cave-in didn't extend this far back."
This was true. The big shell that had brought their rest dugout downabout the heads of the Khaki Boys had done no damage here. One endof the tunnel--that nearest the big underground shelter--was partlydemolished, but the end connecting with the second dugout was notdisturbed.
Into this dugout, then, went the five Khaki Boys, Iggy shuffling alongby putting his arms over the shoulders of Franz and Bob. They had beenobliged to proceed sideways in single file along the narrow tunnel,but the dugout was large enough to accommodate a dozen or more.
"They aren't here!" exclaimed Jimmy, as he quickly looked around theplace, Roger having relighted the candle in the bottle.
"Who aren't here?" Franz demanded.
"Where?" Roger wanted to know.
Jimmy pointed to a rude door leading out of the tunnel. It was answerenough.
"Say, you fellows act as though there was a dark mystery here,"complained Bob, as he helped Iggy to a seat on a box.
"I'm beginning to think there is," was Jimmy's answer. And hardly hadthe words passed his lips than from the door leading out of the dugoutcame a voice saying:
"Come on now! We can get 'em this way, I guess!"
The four Khaki Boys drew their revolvers and stood tense and waiting,forming a protecting screen in front of Iggy.