Captured and Under Fire.
Startled by the unusual circumstance of a human voice coming,
apparently, from the very earth at his feet, the boy paused in
wonderment. He glanced inquiringly about, searching for the owner of
the voice.
No one appeared, and thinking it either a trick of his imagination or
the work of some ventriloquist who desired to play a joke upon him, Ned
again started up the slight rise, intending to hasten toward the group
of officers, where he would get the receipt for his message.
Already the droning of the monoplane's motors told him that there was
need of haste if he would make the return trip to the Grey Eagle and
hope to even overtake his rival before reaching the aviation camp.
Impatient at the trick he thought had been played Ned fumed.
"Halt!" again came the command, and apparently from the same direction.
No one was in sight, and Ned was plainly puzzled.
Glancing along the slope to his right, he saw what at first sight
seemed to be the opening into a burrow of a fox or wolf or some other
creature of similar habits. Curiously enough, Ned detected a pair of
eyes peering forth from the darkness of the excavation.
With a start the boy realized, however, that the rifle barrel
protruding from the cavity was not the property of fox or wolf, but
indicated the presence of a human being. A closer glance showed him
that the eyes were not those of a wild animal, but belonged to a man. A
glint of metal and flash of color from the blackness behind the small
opening betokened a uniform. Ned's thoughts rioted frantically.
His first impulse was to turn and hasten from the spot as rapidly as
his legs would carry him, but he realized that the man with the rifle
was a determined character, and might not hesitate to shoot.
A volley of questions issued forth from the opening, but the language
was one unfamiliar to Ned, and he could only shake his head.
"I cannot understand you," he at length ventured. "Can you speak
English? Perhaps we might understand each other better if you can."
"English?" repeated the man from his location. "Yes, I speak English
very good!" This statement was belied by his accent and pronunciation,
but Ned accepted it at its face value, giving his whole attention to
the matter of carrying on the halting conversation.
"Why do you stop me?" Ned asked. "How did you get in there?"
"We stop all spies coming from the Germans!" replied the voice. "You
will remain where you are and my comrade will appear!"
"That's nice!" scorned Ned hotly. "Why, you are entirely mistaken! I
have never been in Germany! I am from the United States!"
"You have had a long journey," replied the other, with mock sympathy,
"and will need a rest before proceeding. Therefore, we will be glad to
have you accept the hospitality of our poor quarters!"
"But I am from the aviation camp to the westward of here. I am in a
race with a French air pilot, and you will cause me to lose the race!"
stormed Ned, beginning to see that the fellow meant to detain him.
"We have very comfortable quarters!" urged the other.
"Well, occupy them, then!" snapped Ned, "I am going on!"
"Listen!" commanded the other. "Unless you accept our so freely offered
hospitality of the drawing room, we shall be obliged to put you to
sleep in one of our nice new beds. They are quite comfortable, I assure
you. No one of the occupants has ever complained!"
Ned caught the significance of the remark, and decided that he did not
care to become a lodger with this man as landlord. He knew full well
why none of the tenants mentioned ever complained of the quarters. The
tenants referred to would never complain again of any quarters.
Wisely concluding that nothing would be gained by further efforts
to convince the fellow of his identity, Ned put away all thought of
immediate escape, and with it also laid aside the cherished hope of
beating the French pilot and his monoplane. That must wait.
A man in uniform appeared from behind a clump of bushes a short
distance to the right with such startling suddenness that Ned nearly
lost his composure. He carried a rope and approached Ned with a smile.
Ned held up a protesting hand and waved away the bond.
"You don't have to tie me up!" he said. "I'll go with you peaceably. I
shall not try to run away from such good landlords!"
"Will you not step into the parlor?" suggested the newcomer.
Believing compliance with their wishes the only way to placate them,
Ned followed his captor to the clump of bushes, behind which he
discovered a narrow shaft leading downwards into the earth. Steps,
uneven but firm, were cut into the sloping side, affording sure footing.
Under a low lintel Ned stooped and found himself in a sort of cave
or cellar, the sides propped and supported by short lengths of small
saplings, the roof braced with larger logs, the only opening, the
burrow-like hole in the hillside, providing light and ventilation.
A bunk with straw for mattress afforded sleeping accommodation, while
straw was plentifully strewn on the floor, making a fine rug.
"I do not understand the arrangement," Ned began, as he surveyed the
interior of the place. "What is the idea? Why bring me here?"
"If I had not captured you, another might have been minded to put
you to sleep!" replied the first speaker. "Not all of the men in the
trenches are considerate of Germans, but I liked your looks, and so you
are here now instead of fast asleep," he added, tapping his rifle and
smiling significantly, while he still looked out from his window.
"Germans are not usually welcome in the drawing room," added the other
soldier, "and they are put to sleep as soon as possible!"
"But I'm not a German!" protested Ned vigorously.
"No?" inquired the other politely. "Listen a moment, I hear an officer
approaching. We shall soon learn if you are a 'Bosche'!"
Ned was startled to discover a fourth person in the narrow confines of
the place. The late arrival was evidently an officer.
Saluting, the two occupants of the burrow began a report in French
concerning their captive. Evidently full details were being asked and
given, for the conversation consumed much time.
"Come with me," the officer said to Ned at length, as he turned toward
an opening that had heretofore escaped the lad's attention.
"But, officer," protested the boy, "my comrades are out there, waiting
for me to return! I cannot leave them!"
A few words of command from the officer caused both soldiers to make
hasty preparations for departure. They were evidently about to sally
forth to capture the crew of the Grey Eagle. Ned fumed. He had been
very foolish, he thought, to make so rash a statement.
The officer indicated that Ned was to proceed into the passageway.
For some distance they passed through a tunnel-like opening, scarcely
large enough for a full-grown person to negotiate. At intervals
an opening, somewhat similar to the one first seen by Ned, gave
ventilation and light. It served the double purpose of window and
loop-hole, the officer explained, in case Germans should venture too
near. Once, as he paused to look forth from one of the openings, he
called Ned's attention to a clump of trees some little distance away.
"Can you see that man moving about?" he questioned. "Yes? Well,
presently you will see him throw up his arms and fall. Our
sharpshooters will get him! Your men are too reckless. They expose
themselves too much! Now he is preparing a position for one of your
guns. Tonight your friends will drag up to that clump of trees a gun
this big," he formed his arms into a circle. "Then the ranges will
be given them, and they will start shelling these trenches. After
they have demolished our so hardly earned resting places, they will
charge. Tomorrow night they will charge. Then they will occupy these
trenches--perhaps!"
"My friends haven't got a gun, except an automatic pistol and a rifle!"
protested Ned. "We will not charge the trenches, because we do not
know they are here. If your man had not stopped me I would never have
suspected that this hillside was undermined as it is!"
"Ah!" ejaculated the officer, eyeing Ned closely. "Perhaps you tell the
truth. But come," he added, "we must proceed."
Not far from where they were standing a larger excavation had been
made, and this was fitted up more luxuriously than the other. A mirror
was on the wall, a stove in the corner, and a telephone instrument
rested on an upturned box near the bunks. As they approached, shouts
of laughter greeted their ears. Evidently the life in the underground
passages had not destroyed the soldiers' sense of humor.
Turning a corner, the cause of the merriment was at once apparent. One
soldier was seated on an empty provision case, his face covered with
lather. Another stood beside him, endeavoring to play the part of a
barber, but with very indifferent success, judging by the expletives
from the lathered one. All seemed hugely enjoying the circumstance.
As the officer entered he called out a low order. Instantly every man
was on his feet standing at attention. Even the lathered soldier stood.
Simultaneously their hands were raised in military salute, and remained
so until the salute had been returned by the officer.
Picking up the telephone, the officer spoke rapidly for a few moments,
then replaced the instrument and directed a question to the man
watching from the window. That individual replied at some length,
pointing out toward the same clump of trees that had been indicated
to Ned by the officer himself. Evidently something unusual was taking
place.
A sharp exclamation from the soldier on watch brought the others to
their feet. He was excitedly pointing toward the trees and speaking
rapidly. Ned saw a cloud of white smoke appear in the grove.
Following the glances of the men, he was startled to see hurtling
through the air a large black object. It appeared to be approaching
their position. Ned clearly followed the missile until it fell to earth
but a short distance away. Scarcely had it touched the earth before
their burrow was shaken and rocked by a mighty explosion.
Dirt fell from the roof in showers. Ned had clapped his hands to his
ears as the missile fell, expecting an explosion, and thus did not
suffer the painful shock that would otherwise have been felt.
Glancing from the opening he saw an immense cloud of heavy black smoke
hovering all about the place where the shell had landed. An awful odor
crept into the place, nearly choking the men.
Again a cry from the man on watch startled Ned. Another shell was
coming! He turned to run back along the passageway, but stumbled on
the uneven floor and fell. A shout from the officer roused the boy.
Looking backward, he could see a revolver leveled in his direction, and
lost no time in scrambling to his feet. Just in time he dodged around
an angle in the passage. Shot after shot came tearing into the dirt at
his side. Luckily the officer's aim was poor.
In a half-panic Ned raced as fast as he was able along the narrow
tunnel. His one thought was to regain the open air and find his chums,
who would be frantic at his long-delayed return. He had gone but a few
steps until the earth seemed to rock violently. A burst of air from the
rear swept the boy off his feet. His ears were deafened by a terrific
blast that shook the entire surroundings.
Scrambling upward beneath the weight of dirt that had fallen, Ned with
great difficulty stood upright. Strangely enough, daylight was all
about him. The roof of the trench had fallen!
Glancing backward, Ned saw a yawning pit where once had been the
roomful of soldiers. A heavy black cloud of smoke hung over the place.
Astounded at the narrow margin by which he had escaped the disaster
that had overtaken the men in the trench, Ned stood for an instant,
unable to decide what to do. Then his training prompted him to return
to lend whatever aid might be in his power to such as needed it.
Search as he might, the boy could find no indication of living men.
All, seemingly, had been blown to atoms. As he was turning away from
the scene, sick at heart, he brushed aside a low-growing bush. From
an upper branch fell an object. It was part of a man's arm, with a
revolver still clutched in the hand. Ned ran at full speed from the
spot.