Transcriber’s Notes:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.
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By Worthington Green
TWO AMERICAN BOYS IN THE WAR ZONE. Illustrated.
THE BOY FUGITIVES IN MEXICO. Illustrated.
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
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TWO AMERICAN BOYS IN THE WAR ZONE
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[Illustration: STOP, RAY! THEY’RE GOING TO SHOOT!]
TWO AMERICAN BOYS IN THE WAR ZONE
BY L. WORTHINGTON GREEN
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
[Illustration]
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
The Riverside Press Cambridge
1915
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COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY L. WORTHINGTON GREEN
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
_Published October 1915_
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TO GLADYS
WHOSE OWN WORK SERVES AS AN INSPIRATION
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NOTE
In writing this story the author has been indebted, for suggestions of
local color, to George Kennan’s illuminating article in the _National
Geographic Magazine_, “An Island in the Sea of History,” to Stephen
Graham’s fascinating book, _A Vagabond in the Caucasus_, and to Ruth
Kedzie Wood’s excellent guide, _The Tourist’s Russia_.
CONTENTS
I. THE JOURNEY TO RUSSIA 1
II. THE ARREST 14
III. THE FLIGHT DOWN THE VOLGA 26
IV. AN INVOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION
TO THE RUSSIAN ARMY 39
V. NIGHT PROWLERS 53
VI. A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER 64
VII. A LESGHIAN JAIL 75
VIII. AN ESCAPE 86
IX. A CHASE 101
X. IN HIDING 112
XI. WITHOUT WATER 125
XII. RESTING 139
XIII. THEIR FIRST GAME 151
XIV. LESGHIAN HOSPITALITY 162
XV. A BLOCKADE 176
XVI. SNOWED UNDER 188
XVII. AN ARCTIC CAMP 199
XVIII. FROM MIDWINTER TO MIDSUMMER 211
XIX. GOOD-BYE TO RUSSIA 224
XX. A GREAT DISASTER 240
XXI. CASTAWAYS 256
XXII. A RESCUE 270
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TWO AMERICAN BOYS IN THE WAR ZONE
CHAPTER I THE JOURNEY TO RUSSIA
After the Porter brothers, Sidney and Raymond, had escaped from Mexico
in their flight from Mexican rebels, they proceeded as rapidly as
possible to their El Paso home. There they found their father, who had
succeeded, several weeks before, in reaching El Paso from Chihuahua.
Mrs. Porter declared that the boys should then remain at home, at least
until they had ceased to be boys. She said that her nerves were not
equal to another such strain as they had endured while the boys were
in the wilds of Mexico, and that she would have no more wandering in
dangerous foreign lands.
Her husband reminded her, however, that there seemed to be nothing
in the boys’ recent adventure that would justify so drastic a
prohibition. The boys had successfully made a difficult journey
without harm, and had proved that they were quite able to take care
of themselves under unusual conditions of great danger, as he had all
along maintained that they were.
There was no question, though, of their going back to the Mexican mine.
The entire State of Chihuahua was so unsettled by the frequent changes
of the revolution that even Mr. Porter admitted it would be the wildest
folly to attempt to return there. So the boys entered the El Paso
High School for the rest of that year and the next, and their father
gradually reconciled himself to the idea of losing his entire Mexican
investments.
It was difficult for Mr. Porter to settle down quietly at home, where
he had no regular business, and, moreover, he possessed in a high
degree the American mania for travel. The result was, that one year of
inactivity was as much as he could endure, and as the second summer
approached he began to long for a change of scene. Being cut off from
his accustomed Mexican stamping ground, he was forced to look farther
afield. One day he read an account of the great Russian Fair at
Nizhni-Novgorod and that reminded him that he had long wished to visit
that wonderful mart. So he proposed that the entire family should make
the trip. It would, he said, be a liberal education for the boys, and
it was providential that the date of the Fair and their summer vacation
exactly coincided.
Mrs. Porter was plunged in despair at the proposal, for to penetrate to
the interior of Russia seemed to her like invading one of the wildest
and most impossible countries on earth. In vain her husband assured her
that Russian hotels were notoriously comfortable, and that, indeed, to
attain comfort in every department of his living was the ideal of the
Russian. To begin with, there was no more delightful course of ocean
travel than that supplied by the steamers of the Russian-American line
from New York to Libau. And to visit any of the peaceful countries
of Europe was a very different matter, anyway, from a journey in
strife-broken Mexico. Mr. Porter was obliged to admit that it would
necessitate a long journey, but he was sure every part of it would be
so delightful that his wife would never regret having gone.
Mrs. Porter was not in the least convinced, but experience had taught
her that when her husband once fixed his mind on a thing he seldom gave
it up, so she proposed a compromise. She would make one of the party
as far as New York, but would remain there with her sister, whom she
had long wished to visit, until Mr. Porter and the boys returned in
September.
The boys were clamorous that their mother should go with them, and
reminded her of the Eastern silks and rugs which she would undoubtedly
see, and might buy, at the Fair. They also made a great deal of the
delightful long voyage, knowing their mother’s enjoyment of the water;
but Mrs. Porter remained firm, and it was finally arranged as she had
suggested.
In a very short time, really, though it seemed an age to the impatient
boys, they were on the pier in New York ready to board the fine steamer
Kursk for Libau, Russia. Mrs. Porter gave the boys final instructions
about their clothes, and told them just where, in their trunk, she had
placed the box of sewing materials. The boys, besides being crack shots
with the rifle and six-shooter, an accomplishment which they had found
so valuable in their Mexican adventure, could replace missing buttons,
sew up ripped seams, and even put on patches, if necessary.
“Oh,” said Raymond, “I _wish_ we had brought our rifles, though I don’t
suppose we should be allowed to use them anywhere. But, mother, if we
_should_ get switched off into mountains where we couldn’t send you
word, you mustn’t be alarmed if you don’t hear from us for a long time.”
“If I thought anything of that sort would happen,” said his mother with
a worried look, “I should refuse now to let you go.”
“Ray is talking wild, as usual,” said Mr. Porter. “We are going by
rail direct from Libau to Nizhni-Novgorod, and then back by way of St.
Petersburg. I imagine there will not be much chance for a wild mountain
trip on that route.”
“I wish it were a mountain trip, though,” said Raymond.
“I guess we’ll have to travel in a civilized way this time, Ray,” said
his brother, “and I believe I shall enjoy it more.”
“I am sure,” said Mrs. Porter, “there will be no war, as there was in
Mexico, so I don’t see how you can get into any trouble.”
“Of course we shall not get into any trouble, my dear,” replied her
husband.
“I told father,” said Sidney, “that we ought to go through Germany, to
give him a chance to use his German.”
Mr. Porter’s mother had been a native German, and she had insisted
that her boy, during his childhood at home, should speak her tongue.
Learning the language in that way he had never known any difference
between it and English. He had not, however, been as wise as his
mother, and had not taught it to his own boys.
“I should like to do that,” said Mr. Porter, “but it would take too
long; you boys would not get back in time for school.”
“Which wouldn’t bother me any,” declared Raymond.
The last good-byes were finally said and the travelers stood on deck
waving their handkerchiefs to Mrs. Porter on the fast-receding pier.
While the boys had been great travelers by land, they had never before
made a long ocean voyage and the novel scenes and sensations were of
constant interest to them. The greatest interest began, however, after
the ship had traversed the English Channel and had passed through
the Strait of Dover into the North Sea. There the ships which they
encountered were numerous and made a pleasant variety after the broad
expanse of the Atlantic.
On the eighth day after leaving New York they made the port of
Rotterdam and the boys could give a day to quaint Dutch scenes. Then
came the delightful voyage up the North Sea, around the north end
of Denmark, through the narrow strait into the Baltic and to their
destination, Libau, three days packed full of pleasure and charm.
With the Great Fair in prospect there was little in Libau to detain
the travelers and at the earliest possible moment they were aboard a
train for Nizhni-Novgorod with three days of what they feared would be
tiresome travel ahead of them. But the boys found, to their delight,
that in the first-class coach they were given a compartment for three.
As Raymond said,--
“It’s just like having a private car.”
“And we even have our own bedding,” said Sidney, “which makes it still
more private.”
They had followed Baedeker’s instructions and had provided themselves
with traveling-rugs and pillows, which is the wisest course to pursue
on Russian railways.
However, even the charms of a private car may become tiresome, and all
the party were glad when, on the afternoon of August 1, their train
pulled into Nizhni-Novgorod. That city is situated along the right
bank of the Volga River, and of its great tributary, the Oka. The most
important part of the city is on the high bluff that borders the two
rivers along that side, and the hotel which our travelers selected was
on the bluff near the Kremlin.
Climbing the bluff in a cab they had tantalizing glimpses of the
magnificent view, and the boys did not want to go into the hotel until
they had seen more of it. Their father, however, suggested that they
had better help him select rooms. When that was accomplished and they
were alone Mr. Porter said,--
“I asked you to stay, boys, because I want to arrange an important
matter. I think I should make a better disposition of our money; it
does not seem to me wise for me to carry it all.”
“I don’t want to be bothered with money, father,” expostulated Raymond.
“I think you ought to have a reasonable amount, though,” said his
father. “You might want some badly when you were not with me.”
“I would rather have some,” said Sidney. “We should have been up a
stump in Mexico, Ray, if we hadn’t been able to use Ramon’s money.”
“What I propose is this,” said Mr. Porter: “I will turn over two
hundred dollars to you, Sidney, and one hundred dollars to Raymond. I
will keep a couple of hundred myself and will place two hundred dollars
in the trunk. I think I had better divide my express checks with you,
Sidney, too, and I will place a portion of those in the trunk.”
“Now that’s fixed up, let’s hurry out,” urged Raymond. “I want to see
that view before dark.”
Mr. Porter insisted on dividing the money and checks first, but when
that was done they went out to the Alexander Gardens, near by.
While there are high bluffs along the right banks of the Volga and the
Oka, on the opposite side extend level plains. From the Gardens the
travelers saw at their feet the two broad rivers, and on the peninsula
formed by the junction of the two streams was situated the great
temporary city of the Fair, connected with Nizhni-Novgorod by a bridge
of pontoons, transitory, like the community it served.
Beyond the Volga stretched plains, farther than the eye could reach
toward the Urals, hundreds of miles of cultivated fields and meadows.
“Gee!” exclaimed Raymond, “that looks like Russia, all right, without
any limit.”
“It is evident that one must travel in Russia,” said his father, “to
comprehend the size of the country.”
“Those plains look broader, somehow, than our own Western prairies,”
said Sidney, “but I guess it’s because we know they are bigger, for
often we can’t see across ours.”
Near them stood a gentleman who was also regarding the view. He must
have understood what had been said in English, though he turned to Mr.
Porter and spoke in German.
“We Russians are used to vast expanses of country, and a view like this
has a great charm for me. I have often wished that I might see the
American plains; they must be wonderful.”
“The American plains, no less than the American mountains, are
wonderful,” replied Mr. Porter in German. “But then, America is a
wonderful country.”
“And the Americans are a wonderful people,” said the stranger. “They
have accomplished marvels in an incredibly short time. Are many of them
linguists like yourself?”
“I can hardly be called a linguist,” replied Mr. Porter. “I speak only
German besides English. My mother was German.”
“Ah, your mother was German?”
“Yes,” said Mr. Porter, surprised at the rather significant tone of the
stranger’s voice.
A policeman who stood a short distance away, approached in response to
an almost imperceptible signal from the gentleman and placed himself at
Mr. Porter’s side.
“Will you have the kindness to come with me?” said the gentleman;
“there is some business that I wish to transact with you.”
“But, my dear sir,” said Mr. Porter, “why should I go with you, who are
a stranger to me? I must beg you to excuse me.”
“I am sorry that I cannot accept an excuse,” said the other, very
courteously; “it is absolutely necessary that you should go with me.”
Mr. Porter saw that he was probably being placed under arrest, and
concluded it was for political reasons of some sort. Though he believed
that any objection on his part would be futile, he determined to make
an attempt to at least obtain information.
“I beg of you the favor of an explanation,” he said.
“I cannot give you an explanation,” replied the other, “and I must
request you to come with me at once.”
“I have a passport issued from the office of the Secretary of State, at
Washington.”
“That will be examined later.”
“May I not appeal to the American Consul, if there be one here?”
“The United States has no representative here.”
“Well, sir, I suppose at least my sons may go with me.”
“It is not desired to detain the young men,” replied the gentleman with
considerable impatience. “You must come with me at once.” And he said
something in Russian to the officer, who stepped up and placed a hand
on Mr. Porter’s shoulder.
“Sidney,” said Mr. Porter as he was being led away, “I am arrested,
but this man will not tell me why. I believe I can clear myself of
any suspicion, but of course I can’t be sure. You boys go back to the
hotel and I will try to send you word. Don’t follow me, it would not be
allowed. Good-bye; keep a stiff upper lip.”