Granger laughed when Kenneth related the incidents of the past
twenty-four hours.
"You are uncommonly lucky young daredevils," he said. "To the best of
my knowledge Proteus, for all his quick changes, had only one life; you
seem to have several apiece. The only pity is that you couldn't enjoy
the triumph that would have attended your marching of the prisoners into
camp."
"Yes, I should have liked that," said Kenneth. "But what are you doing
here? What is your game? Your disguise is perfect, upon my word!"
"I will tell you--in confidence," he replied with a sly look. "From
information received I arrived here yesterday afternoon. As you see,
the amiable Teutons have left their mark on the house. My informant had
led me to expect that it would be visited by certain German gentlemen.
Sure enough, late last night an armoured car honked at the door, and
when I lifted the bar with my fumbling fingers, there entered an officer
and a civilian. A sergeant and three privates remained outside until
the major ordered them in to search the house. The civilian was clearly
a man of some importance, judging by the deference--somewhat strange
among Germans--paid to him by the soldier occupants of the car. He went
by the name of Brinckmann, but as an ornament of society in Cologne, and
occasionally I believe in London also, he was known as Kurt Hellwig."
"By George!" exclaimed Kenneth.
"I thought I should interest you."
"The cur!"
"Hush, my dear fellow! Hellwig enjoys imperial favour. He boasted of a
particularly cordial interview with the War Lord, who appears to take a
close personal interest in underground operations. Well, the major and
Hellwig dined together--if the scratch meal that my trembling hands
prepared for them could be called a dinner. They had to be content with
inferior wine: thirsty compatriots of theirs had consumed the best. I
waited at table: in our--profession, we play many parts. They were
expecting a visit from a high-placed officer this morning; that was the
item in my original information that led me to impersonate the aged
servitor, sans teeth, sans eyes--you know the quotation. As a Belgian
peasant, speaking French only villainously, I could not be expected to
understand the language of these lords of the world. They conversed
quite freely, and confirmed my informant in every particular. I hoped to
hear more this morning, but unluckily Fate has robbed me of the
opportunity. A despatch rider came up a little while ago on one of
those noisy mechanical monstrosities that have ousted the thoroughbred
of former days."
"Oh, come now! The motor cycle is much more useful than the horse,"
Kenneth interrupted.
"Especially when a tyre bursts, a nut falls off, or the gearing goes
wrong! However, it appeared that the appointment was cancelled. The
high officer would not come here, but summoned my gentlemen to meet him
at Marche, some fifteen miles west."
"They have advanced as far as that, then?" said Pariset ruefully.
"They are on the way to Paris, my dear sir," said Granger. "They have,
I understand, given rendezvous there for the 26th of this month. Their
confidence is, perhaps, a little ahead of their capacity. But your
unexpected arrival--we cannot know everything!--is very welcome. I seem
to see that by this happy chance my time may not be wholly wasted. You
will make very good Uhlans when I have touched you up a little."
"What do you mean?" asked Kenneth.
"Hellwig said, on leaving, that he and his friends would return about
midday. In his pleasant way he threatened to burn the house over my
head if I did not prepare a better dejeuner than the dinner he suffered
last night. Imagine my agitation! What a calamity! How should I meet
my master when he returns? My hands shook so violently that I began to
be afraid of overdoing my part! ... But now, gentlemen, for Herr
Hellwig's dejeuner. I can count on your assistance. He will need a
good digestion!"
"You mean to tackle them?" asked Pariset.
"I don't want to be unfair to either party--to take you at the Germans'
valuation, or to rate them too low. Suppose I stand aside; there will
then be two against two."
"But there are four others," said Kenneth.
"Who being of inferior clay are not allowed to contaminate the air for
their betters. They remain outside. Last night they took turns at
sentry-go in the rain in front of the house, and when not on duty dozed
in the car."
"They may bring others back with them," suggested Pariset.
"They will not, if I know my Hellwig," answered Granger. "Of course we
are wofully outnumbered if they all take a hand, to say nothing of the
machine gun. The sound of that would probably bring down upon us a
swarm of gentle Germans."
"Are they so near?" asked Kenneth.
"I tottered through a large camp of them a couple of miles to the north,
and this morning I saw from the upper windows troops moving along a road
within a mile and a half to the west."
"Then we should have tumbled right into the camp if we had gone on,"
said Kenneth.
"I think better of you than that! But you see that we must keep the
machine gun quiet at all costs. A revolver shot would be safe, perhaps;
but if we can avoid that, too, so much the better. Now I really must go
and make my perquisitions. Last night I cooked some new-killed beef
they brought with them; to-day they expect something more choice. I
must scour the neighbourhood. There will be plenty of time, I think; if
they should return before I do, I must leave you to exercise the same
resourcefulness as has defied the superman hitherto. They may search the
house as they did last night. As a precaution, I suggest that you take
refuge in the garden during my absence. The shrubberies are excellent."
"Can you give us something to eat?" said Kenneth. "We are famished."
"Unhappily they cleared the board this morning, leaving me nothing but
the crumbs. But I will be as quick as possible. You shall breakfast
royally."
He left them. Instead of adopting his suggestion they went to the top
of the house and watched the long defile of German troops on the western
road. They would hear or see the returning car in good time to make
their escape by the back door.
Within an hour Granger returned, with a couple of fowls, a duck, and
other comestibles purchased at high prices from the few peasants in the
neighbouring village whom the approach of the Germans had not scared
away. Among his many accomplishments was a considerable skill in
cooking. He roasted the duck and one of the fowls, prepared bread sauce
and apple, boiled potatoes to a nice point of flouriness, turned out
Brussels sprouts dry and crisp.
"Now we will make a start," he said. "I can always work better if I am
well fed, and you, I am sure, are very sharpset."
"We are indeed," said Kenneth. "But what about the Germans?"
"There will be at least a smell of cooking when they arrive. The
pleasures of hope are keener than the pleasures of memory, I believe.
While you eat, I will talk. What I say may aid your digestion; but you
must exercise your own united judgment. When you have finished, I
suggest that you rest until they come; they are not soft-tongued, and if
you fall asleep their entrance will waken you. There are excellent
divans in the smoking-room on the other side of that curtain."
During the meal Granger outlined the plan which their arrival had
suggested. It was audacious enough, but, as he remarked with a smile,
they had had some training for important parts. When there was nothing
left of the poultry but the bones, they went into the smoking-room and
threw themselves on two luxurious divans upholstered in saddle bags.
Granger cleared away, and placed clean plates and cutlery on the table.
Fatigued though they were, excitement kept them awake. Soon after one
they heard the car approaching. It drew up at the gates, which were
closed, and the soldier-chauffeur sounded his horn, while two of his
comrades alighted and pushed the gates open. Granger, after glancing
into the smoking-room, hastened to the front door, which he opened, once
more a frail old servingman, as Hellwig and the major, followed by the
sergeant, with two bottles of wine, came up the steps.
"Poultry--or game!" exclaimed Hellwig, sniffing appreciatively as he
entered.
"That is well; I am ravenous," said the officer. "At any rate we shall
not be poisoned to-day by the old man's vinegar.... Lay those bottles
down," he added, addressing the sergeant, "then go out. You and the men
shall have what is left from our meal."
The sergeant saluted and went out. Hellwig and the officer drew chairs
to the table and seated themselves.
"Make haste!" Hellwig called in French through the open door towards the
kitchen. "Stir your stumps, old man."
Granger came shuffling into the room, bent of back, nervously clasping
his hands.
"Where is the dejeuner?" cried Hellwig. "Why have you come
empty-handed? What do you mean by keeping us waiting?"
"Pardon, monsieur," faltered Granger. "I must beg messieurs to excuse
me."
"Excuses! What do you mean, old fool?"
Granger's hands trembled more violently than ever. In his thin
quavering voice he stammered:
"Pardon, monsieur; I am an old bird. Just before messieurs returned,
parbleu! there came two cavalrymen, Uhlans, it seems, with a hunger of
wolves. I explained as well as I could that the dejeuner was being
prepared for two noble officers, but----"
"Well?" cried Hellwig, as the speaker paused.
"Pardon, monsieur; but they--they have eaten it all up."
"Sapperment! Where are those Uhlans?" roared Hellwig, half rising.
"They are here, monsieur. Hola!"
Kenneth and Pariset drew the curtain aside, and stepped into the room.
Each held a revolver behind his back.
"What kind of behaviour is this?" growled the major. "Salute, pigs!"
Instead of the expected salute, the Germans saw two steady right hands
pointing revolvers at their heads.
"Merely a little joke, major," said Kenneth quietly: "a little
play-acting. You and your friend shall be in the cast. You shall
pretend to be prisoners."
The major swelled with astonishment and rage. Hellwig, who had fixed
his eyes on Kenneth, changed colour, and made a sudden grab for his
revolver. But a peremptory voice from behind his chair caused him to
sink back and slowly turn his amazed eyes.
"Hands up!"
The old servingman had suddenly become straight. His hands no longer
trembled, his voice had lost its quaver. Covered by two revolvers,
taken aback by the suddenness of surprise, the Germans were paralysed
for a few moments. The major recovered himself first, and was opening
his mouth to shout when Granger deftly slipped a table napkin between
his teeth, drew it tight, and knotted it behind. From under the table
he lifted several short pieces of cord, and in two minutes the
infuriated officer was firmly bound to his chair.
Hellwig, meanwhile, whose face was the colour of the soldier's uniform,
had sat limply watching Granger's quick and dexterous movements. He was
dealt with in his turn.
"Call the sergeant in," said Granger to Kenneth.
The man came at the summons, found himself looking down the muzzles of
two revolvers as he entered at the door, and was soon sitting between
the others, the third guest at an empty board.
The distant sound of trotting horses drew the captors hurriedly to the
window, and brought a gleam of hope into the captives' eyes.
"Cavalry, by all the powers!" Granger ejaculated, glancing up the road.
"They are sure to visit the house. We have three men still to deal
with, and three minutes for the job. The bold simple course, Amory! You
must tackle them. Saunter out, don't hurry."
Kenneth, followed by Pariset, walked slowly towards the waiting car. The
three men in it stared in surprise.
"We arrived this morning," said Kenneth in an easy tone to the
chauffeur, "and ate the Herr Major's lunch--by mistake."
The men guffawed; the German soldier does not love his officers. This
was a good joke.
"That's a nice little toy you have there," Kenneth went on, pointing to
the machine gun. He stepped quickly into the car to look at it.
"It is forbidden," said the chauffeur, with an uneasy glance at the
window. "Only the crew are allowed in the car."
"Yes, yes, one understands. Just a minute!"
Before the men could make up their minds to turn him out he had swung
round the machine gun to cover them.
"Hands up!" he cried.
They laughed, thinking it a practical joke, until they saw Pariset
covering them with his revolver.
"Hands up!" he repeated, imitating Kenneth's accent as well as he could.
But they recognised now that he was a foreigner, and seeing at this
moment Granger dragging the helpless form of the important Herr
Brinckmann down the steps they surrendered.
"Get down, and don't stir a step for your lives," Kenneth commanded.
"Drop your arms."
Pariset kept guard over them while Granger bundled Hellwig into the car
and Kenneth started the engine.
"I didn't like to leave Brinckmann behind," explained Granger smoothly
as he squeezed himself into the seat beside Hellwig. "We are just in
time."
Just as the helmets of the approaching troopers showed above the park
wall a furlong away, Kenneth sprang after Pariset into the car, and let
in the clutch. The car moved forward, swung round into the drive,
shaved the gatepost, and sped northward down the road.