TURNING THE TABLES
To Jerry, lying there half frozen, stiff in every joint and scarcely
daring to move for fear of making some sound that might not only divulge
his presence and result in his own capture, but also prevent the escape
of Slim, it seemed that never did it take men so long to eat a meal.
And as they ate, his own appetite became ravenous. The cruelest
punishment of all was to lie there half starved and hear them vulgarly
smacking their lips over the warmed-up remains of a chicken undoubtedly
filched from a countryside barnyard.
But at last, after what seemed to Jerry to have been hours of feasting,
they did finish. With a derisive laugh the German lieutenant gathered
all the bones from every other tin plate and shoved them, with mock
courtesy, toward Slim.
The latter was biding his time, and, his courage increased by knowledge
that his friend was close by, refused to get angry. He merely waved the
plate aside.
Their stomachs filled, the Germans almost immediately began to think
about sleep. In truth, they all looked as though they had been up all of
the night before, as probably they had. One of them, a mere youth
certainly not yet out of his teens and the youngest in the party,
yawned. The lieutenant saw it, and in a fit of apparently unreasonable
anger said, in his native tongue:
"So! You want to serve notice that you desire to sleep? Very well, you
shall do sentinel duty--and all night. And mind that you do not sleep!"
A pitiful look came over the boy's face, but without a word he saluted
and departed to the circle of outer shadows to take up his long and
tedious vigil.
Jerry felt genuinely sorry for him, but he sincerely hoped that the
officer would not change his mind or relent. He knew the youth could not
possibly stay awake the whole night through.
Half an hour later the other four Germans were conducting a spirited
rivalry in snoring, and Slim, also, to all appearances, was fast asleep.
Not daring to move, Jerry kept his eyes constantly upon the young
sentry. Frequently he yawned. Once or twice he stopped uncertainly
before a stump and seemed about to sit down, then started on again
around his monotonous beat. But his step was wavering, his eyes were
heavy, and Jerry knew it was only a question of time--a comparatively
short time--when nature would conquer, and the sentinel, too, would
sleep.
Had he been able to bring himself to it, he could have shot the sentry
and killed the others as they slept, before they could even have reached
for their weapons. But he could not do that.
Better the other way, he told himself, even though it carried a greater
risk.
And finally his own vigil was rewarded. The sentinel placed two or three
more pieces of wood upon the fire, stood for a few moments within its
genial warmth, looked dully at the others so soundly sleeping, and then
crossed to the stump and sat down.
His rifle was on the ground beside him. His elbows rested upon his
knees, and his chin in his hands. Presently his lids drooped and closed.
His head, and then his whole body, sagged forward. He wakened with a
start and changed his place to another tree more within the shadows.
There he was able to lean back in a more comfortable position, and soon
his heavy, even breathing assured Jerry that nature had, indeed, won.
Softly, without so much as a sound, he rose to his hands and knees. He
tossed a pebble, which hit Slim upon the hand. The latter turned his
head ever so slightly and gazed fixedly in Jerry's direction. Finally
his decided wink indicated that he had made out the form of his friend.
Still upon all fours, and feeling every inch of the way, Jerry retraced
his steps over the ledge. Quietly he slid down to the lower level and
took a wide circle about the little camp, finally closing in near to
where the sleeping sentry sat. Deftly and silently he pulled the
latter's gun from where it lay beside him. This he carried over to near
where the horses were corralled. Slim now was watching his every move,
but awaited Jerry's signal before he stirred.
Jerry then returned, and, so gently that the sentry never made a
movement, lifted his loaded revolver from its holster. With this he
tiptoed to Slim, placed the weapon in his hand and with a gesture bade
him rise.
They were now masters of the situation, but Jerry did not want to take
any chances. Two of the Germans were lying in such a position that he
could get their revolvers, also. They did not carry rifles. This he
accomplished after having stationed Slim in the shadows at such a point
of vantage that he could cover all of the Boches, should they awaken.
One of the additional guns he gave to Slim; the other he kept himself.
Thus doubly armed, they stepped over to the sleeping sentry, and while
Slim pointed his two guns at the others, to prevent any hostilities upon
their part, should they rouse, Jerry shook and awakened the bewildered
sentry.
As he faced the two revolvers, and the changed situation suddenly dawned
upon him, the young German's expression was pathetic. Apparently he was
too stunned to speak a word. Jerry motioned him to take a position just
behind the sleepers, which he did.
With Slim standing beside him, and their four revolvers pointed
menacingly at the Germans, Jerry kicked the lieutenant upon the sole of
his boot. The latter roused angrily and was about to give vent to his
feelings when he looked into the barrels of the automatics. His
exclamation was one of complete chagrin.
Slim stepped over and extracted his revolver, which he dropped into his
own pocket. By the same process the other armed Boche was awakened, and
in the same way he was disarmed. Then, with his foot, Jerry jabbed the
remaining two back to consciousness.
"You are our prisoners," Jerry informed them, in their own language.
"One hostile move from any one of you and you will be shot."
Forming them into pairs, and purposely leaving the sentinel as the
single one of the party and in the lead, Jerry ordered them to walk
toward where the horses were tethered.
He made two of the men put saddles and bridles upon the animals, and
then compelled them to mount as they were paired--the lieutenant and one
of his men upon one of the horses, two others upon another, the sentry
alone upon another, but carrying a good supply of rations--while Slim
and he each had an animal to carry themselves, the wireless and other
paraphernalia when they should pick that up.
Thus, with hardly a dozen words having been spoken, they came through
the ravine and at forced speed struck out across the level ground
toward the mountain from which Jerry and Slim had come that morning.
"You!" the lieutenant hissed between his teeth at the sentinel as they
came side by side. "What were you doing when this second American
arrived? Asleep, eh?"
"I came up behind him. He never had a chance, for I did not make a
sound," Jerry interposed in German, before the young Boche could make
even an involuntary admission.
As they approached the base of the mountain where they had parted from
Lieutenant Mackinson, Joe, and Frank early that day, the moon reached
its zenith, and its beams, reflected upon the white ground, made the
night almost as light as day.
Two hours later they were upon the identical spot from which they had
wirelessed headquarters in the morning. It was midnight now as two of
the Germans, working under Jerry's orders while Slim kept a weather eye
on the others, set up the pack-set.
Jerry worked the key half a dozen times and then got an almost immediate
response. The first query after he had identified himself was:
"This is Joe; where are you?"
"Just got back to where we left you this morning," Jerry ticked off into
the air. "Bringing in a German lieutenant and four of his men as
prisoners. Should arrive by daylight, as we have horses."
"Great," was Joe's radio response. "Have letter from Brighton and fine
news. Will make your report."
And the pack-set was put back in its compact case, and, paired off as
before, the journey was resumed.
"Say," said Jerry, as they urged their horses down the side of the
mountain leading to fairly level ground all the way into camp, "I'm
hungry enough to eat dog meat, but I guess we can hold out now until we
reach our lines."
"Yes, I suppose so," Slim answered. "But how'd you like to have some
sausage, and some plum pudding, and----"
"Don't," pleaded Jerry. "The idea is too much. My stomach is accusing me
of gross carelessness now."
"Wonder what's in that letter from Brighton, and who wrote it?" said
Sum, glad to change the subject and forget his own hunger.
"Can't imagine, but my own curiosity has been as to whether the fine
news Joe mentioned comes from there or refers to something at
headquarters."
And so, sore, tired and hungry, but happy withal, they continued on. The
moon waned and set, and tradition proved itself--it became darkest just
before dawn.
"Wait!" said Jerry, just at this stage of the journey, and he jumped
from his horse to recover something that he had seen the German
lieutenant drop.
It proved to be a packet of papers, bearing the official German army
seal.
"Ah-ha!" Jerry cried, riding up to the officer and thrusting the
documents out before him. "So you thought to get rid of them, eh? Well,
we'll just take these along to headquarters, too. They may contain
something of interest to our commanders. Yes?"
The lieutenant gave an ugly, menacing grunt, but refused to say a word.
Daylight came, and with it a clear view of the American lines. A quarter
of an hour later they saw two horsemen coming toward them. Slim examined
them carefully with his glasses.
"The lieutenant and Frank," he announced. "Guess Joe's still on duty."
And Joe was. He was just relaying to the commander of the American
forces in France orders forwarded from London, and they were of the
greatest import to the three boys from Brighton.