A STRANGE SIGHT
For a moment after the dramatic announcement of Roger Barlow to the
effect that he and his chums were in such dire straits, there was
intense silence. Silence and darkness reigned in the dugout that, a
moment before, had been light and the scene of as much gaiety as can
perhaps ever be attained so near the war front. And the hearts of the
five Brothers turned sick with fear.
Then Jimmy, perhaps because he was more used to commanding than his
companions, though they were all non-commissioned officers, took charge
of the situation.
"I say!" he called aloud, after making sure that the worst that had
happened to him was numerous cuts and bruises. "I say, are any of you
badly hurt?"
"I seem to be all there," answered Roger. "But I'm caught under a beam
or something."
"Don't try to wiggle out yet!" warned Jimmy. "You may bring the whole
place down about our ears! Wait until I see if I can get my hand in my
pocket and bring out my flashlamp. I hope it isn't broken."
"I can get at mine!" came from Franz.
"Are you all right?" asked Jimmy.
"Yes, except for a crack on the head that made me see stars for a
minute."
"Stars!" cried Bob. "We'd be well off if we could see comets now. It's
as dark as a bucket of tar in here. What happened, anyhow? I believe we
must be under tons of earth and rocks."
"I guess we are," said Jimmy, and his voice had a solemn note in it.
"We must be buried alive, as you said. The Huns must have dropped a
bomb from an aeroplane straight on the location of this dugout, which,
of course, they knew. Or else they've got the range with one of their
big guns. But wait, I can flash my glim now. We'll soon see what the
trouble is."
"Has anyone heard a peep out of Iggy?" asked Roger. "Of course we can't
see one another, but we can hear. I say, Iggy, are you all right?" he
called, and by his voice it would seem that Roger was not much hurt.
There was silence for a moment, and then the tones of the Polish lad
were heard. Iggy said:
"I dunno if I am here, or by a deadness alretty. Only I haf a much
pains in my foot. Maybe he is cracked!"
"Let us hope not!" said Jimmy, as he switched on his pocket flashlight.
"Oh, I see him!" he cried. "You are under a heap of dirt and sandbags,
Iggy. We'll soon have you out."
As Jimmy flashed the light, Bob and Franz began digging with their
hands. They very quickly freed Roger. It was soon evident that Iggy,
also, could be freed; but when this was accomplished his head sank back
limply and his eyes closed.
"He must be worse hurt than we think," said Franz solemnly. "Is there
any way out of this hole?"
"There is one if it hasn't been closed by the explosion," answered
Jimmy. "Wait until I get my bearings. This is the main German dugout
for this section of trench--that is, it was," he added significantly.
"Now from here, as I recall it, there ran a tunnel into another
bomb-proof. If we can dig our way to that we may be saved yet. And
we've got to dig our way out, fellows. We may be buried alive, but it's
up to us to dig our way out. But first we'd better get Iggy some water,
if we can find any. I'm afraid he's in a bad way."
And while the five Brothers are trying to solve one of the many hard
problems that came to them during their war career, I will take a
moment to inform my new readers something of the lads themselves.
They were called the "Khaki Boys," and they were first introduced in
the volume named "The Khaki Boys at Camp Sterling." Jimmy Blaise,
otherwise known as James Sumner Blaise, the son of wealthy parents,
Roger Barlow, an orphan who had tried various ways of making a
living, Robert Dalton, who after the death of his parents had become
a "cub" newspaper reporter, Franz Schnitzel, and Ignace Pulinski, had
established a Brotherhood during their preliminary camp training.
They had many thrilling times together during the early days of the
participation of the United States in the big conflict, and they formed
friendships that meant much. They started for France together, and in
the second volume, "The Khaki Boys on the Way," their experiences on
the water have been detailed. Being torpedoed was only one of many
thrilling things that happened to them. Eventually the five Khaki Boys
reached the actual fighting ground, and in "The Khaki Boys at the
Front," will be found set down their experiences as real fighters. In
that book may be learned how Jimmy earned the reward of five thousand
francs by disposing of the "tiger man." And it was this reward, or
rather, his share of it, that Iggy sent to his "mothar," as he called
her.
In the fourth volume, entitled, "The Khaki Boys Over the Top," are
related the details of some rather curious happenings. Jimmy had
entrusted his five thousand francs to the care of a friend, Sergeant
Maxwell, and, after a certain skirmish, when the five Brothers went
over the top, the sergeant was reported missing. The five thousand
francs also disappeared.
What effect this had on the Khaki Boys, and how, later, they were saved
from almost sure death by a strange officer, and how they denounced
this officer as a spy--all this will be found in the fourth book. At
the close, the boys, after many hardships, were united again, and they
were waiting for the resumption of the heavy fighting where we find
them at the opening of this present tale.
Among their friends the five Khaki Boys numbered the "Twinkle Twins,"
otherwise John and Gerald Twinkleton, two aviators, whose cousin, Emile
Voissard, was known as the "Flying Terror of France." He was more than
an ace, and it was in helping him that Jimmy won the reward. There was,
too, Jimmy's friend Margaret, of Buffalo, but he had small hope of
seeing his "girl" in those strenuous war days.
Of course boys like the five Brothers could not progress as they had
and not make enemies. The very fact that Jimmy, Roger and Franz were
sergeants, while Bob and Ignace were corporals was enough to cause
some jealous feelings among the squads they often commanded. And even
in camp this had been shown, before they were promoted. There was one
young soldier, Private Bixton, who acted very despicably toward the
five friends until he was sent to a military prison, mainly through the
instrumentality of Jimmy and his chums. For Bixton was a scoundrel, as
well as a deserter.
So, it can be seen, the five friends did not have it altogether easy.
They fought hard, and they were wounded more than once, but not
seriously enough to keep them long away from the firing line.
And now, after having fought hard and been given a short leave of
absence, part of which they had spent in the old German dugout,
the Khaki Boys are again in trouble, caused by the collapse of the
underground place when the big shell or the bomb exploded.
Putting aside, for the moment, all thought of trying to dig their
way out of their underground prison, the Khaki Boys proceeded to do
what they could for the unfortunate Iggy. Their flashlights gave
considerable illumination to the otherwise dark hole, and by looking
around Jimmy and the others saw what had happened.
The shell, bomb, or whatever it was, must have landed squarely on top
of the dugout. And though this top proper, being made of concrete, was
some distance underground, it had been made to collapse as one might
push in the end of an egg. The roof of the dugout was depressed while
the walls still stood upright, though much cracked. The place was
filled with débris.
It was owing to the fact that the strong, thick walls held that the
boys' lives were not at once crushed out. They had been along the
edges, and not standing in the middle, when the crash came.
"Lift him over to one side, and we'll see if we can tell what's the
matter with him," suggested Roger.
Accordingly they scraped as much dirt and débris off the Polish lad as
possible, and then half lifted and half dragged him over to a pile of
blankets.
"Feel any better?" asked Jimmy, as he gave his friend another drink
from a canteen.
"Yes, of a little betterness am I," was the answer. "But do not of mind
me. I can get alongs. Look for a way out of these place if you can find
him. Do not mind me."
"Well, maybe I'd better be looking to see if I can find the old
tunnel," said Jimmy. "We'll need to find that, anyhow, to get ourselves
out, as well as Iggy. Roger, you come with me. Bob and Franz can stay
with Iggy. We'll be back as soon as we can," he added.
The two boys climbed over the débris, flashing their pocket torches
at intervals, so as not to use up the batteries too quickly. Bob and
Franz made Iggy as comfortable as possible.
"Seems to me the place was over here," observed Jimmy, as he pulled
aside some loose and splintered boards.
Quickly Jimmy flashed the gleams of his small lamp over the cracked and
broken walls of the dugout. At first he had no success, but finally he
found what he was looking for.
"Here it is!" he cried. "An old door! It's been closed for some time,
but here it is."
"Can it be opened?" asked Roger.
"That remains to be seen," replied Jimmy, as he limped nearer to it,
for he had been struck on the leg by a piece of timber and he was
painfully lame.
An examination showed that the door, though broken and jammed, was
capable of being forced open. This was done by Roger and Jimmy, using
pieces of planks for levers. At last the broken door swung to one side
on its burst hinges, and beyond it a dark tunnel was seen.
"Here's the place!" cried Jimmy. "Now if we can go along this until we
reach the other bomb-proof we shall get out all right."
"Yes--if we can," said Roger significantly. "Well, we've got to try,
that's sure. Can't stay here very long. It may come down about our
ears."
"I don't know about Iggy, though," went on Jimmy. "Of course we could
carry him, but it would be hard work."
However, they were not compelled to do this. For when Roger and Jimmy
went back to where they had left Bob and Franz looking after the
wounded Polish lad, they found that Iggy could walk by leaning on the
shoulder of someone.
"That's good!" exclaimed Jimmy. "Now then for the tunnel! But take it
easy, everybody. We may be going into a blind lead, or a place worse
than this. So go slow!"
And slowly and cautiously they entered the tunnel, Roger and Jimmy in
the lead. One of them flashed a pocket torch at intervals, for the way
was rough and treacherous.
Suddenly Roger, who had got a little in advance of Jimmy, caught the
latter by the arm, and, pointing ahead, in a whisper, asked:
"What's that? Who are they?"
Jimmy, looking to where his friend pointed, uttered a guarded
exclamation. He was gazing at a strange sight.