JACK TRIES A RUSE.
A head was poked cautiously through the opening, and a second later a
uniformed arm appeared. Jack leaned forward, put his hand on the man's
head, and gave a violent push. The head disappeared on the inside; there
was the sound of a heavy fall below, followed by a sound of great
confusion and muttered imprecations.
"Wonder what they'll try next?" muttered Jack to himself.
He had not long to wait. A second time a head was poked cautiously
through the opening, and a second time Jack's hand shot forth and there
was the sound of a heavy fall below. A third time this was tried, but,
when the third man had been hurled back, no fourth head appeared in the
opening.
"Well," mused Jack, "I guess they have had enough of that. Suppose they
have something else up their sleeves now. I shall have to be watchful."
At that moment the lad heard a footstep behind him, and turned quickly,
just in time to grapple with a man who sprang upon him. While Jack had
been busy watching the trap door, a ladder had been placed against the
side of the house, and the pursuers were climbing up.
With a quick wrench Jack hurled the man from him, dashed toward the
ladder and arrived just in time to deal the man who was just about to
set foot upon the roof a heavy blow. A quick glance showed him several
more forms swarming up the ladder.
With a quick kick he swept the ladder aside, hurling all upon it to the
ground with stunning force; then turned again just in time to meet the
assault of the one man already on the roof.
This assailant struck out vigorously, but, in spite of Jack's youth, the
man was no match for him when it came to close quarters. Jack picked the
man up in his arms bodily and ran to the trap door just as another head
appeared in the opening.
Standing over the opening Jack lifted up his human burden and let him
drop. He struck squarely upon the head of the other, and both went to
the floor below with a loud thud. Jack glanced quickly around, to see if
there were any other ladders being placed against the side of the house.
He could see none, so he mounted guard over the trap door. But not
another form appeared through this opening either. Jack stood there for
several moments, but no further attempts were made to reach him. Making
sure that there was no one below, the lad walked quickly around the
roof.
One man stood guard on each side of the house and a big crowd was packed
in front.
"Something up," Jack muttered to himself. "They evidently are convinced
they cannot reach me this way and are going to try something else. I
guess it's up to me to get out of here very suddenly. But how?"
That was the question, and the boy gave it some reflection. Then, as he
made another tour of the roof, a plan came to him. It was a desperate
chance, but he could think of no other way of escape.
Making sure that the crowd was all in front, the boy ran quickly to the
back of the house. There was a guard directly below him, but, as luck
would have it, the man at that very moment was engaged in the task of
lighting a pipe.
Jack acted without a pause. Swiftly and silently he lowered himself from
the roof, hanging by his hands directly over the guard's head. Then,
giving himself a little swing outward, he dropped.
It was a long drop, but the lad had gauged the distance correctly, and
the force of the fall was broken by the man below, upon whose shoulders
the lad dropped like a human thunderbolt.
The man went to the ground without so much as a groan, Jack on top of
him. Although somewhat shaken up by his fall, Jack did not lose his
presence of mind for a single moment, and his hand clutched the guard's
throat, throttling any outcry.
Now Jack's further resourcefulness became apparent. Glancing quickly
about to make sure that no one was in sight--the walls of the house
obstructing the view of those on the sides and in front--the lad lifted
the guard bodily in his arms and carried him to a little shed in the
rear.
Quickly he stripped the officer--for such his victim proved to be--of
his uniform, and hastily donned it himself. Hurriedly he bound and
gagged his captive, and then walked from the shed and took the guard's
place in the rear of the house.
And he arrived there not a moment too soon, for at that instant a band
of soldiers appeared, bearing many ladders. These they leaned against
the side of the house in different places, and one man mounted each,
cautiously, for fear of being hurled back by the fugitive they believed
to be on the roof.
Jack walked round to the front of the house, and, keeping his head
lowered, mingled with the crowd. At that moment there came a shout from
the roof:
"He's not here!"
Then there came another cry:
"The trap door! He must have gone back through the trap door!"
"No," came another voice, "he has not come down this way."
"About time for me to make myself scarce," Jack told himself.
He sauntered slowly away and was soon out of sight of the house.
It was now well along in the afternoon. Jack looked at his watch. It was
almost 4 o'clock.
"If I can find the hospital," he told himself, "I may manage to work
this thing out yet. I've got to take a chance, and that's all there is
about it. The worst of it is that I cannot afford to ask for directions.
A Danish officer surely should know where the hospital is located. Well,
here goes."
He continued slowly down the street, keeping a sharp lookout for
anything that looked like it might be a hospital. He walked with lowered
head, for, while his uniform gave him a certain amount of safety, he
wished to run no unnecessary risk of detection.
For almost an hour he strolled about the town, and at last his efforts
were rewarded. He stopped before a large and imposing building.
"This looks like a hospital to me," he said. "It is hardly likely they
have more than one in a town of this size, and Hardy probably was taken
here. Guess I better look around a bit, however, before I go in, though.
I might spot another one some place. It's too bad I can't read Danish.
It might be easier if I could."
Jack walked on, and a few blocks farther down, the street passed a body
of Danish cavalry moving at a rapid trot in the direction from which he
had come. Jack smiled grimly to himself.
"Going to help search for the fugitive, I guess. Well, I hope they don't
find him, or the guard, either, for it might make it a little awkward
for me."
He gazed after the cavalry as it disappeared around a corner.
"A likely looking crowd," he said in some admiration. "I'll bet they
could give a good account of themselves when it came to a fight. Hope I
don't have to line up against any of them."
He turned and retraced his steps toward the building in which he felt
sure he would find Hardy. He mounted the long flight of stone steps with
a firm tread and entered the door. A quick glance showed him that he had
not been mistaken. The place was a hospital and no mistake.
"Now to find out where my friend Hardy is," the lad muttered.
He walked slowly about the halls, looking for the office. His search was
at length rewarded. Glancing in an open door, he saw several clerks at
work, and at one end of the room, separated from the others by a
railing, an important-looking man, unmistakably a physician.
"The superintendent, I suppose, or whatever he is called in this
country," muttered Jack. "I guess I had better talk in German. English
wouldn't do at all. But, suppose they won't let me have Hardy without a
written order? Oh, well, I'll have to take a chance on that. Here we
go."
Jack drew a deep breath, straightened himself up, and with a firm step
entered the room.