THE HUE AND CRY!
On the walk to Massen we concocted our story. I was to be Hans Bulich
and Nessa my sister; we were alone in the world except for an aunt in
Holland; Nessa had recently lost her lover on the Russian front, and
her supposed grief at this was to account for her gloomy silence; I was
likely to be called up, and as this would leave her without friends or
money, she was anxious to get to the aunt in Holland.
They were parts easy to play, thanks to our warm-hearted Irish friend;
we looked the characters quite well enough to pass muster. The absence
of any luggage, my overalls and tools and a big German china pipe, and
Nessa's market basket and knitting were shrewd little touches of
realism which carried us through the preliminary difficulties without
any trouble.
There were several people in the carriage with us, one of whom, an old
man who sat next me, was going as far as Lingen. The men were soon
talking and the one subject was the food supply, which was evidently
becoming a serious matter. I didn't pay much attention until a question
was asked about the frontier smuggling. The matter interested them all
keenly, and I threw in a remark now and then to draw the rest.
The old fellow next me seemed to know a good deal about it, and when we
three were left alone in the carriage he let drop a remark which showed
he had noticed my interest in the subject, and then asked if I'd been
at the front yet.
"They think I'm more use at my trade," I replied, making play with the
spanner in my hand.
"Engineer's mechanic, may be?"
I nodded. "Motors and aeroplanes and so on."
"Going to Lingen, aren't you?"
"Yes. How far's Ellendorf from there?"
"A matter of a league or two. I hear they're making these new
aeroplanes there. Got a job there?"
"Shan't know till I get to Lingen; have another little matter to see to
first, anyway."
"A good few people have little matters to see to there, these days," he
replied drily, with a suggestive glance out of the corner of his eye.
"I live there, and you can take it from me that if you're any good at
your job, there's plenty of work waiting for you."
"Government work?"
"If they weren't all blind, yes;" and he launched into a description of
the extreme difficulty of getting repairs done. "Can't get so much as a
screw driven in without one of their infernal permits. I've been to
Osnabrueck about it now trying to get a man. Might as well have asked
for the moon!" he said disgustedly, and went on grumbling about it, at
intervals, for the rest of the journey.
When we reached Lingen he said he'd like to have a chat with me and
suggested we should go to his shop. "Won't do you any harm to be seen
with me, either; I'm well known; and what with escaped prisoners and
our skulkers trying to jump the frontier, the police are pretty curious
about strangers of your age and build especially."
He was well known, as he had said. Several people nodded to him on the
platform, and one man came after him. "Good-day, Father Fischer, can I
have a word with you?" and they stopped to talk together.
"Hear that, Nessa?" I asked excitedly. "By Jove, we're in luck if it's
our man!" and when he rejoined us I asked him if he was Adolf Fischer.
"I am. Every one in Lingen knows Adolf Fischer."
"Have you a brother out Massen way?"
"I had, but he drank himself to death five years or so back, poor fool.
Why do you ask?"
"I've a letter for you;" and I gave it him.
He read it and pocketed it with a chuckle of pleasure. "Couldn't be
better. Friends of Martha's are friends of mine. Come along."
We had not left the station before we had a proof of our good luck. We
were in front of him as we went out and the police sergeant at the door
stopped us and was beginning to question me, when he intervened.
"It's all right, Braun. They're friends of mine. A stroke of luck,
too," he said with a wink, which suggested there was a mutually
satisfactory understanding between them.
We were allowed to pass at once, and he stayed talking to the sergeant
for a couple of minutes. "Lucky you gave me that letter when you did,"
he said when he caught us up. "They've been ordered to keep a special
look-out for a couple such as you. But they won't worry you while
you're with me."
Ominous news in view of what had occurred just before the train smash
outside Osnabrueck, and it made me more anxious than ever to get Nessa
safely over the frontier.
"You'll bide with me, of course," he said when we reached his house, a
flourishing grocer's store in the main street of the little town. "I
don't have any one in the house nights. We'll have a bite of food and
then talk things over."
He was silent and thoughtful during the meal, and the trend of his
thoughts was shown in a question he put.
"There's nothing black against you, is there?"
"Nothing to make me afraid to face any man in the Empire," I replied
positively. It was the truth, if not quite as I meant him to understand
it.
"I only asked, because I have to be very careful," he said; and nothing
more passed until we were smoking, while Nessa had resumed the knitting
which she had kept up incessantly in the train.
"Now, you'd like to tell me your story," he opened.
I told him the tale we had prepared and he put a question or two which
were easily answered.
"I'm sorry for you, my lass," he said to her. "Very sorry; you're only
one among too many thousands; and you shall get away all right. They're
not particular about women and girls, you know," he added to me. "But
it's different with men. Their orders are to shoot first and ask
questions afterwards. Three were found trying to jump the frontier last
week and were shot. Two the week before; and one of 'em was our only
engineer. So if that's what's brought you here, I can't help you. We'd
all the trouble we wanted over the last affair."
"I'm no skulker, I assure you. If they call 'em up, I'm ready any time."
"You'll give me your word to stop here then?"
"Unless I have to go anywhere else. I'm pretty handy at my job, you
know."
He seemed satisfied, and then told me his plans.
Nessa was to leave that night. He had a nephew in the Landwehr regiment
at present guarding a part of the frontier, which was especially
promising for the scheme, and we were to run out there in his car. I
was to stay with him in Lingen, partly to help in the smuggling
operations but largely to keep in order his and his associates' motors.
There were a number of Lingen people in the thing, which was winked at
by the authorities, who would not ask any questions about me if I was
known to be in the swim.
He gave me a host of details, took me out later to see the place where
I was to work; a very well-equipped place it was, too, but with only a
lad and a doddering old fellow as the staff: explained that they often
lost considerably by breakdowns; and then left me to return to Nessa,
saying that he must go and arrange about the night's venture.
I found Nessa very dejected, buried in thought, with her knitting on
her lap.
"Looks good enough, eh?" I said to cheer her.
It wasn't a success. She did not answer for a while. "Do you trust
him?" she asked, looking up at length.
"Why not? He was frank enough; and we should have been in a deuce of a
mess without him. It can't be worse even if he gives us away. But he
won't. I'm sure of that."
"But about you?"
"Meaning?" I knew what was coming, however.
"You heard what he said about those men being shot. It brought my heart
up in my mouth."
"It's no more than we heard at Massen."
"We agreed to try together, remember."
"I haven't forgotten. We'll see what happens to-night."
"You don't want me to go by myself? You promised, Jack."
"Better one than neither of us, surely. That reminds me. You must have
some money in case I fail;" and I offered her some notes.
She shook her head and pushed them away. "I have more than enough for
my purpose."
I knew what she meant. She was resolved not to go alone, and it worried
me considerably. It was splendidly staunch and lovable and brave, but
none the less quixotic and a serious blunder. "You heard what that
police sergeant had told old Fischer?"
"Of course," she nodded casually, as if it didn't make the least
difference.
"You shall settle it for yourself, Nessa." There was nothing to be
gained by trying to dissuade her then, so I left it until the moment
for action should arrive. After my promise, it was impossible for me to
think of going with her.
Fischer came back chuckling. "We're in luck," he declared. "I met my
nephew, Fritz, in the town just now. He'll do it all right. He'll be on
guard at one of the roads; the very spot of all others for us; near a
little thicket they call the Pike Wood. We're to be there about nine. I
explained everything to him, and of course I've pledged my word that
only your sister's going over. That's right, eh?"
"Quite," I assured him.
Nessa's needles stopped clicking for an instant and I heard her catch
her breath. It augured badly for the night's enterprise; but if I had
wished to renew the attempt to persuade her, I could not have done it,
as we were not left alone altogether again until the time came for us
to set out.
I drove the car with Fischer at my side, and by his instructions, Nessa
lay on the bottom of the tonneau which was constructed much like that
of the farmer's I had mended at Osnabrueck. She was hidden under a rug
and a tarpaulin, and he told her to cover up even her head if any one
spoke to us on the way.
We had some dozen miles to run, and for the greater part of the way no
one attempted to interfere with us. The old fellow seemed to be hugely
pleased by the way I handled the ramshackle machine; and even more so
when I explained the reason of some of the queer noises and jumps which
the engine developed. "You're the man for us!" he exclaimed more than
once.
When we reached the outskirts of a village close to the frontier, he
bent over and told Nessa to hide herself completely. "We shall be
questioned here; but it won't matter. Go slow for a bit," he added to
me; "and pull up at once if they order us."
The village was full of soldiers, and I began to realize in earnest
then the difficulties of our escaping without his help. We were pulled
up twice in the village, but allowed to proceed the moment he was
recognized and produced some authority he had.
After we left the village behind us there were plenty of people, both
men and women, all with their faces turned frontierwards. "What are all
these doing?" I asked.
"Crumb-hunters, we call 'em." Descriptive enough, too; and he told me
they were out in all weathers to pick up any trifles from the Dutch
side, and that passes were given to them for the purpose.
"And what about the Dutch guards?"
"Getting fat on it," replied Fischer, rubbing his palm and then putting
a finger to the side of his nose. "Bleed us to a tune, too. Their
people try to stop it; change the men often enough; but it only means
that Peter gets a greasy palm instead of Paul. We turn off into the
next lane on the right: it runs across the frontier; the Pike Wood's
just there; but you'll have to stop a little short of it to turn the
car."
We ran about half a mile along the lane to the spot where I turned and
we all got out. He led the way across a field or two, and, as we were
rather before our time--nine o'clock--he posted us at a point in the
thicket from which we could see the guards at the gate which marked the
boundary on the German side, and then left us.
I was beginning to get a little excited by that time, but Nessa seemed
quite unmoved, except that she shivered once or twice, for the night
air had a nip in it. Whether she persisted in her intention not to go
without me, I could not say. She had heard me tell old Fischer that I
wasn't going; but she maintained a sphinxlike silence all the time he
was away.
He went up to the guards and I could just make out their figures as he
stood talking to them; and presently he disappeared into the darkness
through the gate. A minute or two later some shots were fired from the
other side of the barrier; soon afterwards a loaded wagon came dashing
from that side, the three horses galloping at full stretch, and a man I
took to be Fischer jumped from it.
An exhibition of organization followed. A number of men sprang up from
nowhere; the wagon was unloaded almost instantly; and they scuttled off
into the night with cases and barrels and packages of all descriptions
and sizes. It was done like a flash; and the wagon was galloped back
across the frontier. It had just disappeared when an officer rode up,
presumably to learn the cause of the firing. Just then Fischer rejoined
us, out of breath, but hugely pleased.
"A near thing," he panted. "If that officer had been a minute earlier
he'd have commandeered the lot. He's a swinehound. You must lie doggo
till he's gone; but it's all right. Fritz will give you the tip. You're
to go forward the moment you hear him whistling 'The Watch on the
Rhine.' Don't lose a second. Give him a twenty-mark note; it's for his
two pals. And now I can't stop with you, I must see to things. I'll
wait for you at the car."
"What was that firing?" I asked as he turned away.
"To fool the Dutch officers," he said over his shoulder as he went.
Nessa's intention was still a riddle. She stood leaning against a tree,
motionless as a statue and up to this point as silent. But the time had
come when I must know what she meant to do.
"You're going, Nessa?" I whispered.
No answer; not even a shrug of the shoulders.
"Nessa, dear, you're going?"
"Are you?"
"No. I gave my word. Besides I've half a notion that this is a sort of
test. Fischer has told the men that I am not, and even if they didn't
shoot us both, I should be ruined with him. And you can see for
yourself there isn't one chance in a hundred of our getting through."
She listened but made no reply.
"We shall have that signal in a moment. That officer is riding away."
A long tremulous sigh from her. "Do you wish me to go, Jack?"
"Yes, most certainly. It's the luckiest chance in the world."
"Is it?"
"You can see it for yourself, dearest." I tried to put my arm round
her, but she drew away.
"Don't, Jack! After what you've just said."
There was a pause in which we could catch the guttural tones of the
guards and hear them stamping their feet. Precious seconds were flying
and I was getting into a positive fever of impatience and anxiety.
"I'm only thinking of you, Nessa. You know that. Do make up your mind
to go. You must surely see that it's the one course for you. There's
the road to England and your mother and----"
"And you're to stop here in all this danger alone."
My patience began to give out. "I know you're thinking of me, but I can
get out of it all ever so much better alone. But there, if you won't,
you won't, and there's an end of it."
"You promised to make an attempt together. Have you done it?"
"For Heaven's sake, Nessa, don't let us split hairs at a moment like
this. Here's the chance of chances for you, and you may never have
another. If you wish ever to see England again, or at all events until
after the war's over, you'll take it."
"That shows what little chance you think you have of getting away," she
retorted, and made me wish I'd said something else.
"I didn't mean anything of the sort, only that it will be infinitely
easier for me alone."
She didn't answer, and in the pause the first bars of the "Watch on the
Rhine" were whistled in a low cautious pitch.
"Come, dearest," I whispered and put my arm about her.
"Oh, I can't go, Jack. I--I can't be such a coward!" she whispered,
trembling in her agitation.
"For Heaven's sake, dearest!"
The whistling had ceased, but she still hesitated.
After an interval, very short, the whistle came again, slightly louder.
There was only one last plea I could think of. "It may cost me my life
if you don't go, Nessa."
I felt her shudder convulsively as she yielded, and clung to me for an
instant. "I'll go. Oh, God!" she moaned piteously under her breath.
I hurried her across the intervening field, and as we reached the other
side of it, the man at the gate called to us impatiently to hurry.
But Nessa stopped. "I've forgotten, Jack," she whispered. "I must have
that money after all."
I had it ready, thrust it into her hand, and helped her over the field
gate. In her agitation she fell and dropped the notes. It was as dark
as pitch on the ground at that spot and I had to grope with my hands to
find them.
The man called to me urgently to come at once, and I had just found
them when we heard the sound of a horse galloping in our direction.
"Back to the wood," growled the man almost fiercely. "If the captain
noses you, you'll be shot."
I lifted Nessa over the gate and we darted back to cover, as the
officer rode up. We waited for some breathless anxious minutes for him
to go, hoping that the signal could be repeated.
But he did not go; and soon afterwards the guard was changed.
The chance was gone and there was nothing for it but to return to the
car.
The failure was bitterly disappointing, but Nessa was glad, and
laughed. "Here's the money, Jack," she said as we left the wood.
I pocketed it in silence.
"I suppose you're awfully angry and disappointed and all that, but I'm
not. The only thing I regret is that I was persuaded to go."
"I'm not angry about it. It's a great pity; but the only thing to do is
to wait for another opportunity. I dare say Fischer can manage it."
"You needn't look for one, if you mean me to go alone. I won't do it.
You'll never get me to consent again; and you said I was to settle it,
remember."
"I remember," I replied.
"I'm absolutely determined," she declared; but something was to happen
that night which shook that determination to ruins.
Fischer expressed great surprise at seeing her; but I explained that at
the last moment the money had been lost and that the officer had come
back in time to prevent Nessa's escape.
The car was now loaded with some of the spoils from the wagon and Nessa
had to ride in front with us. We made a quick run back to the town,
where I helped in the unloading, and then with Nessa took the car to
the place where I was to overhaul it in the morning.
"I feel a thousand times more light-hearted, Jack," she said slipping
her hand in my arm as we walked back to Fischer's shop.
"That's as it should be. I was rather bearish over it, I'm afraid; but
it was such a chance."
"You won't ask me again to---- Good heavens, look, Jack, look!" she
broke off, her voice shaken with agitation as she clutched my arm
convulsively and pointed to a small poster outside the police station.
She might well be agitated. The poster was headed:
MURDER
1,000 Marks Reward
The murder was that of Anna Hilden and the reward was for my capture.
Two portraits were in the middle. One an excellent reproduction of
Nessa with the words: "Nessa Caldicott, Englishwoman," beneath it; the
other a villainous splash drawing: "Johann Lassen, German"; who were
"known to have left Berlin together on the night of the 23rd in the
train which had been wrecked outside Osnabrueck."