IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY
The days that followed the return of Frank and Henri to Amiens were busy
but uneventful ones. They had found a few staff officers at the
abandoned headquarters, including Colonel Menier, to whom they had made
their report and turned over the automobile. He had thanked them
heartily, having heard already of their work. And when he was told of
the destruction of the Zeppelins he had embraced them both.
"We had heard already of that," he said. "Only of the burning of the
ships, not of how it was done. You have done well for France, mes
braves! Wait! You shall not find France ungrateful. I go to Paris from
here, to make reports. I shall make one concerning you, to those in
authority. And--who knows?"
He pinched their ears, that gesture loved of French soldiers since the
days of the great Napoleon, of whom his officers said that when he
pinched their ears he conferred an honor they valued more highly than
the cross of the Legion d'Honneur.
After the departure of the last officers of the staff, Amiens took on a
new aspect. The thunder of guns, even the rolling of rifle fire, was
plainly to be heard now in the streets. In the distance--and not a great
distance, either--the smoke of a dozen burning villages was to be seen
to the north and east. It was so that the Germans marked their advance,
steady, relentless. Henri exclaimed in fury at the sight.
"These barbarians of Germans!" he cried. "Burn and kill--and not
soldiers alone!"
"It tears my heart-strings to see all this wanton destruction indulged
in by the foe," said Frank. "What then must be the feelings of the
French as they watch their villages being so ruthlessly burned! But some
day, somehow, Henri, our chance will come and the French will sweep back
into this territory, a victorious host. Not for long will it be in the
power of our foe!"
Every day Amiens expected the incursion of the Germans, but day followed
day and still the enemy did not come. Frank and Henri stayed in the
Martin house alone. The servants had gone; Madame Martin had respected
their fears of the Prussians, and had made other arrangements for them.
So the two scouts camped out there, and Henri invited many of the other
scouts to share their quarters in relays. The house was open, too, to
any refugees who cared to use it, but by this time the country to the
north that was in danger of German raids had been swept clear, and
Amiens was no longer a gathering place. It was in itself too much
exposed.
The smoke of burning villages rose now to the south, toward Paris. The
retreat was still on, it seemed. And while they waited patiently, since
there was nothing else to do, for the coming of the Germans, there was
much work for the Boy Scouts to do. It was routine work now, very
different from the exciting labors that had fallen to the share of
Frank and Henri on the day of their trip to Le Cateau. When Henri became
restless and impatient, as he sometimes did, Frank soothed him.
"We are still serving France," he said. "There are no more soldiers in
Amiens. There are a few police, and those are old men, since the young
gendarmes have gone to join their regiments. But Monsieur le Maire knows
that he can call upon us."
The military authorities, before completing the evacuation of Amiens,
had given strict orders that if the Germans came there was to be no
resistance. And in order to enforce this rule, the mayor detailed the
few remaining police and the Boy Scouts to make a house-to-house canvas,
warning the citizens, and collecting all firearms that might be found.
The scouts worked in pairs on this duty, and Frank and Henri always went
together.
"In Belgium," one of them always explained, in making the demand that
the arms be given up, "Louvain and other towns were destroyed, so that
not one stone remained upon another. And always the Germans made the
excuse that shots had been fired on their men from the houses. Here in
Amiens we must save our cathedral and the other famous buildings. When
the Germans come it will not be for long; soon they will be in retreat
before the armies of France and England."
Many gave up their guns reluctantly. But nearly all did give them up,
and whenever the scouts had reason to think that any were being
concealed, they made a special report on the house, and policemen
returned to make a search.
And this wise planning had much to do with saving the town. The Germans
came at last. At first a single squadron of Uhlans, in command of a
young lieutenant, rode in. Frank and Henri saw them passing their house
and they mounted bicycles at once, and followed them.
"They've nerve," admitted Henri, reluctantly. "See with what arrogance
they sit their horses! They might be riding into a German city instead
of one in which everyone who sees them hates them!"
"Yes, they've nerve," agreed Frank.
There could be no question of the fact. The little squadron of troopers,
almost swallowed up already in the crowd of curious ones who followed
the slow movement of the horses, rode on, seemingly deaf to the mutters
of execration that rose, especially from the women. Not a man turned his
face from the front even to scowl at the townspeople. They rode on, eyes
unswerving. Outside the Hotel de Ville they stopped. A bugler blew a
fanfare, and Monsieur le Maire, in his robes of office, appeared on the
steps. A great cheer from the people greeted him. He bowed gravely to
the Uhlan lieutenant, who saluted stiffly.
"I demand the surrender of the town of Amiens, in the name of his
Majesty the Kaiser and of the German Empire," said the lieutenant, in
excellent French. "You, Monsieur le Maire, will consider yourself my
prisoner. You will be held responsible for the conduct of the
inhabitants. Any attack on German troops will be sternly punished. If
the inhabitants of Amiens behave in a peaceable and orderly fashion they
will not be harmed. Payment will be made for any private property
required by our forces. A brigade of infantry will march in this
afternoon. Quarters must be found for the troops, numbering nearly eight
thousand men. You will be informed later of the requisition the town
will be required to fill, in money and in supplies. For the present you
are required to clear this square, where my men will remain."
The mayor bowed.
"My orders are to make no resistance," he said. "I bow to the
inevitable, regretting that we are not permitted to defend ourselves to
the death. Amiens will keep its faith. No attack will be made, since
that would mean treachery. I will order the gendarmes and the Boy Scouts
to clear the square."
Frank and Henri were of great assistance in doing this work, Frank
taking the lead, since no patrol leader happened to be in evidence.
They and the police soon drove the people back, and the Uhlans
dismounted. There, in the public square, used as a market place, they
proceeded to cook a meal, making a fire in the street. From the sides of
the square the people watched them sullenly. But there was no
demonstration, since both the police and the scouts had explained that
anything of the sort was likely to mean the execution of the mayor, who
was within the power of the enemy.
As soon as the public curiosity to see the hated invaders had been
somewhat satisfied, the people were urged to go to their homes, and by
mid afternoon the streets were deserted. Then began the entrance of the
real force of occupation. At the head rode a general of brigade, a
sombre, stern-eyed man, accompanied by his staff. And behind him marched
thousands of green-gray German infantry keeping step with a marvelous
precision. These men had been fighting hard, but they looked fresh and
trim. And as they marched they sang, raising their deep voices in a
splendid, thrilling chorus.
_Fly, Eagle, Fly_, they sang as they marched into town. And then they
gave way to the magnificent hymn of Martin Luther, the battle song of
the Protestant nations in the Thirty Years' War, the battle song of
Prussia ever since that time, _A Mighty Fortress Is Our God!_
Henri watched them as they marched by, tears in his eyes. Finally he
could suppress the thought no longer, and he turned to Frank with:
"They have said that Germany has fine soldiers, but they are not like
our men! There's all the difference in the world between them--and that
difference will bring victory to our banners. Our men fight for right;
these men fight because they think it their duty."
"Even though they are the foe, I hope there will be no shooting at them
here. If there is, they will show no mercy, I am sure of that," said
Frank.
"Amiens has pledged its honor," replied Henri quietly. "They are safe
here. Will they harm Monsieur le Maire? Oh, do you think they will harm
him?"
"No, I think not if there is no resistance offered. I wonder if any will
be quartered at your house, Henri?"
"I hope not," said Henri, flushing.
A change, as it turned out, was made in that plan. The general in
command of the brigade, who proclaimed himself within an hour of his
arrival as military governor of Amiens, decided to keep his men under
canvas. Tents sprang up like mushrooms in the parks and open spaces.
Amiens was required to furnish great quantities of foodstuffs--bread,
flour, wine, meat. But the troops were not quartered in the houses. And
by nightfall the town seemed to have settled down peacefully to the new
conditions. German aeroplanes were flying constantly overhead; officers
came in, and more troops.
"Amiens is again the headquarters of an army corps," said Frank. He was
suffering almost as keenly as Henri, but he did not mean to let his chum
brood upon the disaster that had overtaken his home. And, after all, it
might have been worse. He thought of Louvain and other Belgian cities.
That night Amiens was a German city. Trains passed through continually
now, bearing troops; some, returning, carried wounded, whose groans
resounded in the silence. And in the distance to the south, toward
Paris, the roar of guns seemed louder again.