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World's War Series, Volume 5
THE BELGIANS TO THE FRONT
by
COLONEL JAMES FISKE
Illustrated by E. A. Furman
[Frontispiece: "Unless you can prove that you are innocent, you will be
tried as spies," said the lieutenant.]
The Saalfield Publishing Company
Chicago ------ Akron, Ohio ------ New York
Copyright, 1915
by
The Saalfield Publishing Company
CONTENTS
Chapter
I A Discovery
II The Marked Plans
III The House of Mystery
IV The Flight
V Pursuit
VI At Headquarters
VII The Fire
VIII The Uhlan
IX War
X Prisoners of War
XI The Spy
XII A Close Shave
XIII The Civic Guards
XIV Submission
XV The Butcher's Wife
XVI The Wine Shop
XVII The Battle
XVIII Victory
The Belgians To The Front
CHAPTER I
A DISCOVERY
In the great public square of the ancient city of Liege, in Belgium, a
troop of Belgian Boy Scouts stood at attention. Staffs in hand, clad
in the short knickerbockers, the khaki shirts and the wide campaign
hats that mark the Boy Scout all over the world, they were enough of a
spectacle to draw the attention of the busy citizens of Liege, who
stopped to watch them admiringly. Their scoutmaster, Armand Van Verde,
had been addressing them. And now in the fading light of the late
afternoon, he dismissed them.
At once the troop broke up, first into patrols, then into small
individual groups of two or three. The faces of the scouts were grave
for it was serious news indeed that Van Verde had communicated to the
troop at the meeting just ended. Paul Latour called sharply to his
great friend, Arthur Waller.
"Come on, Arthur," he said. "We'd better be getting along home. There
may be something for us to do."
"All right," agreed Arthur, cheerfully. He was a little younger than
his chum, and was nearly always willing to agree to anything Paul
proposed.
The two boys were not natives of Liege. However, they spent their
summers with relatives who lived in the country a few miles beyond the
limits of the famous old town, in the direction of the village of
Esneux. They themselves came from Brussels, and, while not themselves
related, were both cousins of the family which they were now visiting,
that of M. de Frenard.
So now, striking out with a good, swinging pace, they made their way
rapidly through the streets of the old town of Liege, narrow and
crooked, once they were beyond the great square. They passed over the
new Exposition Bridge and so to the new town of Liege, where the great
steel works of Seraing were beginning to cast red reflections against
the darkening sky.
"They have begun to work all night long," said Arthur.
"It's a good thing, too," said Paul, soberly. "If there is to be a
war, as Mr. Van Verde says, we may need all the guns they can turn out."
"But we shall not go to war, Paul! Belgium is neutral. All the powers
joined in declaring Belgium to be a neutral state. We have learned
that in our history in school!"
"I know that, Arthur. But will the Germans respect our neutrality? If
they don't, we shall have to defend ourselves against them. And the
first attack will be here, at Liege."
"Then these forts that Uncle Henri showed us will really be useful?
They are strong forts, Paul."
"I hope not. But just because there are forts there it is a sign that
the government has feared an invasion, Arthur. I hope that if there is
war we shall stay out of it. But Belgium has always been exposed to
war when her great neighbors fought. Some of the greatest battles in
the history of the world have been fought on our soil."
"I know! Waterloo was where Napoleon was beaten finally. We have seen
that battlefield, Paul, you and I. Do you think there may be a battle
there again? That would be exciting!"
"Waterloo was only one. Ramillies was fought in Belgium, too, and many
other battles. Even Caesar fought here. Do you remember the place
where he says that of all the tribes he conquered, the bravest were the
Belgians?"
"Oh, that's so! I'd forgotten that! But, Paul, you said there might
be something for us to do. What did you mean?"
"I'm not sure yet, Arthur, and I'd rather not say anything more until I
am. But I want you to slip out with me to-night, after dinner. We'll
find out then, for certain. And I don't want to tell Uncle Henri or
anyone else, and afterward find I was wrong. We'd be laughed at then,
you see."
"Then you have found something! Oh, tell me, Paul! I won't repeat it
to a soul!"
"You'll know all in good time. Do you remember that man who tried the
other day to get work as a gardener?"
"Yes, I do. Uncle Henri didn't have any work for him, but he sent him
to the factory in Seraing, and told him they would give him a job."
"That's the one. You know he said he was hungry, and that he hadn't
been able to get any work for a long time, so he didn't have any money.
Uncle Henri told the cook to give him a dinner."
"Yes, and I was sorry he didn't get a place. He looked as if he would
have been all right."
"Well, Arthur, I saw him again, last night! He was in Esneux, and he
seemed to have plenty of money, though he hadn't gone to Seraing to get
work. He was in Madame Bibet's wine shop, and he was treating
everyone. Do you know what he paid with?"
"No."
"A German gold piece! That's how I know about it, because Madame Bibet
had never seen such a coin before, and she was afraid it wasn't good.
So she came out, and when she saw me she asked me, and I told her it
was good, of course."
"Well, that's nothing, Paul. We often see German money here in Liege.
Isn't it like that in all places that are near a border? I suppose
that on the other side there is a lot of French money. Why, there is,
even in Brussels."
"It may mean nothing at all, Arthur. I hope it doesn't. But I think
it's funny that that man should be staying around so. He must have
told Uncle Henri a lie when he said he didn't have money. I'd like to
know what he's up to. I'd like to be sure that he's not a German spy."
"Oh, I never thought of that! A spy! Why should the Germans have
spies around here, though, Paul?"
"It's just the place where they would have them, Arthur. The forts!
They want to find out all they can about them. Boncelles is near us;
so is the fort of Embourg. They want to know if our people are ready.
If they come through Belgium, you know, they will want to get through
as quickly as they can, to attack the French."
"But I don't see why they should want to come through Belgium at all,
Paul. Why can't they leave us alone? They can attack the French along
their own border, I should think."
"They can. But the French know that, and they have their strongest
fortresses all along there, from Belfort to Verdun. It would take the
Germans weeks, months perhaps, to get past these fortifications along
the border, and that would give the French time to bring up all their
soldiers. And the Germans have to beat the French quickly this time,
or else not at all. They aren't fighting France alone, but Russia as
well, and their plan must be to beat France first and then turn on
Russia. They think that here in Belgium it will be easy for them to
get around these forts. If they once get behind them, the French will
have to retreat. And the Germans think that the quickest way to bring
that is for them to go through our country and so attack Paris."
"They ought to be stopped!" said Arthur, hotly. "England and France
would help us, wouldn't they?"
"France certainly would, because she would have to. And I believe the
English would help, too. I hope so. Because even if the Germans
promised to go away as soon as they'd beaten France, I don't believe
they would. They'd make Belgium a part of Germany."
"They can't do that! They shan't! Why, we're not German! We're a
free country!"
"Yes, but we may have to fight to remain free, Arthur. Free countries
have had to do that before. If there is war, I think we shall see the
Germans here within a day of its declaration. We had better hope for
peace. But we must be prepared for war--and we must not deceive
ourselves. A treaty guarantees our neutrality, but I think the time is
coming when treaties will be forgotten."
"We shall have to teach these Germans to remember them, then," said
Arthur, valiantly. "We may be weak, but we are brave, we Belgians. I
believe we can give them something to think about."
Paul smiled a little sadly. He understood the true facts, the real
possibilities, better than his friend.
"If it comes to fighting, we will do our part," he said, "but we should
be helpless against Germany alone, Arthur. The only thing we could do
would be to try to hold them back long enough for the French and the
English to come to our aid. Either that, or we would have to let them
pass through without resisting them."
"So that they could fall on France? But that would be treachery!" said
Arthur, indignantly. "I have heard of that treaty of neutrality. We
are safeguarded from attack, but we are forbidden to allow the troops
of a country that is at war to pass through our territory. If it was
the French who talked of invading us to reach Germany, I should say
that we must fight them."
"Yes, you're right, Arthur," said Paul. "I think we should make any
sacrifice to keep faith. But be sure that it will be a terrible
sacrifice, if we must make it."
"Look there!" whispered Arthur, suddenly. "Someone started up just now
from behind the bushes. A man--and he is running away from us!"
"After him!" cried Paul. "It looks--yes, it is the man I spoke of!"
They ran as hard as they could, shouting as they went, in the hope that
someone might intercept the fugitive. But he had too good a start, and
in a few moments he had distanced them by climbing a rail fence and
disappearing into a thicket that came down to the edge of a field.
"No use!" said Paul, disgustedly. "He got away from us. But I don't
suppose it would have done us any good to catch him. We couldn't have
done anything--hello!"
He ended with an exclamation of surprise, and stooped over. They were
at the foot of the fence the flying figure had climbed a moment before.
"What is it, Paul?" asked Arthur, eagerly.
"This!" said Paul. He held up a small black pocket-book, and from it
he took a package of papers, wrapped in oil silk. "I struck against it
with my foot! I wonder if that man who was running could have dropped
it?"
It was almost dark by this time; too dark, at any rate, for them to be
able to see the papers. But then Arthur remembered the pocket
flashlight he carried and produced it, switching on the light.
"Let's have a look," he said.
They unwrapped the oil silk covering. And, at the first sight of what
was within it, they gasped. They were holding in their hands a
complete sketch of the fort of Boncelles, the most important of the
works defending Liege to the southwest. Before they could examine it
more fully there was a shout from the fence. The spy had missed his
papers. They saw him for a moment. But now it was their turn to run.