"A TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT."
Bumpus seemed to scent more trouble ahead.
"Now I certainly do hope we'll be able to get what we want here at this
place," he went on to remark, dubiously. "So few of these Belgians in
this section of the country understand plain United States as she is
spoken. We'll have to make use of signs to bargain with them for our
grub."
Thereupon Bumpus began to practice what he imagined was a good idea for
showing he was hungry, and wanted to buy food. He rubbed his stomach,
sighed heavily, then pointed to his open mouth and champed his jaws
vigorously, after which he smiled sweetly, and, with a nod of his head,
held up a franc.
"Oh! you'll be able to satisfy anybody going that your proper place is
in an asylum, Bumpus, if you carry on that way," jeered Giraffe; "you
leave it all to Thad and Allan and me. We have the goods, and can
deliver them. They're all wool and a yard wide, let me tell you, too."
So the car entered the village, and pulled up in the most likely place
the pilot could see. This was where there seemed to be some sort of
open-air market, with all manner of things good to eat exposed for sale.
Their coming of course excited considerable interest. People began to
cluster around the car as soon as it stopped. Curious eyes observed the
inmates, with their natty khaki uniforms. Of course there were few among
them but who realized that these lads must be Boy Scouts, but they
seemed to understand immediately that they were not of the Belgian type.
The boys jumped out and started to try and find some one who could
understand what they desired to do. Bumpus alone was left sitting there
in the car, and he amused himself looking around. When he thought his
chums were well out of sight he concluded to try his little scheme; so
taking a coin from his pocket he held it up and began his grotesque
motions.
At first the crowd seemed to watch him in wonder. Then they began to say
things among themselves, and smile. After that some of the half-grown
boys laughed rudely, and began to mimic poor Bumpus.
This humiliated him so that he stopped his show, realizing that they
were beginning to look on him as some sort of circus performer, perhaps
a hokus-pokus medicine fakir on his travels, and trying to gather a
crowd around before opening his box of goods for sale.
Meanwhile the other boys were trying to find some one who could talk
English, in order to engage a midday meal, and later on purchase what
supplies they needed.
Thad noticed almost immediately that there was a scarcity of able-bodied
men in the river village. He knew the reason, because every one capable
of bearing arms had been hurried to the front to try and resist the
invaders.
Women, old men, cripples, and children of all sizes made up the
population of the place, and Thad really believed the entire village
must have come out of doors to size up the strangers within their gates.
Although at the time he did not imagine any harm could come of their
separating, Thad afterwards wished he had insisted on the other two
keeping with him. If that had been done possibly they would have been
saved from more or less inconvenience, not to use a harsher term.
The patrol leader had just managed to locate what looked like a sort of
tavern where possibly they could make arrangements for a dinner, if they
waited until it could be prepared, when he saw part of the crowd heaving
in a strange way. At the same time loud angry voices began to reach his
ears.
Allan was hurrying towards him from another direction, as though he too
had noticed the upheaval and considered it best that they consolidate
their forces.
"It must be Giraffe who's gone and gotten himself into trouble some way
or other," Allan was saying hurriedly as he joined Thad.
"We'll soon know," added the other, "because they're pushing this way
now. Yes, and there's Giraffe in the lead too. See him brush off the
hands of those women and boys. They look excited enough to tear him to
pieces! This is a bad job, I'm afraid."
"What can have happened to cause it?" said Allan, glancing back uneasily
toward the car, and finding that it was near at hand, with the alarmed
Bumpus already standing up to observe what was going on.
"I'm afraid," said Thad, hurriedly, "Giraffe has been unwise enough in
trying to make himself understood to air his German, and that's made
these people suspect we may be spies sent on ahead of the army to get
the lay of the land, and learn where they're hiding all their valuables
and wine."
In another minute Giraffe came hurrying up. He was looking disturbed,
and a little white of face, though his teeth were clenched, and there
was an ominous glitter in his eyes.
"What's all the row about, Giraffe?" asked Thad, though he had to speak
much louder than ordinary on account of the noise made by the increasing
mob.
Boys were whooping, women shrieking and chattering as they shook their
fists toward the four strangers, and taken in all the prospect was
decidedly stormy. No wonder Bumpus was rubbing his chubby hands
together, and staring with open mouth at the "tempest in a teapot."
"I don't know what ails the sillies!" cried Giraffe, indignantly. "I was
trying my best to make them understand that we wanted a dinner and to
buy some food. One fellow turned around and shouted something to the
others. Then they began to flock about me like people at a county fair
do when the snake-charmer comes out of the side-show to give an
exhibition with her scaly pets. Say, they even tried to lay hands on me
but I shook 'em off!"
"Look here," said Thad, sternly, "did you try any of your German on
them?" demanded Thad.
Giraffe wilted at once.
"Why, yes, I own up I did, Thad!" he confessed. "You see I thought some
of them might be able to understand the language, and I bet you they do
too; but whee! they acted mad at me. I never thought my German was as
rank as that."
"Don't you understand that German is in bad favor through Belgium just
now? Those who do speak it are trying to forget all they know. When
strangers drop into a Belgian village and talk it, with the Kaiser's
army only a few miles away, it's only natural they suspect us. Now I've
got to try like everything to set things right."
So saying Thad turned to the shouting crowd, and held up his hand.
Somehow there was something about the boy to inspire confidence. The
yelling and jeering gradually died down. Several old men cowed the boys
and the women. Possibly they told them to give the stranger a chance to
explain.
"Is there any one here who talks English?" called out Thad.
At that an old man pushed his way forward through the crowd. Judging
from the deference shown him by the others he must be a person of
considerable importance in this humble little village on the river.
"I do, young m'sieu," he said. "I lived in London some years, and
learned the language. What is it you desire to say?"
Thad smiled. He knew now he would be able to convince these good people
that far from being German spies or even sympathizers, he and his chums
were deeply concerned over the threatened fate of poor little Belgium,
in danger of being made the battleground for warring neighbors.
"We are American Boy Scouts," he started to say. "We have been traveling
through the country, and had just made a trip down the Rhine when we
heard that war had broken out. One of my friends has a sick mother in
Antwerp. We are trying our best to make our way to her. We bought this
old car to help us along. When we get to our journey's end we expect to
turn it over to the authorities, if they can make any use of it."
"But why does this young m'sieu speak the hated language?" asked the old
man, looking straight at Giraffe.
"He learned it in school, and thought some one might be able to
understand him," continued the scout leader. "He was asking where we
could buy some dinner, and then a few supplies afterwards. That is all.
It was not wise for him to expose his knowledge of German, but the very
fact that he did so proves he meant no wrong. See, we have our passports
to prove who we are."
The old man came closer, to look the documents over. Thad just then felt
glad to remember that he had concealed in the lining of his hat the
paper given him by the German aviator whose life they had saved. It
might have been very unpleasant for the boys had this been found on his
person.
Besides the passports Thad exhibited several letters he had received
from across the water since coming abroad. Allan and Giraffe also
contributed their quota to this display. It really had more influence on
the old villager than the official documents, which might be false after
all, but he knew those stamps and post-marks must be the genuine thing.
The old man turned and talked to the crowd. Evidently what he said
impressed the assemblage, for their angry looks gave way to others of a
more genial nature, though some of the half-grown boys continued to get
their heads together, and confer mysteriously, as they looked at the car
with Bumpus in it.
"Here is the proprietor of the inn," said their friend, the old
villager, who had once worked at his trade in the great city across the
Channel. "He has promised to supply you with dinner in half an hour. If
you wish to buy anything you are at liberty to do so. But I would not
leave the car alone, for something might happen to it."
Thad told Giraffe to get in along with Bumpus while he and Allan made
what purchases they had in mind. As fast as these were secured, which
was only after more or less argument in the deaf and dumb alphabet, the
boys carried the things to the car and stowed them away.
Bumpus saw that in the end they were well supplied with enough food to
last several meals, as well as a tin pail in which they could boil
coffee.
As the half hour was now about up they took the car into the inn-yard,
and Thad meant to keep an eye on it if possible while they ate their
dinner. This was rendered possible because he sat where he could look
out of an open window; but after all nothing out of the way happened.
The boys noticed that there had been a bridge at this place, but it
seemed to have been destroyed by some flood, for a new one was under
construction, though only partly built, and of no use at that time.
This of course necessitated their going further along the river road
until they arrived at the small bridge of which they had been told by
the Belgian soldiers some time before.
There was no fault to be found with their meal. Even Bumpus admitted
that it tasted good, and was in abundance. So the four scouts arose with
a feeling of satisfaction, and Thad settled the account. It is not a
very hard matter to pay bills, even when two parties are unable to speak
each other's language, for signs and the sight of money go a long way
toward settlement.
As they passed out Thad saw their old friend beckoning to him.
"Get in the car, fellows, and I'll join you as soon as I've had a few
words with the old chap, and thanked him heartily for his friendly act,"
said the leader.
A few minutes afterwards he came hurrying toward them, and when Giraffe
saw the way Thad's brows were knitted he knew some new trouble was in
store for them.
"What's coming next, Thad?" he asked, and if any one had taken the pains
to look beneath the surface they might have found an undercurrent of
satisfaction in the tones of the tall scout.
"Our good old friend has warned me that a parcel of the rougher boys of
the village have started out, meaning to waylay us, and take our car
away. He says they've got an idea we've no business riding around when
their military authorities need every sort of motor car they can get.
And that's how the land lies, boys!"