AN INTENTIONAL BLUNDER
"You're wanted for duty again, Jack," said Captain Durland, when he
returned from the council of war in General Harkness's tent.
"I'm all ready, sir," said Jack. "Gee, I think I've had it easy, riding
around in an automobile, when all the rest of the fellows were scouting
on foot."
"You'll make up for it, if you have been having it any easier," said the
Scout-Master, with a smile. "This job that you've got on your hands now
means a whole lot of work. You're to go to Fessenden Junction first, and
make a detail map of the tracks about the depot there. I don't know just
why it's wanted, or why it wasn't done before, but that's none of our
business. Then when that's done, you're to bring it back here. After
that I guess you'll have plenty more to do. But I won't tell you about
the rest of it until you've finished that."
"Am I to go alone?" asked Jack.
"No. I want it done as quickly as possible, so you'd better take Peter
Stubbs and Tom Binns along with you. Divide the work up and it won't
take you very long. That's the easy part of it."
The Boy Scouts had studied map-making from a practical, working point of
view, and it was no sort of a job for the three of them to make the
required map.
"I see why they need this map, all right," said Jack. "There are a whole
lot of new tracks in here, and the whole yard has been changed around
within the last few weeks. That explains it. The old maps wouldn't be of
much use for anyone who was depending on them for quick understanding of
the railroad situation here."
"Now," said Durland, when they returned, "I've got the most difficult
task that's been assigned to you yet, Jack. You've got only about one
chance in a thousand of succeeding in it, but it's my own plan, and I'll
be very pleased and proud if you do accomplish it. I want two of you to
take the car, get inside the enemy's lines, with or without the car, as
far as you can, and then get yourselves taken prisoners. What we want is
for you to be near enough to General Bliss's headquarters to get some
sort of an inkling of the nature of the attack that will be made.
"There is a dangerous weakness of the position here, which could hardly
have been foreseen when the campaign was laid out in advance. That is,
anyone getting control of Tryon Creek, which is practically dry in the
summer, is in a position to dominate one side of the prospective
battlefield. There are two lines of attack open to General Bliss. If he
chooses Tryon Creek we must keep him from occupying it at all costs. To
do that we would have to uncover the other side--the road from Mardean."
"I'm to try to find out which line of attack they will follow, then,
sir? Is that it?" asked Jack.
"Yes. We must know before the actual attack begins, or it will be too
late. Now I want you to understand my plan. I haven't thought of the
details, because they will depend absolutely on conditions as you may
find them to be. But here is the outline. Three of you will take the
car. You, Jack, and one other Scout will leave that, when there is no
longer a chance of continuing to use it, and proceed on foot until you
are well within the enemy's lines. Then you will manage to get captured,
while seeming to make an effort to escape."
"Are we to give our parole then, sir?"
"On no account! But pretend to be frightened and discouraged. That is
legitimate. You mustn't give your word not to attempt to escape, because
that is an essential part of the plan. I have an idea that they will not
keep a very close watch on you, and that you will find it quite possible
to make a dash for liberty after dark. But before you do that you must
try to discover where the attack is to be made, by keeping your ears
open and your eyes as well, for possible movements of guns. Then you can
try to get away, rejoin the automobile, and get back to our lines. Do
you understand?"
"Yes, sir, I do! I think Pete Stubbs would be a good one to go with me,
with Tom Binns to look after the car, because he knows how to drive it.
Then if Pete and I couldn't both get away, one of us ought to be able to
manage it, I should think, anyhow."
"That's the reason for sending two of you, of course," said Durland.
"It's an outside chance, but you've done things almost as difficult.
Remember that you must exercise the utmost caution. In time of real
warfare no enterprise could be more dangerous, and the mere fact that
there is no actual danger involved now is no reason for you to grow
careless, though I need hardly give you such a warning."
"I'll do my best, sir," said Jack, enthusiastically. "It would certainly
be a great joke on them if we could work it."
"Well, do the best you can. I don't want you to think that I really
expect you to succeed. I think the chances are desperate. But, even if
you cannot escape, there will be no difficulty about exchanging you, for
we have a great many of their prisoners, including a number of officers,
and they will be very glad to get them back. Otherwise I am sure General
Harkness would never have consented to let you make the effort."
"If this were real war, and they saw us trying to escape, they would
fire at us, wouldn't they?" asked Jack. "What I want to know is whether
we're assumed to be shot, and have to stop if they see us and get a
shot?"
"Yes, at any range less than a hundred yards. Above that range a
prisoner escaping is supposed to have a good chance to get away. He has
to stop, but need not show himself, and unless he is found he can resume
his attempts to escape."
Then Durland explained briefly to Pete Stubbs and Tom Binns the parts
they were assigned to play in this newest development of the war game,
and, thrilling with excitement, they took their seats with Jack in the
grey scout car.
"It won't be dark for a couple of hours yet," said Jack. "I think that's
a good thing because we couldn't get very far in the enemy's lines with
this car in daylight. So I'm going to take a long circle again and come
down on them from behind. I'm not sure of where General Bliss's quarters
are, but I should think they were probably pretty near Newville. If we
come down the Newville pike from the direction of Smithville, it will be
safe enough. Their watch will be closer in this direction, and by going
around for about fifty miles we can manage that easily enough."
"Gee, you talk about driving a car fifty miles the way I would about
getting on the trolley car at home," said Pete, admiringly.
"If you can drive at all, it isn't much harder, if you've got the time,
to drive fifty miles than it is to drive five," said Jack. "And this
time it's a lot safer. It's certainly one time when the longest way
around is the shortest cut. We don't want to be caught until about ten
o'clock, Pete. You understand that."
They roared through Smithville as it began to get dark, and then down
the Newville pike. Jack slowed down when he was sure that he had plenty
of margin in time, and through the growing dusk they saw the campfires
of the Blue army springing up in all directions before them.
"Gee, there must be an awful lot of them," said Pete. "This is the
closest I've been to them since we got started. You know, it makes me
feel kind of shivery, even though I know that they won't do anything to
us when they do catch us, Jack."
"That just shows that you really get into the spirit of it," said Jack,
laughing happily. "If we remembered all the time that this was only a
game, we wouldn't be doing things the right way at all. If you feel a
little scary, and something like the way you'd feel if it was a real
enemy in front of us, it'll only make you a bit more careful, and that's
just what we want. We want them to think, when they catch us, that we're
surprised and scared, and if we can make ourselves feel that way, so
much the better. It's much easier to make other people believe a thing
if you half believe it yourself, even if you know down at the bottom of
your heart it isn't so at all."
A few rods farther on Jack swerved the car into a field.
"Here's a good place to stop, I guess," said Jack. "It's pretty quiet
here, and we'll get along, Pete, and find out as much as we can before
we let them catch us. You'll be all right here, Tom. Turn the car around
and keep it right here, no matter what happens. If there seems to be a
chance of your being caught, leave the car, but keep the spark plug in
your pocket. Then they'll find it impossible to do much with it. It's
too heavy to do much pushing, and I don't believe you're likely to be
seen, anyhow, under the hedge here. We may have to make a mighty quick
run for it if we get back here at all."
"Suppose you don't get away, Jack? Shall I wait here?"
"Wait until daylight, no longer. Not quite daylight, either. Let's
see--figure to the sunrise, and wait till half an hour before that. And
if you do have to go back alone, don't take any chances at all on being
caught. Make even a wider circle than we did coming here, and don't go
near Mardean. The car is a good deal more important than any of us. And
don't forget, if you do have to leave the car and take to the woods, to
take the spark plug with you. Do that, even if you just get out to get a
drink at a well, or anything like that. Remember that we're right in the
heart of the enemy's country, and you can't tell what minute you're
likely to be attacked."
"All right, Jack. I don't believe they'll see me here, either. But I'll
do the best I can if they do, and I'll be here, unless they pick me up
and carry me away."
"That's the right spirit, Tom! I think you've got the hardest part of
all. Pete and I've got something to do, and something pretty exciting,
too. But you've just got to wait here in the dark for something to
happen."
"Don't let it get on your nerves, Tom," said Pete. "It's hard work, but
keep your nerve, and you'll be all right. Coming, Jack? So long, Tom!"
"So long, Pete and Jack! Good luck! I hope you'll get away from them all
right--and get what you're after, too."
It was almost pitch dark by this time. The moon would not rise until
very late, and the night had the peculiar blackness that sometimes comes
before the moon appears. The country was thickly wooded here, which
worked to the advantage of Jack and his companion. Most of the country
in which Jack had been operating so far had been fairly open, which
would have increased the difficulty of their task very much if the scene
of operations had not been shifted eastward by the action near Newville
that morning.
"How far are we from their headquarters now, Jack?" asked Pete.
"About a mile and a half, I think, Pete. I can't be sure, of course, but
I think that's a pretty good guess. I could have run the car a little
nearer and probably still been safe, but I didn't want to take chances.
If we lose the car we can't get it back. If we're captured, why, they
can get someone else to run the car, but we wouldn't be any good if we
lost the machine."
"We'll want to be pretty careful, though, as we go along, Jack."
"Sure we will! But it won't be any harder than scouting the way we've
learned to do, Pete. These people aren't looking for us, and we've done
a lot of scouting when other fellows who were on the lookout for us knew
just about where we were."
The lay of the land favored the two Scouts decidedly as they made their
way onward. They were able to progress through the woods, but they did
not have to go so deep into them that they could not observe, as they
moved along, the situation in the open country that marched with the
woods. In these fields they saw the twinkling of numerous fires, and
they judged that the enemy was thick alongside, so to speak.
"They ought to watch these woods better than they do," whispered Jack.
"Gee, I can see how their whole camp is laid out! That's one thing
they're weak in--and it shows how important it is. They have fine
strategy, but they're weak on details, like guarding their camp. If they
don't watch these woods better when we start to make our get-away, we'll
have it pretty easy."
"That looks like headquarters, Jack. See, over there?"
"You're right, Pete. And I'll bet they're planning to move before
daylight, too. That's why 'Lights out!' was sounded so early. That was
the call we heard about three quarters of an hour ago."
A light still showed in one of two big, adjoining tents, however, and
the sound of voices came distinctly from it.
Jack waited until they were abreast of the tent.
"This will be a good place, Pete," he said. "There'll be a guard there.
We want to pretend to make a run for it. Come on, now--make a little
noise!"
Pete obeyed. The next moment the sharp challenge of a sentry rang out,
and a shot followed. Jack and Pete ran, as if frightened and confused,
right out into the midst of the sleeping men, and a moment later they
were the prisoners of a group of laughing militiamen.