THEN AND NOW
Within ten or fifteen minutes more they were in the old camp. They
entered the reservation territory at its western edge and cutting across
soon came to the concrete road which runs north and south through the
middle of the camp. This is the Knickerbocker Road which traversed the
reservation territory before ever Camp Merritt was heard of, and bears
its scanty traffic now through that pathetic scene of ruin and
desolation. It is the one feature of the camp that was not of its
temporary character.
Up this road through Dumont to the south, there once passed a never
ceasing procession of autos, encountering guards and sentinels for a
mile south of the camp. The atmosphere of military officialdom permeated
the public approaches for miles in both directions.
If one were so fortunate as to have a pass, he could by dint of many
stops and absurd inquiries and parleys, succeed in reaching the large
gate posts on which was printed UNITED STATES RESERVATION. Through this
the Knickerbocker Road, being especially privileged, passed without
challenge, straight through the middle of the camp and out of its
northern extremity, then through the pleasant little town of Haworth.
On either side of this road, within the confines of the camp, were board
shacks of every size and variety. They were for every purpose
conceivable and, large and small, they were all alike in this, that they
had a makeshift, temporary look, and were a delight to the eye of the
tried and true camper. They were all alike in this, too, that civilian
patriots had charged twenty dollars a day to put them up. This was in
odd contrast to the one poor, hapless soul who was to receive three
hundred dollars for the work of tearing several of them down.
As the scouts, his one hope now, came up onto the central road and hiked
southward toward the main entrance, they scrutinized the weather-beaten
and windowless structures on either side for a sign of their friend. But
no hint of any human presence was there, no suggestion of life of any
kind, save a companionable windmill nearby, the moving wheel of which
creaked cheerfully as if to assure these scout pilgrims that the scene
of their destination was not altogether deserted. It seemed a kind of
living, friendly thing, in that forlorn surrounding. What surging life
it had witnessed, what hearty, reckless, resolute departures! One might
fancy it saying as it revolved, "I have seen all, seen the boys come and
go, and I alone am left in all this hollow desolation."
The boys paused a moment to watch this lonely sentinel and listen to its
creaking.
"That sound would give me the shudders at night, if I didn't know what
caused it," one of them said.
"Shut your eyes, then listen," said Westy. "It sounds kind of spooky,
huh?"
"Gee whiz, but this is a lonely place," Roy said. "It reminds you of
Broadway, it's so different. It's a peach of a place to camp."
"I bet there are ghosts up here," Pee-wee said darkly.
"Sure, you'd better look around for finger prints," Roy said.
"Maybe that old windmill is haunted, hey?" our young hero suggested.
"It needs oil anyway," Roy said.
"You make me tired," said Pee-wee contemptuously. "A ghost can squeak,
can't it?"
"Sure," said Roy, "if it's rusty."
But for all their banter the old windmill, perhaps because it was the
only thing stirring, held them and sobered their thoughts as it would
not have done elsewhere. Perhaps they felt a sort of consciousness of
its lonely position and fancied it to be something human. It overlooked
the obscure path along which they had come; how many forms in khaki had
it seen stealing to or from the camp? A. W. O. L. How many truckloads of
uproarious boys had it seen driven away? How many maimed and suffering
brought back? Surely it had seen much that the most loyal citizens had
not been permitted to see. A whimsical thought, perhaps, but what good
fun it would be to climb up there and learn some dark and tragic secrets
from this lonely old derelict, the only thing with any sign of life that
Uncle Sam had left in that forlorn, deserted spot.
Had it any tragic secret? That seemed quite absurd. A creaky old
windmill revolving to no purpose in that waste, because it had nothing
else to do.
"_Listen!_" said Pee-wee. "Sh-h-h! I heard a noise--up there."
Captivated for the moment by their own mood, they all paused, listening.
Then, not far off, a friendly voice accosted them. It was young Mr.
Blythe coming to greet them. His face wore that uncertain, hovering
smile, which had the effect of arousing pity. His eyes had an eager,
startled look, like those of a frightened animal. He seemed backward,
almost bashful, but his joy at seeing them was unmistakable and sincere.
"Better late than never," laughed Roy. "Here we are bag and baggage; we
thought you were a spook or something...."