BACK INTO ITALY.
"Now here," said Stubbs, "are my papers. You just take them, and for the
moment you will be Anthony Stubbs, war correspondent of the New York
_Gazette_. You are a little young looking, so put on all the airs you
can, for they'll think you must be awful good to have such a job."
Chester and the little war correspondent had left Trieste without trouble
and had arrived in Trent without adventure of any kind. True to his word,
Stubbs had arranged for Chester's departure with him and now the time for
parting had come.
Chester took the papers Stubbs held out to him and thrust them into
his pocket.
"And when will you be across?" he asked.
"Oh, I'll be there before the day is over," was the reply. "When you once
get within the Italian lines, you demand to be taken to the nearest
general commanding a division and explain matters to him. Then wait for
me, if it is until to-morrow. I'll be there."
"All right," agreed Chester.
"I'll walk as far as the outposts with you," said Stubbs. "No, I won't
either," on second thought. "I'll be wanting to get out myself directly
and it wouldn't do for us to be seen together."
He held out his hand.
"Good-bye, and good luck," he said. "You just do as I tell you and you'll
have no trouble. Remember, you are just as big as any of these fellows,
and a whole lot bigger, if it comes to that."
Chester gripped the hand hard.
"Good-bye," he said, "and thanks."
The little man gazed after the boy as the latter strode away with
shoulders squared and head held high.
"He'll do," he muttered to himself.
Chester disappeared, and Stubbs turned and strode in the opposite
direction.
"Now for my holler--and my new papers," he told himself.
Chester was halted at the extreme Austrian front. He produced Stubbs'
papers, which he gave the man without a word. Luckily, as Stubbs had
explained, the safe conduct was simply made out to "Anthony Stubbs, war
correspondent," without description.
The officer scanned the papers closely, looked Chester over from head to
foot and seemed about to speak. Chester gazed at him sternly and the
Austrian closed his lips without uttering a word. He shrugged his
shoulders, summoned an orderly and commanded:
"Take a flag of truce and conduct this gentleman to the Italian lines."
Two hours later Chester was safe.
To the Italian officer who approached him, he demanded to be taken to the
general commanding the division, and this was done without protest.
Chester explained the circumstances to the general, and the latter
believed him. He turned him over to an orderly, with instructions that he
be taken care of; and in a tent of his own, Chester sat down to await the
arrival of Stubbs.
Stubbs, after Chester had left him, immediately betook himself to the
commander of the Austrian forces at this point. The latter received him,
although he didn't know Stubbs from any one else.
"General," said Stubbs, "somebody stole my papers, among them a safe
conduct to the Italian lines. I want to get there."
"No papers, no safe conduct," replied the general briefly.
This was what Stubbs had expected.
"Look here now, general," he said familiarly, "that's no way for you to
talk. I want to get into Italy, and I had safe conduct from General
Oberlatz at Trieste."
The Austrian commander got to his feet.
"I have told you, sir," he said, "that without papers you cannot leave
our lines."
"I heard you," replied Stubbs, "but you don't seem to understand the
answer to my being here. I've got to get into the Italian lines. You
can't blame me. The fellow you want is the one who stole my papers; he's
probably a spy."
"And you may be one, too," said the officer.
"Sure, I may be," said Stubbs; "only I'm not. Now, I'll tell you, you
just push through a little wire to General Oberlatz and he'll straighten
this thing out."
"Can't be done," replied the general.
"But it's got to be done," declared Stubbs. "I can't stay around here
when I have orders to go elsewhere. I don't want to have to take this
matter up with my friend, the archduke."
The Austrian commander looked up in surprise at this last remark.
"You know the archduke?" he questioned.
"Well, rather," said Stubbs. "He and I are pretty good friends."
"Then," said the general, "it would do no harm for you to appeal to him
in person."
"You're right, there, general," declared Stubbs. "My friend, the
archduke, would fix this thing up in a minute. The only trouble on that
score is the matter of time. Time is precious, you know, general, and
time presses."
"Fortunately for you," said the officer, "the archduke happens to be in
the next room at this moment. If you will be seated, I shall call him."
Stubbs sat down abruptly. A slight whistle escaped him, though it did not
carry to the general's ears.
"Good night!" muttered the little man to himself. "I've sure enough gone
and done it this time."
But Stubbs didn't betray himself. To the general he said:
"The archduke here? By Jove! This is what I call luck. Have him come out
and talk to me."
With a bow, the Austrian commander turned and passed from the room. The
moment he crossed the threshold, Stubbs sprang to his feet and dashed to
the door through which he had entered a few moments before.
"This," he said, as he came again into the open, "is no place for
Anthony Stubbs."
He disappeared from within view of the general's quarters with
amazing rapidity.
"Wasn't much use of me patting the archduke on the back," he told
himself. "Never having seen me before, I guess he wouldn't have
remembered me. I don't want to be shot."
Half a mile from the scene of his trouble, he entered a little
restaurant and sat down to have something to eat and to figure out what
he should do.
"This place is going to be too small to hold me," he said to himself over
a second cup of coffee. "They'll have all the natives on my trail. I've
got to get over the frontier some way. The question before me is how?"
He meditated for some moments, then rose, paid his check and left the
restaurant. In front of the door he stopped and looked toward the south,
where, in the distance, he knew heavy Austrian patrols faced the Italian
pickets only a few miles beyond.
"That's the way I want to go," he told himself. "So I may as well be
starting in that direction."
He moved off.
Possibly half a mile from the utmost Austrian line he stopped and sat
down. So far he had been unchallenged and now, as he sat there, a plan
came to him. He took his revolver from his pocket and examined it.
"I'll try it," he said briefly to himself. "If Chester knew what I was
about to do, he would be greatly surprised. But the thing is I am more
afraid to stay here than I am to take this chance."
He arose and moved on. As he expected, probably five minutes later, a
mounted officer came toward him. There was no one else near. He halted
the correspondent.
"Where are you going?" he asked sharply.
"I'll tell you," was the reply. "I am a war correspondent and I am just
looking about a bit. Am I going too far? If so, I shall turn back."
"Well, I can permit you to go no farther," said the Austrian, with a
smile.
"Oh, all right," said Stubbs.
He drew a cigar from his pocket, bit off the end, struck a match and
lighted it. Then, with a start, he produced a second cigar.
"Beg pardon," he said. "Have a smoke?"
The Austrian signified that he would. Stubbs gave him the cigar and
struck a second match. The Austrian leaned from his horse and put the
cigar to the flame. At that moment Stubbs drew his revolver with his free
hand and, dropping the match, seized the Austrian by the leg with the
other. The latter came tumbling from his horse, and when he looked up, he
gazed squarely into the mouth of Stubbs' revolver.
"Quiet," said the little man briefly. "I want you to change
clothes with me."
The Austrian appeared about to protest, but changed his mind and
signified his willingness to comply with the command.
"Stand off there and remove your clothes," ordered Stubbs, pointing.
The man obeyed, Stubbs the while keeping him covered with his revolver.
The man's clothes removed, Stubbs approached him.
"I'll have to tie you up minus your outer garments," he told him. "I
can't take any chances on you while I am donning your robes."
He tied him up in most approved fashion and then gagged him with his
handkerchief.
"Just to keep you from giving an alarm," he said.
Rapidly he donned the Austrian's clothes and then walked over to his
horse. This he mounted and turned the animal's head southward. He waved a
hand at the Austrian.
"_Auf Wiedersehen_," he said, and rode away.
He kept as far as possible from the Austrian troops that patrolled the
outposts and half an hour later was beyond the Austrian lines. Out of
sight he halted and discarded the Austrian uniform he had drawn on over
his civilian attire and then rode on more confidently.
And the little man welcomed a command that broke upon his ears a short
time later:
"Halt!"
He drew rein. A soldier in Italian uniform advanced toward him.
"Thank the Lord," said the little man.
He drew a hand across a moist brow and gave a whistle of pure relief.
"No one will ever know how scared I was," he muttered. "Now to
find Chester."
He turned to the soldier who had accosted him.
"Take me immediately to your commanding officer," he ordered.