CONSPIRATORS
What Bart heard was the sound of human voices.
At first the thought flashed across him that they might be those
of some of his comrades, sent back by Lieutenant Winter to look
for the missing men.
But he dismissed this thought almost as soon as it was formed.
There was a peculiar quality about the tones that was not
American, a coarse guttural sound such as he had grown only too
familiar with in the streets of Coblenz. Those who were talking
were Germans.
He listened intently.
It was evident from the varying tones that there were quite a
number of men in the group. At times the conversation seemed
animated, and then again there would be a lull. Once he thought he
heard them quarreling.
What could these men be doing here in the dead of night? Was it
possible that some part of the castle was inhabited after all? Or
had they gathered together for some secret and lawless purpose?
Bart thought at first that he would wake his companions and tell
them what he had heard. On second thought, however, he concluded
that he would do a little reconnoitering on his own account. They
were so utterly tired that he hated to wake them for what after
all might prove to be not worth while.
Carefully looking to his weapons, he stole from the room and moved
in the direction of the voices.
But this was not so easy a matter as he thought. The old castle
proved to be a perfect maze of rooms, some connected and others
detached, and again and again he found himself going further away
from the sounds and having to retrace his steps. Then too he was
afraid to flash a light, and had to grope his way over the uneven
floor and amid piles of debris.
At last, however, he found himself on the right track. A faint ray
of light from a distant room gave him the clue. Moving with the
stealth of an Indian on the trail, he crept forward until at the
end of a distant corridor he found what he sought.
In a large room, lighted by a fire that blazed on the hearth and
by three or four candles, were a number of men engaged in animated
conversation. A glance at their features showed that all were
Germans. Some of the men were in civilian clothes, but others wore
old, dilapidated army uniforms.
They were a rough looking lot, and Bart saw at a glance that most
of them were armed. They were gathered about a man with a red,
bushy beard, who seemed to be the leader. He had a map spread on a
table improvised from boxes, and was pointing out places indicated
by red dots.
Bart counted the men. There were nine burly fellows, who looked
desperate and as though they could give a good account of
themselves in rough and tumble work. In one of the guns standing
against the wall Bart noted a red flag thrust in the muzzle--the
symbol of the German revolutionary element that was spreading
terror throughout the former empire.
He could hear distinctly now what the speakers said, but his
knowledge of German was limited and he could not get the full
meaning. He heard repeatedly however the words "Coblenz,"
"Liebknecht," and "Spartacide." He knew what was meant by those
baleful words. They meant the overthrow of law and order, a
program of blood and massacre. And they were discussing this
program evidently with reference to Coblenz, where the American
Army of Occupation had its headquarters.
Bart pondered what he should do. It was out of the question for
him alone to attack these conspirators. They were too many for any
single man. He must arouse his comrades at once.
With the utmost caution he tiptoed back, and finding the room, not
without some difficulty, bent over the sleepers. They were dead
with sleep and he had to shake them to get them wide awake, but
the news he whispered to them had them on edge and ready for
action in an instant.
They crowded together for a whispered conference.
"What would we better do?" asked Billy.
"There's just one thing to do," said Frank, "and that is to nab
the whole bunch. That is," he went on, "if we find that they're
really hatching mischief, as Bart thinks. I've picked up enough
German in the last few months to be able to understand what
they're talking about, and on a pinch I could even talk with them
after we've got them under our guns."
"But are you sure we have any right to arrest them?" asked Bart, a
little doubtfully.
"Sure we have," answered Frank promptly. "You said they were
armed, didn't you?"
"Yes," replied Bart.
"That's all the excuse we need then to nip this thing in the bud,"
Frank answered. "It's against regulations for the Germans to carry
arms in the zone occupied by the American army, and any one who
does is liable to arrest on sight. See that your guns are all
right, fellows, and come along. I have a hunch that we're going to
give these plotters a surprise party. But we'll listen first and
make sure before we pinch them."
Bart went in advance to show the way, and his comrades crept after
him, drifting along like so many ghosts.
The conference was still in progress, but it had somewhat changed
its character. When Bart had been listening, it had been a debate
in which all were taking more or less part. Now the man with the
red beard was making a speech. He had taken the red flag from the
gun muzzle and waved it from time to time to punctuate his
remarks. He had worked himself up into a passion as he progressed.
His eyes were bulging, his face inflamed, as he poured out a
torrent of words that evidently carried away his hearers, to judge
from their rapt attention and the frequent ejaculations that burst
from them.
The Army Boys listened for several minutes, and then at a sign
from Frank drew back a little distance, while he spoke to them in
whispers.
"It's what I thought," he murmured. "That fellow is an agitator
from Berlin who has come to stir up trouble in the Coblenz
district. He's urging these men to start an uprising that will
take the American troops by surprise and wipe them out. From
something he said I have an idea that he was concerned in the plot
to blow up Ehrenbreitstein. He's as dangerous as a rattlesnake,
and we've got to get him.
"Now," he went on, "just back me up when I give the word. They're
nine to our four, but we have the advantage of surprise. Follow my
lead and we'll bag them all right."