THE CLAWS OF THE HUNS
There was a wild tumult of questions and answers. None of the Army
Boys knew what they were doing or saying. The escape had been so
narrow, the relief at deliverance so great, that they were simply
incoherent for a while.
"Thank heaven, old man, that we have you with us again safe and
sound!" cried Frank, as he grasped his comrade's hand and almost
wrung it off.
"I felt as though my heart were going to come out of my body while
I watched you," said Bart, gripping the other hand.
"It seemed ages while we stood waiting for the lieutenant to give
the word," added Billy, giving vent to his feelings by giving Tom
a hug like that of a boa constrictor.
"I don't know yet whether I'm awake or dreaming," said Tom, with a
laugh that was a little shaky. "You boys surely did come just in
time. I never expected to see you again. And yet I might have
known that you'd find me if I was on top of the earth."
"You made a game fight for it, old boy," said Frank admiringly.
"Gee, what a clip you gave those fellows with that spade,"
chuckled Billy. "They went down like cattle hit with an axe."
"You might have won out even without us," said Bart "If you had
once got into those woods they'd have had to do some traveling to
catch you."
"They'd probably have caught me with a bullet," laughed Tom. "Can
you imagine, boys, how I felt when I saw you fellows fairly seem
to come up out of the ground? I hadn't really thought that I had a
chance to escape. But I made up my mind that if I had to go I'd
take some of those Huns along with me. That spade that they wanted
me to dig my grave with was a good friend of mine."
"Where they made a mistake was not digging the grave themselves
and letting your hands stay tied," said Billy. "But here comes the
lieutenant."
Lieutenant Winter came along the line and greeted Tom warmly.
"Good work you did with that spade, Bradford," he said with a
twinkle in his eye. "It simply shows that in fighting it's the man
more than the weapon that counts. Well, you're safe with us again,
and I'm glad on my own account and for the sake of the regiment.
We couldn't afford to lose a good two-fisted fighter like you. As
soon as you've been to mess I'll want to see you again and
question you on what you've learned while you've been a prisoner."
He passed on to look after the captives and set a guard to
maintain order in the town. The ringleaders had been captured, and
the rest of the Spartacides were cowed and bewildered. And now,
encouraged by the presence of the Americans, the more decent
element of the community again asserted themselves and the rioters
either fled or went into hiding.
The company cook had been busy foraging, and soon had a hot
breakfast ready for the detachment, who after their long vigil in
the cold and darkness fell upon it like so many hungry wolves. The
Army Boys did their full share, and Tom especially ate ravenously
and as though he could never get enough.
"Did they starve you, old boy?" asked Frank, as the food
disappeared like magic.
"Starve's the right word," answered Tom, as well as he could with
his mouth full. "Didn't get a quarter of what I needed. Watery
soup and carrots and black bread and once in a while a musty piece
of meat. And it wasn't because they were short of food, for they
simply gorged. They just wanted to torture me because they hated
all Americans, and I happened to be the only one within their
reach. Oh, I just love those gentle Huns. I've come to believe
that there are only two classes in the world--human beings and
Germans."
"I've known that ever since I saw what they did in France and
Belgium," remarked Bart. "No other people on earth could have done
it!"
After they had finished their meal Tom received a summons to go to
the hall that Lieutenant Winter had selected as his temporary
quarters. When he entered the hall he started, for he saw among
the men standing there the man whom the lieutenant had captured
and used as a guide to the parade ground. The man saw him at the
same time and sought to efface himself among the others.
"Do you know that man?" asked the lieutenant, who had seen Tom's
start of surprise.
"Only too well," said Tom, in a tone where bitterness and scorn
were mingled.
"What about him?" asked the lieutenant.
"He's one of the ringleaders of that gang of highbinders,"
answered Tom.
The lieutenant looked at the man stonily.
"So you're the peaceful citizen that knew so little about the
Spartacides, are you?" he asked bitingly.
The man started to protest, but the lieutenant shut him up
brusquely and turned to Tom.
"It's lucky you came in just when you did," he said. "I was just
about to let this man go because of his services in showing us
where the parade ground was. I know now why he was so reluctant to
do it." "He did it to save his own skin," answered Tom. "He's a
coward as well as a murderer. He's been responsible for other
executions that have taken place here in the last few days. He's
been one of the bloodiest of the lot, and whenever he saw one of
the gang begin to weaken he's stiffened him up. He started out
this morning to go to another town to stir up the same kind of
riot and murder. I heard him talking about it last night. And just
before he went he came to the room where I was confined and
taunted me. Told me that I'd be food for the worms to-morrow and
that before long there'd be a lot of Americans to keep me
company."
The man again started to protest, but one of the doughboys who was
on guard gripped him by the collar and dug his knuckles into his
neck as he yanked him back.
"Take him away and put him in the same cell where Bradford was
held," commanded the lieutenant. "He shall have a taste of his own
medicine. He'll get a trial when he gets to Coblenz, and the
chances are that he'll face a firing squad. Such fiendish work as
he's been doing is going to be stopped if it takes the whole
American army to do it!"
The eyes of the Americans followed the cringing figure of the
German as he was led away, and then the lieutenant turned to Tom.
"Now for your story, Bradford," he said, and took a pen and
prepared to jot down the main points of the former prisoner's
experience.