CHAPTER XXIV.
FRIENDS IN NEED.
"Oh! something is always cropping up to nip our plans in the bud, itseems like," Pudge groaned, on hearing Frank make that unpleasantstatement.
"Are you sure they're Germans, Frank?" demanded Billy.
"I couldn't tell from the glimpses I had of them," answered the other;"only they have guns, and are in uniform."
"Of course, I had to go and leave the field glasses hanging in the casewith the seaplane," Billy declared. "M'sieu, would you mind letting melook through those binoculars you have along with you?"
Of course, the obliging Frenchman immediately complied with thisrequest, and as Billy focused the glasses on the trees ahead the othersheld their breath while waiting to hear the verdict.
"There, I can see figures, all right," said the observer, "and they'rewatching this way in the bargain. Frank, it's all right, I tell you!"
"Then they're British soldiers?" asked the other, with a note of reliefin his voice.
"Just what they are," replied Billy. "They must have seen the planefalling back here, and have come to find out whether anyone was hurt.Then those shots over at the old windmill made them hold up, and rightnow they don't know what to think. Hadn't you better signal them,Frank?"
"Right away, Billy."
Accordingly Frank elevated his handkerchief, and waved it until hereceived a reassuring signal from someone amidst the trees. After thatthe little party rose and advanced, Frank advising them to hold up theirhands so as to convince the soldiers they had no possible hostileintent.
It was with a feeling of great relief that they found themselves face toface with a British captain, who surveyed them curiously.
"You came down in that big aeroplane with the boat underneath it?" wasthe first thing he asked.
"Yes, and we count ourselves pretty lucky not to have dropped inside theGerman lines in the bargain," Frank told him. "You see, sir, we arethree American boys. My name is Frank Chester, this is Billy Barnes, anewspaper reporter, and Pudge Perkins is the third member of our party.As for this gentleman, you must surely have heard of the well-knownFrench aviator, M. Armand Le Grande."
"And I am Captain Charles Marsden, of the Sussex Regiment," replied theofficer, cordially shaking hands. "Most assuredly, I have often heard ofM. Le Grande, and once saw him play a daring trick on three German Taubepilots. But what manner of strange craft was it passed over our lines,and where have you come from?"
"First of all," said Frank, "I had better explain what brought the threeof us over here in France when we had better be safe at home in America.The father of Pudge here is an aviator and an inventor. He hasconstructed a wonderful seaplane designed to save human life in case ofaccidents at sea. A sample was sent over to the French Government attheir request before the war broke out, but had never been taken fromthe cases. So, on their invitation, we came across to assemble theparts, and prove the great value of the new type of machine."
"All this is very interesting to me, my young friend," ventured theofficer; "so please go on with your explanations."
"We have a contract whereby the French Government can acquire this greatseaplane for cash, and pay a royalty for every one up to fifty that theyconstruct themselves from the sample. That is as far as our neutralitywill allow us to go. And M. Le Grande was selected to accompany us on atrial flight to learn in what way our _Sea Eagle_ was superior to theordinary planes in common use."
"Oh! then you have just been making that flight," remarked the officer,"and by mistake managed to cross the lines, so that you came nearfalling into the hands of the enemy?"
Frank smiled, and even Pudge gave a disdainful snort.
"Well, although you have not heard the news yet, Captain Marsden, thishas been a glorious day for your countrymen," Frank told him. "Thismorning some thirty-four seaplanes started up the coast, nearly everyone of them manned by British aviators, and made a most desperate raidon the submarine bases around Zeebrugge, as well as bombarded railwaystations, destroyed oil tanks, and even exploded a magazine, giving theenemy a grand scare, and doing much damage."
How the officer's rosy face broadened in a smile when he heard that! Theway in which the Kaiser had spoken of them in the beginning of the waras "that contemptible little British army," would never be forgotten orforgiven; and everyone who wore the king's khaki was resolved in hismind to do all in his power to make the Emperor change his opinionbefore quitting time.
"But how do you know about this grand event?" he demanded.
"We accompanied the raiders, and witnessed pretty much all that wasdone," Frank told him. "After the fleet of aircraft had turned homewardagain we started across country to take a look at Lille, and see whatyou people were up to over in this region. We also meant that M'sieushould have the worth of his money and learn all the big airship coulddo."
"Wonderful, and you so young at that!" exclaimed the soldier; "but thenI understand American boys are equal to such things. But what happenedto send you down as though you were a bird with a crippled wing?"
"A stray shot must have punctured our petrol tank and allowed the fuelto drain out, for we suddenly discovered we had none. Only through greatluck were we able to push ahead, and escape falling back of the Germanlines."
"That would have been a misfortune in several ways, I take it," said theofficer.
"Just after we fell, and were trying to see if any of us had been hurt,we were fired on from the old windmill base, and it was only by crawlingalong a depression that we finally managed to escape."
"So that was where those shots came from?" cried Captain Marsden. "Wewondered if they had any connection with the dropping of the aeroplane.What do you wish us to do for you, boys?"
"Excuse me," Frank remarked, "but hearing you say you belonged to aSussex regiment made me remember that a very good friend of ours, inDunkirk just at present, Major Nixon, also came from that part ofEngland."
"What, Tom Nixon!" exclaimed the soldier, his face lighting up again;"one of my best friends, and with whom I've followed the hounds dozensof times after the fox. If you are comrades of his, I would esteem it aprivilege to help you out in any way possible."
"The chief concern we have," Frank told him, "is that we must manage insome way to get our machine, after we've taken it to pieces, transportedback to the hangar at Dunkirk."
"But suppose we could supply you with sufficient petrol to take youthere; would that help you out, or is the machine wrecked too badly?"
"It is injured somewhat," Frank continued, "though we might manage torepair that part of it; but unfortunately it is next to impossible for aseaplane to rise anywhere but from the water. That is on account of theboat part of the structure, you understand, sir. Could you manage tosecure us a motor truck to transport ourselves and the machine acrosscountry by road? It would be doing the French Government one of thegreatest favors possible; ask M'sieu here if that is not so."
"Indeed, there could not be a greater favor," the Frenchman declaredwarmly. "I have seen to-day that which may help to bring this terriblewar to a much speedier close if only we can put fifty of those wonderfulAmerican machines in the field."
"Say no more, for I shall see to it that the motor truck is placed atyour service," said the captain heartily.
"But how about the windmill, Captain?" asked Frank, "and the Germans whooccupy it as a fort; will you attack them and capture the place? Itcommands the spot where the stranded seaplane lies, and I'm afraid wecan do but little unless the danger is laid."
"We will go back the way you came," decided the soldier. "I will have mymen accompany us, and when we reach a convenient place a rush shouldtake the mill."
"I'll go along with you then, Captain," assented Frank.
"Same here," added Billy; but Pudge shook his head sadly, and reachingdown felt tenderly of his knees, as he remarked:
"You'll have to excuse me this time, fellows; I must beg off. After it'sall over give
me a whoop, and I'll _walk_ to where you are. Crawlingdoesn't seem to be my special forte, I'm sorry to say."
"That's all right, Pudge, stay here until we give you the signal thatthe coast is clear," Billy told him.
Orders being given to the soldiers, the entire lot started toward wherethe dip began. A few minutes later they were making their way along onhands and knees, and appearing to the observant Pudge very much like atrailing snake.
There was not a single shot fired at them as they crept on, and in theend they found themselves at the spot where the big seaplane lay.
As they could go forward no further in that way, orders were given for acharge, and the two boys, still crouching there, were thrilled to seethe dozen men in khaki start across the open ground on the run, each onedodging as he saw best in order to take as little chances of being hitas possible.
"Why, look at that, Frank!" cried Billy. "Not a single shot has beenfired at them! What do you think the Germans are up to? Are they waitingto mow them down in a heap? Hey, isn't that a white flag waving from theold mill? Why, honest, now, I do believe they mean to throw up thesponge, and surrender. Let's start forward ourselves, Frank."
"Wait and see," cautioned the other. "After the soldiers have goneinside will be time enough for us to hurry up."
"Well, there they go right now, Frank!" cried the other. "Please comeon, for I'm dying to know what it all means. It isn't like Germans togive up that way without a hard fight."
When they arrived at the windmill the mystery was soon explained. Theterrible garrison consisted of just a single old man, and he was not aGerman at all, but a French peasant who had lost all he possessed whenthe Kaiser's army went through this part of France earlier in the war.His mind had given way under the strain, and filled with the idea thathis old mill was a fort he had stationed himself in it with his gun,ready to repel the invaders of the sacred French soil.
When the strange seaplane fell he had conceived the idea that it wassome sort of monster which he ought to slay, and so he had taken severalpot-shots at the great drab wings which he could just see from hislookout.
Luckily, however, the old peasant, crazy though he might be, knewBritish soldiers' uniforms, for the Tommies had been very good to himduring the month they were in the neighborhood pushing the enemy back.So he had put up that white flag as soon as he recognized the khakiuniforms of those who were advancing on the run.
"Shucks!" Billy was heard to say. "That's the way things sometimes dropfrom the sublime to the ridiculous. Here we were picturing a squad ofdesperate Prussians cooped up in this windmill base ready to sell theirlives dearly, and it proves to be a silly old peasant who is out of hismind."
"Well, it's a tragedy, just the same," Frank told him. "Think of whatthis Jean Bart has suffered, seeing all his possessions destroyed, andperhaps his entire family wiped out. The Captain tells me there was sometrouble with the natives here when the German army went through, andsome reckless shooting. But now we can get busy on the seaplane. Callour chum Pudge, will you, Billy?"
The work of taking the seaplane to pieces was going to take them somelittle time. Meanwhile Captain Marsden, who left several of his men atthe spot with orders to assist where it was possible, went back toheadquarters to state the case and see what could be done toward gettingthem a motor truck.
As these vehicles were carrying loads to the front, and usually wentback empty, save when they took some of the wounded to the hospitals, itdid not prove a very difficult thing to commandeer such a van, oncepermission had been obtained from the general.
Along about three in the afternoon of that February day, they saw a bigmotor truck coming. It seemed capable of passing over the fields as wellas the road, for at the time the ground was pretty well frozen.
Everything seemed favorable, and the work of loading the seaplane wascommenced with a vim. Before they got off, Captain Marsden again madehis appearance, accompanied by a higher officer, who turned out to bethe general in charge of that part of the British line, though the boyswere not told his name.
He had been so deeply impressed with the remarkable story told by thecaptain that he had taken the trouble to come out there himself to meetthe bold American boys who had that day witnessed the aerial bombardmentof the German naval bases along the Belgian coast.
While the loading was being finished, at his urgent request, Frankentered into a brief description of what they had seen the fleet ofseaplanes accomplish. His stirring account must have greatly pleased andheartened the general, for he insisted on shaking hands with Frank onleaving, an honor few dignified British officers would be likely tobestow upon boys from another land.
"I hope we're going to ride along with the machine, Frank?" remarkedPudge, when the last knot had been tied in the ropes that held thepacked seaplane on the van.
"I don't know what you're meaning to do, Pudge," Billy told him. "I'vegot my seat all picked out."
"Better get up, for we're going to start," warned Frank; and so Pudgefound a place where he would not be in danger of rolling off. Frankfollowed suit, Le Grande also got aboard, and then the big motor truckstarted for the nearest road.
Captain Marsden, having waved them a farewell, was heard shouting afterthem:
"Give my best regards to Tom Nixon, and tell him we'll follow the houndsagain after this little unpleasantness is over. Good-by, and good luckto you!"