CHAPTER VIII
A FRIEND IN NEED
"As long as I can't be at home, I'd rather be here than anywhere in theworld I can think of!"
Was it little more than a week, thought Harry Fleming, since he haduttered those words so lightly? Was it just a week since Grenfel, hisEnglish scoutmaster, had bidden the boys of his troop goodbye? Was itjust two days since father and mother had been so suddenly recalled tothe States? Was it just that very morning that he and his good chum DickMercer had been detailed on this mission which had led to the discoveryof the secret heliographs so busily sending messages to the enemy acrossthe North Sea? Was it just a few hours since the two Scouts, hot on thetrail, had cached papers and motorcycles and started the closerexploration of that mysterious estate outside the sleepy Englishvillage, leased, so the village gossip had it, by a rich American whoeccentrically denied himself to all comers and zealously guarded theprivacy of his grounds?
Was it just a few moments since he had urged, even commanded, DickMercer to leave him, caught in a trap set for just such trespassers asthey? Had he urged his chum to leave him in his agony, for the ankle wasbadly wrenched, and seek safety in flight? The terrible pain in hisankle and the agonizing fear both for himself and his chum made momentsseem like hours and the happenings of these same moments appear as anawful dream.
He could hear, plainly enough, the advance of the two searchers who hadscared Dick into hiding in the rhododendron bush, he could even see thegleam of their flashlights, and was able, therefore, to guess what theywere doing. For the moment it seemed impossible to him that Dick shouldescape. He was sure of capture himself in a few minutes, and, as amatter of fact, there were things that made the prospect decidedlybearable. The pain in his ankle from the trap in which he had beencaught was excruciating. It seemed to him that he must cry out, but hekept silence resolutely. As long as there was a chance that he might notfall into the hands of the spies who were searching the grounds, hemeant to cling to it.
But the chance was a very slim one, as he knew. He could imagine,without difficulty, just about what the men with the flashlights woulddo, by reasoning out his own course. They would look for footprints.These would lead them to the spot where he and Dick had watched theraising of the wireless mast, and thence along the path they had takento return to the wall and to safety. Thus they would come to him, and hewould be found, literally like a rat in a trap.
And then, quite suddenly, came the diversion created by Dick's daringdash for escape, when he sped from the bush and climbed the wall,followed by the bullets that the searchers fired after him. Harrystarted, hurting his imprisoned ankle terribly by the wrench his suddenmovement gave. Then he listened eagerly for the cry he dreaded yetexpected to hear that would tell him that Dick had been hit. It did notcome. Instead, he heard more men running, and then in a moment allwithin the wall was quiet, and he could hear the hue and cry dying awayas they chased him along the road outside.
"Well, by Jove!" he said to himself, enthusiastically, "I believe Dick'sfooled them. I didn't think he had it in him! That's bully for him! Heought to get a medal for that!"
It was some moments before he realized fully that he had gained arespite, temporally at least. Obviously the two men who had beensearching with flashlights had followed Dick, there was at least a goodchance that no one else knew about him. He had decided that there wassome system of signal wires that rang an alarm when a trap was sprung.But it might be that these two men were the only ones who were supposedto follow up such an alarm.
He carried a flashlight himself and now he took the chance of playing iton his ankle, to see if there was any chance of escape. He hooded thelight with his hand and looked carefully. But what he saw was notencouraging. The steel band looked most formidable. It was on thehandcuff principle and any attempt to work his foot loose would onlymake the grip tighter and increase his suffering. His spirits fell atthat. Then the only thing his brief immunity would do for him would beto keep him in pain a little longer. He would be caught anyhow, and heguessed that, if Dick got away, he would find his captors in a savagemood.
Even as he let the flashlight wink out, since it was dangerous to use itmore than was necessary, he heard a cautious movement within a few feet.At first he thought it was an animal he had heard, so silent were itsmovements. But in a moment a hand touched his own. He started slightly,but kept quiet.
"Hush--I'm a friend," said a voice, almost at his elbow. "'I thought youwere somewhere around here but I couldn't find you until you flashedyour light. You're caught in a trap, aren't you?"
"Yes," said Harry. "Who are you?"
"That's what I want to know about you, first," said the other boy--forit was another boy, as Harry learned from his voice. Never had a soundbeen more welcome in his ears than that voice. "Tell me who you are andwhat you two were doing around here. I saw you this afternoon andtracked you. I tried to before, but I couldn't, on account of yourmotorcycles. Then I just happened to see you, when you were on foot. Areyou Boy Scouts?"
"Yes," said Harry. "Are you?"
"Yes. That's why I followed--especially when I saw you coming in here.We've got a patrol in the village, but most of the scouts are at work inthe fields."
Rapidly, and in a whisper, Harry explained a little, enough to make thisnew ally understand.
"You'd better get out, if you know how, and take word," said Harry. "Ithink my chum got away, but it would be better to be sure. And they'llbe after me soon."
"If they give us two or three minutes we'll both get out," said thenewcomer, confidently. "I know this place with my eyes shut. I used toplay here before the old family moved away. I'm the vicar's son, in thevillage, and I always had the run of the park until these new peoplecame. And I've been in here a few times since then, too."
"That's all right," said Harry. "But how am I going to get out of thistrap?"
"Let me have your flashlight a moment," said the stranger.
Harry gave it to him, and the other scout bent over his ankle. Harry sawthat he had a long slender piece of wire. He guessed that he was goingto try to pick the lock. And in a minute or less Harry heard a welcomeclick that told him his new found friend--a friend in need, indeed, hewas proving himself to be, had succeeded. His ankle was free.
He struggled to his feet, and there was a moment of exquisite pain asthe blood rushed through his ankle and circulation was restored to hisnumbed foot. But he was able to stand, and, although limpingly, to walk.He had been fortunate, as a matter of fact, in that no bone had beencrushed. That might well have happened with such a trap, or a ligamentor tendon might have been wrenched or torn, in which case he would havefound it just about impossible to move at all. As it was, however, hewas able to get along, though he suffered considerable pain every timehe put his foot to the ground.
It was no time, however, in which to think of discomforts socomparatively trifling as that. When he was outside he would be able,with the other scout's aid, to give his foot some attention, using thefirst aid outfit that he always carried, as every scout should do. Butnow the one thing to be done, to make good his escape.
Harry realized, as soon as he was free, that he was not by any means outof the woods. He was still decidedly in the enemy's country, and gettingout of it promised to be a difficult and a perilous task. He washandicapped by his lack of knowledge of the place and what little he didknow was discouraging. He had proof that human enemies were not the onlyones he had to fear. And the only way he knew that offered a chance ofgetting out offered, as well, the prospect of encountering the men whohad pursued Dick Mercer, returning. It was just as he made up his mindto this that the other scout spoke again.
"We can't get out the way you came in," he said. "Or, if we could, it'stoo risky. But there's another way. I've been in here since these peoplestarted putting their traps around, and I know where most of them are.Come on!"
Harry was glad to obey. He had no hankering for command. The thing to dowas to get out as quickly as he could. And so he fol
lowed, though he hadqualms when he saw that, instead of going toward the wall, they wereheading straight in and toward the great grey house. They circled thewoods that gave them the essential protection of darkness, and alwaysthey got further and further from the place where Dick and Harry hadentered. Harry understood, of course, that there were other ways ofgetting out but it took a few words to make him realize the presentsituation as it actually was.
"There's a spot on the other side they don't really guard at all," saidhis companion. "It's where the river runs by the place. They think noone would come that way. And I don't believe they know anything at allabout what I'm going to show you."
Soon Harry heard the water rustling. And then, to his surprise, hisguide led him straight into a tangle of shrubbery. It was hard going forhim, for his ankle pained him a good deal, but he managed it. And in amoment the other boy spoke, and, for the first time, in a natural voice."I say, I'm glad we're here!" he said, heartily. "D'ye see?"
"It looks like a cave," said Harry.
"It is, but it's more than that, too. This place is no end old, youknow. It was here when they fought the Wars of the Roses, I've heard.And come on--I'll show you something!"
He led the way on into the cave, which narrowed as they went. But Harry,pointing his flashlight ahead, saw that it was not going to stop.
"Oh! A secret passage! I understand now!" he exclaimed, finally.
"Isn't it jolly?" said the other. "Can't you imagine what fun we used tohave here when we played about? You see, this may have been used tobring in food in time of siege. There used to be another spur of thistunnel that ran right into the house. But that was all let go to pot,for some reason. This is all that is left. But it's enough. It runs waydown under the river--and in a jiffy we'll be out in the meadows on theother side. I say, what's your name?"
They hadn't had time to exchange the information each naturally cravedabout the other before. And now, as they realized it, they both laughed.Harry told his name.
"Mine's Jack Young," said the other scout. "I say, you don't talk likean Englishman?"
"I'm not," explained Harry. "I'm American. But I'm for England justnow--and we were caught here trying to find out something about thatplace."
They came out into the open then, where the light of the stars enabledthem to see one another. Jack nodded.
"I got an idea of what you were after--you two," he said. "The otherone's English, isn't he?"
"Dick Mercer? Yes!" said Harry, astonished. "But how did you find outabout us?"
"Stalked you," said Jack, happily. "Oh, I'm no end of a scout! Ifollowed you as soon as I caught you without your bicycles."
"We must have been pretty stupid to let you do it, though," said Harry,a little crestfallen. "I'm glad we did, but suppose you'd been an enemy!A nice fix we'd have been in!"
"That's just what I thought about you," admitted Jack. "You see,everyone has sort of laughed at me down here because I said there mightbe German spies about. I've always been suspicious of the people whotook Bray Park. They didn't act the way English people do. They didn'tcome to church, and when the pater--I told you he was the vicar here,didn't I?--went to call, they wouldn't let him in! Just sent word theywere out. Fancy treating the vicar like that!" he concluded with spirit.Harry knew enough of the customs of the English countryside tounderstand that the new tenants of Bray Park could not have chosen asurer method of bringing down both dislike and suspicion uponthemselves.
"That was a bit too thick, you know," Jack went on. "So when the warstarted, I decided I'd keep my eyes open, especially on any strangerswho came around. So there you have it. I say! You'd better let me try tomake that ankle easier. You're limping badly."
That was true, and Harry submitted gladly to such ministrations as Jackknew how to offer. Cold water helped considerably, it reduced theswelling. And then Jack skillfully improvised a brace, that, binding theankle tightly, gave it a fair measure of support.
"Now try that," he said. "See if it doesn't feel better!"
"It certainly does!" said Harry. "You're quite a doctor, aren't you?Well now the next thing to do is to try to find where Dick is. I knowwhere he went--to the place where we cached our cycles and our papers."
Like Dick, he was hopelessly at sea, for the moment, as to hiswhereabouts. And he had, more-over, to reckon with the turns and twistsof the tunnel, which there had been no way of following in the utterdarkness. But Jack Young, who, of course, could have found his wayanywhere within five miles of them blindfolded, helped him, and theysoon found that they were less than half a mile from the place.
"Can you come on with me, Jack?" asked Harry. He felt that in hisrescuer he had found a new friend, and one whom he was going to likevery well, indeed, and he wanted his company, if it was possible.
"Yes. No one knows I am out," said Jack, frankly. "The pater's like therest of them here--he doesn't take the war seriously yet. When I saidthe other day that it might last long enough for me to be old enough togo, he laughed at me. I really hope it won't, but I wouldn't besurprised if id did, would you?"
"No, I wouldn't. It's too early to tell anything about it yet, really.But if the Germans fight the way they always have before, it's going tobe a long war."
They talked as they went, and, though Harry's ankle was still painful,the increased speed the bandaging made possible more than made up forthe time it had required. Harry was anxious about Dick, he wanted torejoin him as soon as possible. And so it was not long before they camenear to the place where the cycles had been cached.
"We'd better go slow. In case anyone else watched us this afternoon, wedon't want to walk into a trap," said Harry. He was more upset than hehad cared to admit by the discovery that he and Dick had been spied uponby Jack, excellent though it had been that it was so. For what Jack haddone it was conceivable that someone else, too, might have accomplished.
"All right. You go ahead," said Jack. "I'll form a rear guard--d'ye see?Then you can't be surprised."
"That's a good idea," said Harry. "There, see that big tree, thatblasted one over there? I marked that. The cache is in a straight line,almost, from that, where the ground dips a little. There's a clump ofbushes."
"There's someone there, too," said Jack. "He's tugging at a cycle, as ifhe were trying to get ready to start it."
"That'll be Dick, then," said Harry, greatly relieved. "All right--I'llgo ahead!"
He went on then, and soon he, too, saw Dick busy with the motorcycle.
"Won't he be glad to see me, though?" he thought. "Poor old Dick! I'llbet he's had a hard time."
Then he called, softly. And Dick turned. But--it was not Dick. It wasErnest Graves!