CHAPTER XVI
UNDER FALSE COLORS
"Well, let 'em come," declared Harry, hastening toward the Eagle withthe last load of gasoline. "We are ready for a quick start now, and ifthey want to see a correct imitation of three boys beating it down theroad they'd better hurry. We can't wait much longer."
"Sure!" put in Ned. "Shall we whistle a warning signal to hurry themup a little, or shall we let them miss the boat?"
"Let 'em miss the boat if they can't get here on time," laughed Jack,carrying out the joke, although the case of the lads was apt to becomeanything but a joke if their presence was discovered by the Germansoldiers who were approaching at some distance down the road.
"Hurry, boys," cautioned Ned, laying aside his jovial air as he beganpreparations for departure. "We mustn't get caught now."
"All right, Boss, we're with you every minute," declared Jack.
The boy was already in the fuselage of the Eagle. He reached an eagerhand to assist Harry with the gasoline. Harry climbed up to afavorable position and was about to pour the gasoline into the fueltank while Ned, in his haste to be off, was priming the motors.
Suddenly all three were startled to hear a voice from the rear of themachine they were occupying.
"Halt!" they heard. "Come out of that machine or I fire!"
"Who's that?" asked Jack, pausing in the operation of emptying thefuel. "What do you want and how did you come there?"
"Give her the gas, Ned!" urged Harry. "We're all ready to go and he'son the ground. He can't catch us in a million years."
"I can't make the engine go at all," almost sobbed Ned in hisexcitement. "Somebody has been monkeying with the machinery."
"Ha, ha!" laughed the newcomer. "So the engine won't run, eh?"
"No, it won't!" snapped Ned as he turned a wrathful face toward therear of the Eagle to observe the stranger. "Did you do it?"
"Yah!" came the answer. "Mine comrade and myself, ve done tings mitder wires. Dere is no current by der spark plugs alretty!"
"Good night!" was Ned's ejaculation of despair as he realized that thewords of the stranger were but too true. "No current!"
"Yah!" laughed the stranger. "But," he added, "we haf current in ourguns. Maybe you like dot ve show you. Und ve vill, too, aber youdon'd come out of dot machine, und do id quick!"
"I guess it's all up, boys," said Ned forlornly. "We might as wellunload. They have got the upper hand of us this time."
"I move we cut and run for it," proposed Jack with spirit. "We couldeasily beat them in the darkness and amongst the trees."
"I don't think so," cautioned Harry. "They have got help coming up theroad, and we don't know how many of them are near here."
"No, boys," counseled Ned, "we'd better try some other stunt. If theyget angry at us they might do anything, and we can't stand it to getshot to pieces just now. Remember, Jimmie and Dave need us."
"All right, then, Old Fox," was Jack's reply in a resigned tone, "we'lljust trot along as meek as lambs and leave the Eagle to their tendermercies. I tell you, though, I hate to do it."
"Hark! I hear the others coming through the hedge!" said Harry.
"There's quite a bunch of them, to judge by the sound."
"Well, the more the merrier," declared Ned. "In numbers there isstrength, I've heard, and perhaps in numbers will come our chance. Ifthey'll only get in one another's way for a while we'll give them anopportunity to hear what a real old-fashioned 'good-by' is like."
"Come oudt, now," commanded the stranger, banging at the framework ofthe Eagle with a very serviceable looking rifle.
"Coming!" announced Jack as he prepared to descend. Ned and Harry atonce followed their comrade, and directly found themselves on theground, confronted by several men in the uniform of one of the Germanregiments. The officer in command looked his surprise.
Only a few words were needed from their captor to acquaint the officerwith the situation. He laughed immoderately at the apparent joke ofthe purloiners of his gasoline being caught before they had time to useit. His merriment was infectious, and presently the entire group weregiving vent to their feelings.
The three boys felt that they were the object of the soldiers'ridicule, yet they were unable to make any reply, since they did notunderstand sufficient German to be able to converse with their captors.
When the officer had finally laughed himself tired he gave a commandand the soldiers formed about the lads and began escorting them towardthe town. Once there, the officer led the way to a house with which hewas evidently familiar.
Lights were brought and an examination of the lads was begun. Afterseveral preliminary questions the officer found that he had met hismatch in the matter of wits. Ned declined absolutely to give anyinformation other than that he and his comrades were from the UnitedStates and heartily wished to be back there.
"So-o-o," was the astonished comment of the officer. "Und you areneutral and vish to be neutral all the while?"
"Yes, sir," was Ned's reply as he looked the other squarely in the eye."We are not spies and cannot give you any information."
"But you, would go oudt and start somethings maybe if I let you go."
"No, sir, we wouldn't," declared Ned. "We came to this village andwanted to buy some gasoline and food, but a man we met wouldn't sellany. Instead of that we were shot at as we were leaving."
"Oh, vell," said the officer, waving his hand in a deprecating manner,"who cares about a little ting like dot in var time?"
"Well, if we had got hit by one of the bullets we wouldn't have feltvery joyful about it, I can tell you that!" said Ned.
"Und why was it that this man wouldn't sell you the gasoline?"
"I don't know unless it was because we wouldn't answer his questionsabout the movement of German troops," answered Ned.
"I don't think that was it at all," laughed the officer. "It was thoseuniforms of yours. You see, they are different than what he wasaccustomed to seeing, and he probably thought they were Russian."
"Possibly that was it," agreed Ned, although he secretly doubted thisflimsy explanation. "Of course, I don't know."
"Yes," the other went on, "I'm sure that was it, and I suggest that thebest plan would be to change them. You will therefore remove youruniforms and we will provide you with others more suitable."
"Well, if you please," Ned remonstrated, "we'd much rather take ourchances wearing these same uniforms. They're ours and others are not.It wouldn't be very nice to go back on your uniform."
"But you will change, nevertheless," announced the other. "We needthose uniforms and you don't. So be quick about it."
At a signal one of the men now came forward bearing an armful ofclothes, which he threw down upon the floor in front of the lads.
"Good night!" said Jack as he put on a coarse shirt several sizes toolarge. "This is no joke at all. Those fellows were laughing a fewminutes ago, but they'll laugh worse than ever when they see us."
In fact, the boys had to laugh at each other, so strange was theappearance of the three when they were finally dressed.
"Now," said the officer with a smile, when the exchange of clothing hadbeen arranged, "we shall let you occupy this little room for a time."
He indicated a small room leading from the larger one. It was the roomfrom which the soldier had provided the clothing the boys now wore.
In another moment the lads found themselves alone with the door leadinginto the outer room securely fastened.
"Just a little bit dark in here, isn't it?" inquired Harry as the doorclosed and the sound of the falling latch came to their ears.
"Yes, but I managed to smuggle my pocket contents into these clothes,"said Ned. "I have the searchlight yet."
"Let's use it, then, and be quick about it," suggested Harry. "I don'tsomehow like the looks of this place. I'd like to be on the little oldEagle again and homeward bound."
"I guess that's the pretty general sentiment," said Ne
d as he broughtforth the searchlight and proceeded to send its flame into the cornersof the room. "We can't get anywhere by remaining here."
"Hello!" exclaimed Harry, lighting upon some boxes in one corner."What's this stuff here? Looks like a gents' furnishing store."
"Why, it's German uniforms, and lots of 'em!" declared Jack.
"Sure enough, it is!" agreed Harry, pulling several garments from oneof the boxes. "Now that looks more like business than these ragged oldclothes. I wonder if we could get a fit in here."
"Go as far as you like!" urged Jack. "Throw a fit any old place andsee if we care. The house is yours, so help yourself."
"Aw, you go on!" scorned Harry, administering a playful blow on Jack'sear. "If you weren't so small I'd give you a licking."
"Yes, you would!" derisively answered the other. "You have never seenthe day you could do that. That," he added, "is a man's job!"
"Boys, boys!" cautioned Ned. "A joke is a joke, but don't carry it toofar. We must save our strength for more vital things."
Harry and Jack had been busily engaged in pulling the uniforms out ofthe box, and now stood erect, each holding in his hands garments thatseemed to be of suitable size for the boys to wear.
"What's the trouble now, Jack?" asked Ned.
"Why, I can't see whether these clothes are the right size or not."
"You don't need to see," retorted Ned. "Try them on and they'll belike the baby in the story."
"Oh, I know that!" cried Harry eagerly. "The nurse didn't need athermometer, because if the water was too hot the baby turned red andif it was too cold he turned blue. Is that the answer?"
"Right you are!" declared Ned, laughing. "So we'll try the clothes on,and if they're right they'll fit, and if they're not right, why--"
"Why," interrupted Jack, "if they're not right we should worry."
"Yes, I guess that's about it," answered Ned as he picked up an outfitthat he assumed to be the right size.
The boys found little difficulty in getting clothing of suitable sizes,and soon stood forth arrayed in German uniforms.
"Now, then, let's see what the chances of escape may be," said Ned.
A trial of the one small window showed that it was not locked. Thereappeared to be no one outside guarding the exit, and, since the noisesin the outer room had ceased, the lads determined to leave by thewindow. In a short time they again stood outside the house.
To make their way back to the field where the Eagle had been left was ashort task and quickly accomplished. There they found, to theirastonishment, that the two aeroplanes remained in the same position andwere apparently unguarded.
This time, however, the lads were more cautious in their approach, andreconnoitered the vicinity thoroughly before approaching the plane.
Ned set to work immediately and soon announced that he had againconnected the severed wires. In another moment the Eagle rose abovethe field into the darkness of the night.