CHAPTER XXVII.
CONCLUSION.
"Where do I come in? Won't you let me help?" bawled Tubby, hurryingafter his two chums as fast as his fat legs would carry him.
Neither of the others paid the slightest attention to him. Just thenTubby was about as useless as a fifth wheel to a wagon. He was so clumsythat if he attempted to take a hand in the rescue work the chances wereRob and Merritt would have to spend a portion of their time in savinghim.
They ran out into the middle of the road. The crazy little pony wasalready close up, and there was no time to be lost.
"Now!" shouted Rob. "Nab him, and throw him if you can!"
Both scouts fastened upon the bridle close to the bit. Every ounce ofmuscle the boys possessed was brought to bear, supplemented by all theshrewdness they had acquired upon the football field, in tackling andthrowing the runner who held the coveted pigskin oval.
There was something of a struggle, and then down went the frantic pony.
"Hey! let me sit on him; I'll keep him quiet!" called Tubby, as he camepanting up to the spot; and once he had deposited his extra weight uponthe little beast, it had no other course open but to succumb tocircumstances and lie quiet.
Rob turned to see what had become of the child. There was a stout,red-faced man, coming on the run as fast as he could hurry. Undoubtedlyit was his child. While he was in a store, the pony probably had beentaken with a sudden seizure of what Rob called "blind staggers," whichsometimes causes horses to dash madly away as though possessed of anevil spirit, and even to destroy themselves against any barrier thatarises in their path.
The child, though crying with fright, was apparently unhurt. Some onehad taken her from the basket-cart, and should the pony have brokenloose again, it could not have imperiled the little one.
In another minute, the red-faced man was hugging his child, and coveringher face with kisses. The people must have told him who had saved hisdarling, for he came up to Rob and Merritt. (The pony had now becomequite calm, though Tubby continued to occupy his seat, for, as heafterwards said, "he knew a good thing when he found it; and he was_awful_ tired.")
The big stout man, evidently a German, from his appearance and language,began to pour out his thanks; but Rob shook his head as he remarked:
"None of us can speak German, sir. We are American boys, you see; I canunderstand a little French, but that is all."
The man's face lighted up. He immediately seized Rob by the hand andcommenced to kiss him on the cheeks; but the boys had learned that thiswas the common method of warm salutation abroad, even among men, thoughthey had never seen it done across the water.
"I am glad you are American and not English!" the other went on to cry."I would be sorry, indeed, if I owed the life of my little Frieda to anEnglish boy. But an American, it is quite different. Ach! what would Inot do to show you how grateful I am for your brave act? Tell me, can Inot do something to prove that in Germany we look upon your country asour friends? My name it is Herr Frederick Haskins, I am the principalowner of the chemical works over yonder. Let me be your host while inSempst you stay. It would give me much pleasure, I assure you."
Rob stared at Merritt, and the latter almost held his breath. Was thereever such great luck as this? They had saved a child from danger, andmade a warm friend of her father, who had turned out to be theproprietor of the very factory where Steven Meredith had an interestoutside of his occupation as a secret agent of the Kaiser.
"Rob, ask him!" whispered Merritt, too overcome himself to find words inwhich to give utterance to what was weighing so heavily on his mind.
So the patrol leader, mastering his inclination to feel just as "shaky"as Corporal Crawford, turned again toward the red-faced German chemist.
"We might accept your kind offer of entertainment for to-night, HerrHaskins," he said, as though they took the man's sincerity for its facevalue, "because we will have to put up somewhere, though to-morrow itmay be we shall want to start back toward Antwerp again. You said thatyou were the proprietor of the chemical company in town. Are those theworks where the smoke is coming out of the stacks?"
The man nodded. He held his little girl in his arm, as though he couldnot bear to let her be away from him again. A look of what seemed to bepride crept over his face; it meant something that his was the onlyfactory that had been kept running, simply because his foreign hands didnot have to go when the call to the Belgian colors came.
"It is because I have the confidence of the German government that I amallowed to continue my works," he said in a low tone, as though notwishing others to hear what he was saying.
"It is very strange," continued Rob, bound to learn the worstimmediately, now that such a golden opportunity had come along, "but itwas to see a man connected with your business that we came all the wayfrom Antwerp. His name is Mr. Steven Meredith, who was over in Americanot so many months ago."
It was apparent that they were going to meet with a keen disappointment;Rob knew this the second he saw the shade of regret pass over therubicund face of Herr Haskins.
"Ah! that is really too bad," the stout man exclaimed; "for you are justone week too late!"
"Has he left Sempst, then?" asked Merritt sturdily.
"Just seven days ago he shook hands with me, and said I could look forhim when I saw him again. That might be in a month, and it might be six,even Steven could not say. He simply had to obey his orders from hissuperiors. His interest in the works is not the only thing he follows,you understand."
"No," said Rob, mysteriously, looking carefully around, as though hewanted to make sure he was not overheard, "of course we know his otherbusiness. The General Staff has ordered him again on duty somewhere. Itis too bad, because my friend here wishes to see Herr Meredith verymuch, indeed."
"I am sorry," remarked the stout man, in a hesitating way, and Rob knewthat if he hoped to get any information from this source at all now wasthe time to strike--while the iron was hot.
"You say you are grateful, sir," he hurriedly whispered, "because wehappened to save your little girl's life, or at least kept her frombeing badly injured. We would call the debt canceled if you could tellus where we can find Herr Meredith. If he is in France, tell us where."
The man did not immediately reply. His face was a study. He wasundoubtedly being torn between gratitude and devotion to the interestsof his emperor, whom he would have died to serve, no doubt.
"If I could only be sure it was right for me to give you thatinformation," Rob heard him mutter, and he hastened to follow up hisattack.
"I give you my word of honor, Herr Haskins," he said earnestly andconvincingly, "that none of us has the slightest intention to betraySteven Meredith to his enemies. If you write down the information weneed, we solemnly promise you not to use it to his injury. My friendonly wants to get a small thing Herr Meredith has with him, although hehimself does not know it is in his possession, for it was all a mistakeabout his taking it. He will be only too glad to give it to us, and weshall trouble him no more. Won't you take our word of honor, sir?"
The big man looked down at his child, and that must have decided him.
"Come home with me, and spend the night," he said in a hospitable way."We will entertain you the best we can under the peculiar conditionsexisting here. If you care to, you can tell me all about yourselves; andI promise you that before you go to sleep this night I will place inyour possession an address in Northern France where you will likely findmy partner, _under another name_. But you must swear to me that underno conditions will you imperil his position there. Is it a bargain, myboys?"
Rob looked at Merritt. The latter, although terribly disappointed, wasstill game. He gave not the slightest sign of submitting to the decreesof a cruel Fate.
"We will accept your hospitality, Herr Haskins," he said quietly, "andalso take from you that address under the promise you ask. StevenMeredith has no reason to fear that we will betray him. We areAmericans, and our President has asked that every one, old and you
ng,remain strictly neutral while this war is going on."
"We bound up the wounds of three times as many Germans after the battleas we did Belgians," Rob added, while Tubby was heard to mutter underhis breath:
"Which was because there were ten times as many Germans hurt as therewere of the brave little Belgian army."
They accompanied Herr Haskins to his fine home, where they weresplendidly entertained that night. Tubby ate so much dinner that he wasincapable of joining in the conversation that immediately followed,though that fact was of minor importance, because, as a rule, he onlymade himself a nuisance when there was any serious discussion on hand.
At least, if they had to be disappointed in not finding the man they hadcome so far to deal with, they could deem themselves lucky in meetingHerr Haskins under conditions that placed him heavily in their debt;otherwise they might never have discovered in what direction StevenMeredith had gone when his superiors in the German Secret Serviceordered him on duty again.
As it was, when the boys on the following morning once more headed inthe direction of Antwerp, armed with a letter from Herr Haskins thatwould be of considerable service should they be held up by any Germanpatrol, Merritt also had a small bit of paper secreted inside the liningof his coat, on which simply an address was written.
As they journeyed they had plenty of opportunities to lay out their newprogram and build fresh castles in the air concerning the success whichthey meant to attain if it lay in mortal power.
Whether they were as fortunate in the new fields that now stretchedbefore them as they had been in avoiding pitfalls between the battlelines in Belgium, you will find recorded in the next volume of thisseries, under the title of "The Boy Scouts with the Allies in France."
THE END.
BOY SCOUT SERIES
BY
LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON
MODERN BOY SCOUT STORIES FOR BOYS Cloth Bound, Price 50c per volume.
THE BOY SCOUTS ON THE RANGE.
Connected with the dwellings of the vanished race of cliff-dwellers wasa mystery. Who so fit to solve it as a band of adventurous Boy Scouts?The solving of the secret and the routing of a bold band of cattlethieves involved Rob Blake and his chums, including "Tubby" Hopkins, ingrave difficulties.
There are few boys who have not read of the weird snake dance and othertribal rites of Moquis. In this volume, the habits of these fastvanishing Indians are explained in interesting detail. Few boys' bookshold more thrilling chapters than those concerning Rob's captivity amongthe Moquis.
Through the fascinating pages of the narrative also stalks, like a grimfigure of impending tragedy, the shaggy form of Silver Tip, the giantgrizzly. In modern juvenile writing, there is little to be found asgripping as the scene in which Rob and Silver Tip meet face to face. Theboy is weaponless and,--but it would not be fair to divulge thetermination of the battle. A book which all Boy Scouts should secure andplace upon their shelves to be read and re-read.
Sold by Booksellers Everywhere.
HURST & CO., PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
BOY SCOUT SERIES
BY
LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON
MODERN BOY SCOUT STORIES FOR BOYS Cloth Bound Price, 50c per volume.
THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE EAGLE PATROL.
A fascinating narrative of the doings of some bright boys who becomepart of the great Boy Scout movement. The first of a series dealing withthis organization, which has caught on like wild fire among healthy boysof all ages and in all parts of the country.
While in no sense a text-book, the volume deals, amid its excitingadventures, with the practical side of Scouting. To Rob Blake and hiscompanions in the Eagle Patrol, surprising, and sometimes perilousthings happen constantly. But the lads, who are, after all, typical ofmost young Americans of their type, are resourceful enough to overcomeevery one of their dangers and difficulties.
How they discover the whereabouts of little Joe, the "kid" of thepatrol, by means of smoke telegraphy and track his abductors to theirdisgrace; how they assist the passengers of a stranded steamer and foila plot to harm and perhaps kill an aged sea-captain, one must read thebook to learn. A swift-moving narrative of convincing interest andbreathless incident.
Sold by Booksellers Everywhere.
HURST & CO., PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
Transcriber's note:
Obvious mistakes have been corrected, but other discrepancieshave not been changed. Inconsistent hyphenation has been retained.
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