CHAPTER X
THROUGH THE LINES
For a moment Frank's heart sank, but suddenly, a hoarse laugh surprisedhim and revived his spirits. It was the Uhlan. He was laughing at them.
"Kinder!" he said, deep down in his throat.
"Nothing so alarming in this," thought Frank, experiencing quick relief,and awaiting the Uhlan's next words.
"I have my way lost," he said, in a guttural English. "Kannst duEnglisch sprechen?"
"I am an American," said Frank, at the same time nudging Henri, andhoping that he would understand it as a signal to keep still. "Where doyou want to go?"
"That matters not," said the German, cautiously. "Only tell me, whichway from here is Amiens?"
They told him.
"And where does the road to St. Quentin turn off from this one?"
"It is the next turn, to your left," said Frank, truthfully.
"Good! Then I will be going. Go home, kinder. You will get into troubleif you stay hereabout."
He vaulted upon his horse, and the next moment they heard hoofsclattering along the hard road, and, looking after him, could see thesparks as the iron clashed with the flint of the road's surface.
"That was easy!" said Frank, with a gasp of relief.
"He was alone," said Henri.
"Carrying despatches, I expect," said Frank. "He wouldn't tell us wherehe was going, naturally, but I bet he's looking for those other troopswe saw. Dangerous work, too. But I wonder where he came from. If thereare more Uhlans in front, we may get into trouble."
"Suppose we hide the bicycles near here and go along through thefields? Don't you think that will be better, Frank?" was Henri'scautious suggestion.
"Yes, I suppose it will, though it will be slower, too."
"Of course. But if we are going to be stopped all the time along thisroad, we'll really save time in the end by doing it."
So they made a cache, as Frank told Henri it should be called, hidingtheir wheels so that they would have a chance of recovering them if theycame back this way. They marked the spot not only by landmarks, but bythe stars, which were beginning to dot the sky now.
"There may be fighting here," said Frank. "And if there is, this placemay look very different before we see it again. If there is a battle thetrees will go, and the fences, and all the houses for if they are notburned deliberately, the shells will destroy them."
"Look, Frank, what is that?"
Henri had turned and was pointing now to the north. There a stream ofwhite light shot into the air, then dropped, and left only itsreflection. But in a moment others joined it, and the whole sky to thenorth was brilliantly lighted. It was like a display of Northern Lights,only nearer and even more brilliant.
"Searchlights, of course," said Frank. "They can throw them on thetrenches--and they're good to guard against aeroplanes and dirigibles,too. At night, you see, there'd be a chance for aeroplanes to fly verylow and do a lot of damage."
"Can't they hear the engines from the ground?"
"Not always. They have mufflers on a good many aeroplane motors now, sothat they don't make any more noise than a quiet automobile."
"I didn't know that. Well, there's one good thing about thesearchlights. We know which way to go. Come on."
"All right. The more I think of it, the better it is not to be on theroads. Here in the fields we're a lot less likely to run into strayparties. And I'd just about as soon meet Germans as allies. If they'reretreating and having trouble, they might hold us up as long as theGermans would. They wouldn't believe we really had despatches."
For a time they made good, steady progress. The roar of artillery firein front of them had been resumed, and now it filled the air, provingthat they were much closer to the battle. The great waves of sound beatagainst their ears, making their heads swim at first, but gradually theygrew used to it, and could hear other and more trivial sounds--thechirping of night insects and the occasional hooting of owls.
"I don't hear the rifle fire," said Henri, after a time. "Only once in awhile, that is. Why is that, I wonder? Are the big guns drowning it?"
"No. Because if that were the reason, we wouldn't hear it at all. Ithink they don't do that at night. It's just a case of trying to findthe places where the enemy's troops are massed, and keeping up a steadyfire of shells to drive them out. Maybe the searchlights help. They'vebeen fighting all day, you know, and even soldiers have to have somerest. They have to eat and sleep or they can't keep up the work."
They crossed more than one road, but stuck to the fields, travelling ina straight line as nearly as they could figure their course. When theyhad decided to join the Boy Scouts, both had studied the stars, since aknowledge of the heavens is one of the most important things aboutscouting, and they found what they had learned very valuable now. Thusthey could keep their bearings, though owing to their desertion of theroads, Henri confessed that he had very little idea of where they were.
"Along the roads one has landmarks," he said. "I have gone all throughhere, over and over again. My father used to drive this way very oftenin our automobile."
"Well, we can't go very far wrong," said Frank, cheerfully. "All we'vegot to do is to follow the old German maxim, 'March on the cannonthunder!' That was their one rule in 1870, you know and a very goodrule it proved too."
So they went on. And they still seemed to be a long way from the seat ofthe heavy artillery firing when a challenge halted them, as they wereabout to cross a road.
"'Alt! 'Oo goes there?" called a cockney voice sharply.
"Friends," cried Frank, instantly.
"'Alt, friends, while I 'as a look at you," said the sentry.
"Call your officer, please. We are carrying despatches," said Frank.
"I'll call 'im, all right. My word! You ain't nothin' but kiddies, youain't! 'Ere! Corporal of the guard! I sye! Corporal of the guard!"
He raised his voice in the shout, and a minute or so later a corporalappeared.
"Came up to me, sir," said the sentry. "Said as 'ow they wanted me tocall the officer of the guard. Carryin' despatches, they sye they is."
"All right," said the corporal, briskly. "Come with me, my lads. Stepsmartly when you're told or you may be shot," in a genial voice.
They followed him through a field that seemed deserted, then came to asmall cluster of tents, where they stopped.
"Wait here," said the corporal. "I'll bring the lieutenant."
They did not have long to wait before a young officer approached them.
"My word!" he said, when he saw how young they were. "What are youyoungsters doing here?"
"We're looking for headquarters, sir," said Frank. "We are carryingdespatches from Amiens."
"All right! Give them to me, and I'll see that they're forwarded, mylads," said the officer, with a grin.
"We can't do that, sir," said Frank. "Our orders are to carry them toheadquarters--and to give the word Mezieres."
"Ah, that's different, now," said the officer. "Corporal, give me twomen to take these despatch-bearers through the lines," came the order.
The giving of the word had made a great change in his attitude. It wasplain that before that he had not taken them seriously, but had supposedthem to be playing some prank. Now, however, he looked at themcuriously.
"Boy Scouts?" he suggested.
"Yes, sir," said Frank. "Detailed to special duty, without uniforms."
"I see! Jolly plucky of you, I call it. I say, you're not French, mylad, are you? How did you get here? Well, never mind! Here's yourescort. Be off with you, now."
Their troubles were over now. Within five minutes they were atheadquarters. There a weary staff officer received them. They saluted.
"Very well," he said. "Give me your despatches."
Each of them produced his handful of marbles from his pocket, and laidthem solemnly before the major. He stared, first at the marbles, then atthem.
"What sort of a silly prank is this?" he roared. "Do you think we'venothing better
to do than to waste time in jokes? If you were men--"
"We are obeying orders, sir," said Frank, quietly. "Those are thedespatches Colonel Menier at Amiens gave us to deliver. He said thatonly one officer here would know what they meant, and how to get thedespatches."
"O, I beg your pardon," said the major. He took down his telephone. "Askif despatches are expected from Amiens," he said, into the instrument."And find out who is in charge."
"There is another matter, sir," said Frank. "We saw German troops as wecame here."
"Uhlans. Yes, they're all around behind us. One squadron of them was cutup when it attacked a convoy. There aren't many of them."
"No, sir, I didn't mean Uhlans. There is a force of infantry--fivethousand men, we estimated--"
"What?" thundered the major, springing to his feet, "You must bedreaming! Where did you think you saw them? And where were they?"
Frank explained.
"It sounds incredible," said the major, frowning. "Come! I'll take youto General Smith-Derrien. If that's true, it's highly important news.Here, show me on this map just the place where you say you saw them."
Frank and Henri pointed at once to the wood in which the German infantryhad vanished, then followed the major out of the room.