CHAPTER XV
THE RETREAT
Frank felt that he was dismissed, and a gentle pressure on his arm fromCaptain Greene made him sure of it. The aviator went out with him, andwhen they were outside he slapped him on the back.
"Well, you've got a right to feel proud of yourself!" he said. "And thegeneral doesn't begin to know all you did. He will, though, as soon ashe gets my report. I'll write that directly because there's no tellingwhat will happen any time I go up. You've seen something of how it goesin a monoplane."
"I wonder what I'm to do now," said Frank.
"Go away from here as quickly as you can," said Greene, with a laugh. "Ican tell you that much. That's what we've been doing ever since theysmashed us at Mons, in Belgium. You see those beggars creep out, tryingto get around us. The Frenchmen made a bad guess at the beginning, andsent too many men to Alsace, and so this chap Von Kluck had enough mento threaten to surround us. But his turn's coming!"
"When?" asked Frank.
"Ask me something easy! Before very long, though, I think. We'll besouth of Amiens by to-morrow. We've got to wait until we get enoughmen. But there's a surprise coming to the Germans. If I told you anymore I'd be shot at daybreak for betraying military secrets. Good luck,young 'un! Sorry you're not going to be with us in the flying corps!"
"Good-bye," said Frank.
Then he went to look for Henri, and found him in the same room in whichthey had first been received by Major Cooper. Henri started up with acry of delight at seeing him and embraced him, in the French fashion, tothe huge amusement of the Englishmen present and Frank's own disgust andembarrassment. But he tried to hide how he felt, for he knew that Henriwas only doing what he had been brought up to regard as the properthing, and he would not have hurt his chum's feelings for the world.
"You two youngsters have got to get back to Amiens," said the major."For one thing because the Germans will be here as soon as we get out,and for another because I want you to take some dispatches to the Frenchstaff there. Can either of you drive a motor?"
"I can," said Henri, proudly.
"Really? All right. I'd rather not spare a man. You will take thesedispatches in the same containers in which they were brought, anddeliver them to Colonel Menier, if he is still in Amiens. If not, toMajor Fremille. You will also turn over the motor car to the Frenchauthorities there. Shall you stay in Amiens after that, even if theFrench leave, which they will?"
"Yes, sir, unless there is something we can do elsewhere."
"I rather think you'll be able to do more there than anywhere else, ifthe Germans don't drive you out. But you'll hear of that from theFrench officer you report to. By the way, when I spoke of the convoythat resisted a Uhlan attack, you didn't tell me you'd had anything todo with that. Why not?"
"We didn't, sir," said Frank, surprised. "We got away just as thefighting began."
"Yes, and sorry to go, too, I'll wager! Captain Hardy reported that itwas your quickness and intelligence that saved him, and enabled him toget help up in time to save the convoy. Something about the hands of aclock you saw moving, eh?"
"That was nothing, sir," said Frank. "I just happened to see that they'dmoved, when a minute before the clock had seemed to have stopped."
"Maybe it was nothing, but we hadn't got on to it before. And if they'vebeen doing that at all steadily it accounts for the way they've beenable to drop shells on to what we supposed were concealed positions.They shelled the house the staff was in two days ago. We're giving thema good fight, but they beat us pretty badly when it comes to spying. Ifwe had a few more people with eyes as quick as yours, we'd be betteroff. Come on, I'll take you out and see you started."
As they reached the street they saw General Smith-Derrien climbing intoa great automobile that started off at once, moving south toward Paris.What little they had seen of him had already made them conceive a greatadmiration for the silent British commander, who only a few days laterwas to be honored as the first brilliant figure of the war on the alliedside. It was for his very conduct of this retreat that Field MarshalFrench, the British commander-in-chief, selected him for special mentionin his dispatches.
They had to wait a few minutes while Major Cooper attended to thedetails of getting a car for them.
"Oh, Frank," said Henri, wistfully, "I wish I'd been the one to go!Though I wouldn't have done so well, I'm sure of that."
"Nonsense! You'd have done as well, and better," said Frank.
"No! But think of what you have done for France, for what is done forthe English now is done for France as well. I am glad the English arefighting with us now, instead of against us. I--"
Major Cooper's return interrupted him.
"Here's your car coming now," he said. "You'll have to take a long wayaround. There are troops, or will be, on all the direct roads, and,besides, bridges are being blown up fast. Take the road that leads toAbbeville, over toward the sea. Use your own judgment about when youturn south, but keep moving toward the west until you are very close toAbbeville. After that you will have a fairly clear course. We haven'tany reason to think that the Germans are in that direction at all asyet, though where they may be to-morrow no one knows. I needn't tell youto keep your eyes open. But if you do run into Germans, don't try to getaway. There's very little chance of their finding the papers you carry,and, if they do, it is not important enough for us to want you to runany great risk. If you see them coming, hide at once. The motor doesn'tmatter."
Henri took the driver's seat and Frank sprang in beside him. And Henri,feeling that he had been pushed a little into the background, startedthe motor at once. He really could drive a car, having learned from hisfather years before, and he soon showed, when he had made himselffamiliar with the details of his machine, that he was to be trusted withit. And so, with a blast of his horn, he made a quick turn and sent thecar roaring into the night. That was only to show off, however, for in amoment he muffled his engine, and the car spun along almost in silence,the motor purring evenly, as if to show that it was in perfect trim andready to give the car all the speed that was needed.
The rain had stopped by this time, but the roads were still muddy andgreasy, and at first, too, there was a good deal of traffic. Guns andmen were moving, and, moreover, there was another danger. The Germanguns had evidently moved up, and a shell fell near them once in a while,but not so near as to bother them.
After a few miles of travelling, however, they found the road freer, andfound also that the sound of the rear guard engagement that was coveringthe British retreat was further off. Five miles saw them riding throughfields where twinkling lights showed the presence of troops, and theywere stopped by a French guard. The pass Major Cooper had given them gotthem through, and the soldiers laughed and chatted while an officer wasexamining it. These were fresh troops, hurriedly brought up to hold offthe Germans while the exhausted British retired to new positions, andthey were gay, light-hearted fellows. True, they had not yet been inaction, but to Frank it seemed that they were likely to be jovial afterthey had heard bullets singing over their heads.
"They don't seem to feel bad," said Henri. "And it is the same with theEnglish. They are retreating, and still they are cheerful."
"You say that as if it was something remarkable!" said Frank, with alaugh. "Of course they're cheerful. They've got faith in their leaders,and they know, I suppose, that a retreat is often necessary. They'llturn the tables before long."
"It seems strange to be where it is so quiet," said Frank, when they hadfinally passed beyond sound of the skirmishing on the extreme left ofthe allied line, formed by the French force through which they hadpassed. "I'm expecting to see Germans every time we make a turn."
"So am I," said Henri. "And why shouldn't we? If they are trying to turnthe allied flank, we're as likely to see them in this direction as not."
"Look here," said Frank, "you're perfectly right. We haven't got ordersto make particularly good time. Let's keep on right to Abbeville. That'sat the mouth of the So
mme. Then we can turn toward Boulogne. If thereare Germans around here at all they'll be in that direction. We mightget some trace of their cavalry. Or we might do what we did before,strike some of their infantry. I don't think we're so likely to do that,though."
"We'll try it, anyhow," said Henri.
And so they turned toward St. Pol, instead of making the sharp turn atright angles that would have brought them to Amiens. Here there weretraces, indeed, of a German invasion. Peasants, alarmed by the reportsof Uhlans seen at Arras and near Boulogne, were in full flight.
"We needn't bother about that," said Frank. "Anything that these peopleknow the intelligence department has found out. No troops advancing atall openly could get by the aeroplanes without being seen. And I thinkthe railroad in this direction has been watched. I saw a lot ofaeroplanes flying over this way this afternoon, and there would be morefrom Boulogne. There are English warships there, I've heard, and theirnaval flyers would cover this part of the country."
Suddenly Henri slowed down the car. He kept one hand on the wheel, thecar moving slowly forward, but his gaze was fixed on the sky. Finally hestopped the car altogether.
"Look up there," he said, quietly, to Frank. "Do you see that light?First I thought it was a star. But there aren't any other stars, and nowI'm sure it's moving. Do you see?"
He pointed, and Frank's eyes followed his finger.
"You're right," he said. "Hello! Now it's gone--no, there it is again!See, it flashes and then disappears! It's some sort of a signal from theair. Keep the car still."
He tried to follow the flashes of the light, hoping to read the messageif it was in Morse code. But he soon found that it was not. And thenHenri cried out sharply.
"If it's a signal, it's being answered from over there!" he said. "See,there's a light waving there. It looks as if it might be from the roofof a house. I--"