CHAPTER V AT CALAIS, ON THE CHANNEL
Of course, Bumpus was duly impressed with the amazing fact. He sat upand craned his neck in imitation of Giraffe, as well as the differencein their build permitted. Sure enough, the two boys were seen earnestlytalking with a man; and just as the watchful Giraffe had declared, hedid look a bit mysterious when one came to remember the surroundingcircumstances.
But Thad and Allan seemed to have no fear. In fact, they were apparentlyon very good terms with the other, for while Giraffe looked he saw theman actually shake hands with each in turn, as though he had some reasonto be grateful to them.
Well, Giraffe could stand it no longer. He feared some giganticcatastrophe must be threatening the safety of his chums, and that it washigh time he hastened to their relief.
Accordingly, he told Bumpus to “sit tight” and watch their luggage.
“I’m bound to find out what all this means, don’t you see?” heexplained.
“Go to it, Giraffe; and don’t let that fellow kidnap our chums,” Bumpustold him; and possibly there was a slight vein of sarcasm in the mannerof the speaker, though, as a rule, Bumpus was not given to makingcutting remarks.
Giraffe quickly joined the others.
“Glad you came, Giraffe,” said Allan, “for you’re just in time to chinin and help a chap in distress. Come, pony up a dollar, and it’ll squarethe account, both Thad and myself have hit that amount apiece, and heneeds three to get back home again from Calais.”
“W-w-why, w-what’s it all about?” gasped Giraffe, almost stunned when hesaw all his wonderful castles in the air connected with stealthy Germanspies tumbling to the ground.
“Nothing out of the way,” explained Thad with a smile, for he understoodthat Giraffe was up against the fence and pretty nearly “all in.” “Yousee, this gentleman is Mr. Algernon Smikes. He’s a commercial travelerfrom London, who, like some other people, chanced to be caught abroadwhen the war broke out, and has been having a hard time trying to getback to Old England. He’s shown us letters to prove all he says, too; sothere’s no doubt about it. His money has run low because of the manydelays; and thinking that we were English fellows, he ventured to speakto us. We’ve set him straight about our nationality; but at the sametime loaned him eight francs, which he will return when he gets backhome again. How about you helping him out, Giraffe?”
Thereupon the drummer started in to beg that Giraffe would pardon himfor playing such a contemptible role as that of a “beggar,” something hehad never done before in all his life; but the conditions wereremarkable, and he did not know how else he could make the home port.
When Giraffe heard him speak he knew instantly that his suspicions hadbeen altogether unfounded, for no German spy could ever assume thatcockney brogue. Of course, when he thought the man was watching them inthe capacity of a secret agent, he had been only trying to pick upcourage enough to “touch” them for a small loan, under the impressionthat they were also English.
So Giraffe, without a murmur, took out some money and handed it to theother. He probably thought he owed Algernon that much for having sounjustly suspected him of espionage when the poor drummer was onlyworrying about his inability to cross the Channel after reaching Calais.
They had no further time for engaging in conversation, because the crywent out that the train was about to start. So the boys hastened to joinBumpus, who, in turn, must be told how the “suspect” had turned out tobe a most innocent chap indeed. Bumpus grinned a little, upon seeingwhich Giraffe, with his face much redder than usual, tried to defend hisblunder.
“That’s all right,” he said, stoutly; “and I acknowledge the corn. I_was_ mistaken, but, then, nobody can be perfect. I saw my duty, and Idid it. Who’s got any fault to find with that policy, tell me? A scoutmust always keep his eyes open and see what’s going on around him. Andhe oughtn’t to take things for granted, either. Better to make tenmistakes than to overlook something important just once. And now let’sforget all about it. A dollar was a small sum to pay for such anexperience.”
Evidently the lanky chum did not mean to alter his ways, for he was verystubborn, and often remarked that a “giraffe can’t change his spots anymore than a leopard.”
Well, they were once more moving along at a fair speed and heading forCalais, on the coast. Allan said it could not be far away, because hecould surely detect something like salt air when he sniffed in a knowingway; and the others agreed that this was a fact.
In due time they arrived at Calais. Even before entering the city theycould understand that it was altered from the old Calais, where the mostexciting events of the day used to be the docking of the over-Channelsteamer from London and the arrival and departure of the Paris trains.
It was well along in the afternoon. All sorts of whistles could beheard, as if an unusual number of motors on the railway might beswitching and making up extra trains for transporting the troops andbatteries and munitions that kept arriving from across the Channel inincreasing quantities.
They were soon in the bustle, and it thrilled them to actually see thekhaki uniforms of the British “Tommies” everywhere. Up to now, in theirwanderings over a part of Belgium, they had never happened to comeacross any of King George’s soldiers, for the very good reason that nonewere to be found in that region. But apparently a constant stream mustbe coming over to join hands with the French in trying to save Parisfrom the invading host.
Of course all the boys were intensely interested in the wonderful sightsthey saw on every hand. They drank them in eagerly, and Bumpus wasround-eyed with a greedy avidity as he tried to watch both sides of thestreet while they were going to find a hotel.
At the same time, Thad did not mean to neglect their own mission,although realizing more than ever the stupendous difficulties that werebound to confront them as soon as they tried to find a means forreaching Paris.
Of course every train that pulled out would be filled to overflowingwith troops, and if there chanced to be room for any regular passengersthose who lived in the French capital would be favored first of all.
Excitement filled the air. Music could be heard, for soldiers will showa certain amount of gaiety even though facing a terrible battle on themorrow. And whichever way one looked it was to see marching men inkhaki. Bumpus reckoned that there must be thousands of them in Calais.
“They’ll need to be many times over what the British army boasts, tostand up before the millions of the Kaiser,” Giraffe told him; for, asmay be remembered, he had a strain of that same Teuton blood in hisveins himself, though claiming to be American to the backbone.
They were fortunate enough to find lodging in a private house, for thehotels could not accommodate another person, being filled tooverflowing. When this had been finally accomplished Thad and Allan leftthe others and sauntered out to discover what chance there was of thejourney to Paris being carried through.
They were not long in determining that nothing could be done, that dayat least. Bumpus would be grievously disappointed, but it could not behelped. Lots of other folks besides the four chums were being held upthere and unable to reach their intended destinations, and Thad soonlearned that many of these people were burning with anxiety, since theirhomes lay directly along the path taken by the German army in making forParis. Of course they pictured the most terrible things as coming topass, so the two boys agreed that at least they had something to bethankful for.
They did manage to find a little encouragement, and this led them tohope they might get away on the following morning. A train would bepulling out, and unless another boat came in meanwhile, laden with freshtroops, there might be room for them.
That was a very long night to poor Bumpus. And what made it even worsewas the fact that they heard how many thousands of people were quittingthe French capital by every sort of conveyance, anticipating that theGermans would soon be surrounding Paris, and another terrible siegewould be on like that of ’71. Even the
official headquarters and membersof the National Legislature had gone south so as to prepare for theworst. And there would always be a possibility that Mrs. Hawtree mighthave accompanied the staff of the sanitarium to some city in the southof France.
With the coming of morning the boys were astir. Hardly waiting to devoura hasty breakfast, Thad and Allan, together with Giraffe this time, setout to ascertain what the chances might be for an early departure. Luckwas with them, since they managed to book for the capital, though dulywarned that the train might have to be abandoned long before it reachedits intended destination, since one of the three great tidal waves ofinvaders was said to be threatening communications by way of that veryline.
A little thing like that could not deter the boys, and, accordingly,when the train pulled out on schedule time, they were aboard, withBumpus exceedingly hopeful, though at times also given to seriousdoubts.
Every mile passed over they knew was taking them closer to where the twohostile armies were maneuvring, each trying to flank the other and gainsome decided advantage. At every stop on the way Giraffe could be seenthrusting his head out of the window and evidently straining hishearing.
“I’m almost dead sure I could catch a queer distant rumbling sound whenthe little wind there is came from out of the southeast,” he remarkedafter one of these occasions.
“You mean it may have been thunder or big guns working, don’t you,Giraffe?” asked Bumpus, deeply interested himself.
“There’s some sort of a battle on, as sure as you live!” declared theother.
Thad knew he spoke the truth, for he, too, had caught that same lowmutter that could mean only one thing, for there was not a cloud in thesky to tell of rain. From the hour the Kaiser’s hosts had crossed theFrench border there had started a series of earth quakings that wouldnever cease as long as one invader’s foot remained on French soil, nomatter if it took years to eject them.
Some time later the train came to a small village and stopped. The boysquickly realized that something had happened, for the guards came alongtelling the passengers to alight.
“We dare go no further,” Thad told his comrades after listening to whatwas being said by the chattering throng. “It seems that they’ve got worda portion of one of the great divisions of the German army isoverrunning the line ahead of us. It is no longer possible to get toParis this way. We are just a day too late!”
Bumpus was tugging at Thad’s sleeve immediately.
“But do we have to give it up altogether, Thad?” he asked in a quiveringvoice. “Isn’t there some sort of way in which we might get around theGermans and come in on Paris from the southwest?”
“Well, we can do our level best and try,” the other assured him. “Youknow we’ve never been the fellows to give up anything easily, Bumpus. Solet’s hustle around to see what sort of conveyance we can strike. And asbeggars shouldn’t be choosers we’ll be glad to take whatever comesalong.”