CHAPTER XV. AT THE END OF A TOW LINE.
This state of uncertainty was of short duration. Then Thad chuckledsoftly.
"I certainly heard Giraffe's laugh then," he told Allan; "and you cantell now it's only a single horse that's thumping along. After allGiraffe had to give up on the petrol business, and come down to gettingus towed in."
Soon they could see moving figures on the road, and catch the creak ofheavy wheels much in need of axle grease. It proved to be a cart, andseated in the same was Giraffe, together with a couple of half-grownBelgian lads.
"Thought I was never coming, didn't you?" the tall scout remarked, as hejumped to the road; "well, I kept trying to get some gas all through thevillage, but it was no use. When I contracted to buy a supply I musthave bitten off a bigger wad than I could chew. And I had a number ofthings happen, too; tell you about the same later on. Now, we'll getbusy hitching our chariot to a star. This was really the best I coulddo, Thad."
He was of course assured that no one dreamed of blaming him; and thatthey would be very well satisfied to get somewhere or other, no matterwhat the means of locomotion turned out to be.
The two stout Belgian boys soon managed with the help of Giraffe tofasten the stalled car to the rear of their queer-looking cart. Ropeshad been brought along for that very purpose, Giraffe foreseeing theneed of such things.
When the start was made the car gave a jerk. That served to arouseBumpus, who had continued to sleep calmly on despite all the talking.
"Oh! so we're going on again, are we? Did Giraffe fetch the stuff,and--my stars! whatever is that ahead of us; and a towing rope in thebargain? Oh! I see now; we're being carted into town, for a fact!"
Giraffe was full of his recent hunt for liquid fuel.
"I never saw the beat," he told them, "how everybody wants to hold on towhat little petrol they've got. I offered double price, but they shooktheir heads and as near as I could understand tried to tell me theyneeded every drop for their own use. Now that the war has broken outnobody knows what will happen. After chasing around till I was tiredout, I made up my mind it was a case of the tow-line for us, or stay outhere all night. I took the tow, and here we are."
"How far away is the town you mention?" asked Thad.
"All of two miles," he was told; "but it wasn't the distance that keptme. I had to waste so much time trying to make them understand. Then oneparty would direct me to a certain house where I might buy some petrol.Result, half an hour wasted and not a thing gained."
"Is there an inn in that town, Giraffe?" asked Bumpus, softly.
"Thinking about your grub, ain't you, Bumpus?" chuckled the other; "butthat's all right. There's an inn, and I told the landlord we might showup later on. He even promised to cook us some supper when we came,charging extra for the same, you understand, Bumpus. It was in front ofthat same inn I saw the soldiers."
"Germans?" asked Allan, quickly.
"No, a Belgian battery of field guns that is heading for the fightingline," the late messenger explained. "They came in with a whirl while Iwas there, and watered the horses dragging the guns at the trough infront of the inn. It made a pretty sight, let me tell you, for the moonwas just rising. I'll never forget it as long as I live."
"They didn't offer to bother you, did they, Giraffe?" asked Bumpus.
"Sure they didn't," replied the other, scornfully. "Why, I soon foundthat one of the gunners could speak pretty good English, and I had quitea little talk fest with him while the horses were drinking their fill atthat trough."
"Did you pick up any information worth while, Giraffe?" asked Allan.
"What I got only made me feel sour," the other replied.
"Why should it, Giraffe?" Bumpus wanted to know.
"Because I was told the Germans seemed to be sending out thousands oftheir hard-riding cavalrymen to scatter through this part of the countryand terrorize the people," explained Giraffe.
"There would be another meaning to such a move, I should think,"ventured Thad.
"Right you are there, Thad," continued the other. "That gunner let meunderstand it was believed the Germans, being held up so fiercely by theforts at Liege, were trying to make a flank movement so as to threatenBrussels from this side. And Thad, he said there wasn't more'n onechance in ten we'd ever be able to get through the lines."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Giraffe," remarked the patrol leader.
"But we don't mean to give up yet, do we?" queried Bumpus, who neverliked to quit; he had plenty of faults, but that of yielding couldhardly be called one of his shortcomings.
"It doesn't look like it," admitted Thad; "for we've got our tankmended, and if there's any gasoline to be had for love or money we'llpush on to-morrow, taking what comes, and making the best of it."
"And always remembering," said Giraffe, "that in case the worst comes wecan go back to the Dutch border, cross over, and make for Rotterdam.That's what the Belgian gunner told me. He was a fine young chap, and ifhe comes through the fighting all right I expect to hear from him afterI get home again."
As he never did, Giraffe was later on forced to the sad conviction thathis new-found friend must have given up his young life in defence of hisbeloved country, as thousands of others did likewise.
They continued to talk as they made slow progress. It was snail-like,after having become accustomed to the ten-mile-an-hour gait of the car,when it was doing its best. Still, no one complained, for half a loafwas a good deal better than no bread.
"I'd a lot sooner be caught in this fix than to stay out there allnight, crammed in the car," remarked Bumpus, and then continuing hesaid, with a vein of reproach in his mellow voice: "but, Thad, Allan, itwasn't just right for you to tuck the only wrap we had along around me,like I was a big baby. I've got to learn to take my knocks like the restof you, and I want you to let me meet my share, or else I'll beunhappy."
"There, we're getting close to the village now," said Giraffe, pointingto where houses could be dimly seen in the misty moonlight.
The hour was pretty late when they hauled up in the inn-yard. Thelandlord had kept his word, and supper was being cooked even then, afact Bumpus discovered as soon as he could scent the odors in the air.
"Oh! mebbe I'm not glad you decided to take a horse when you couldn'tget any gas, Giraffe," he remarked, sniffing vigorously; "now, I wonderwhat he's having cooked for us. If it's as good as the stuff we had atnoon I'm going to find out how it's made. Then some time or other whenwe're camping out with the rest of the boys I'll spring a big surpriseon you all."
"I think that everything considered," said Thad, "we have reason to bethankful things are no worse. So far as I can see there's been no damagedone; and here's the landlord coming to tell us supper is ready."
"Hold on, Bumpus, you forget that you've got a game leg, don't you?"called out Giraffe, as the fat boy jumped to his feet in readiness for arush.
"Oh! that's got well again," Bumpus assured him blandly. "Fact is, thescare I had when I was run away with by that car did the business forthat lame leg. But if both of them happened to be crippled that wouldn'tkeep me from feeling hungry, would it?"
Since no one had ever known anything to do this of course there was nochance for Giraffe to make any response. The supper turned out to havethe same appetizing flavor which Bumpus had so much admired at noon, andafter a great deal of effort Giraffe managed to extract the informationfrom the landlord that it was all a little French trick of rubbing a bitof garlic on the pan in which the food was being cooked, and which gaveit that flavor.
"I see all sorts of trouble ahead for us scouts," ventured Giraffe,after he had imparted this information to Bumpus, "if ever he takes tocarrying a string of garlic along with him on our hikes."
They really enjoyed that supper immensely. Possibly it was because theyhad such keen appetites after waiting so long in the cool night air; butno matter what the cause they left the table satisfied.
"Next thing is t
o get some sleep," remarked Bumpus.
"We're going to step out a bit first, Bumpus, and push the car under ashed, so it will be hidden," Allan told him.
"Oh! we don't have to lie around again to guard the same, I hope,"suggested the fat scout, who was hoping to have clean sheets and amattress for a change, instead of just ordinary hay.
"No, we've decided to cut that out this time," Thad explained, "becausewe don't believe there's going to be any stealing done. I'll cripple themachine again by taking away some part; and with no petrol aboard itought to be safe."
They were given a couple of large rooms that overlooked the front of thehouse. When Thad thrust his head out of a window he could see the road,and the watering trough where as Giraffe had told them the horses of theBelgian field battery rushing to the front had stopped to drink.
All seemed peaceful and quiet. If a dog barked occasionally, or a nearbyrooster gave vent to a few crows, as was his habit at certain hours ofthe night, none of the tired lads were likely to pay any attention tosuch common sounds. They figured that given two more days, with as muchprogress accomplished as had marked the one just passed, and they shouldbe beyond the danger line, with what could be called a clear field aheadof them.
So doubtless as they settled themselves to sleep, two in each room, andwith good clean and comfortable beds under them, their last thoughtsmust have been of hopes for the morrow, and wishes for as fewinterruptions as possible.
Allan was Thad's bed-fellow, which of course left Bumpus and Giraffe topair off--"the fat and the lean," as the tall boy remarked whenproceeding to get most of his clothes off and try that "dandy-lookingbed."
Thad could not go to sleep very easily, for a wonder. It was not that hehad any reason to anticipate coming trouble, for as far as he could seethere was nothing of the sort in sight. So many things persisted incrowding into his mind that for once his plan of settling down did notseem to work very well.
It must have been fully eleven o'clock before he dropped off; and thelast thing he remembered hearing was a series of odd little snortscoming from the adjoining room, which he knew must be caused by Bumpuslying on his back. Giraffe on his part was certainly sound asleep, or hewould never have stood for such noises.
Then Thad awoke.
He heard the clatter of many horses' hoofs outside, together with thejangling of accoutrements. It gave him a shock and he immediately satupright in bed. This awoke Allan, and he copied Thad's example as soonas he caught the strange and significant noises coming in through theopen windows.
As the two boys sat there listening, hardly knowing what all this rattleof iron-shod hoofs might signify, they heard a loud voice give acommand, which was evidently intended as "halt!"
What thrilled Thad and his chum, however, was that the order was notgiven in English, French or Flemish but in plain, unmistakable German.
"The Kaiser's men have struck this place, Allan!" said Thad, as withquivering hands he threw back the bed clothes, and jumping out startedtoward the window, bent upon seeing what it meant.
Allan was at his heels, and upon reaching the open window they lookedout, to discover a sight that was calculated to impress them so stronglythat it could never be forgotten.