CHAPTER VI. SCOUT TACTICS.
The horseman was now coming down the bank. Already he seemed to eye thefour passengers aboard the ferryboat, as though they interested him moreor less.
"Giraffe," muttered Thad.
"What is it?" asked the other, in a whisper.
"You might take occasion to ask the ferryman while we're crossing,whether we can strike the road leading north to Grevenbroich, aftergetting over. Get that name, do you?"
"Yes, and I'll do it as a sort of blind," continued the other; "he'llnaturally believe we're meaning to put up there instead of headingacross country."
The man was undoubtedly a soldier, but Thad came to the conclusion thathe must now be on some important mission rather than simply riding to aconcentration camp. In fact, he soon decided in his own mind the othermight be a dispatch-bearer, for he noticed what seemed to be a smallleather pouch partly hidden under his long coat.
They were soon moving across the stream. The man had dismounted beforeleading his horse aboard the craft, since the animal showed positivesigns of not liking the ill-smelling old car. None of the scouts blamedthe intelligent animal either, for the mingled odor of gasoline andburnt grease was anything but pleasant; although they believed that"beggars should never be choosers," and that it was bad luck to "look agift horse in the mouth."
Giraffe did not forget his instructions. When they were about half-wayacross he spoke to the old ferryman, and apparently asked for directionsabout the way to the town mentioned by Thad, for he plainly said"Grevenbroich."
The man with the setting pole answered him, and even pointed severaltimes in a northwesterly direction, as though assuring him that theplace mentioned lay in that quarter.
As though regretting one thing he had done, Thad took out the miniatureStars and Stripes and fastened the little flag to his coat again. Herealized that the man would readily guess they were not Germans, and itwas better that he know their nationality than to suspect them of beingEnglish.
He looked sharply at the emblem, and his heavy eyebrows went up, but hedid not say a single word to indicate what he may have thought.
The boys were only too well satisfied that matters should be as theywere. They had feared something much worse, and that the soldier wouldorder them to turn back again.
"What did he say about Grevenbroich, Giraffe?" Thad asked, so that thehorseman could plainly hear him mention that name.
"Oh! it lies off there some ways," said the other, also pointing.
"How can it be reached from this road?" further inquired the scoutleader.
Giraffe shrugged his shoulders. It was a new habit he had picked upsince coming abroad, for over there on the Continent nearly every onedepends on contortions of the facial muscles, and movements with thehands and shoulders to add emphasis to what they say, or else take theplace of words.
"I couldn't understand all he said, you know, Thad," he explained, witha broad grin, "because he speaks such terrible German, not at all likeour teachers gave us at school. But as near as I could make out, thisroad comes to a place inside of a mile or so where it branches in threedifferent directions."
"Well, now," said Bumpus, "you wouldn't dream it was of so muchimportance."
"One road runs southwest to the city of Duren, where the railroad fromCologne goes, and where all the soldiers are pouring through on the wayto Belgium. Then another runs almost north, and lands you atGrevenbroich; while the third keeps on until it strikes the border atthe Holland town of Sittard."
"Gravenbroich is the place for us!" said Thad, meaning to ring thechanges on that particular name until it had become impressed on themind of the listening soldier who must naturally believe they wereheaded thither.
They believed they had deceived him when the landing was made, for afterpaying the ferryman he sprang on his horse and galloped away, never oncelooking back over his shoulder.
Thad willingly handed the man the sum agreed on, and the old fellow wasvery polite, making sure that everything was secure before allowing themto get the car off the float.
"That was what I call luck," said Giraffe, as they lost sight of theriver and the queer ferry.
"Soon we ought to come to the three forks of the road," announced Allan;"when we must decide whether we want to go to Duren, Grevenbroich or theDutch border."
"As if there could be any doubt which we'd choose," observed Bumpus.
A short time later and they found themselves drawing near the split inthe road. Just why there should be so many feeders for so ordinary aroad none of them could understand; they simply found it so, and actedaccordingly.
"Of course we strike out over the middle one, Thad?" Giraffe remarked;"but I say, what's going to happen, now that you've pulled up here atthe forks?"
"Wait for me a minute, while I take a look and see which way our friendwith the horse went," the other told him.
"Thad never forgets he's a Boy Scout, and able to find things out in away that would never occur to any ordinary fellow," said Allan, notwithout a touch of genuine admiration in his tone; for he realized, muchto his regret, that there were times when the same could not be said ofhim, skillful tracker that he was, as all Maine boys are supposed to be.
The three of them sat there in the car and watched Thad. Apparently hehad not the slightest trouble in finding what he was looking for, sincethe hoofs of the horse had left plain imprints on the dusty road.
"He's turned up the road that leads to Duren, all right, as sure asanything!" announced Giraffe, after they had seen Thad pass along thatway for a short distance.
"That means a good riddance of bad rubbish," laughingly remarked Allan.
When a minute later Thad returned he looked satisfied.
"He started on that way, and so far as I tracked him he kept rightalong, so it looks as if we might be well rid of him," he reported.
"Guess all that talk about Grevenbroich told on him," insinuated Bumpus,proudly, as though the idea had originated with him, and he felt thatthe credit should come his way also.
They had just started off and gone about a hundred yards when Giraffewas heard to snort in disgust.
"Played a neat game on us after all!" he exclaimed; "we're a fine lot ofbabes in the woods to let a German soldier bamboozle us in that way.Look over yonder and you can just manage to glimpse him through littleopenings in the trees."
"Oh! he's galloping off in the direction of Duren!" cried Bumpus; "and Iwarrant you after going along that road a piece he came back on theside, to hide, and was there watching us all the while."
Thad shook his head as though he did not like the situation.
"You see," he explained, "if he had any suspicion before about us, itmust have doubled when he saw me following his tracks, and then watchedus come along this road. He knows now all that talk about Grevenbroichwas hot air, and that we're making for the Dutch border."
"Yes, and going lickety-split at that!" added Giraffe, contemptuously,as the engine emitted several sounds as closely approaching groans ofprotest as any inanimate object could produce.
"Well, what's to be done about it?" asked Bumpus, uneasily, lookingbehind him, as though half anticipating seeing a squad of Uhlans withtheir bedecked lances chasing headlong after the suspicious car.
"Nothing," replied Thad. "All we can do is to keep pushing on, trustingboth to luck and our sagacity to pull us through."
"There's one comfort about it, boys," Allan told them; "every rod wecover means we're just that much nearer safety. If we can only getwithin a mile or so of the border, and the cranky old motor holds outwe'll give them all the laugh, even if it means a hot chase at the end."
"I wonder if the old tub would be equal to showing a clean pair of heelsif you hit up the pace for all it was worth," questioned Giraffe. "I'dbe afraid we'd all go up in a cloud of smoke and fire. These sort ofmachines are always balking or else exploding."
"Oh! now you're just saying that to bother me, Gir
affe," complainedBumpus; "but I've got too much confidence in our pilot to be afraid oftrouble. It may stop on us, that'd be the worst that could happen."
"Now you notice we're coming to a place where it's well settled, for youcan see fields on every side, and gardens, too. Yonder are some womenand boys getting in the harvest; and here comes an old man, his cartloaded down with some kind of roots or potatoes. I hope there isn't atown ahead of us, where we'd find that the officer had telephoned aboutus."
It was Giraffe who said this. When making out to be tormenting Bumpus hewas evidently only voicing his own fears.
"No, the road chart shows no place worth mentioning along this section,"Thad assured them; "but you know the soil here is something like that inHolland, and very rich. Westphalia and Rhenish Prussia are the gardenspots of Germany, so we'll see plenty of farms and grain fields."
Indeed, as they passed along they saw people working in the fields onevery side, but it was always the same, not a single stalwart young man,only boys, women and very old men. The rest had all obeyed the call tothe colors, and were already either fighting at the front, or else inconcentration camps, preparing for the time when they would be needed tofill awful gaps in the ranks.
All at once the engine stopped short.
"That's what I call a low-down trick!" said Giraffe, as Thad sprang outto throw back the hood so as to take a look, and see what was wrong thistime.
"Oh! we must expect something like that to happen every little while,"he was told by Allan; "it's a poor arrangement at the best, and prettywell worn out in the bargain. But we agreed to make the best of it, andso what's the use of knocking?"
The three of them sat there for a little while, as Thad pottered at therefractory machinery. Then Allan jumped out to assist him, saying that"two heads might be better than one," as often proved to be the case.
"Wake me up when you've found out the trouble, and rectified the same,"said Giraffe, pretending to stretch himself out over the seat, and makeready for a nap.
Just about three minutes later he had reason to change his mind. It wasBumpus who did it, and if Giraffe suddenly started up it was not becausethe other had been malicious enough to thrust a pin into his leg.
"Say, looky here what's bearing down on us, Thad, will you?" the fatscout had called out, and Giraffe was up on his feet like a flash.
As he turned and looked back he saw something that was not apt to makehim feel happy, to say the least. Along the road came a swarm of women,boys and old men. They must have been recruited from the fields near by,for they were carrying all manner of pitchforks and such tools thatlooked dangerous when held in the hands of aroused tillers of the soil.
Whether the people of the farming country could have received wordconcerning the four boys in the old car, and meant to effect theirarrest; or mistook them for some other parties who may have beendisturbing the peace in that section of the country, Thad and his chumswere fated never to learn.
It was quite enough for them to know just then a threatening cloud hadappeared above the horizon, and that unless they could fortunately get aquick start out of that particular neighborhood they stood a good chanceof finding themselves warmly beset.