CHAPTER SEVEN
_Shoot!_
If the roof had suddenly fallen down on top of his head Dave Dawsoncould have not been more astonished or surprised. Shot? He gaped at theGerman officer half expecting to see the man burst out laughing. ColonelStohl did not laugh, however. He remained leaning forward over the deskand raking them with eyes that looked like twin cubes of ice.
"Shot?" Dave heard himself speak the word. "You can't shoot us. Wehaven't done anything! Gee whiz, why do you want to shoot us?"
"Of course we haven't done anything!" Freddy Farmer spoke up loudly. "Ithink this is all just a bluff!"
"A bluff?" the German snarled. "Do you take me for a fool? I do notbluff at a time like this. Take a look at this that I hold in my hand,so! Ah, you recognize it, eh?"
The officer had suddenly whipped up something off the desk. Dave took agood look and saw that it was a rolled up map.
"It's a map," he said, "but I never saw it before."
"Nor have I," Freddy said stoutly.
"It was found hidden under the seat of the ambulance," the German saidin a flat voice that made Dave shiver inwardly. "There are certain markson it. Numbers and figures written in pencil near the names of towns youpassed through before you were caught. So you told me the truth, eh? No,you lied. This map contains information that would be very useful toGermany's enemies. You thought you could protect yourselves by drivingan ambulance ... but you can't. But ... and listen to what I say ... you_can_ save your lives!"
Dave tried to speak but his tongue was sticking to the roof of hismouth. He felt his knees go weak, and it was all he could do to forcehimself to stand upright. He had the feeling that this was all a crazydream, a nightmare. In a few moments he would probably wake up and findhimself safe and sound in bed in his room at the Hotel de Ney. He didn'tknow anything about a map. He'd never even seen it before.
He half turned and looked at Freddy Farmer. The English youth's face wasa little paler, but his chin was firm, and his eyes were filled withscornful defiance.
"I haven't any idea what you are talking about, sir," Freddy said tothe colonel. "I was not trying to protect myself, or my friend, fromanything. I was simply delivering the ambulance to Courtrai. And, forthe hundredth time, _I lost my way_!"
The German made a movement with his hand as though brushing the words toone side.
"Enough of that!" he said. "This is a serious business. I am not sayingthat you collected the information about our advance units I find hereon this map. Perhaps you were only taking it to somebody else. Yes,perhaps you did not even know you were being used for such work. Let ussay that is the truth. We Germans do not make war with boys, but.... Butthis information _was found on you_, and that is most serious. Answerthe questions I ask you, and I promise that you will not be treated asspies. I also promise you that you will be made comfortable untilarrangements can be made to send you home. Now!"
"What are the questions?" Freddy asked.
The stern look fled the German's face, and he smiled.
"Ah, that is better!" he said and spread the map on the desk. "Now, hereyou have marked a line showing the route you traveled from Paris. Eachtown you passed through is marked. Those towns are French troop andequipment garrisons. This town here, close to the Belgian border, whatdid you see there? French troops? British troops? And what was theirequipment? Tanks? Big ones, or small ones? Were there motorizedanti-aircraft batteries? Were...?"
The German suddenly stopped and looked up from the map.
"You are not listening?" he said softly.
Freddy's face seemed actually to grow thin as Dave looked at him. TheEnglish boy licked his lips just once and then put his shoulders back alittle more.
"Certainly I'm listening," he said. "But I won't answer a single one ofyour questions even though you do shoot me!"
Dave felt like throwing his arms about young Farmer and hugging him.Here was the kind of cool, calm courage for which the British werefamous the world over. Instead, Dave turned his head and looked at theGerman.
"We're not saying a thing!" he shouted. "I demand that we be permittedto see the nearest American Consul!"
The German officer ignored Dave's outburst as though he had not spoken.He looked steadily at Freddy for a moment and then sighed heavily andraised both hands in a gesture of despair.
"Very well," he said. "That is all for now. I will give you untiltomorrow morning to think it over ... and change your mind. Guard!"
The side door popped open and in popped the guard. Colonel Stohl pointeda finger.
"Take them back," he said, "and stand guard outside the door. If eitherof them attempts to escape ... _shoot!_"
The Colonel gave them an angry stare and a curt nod, and then busiedhimself with some papers on the desk. Two minutes later the boys wereback in their prison room. The door was closed and bolted, and theycould hear the boots of the guard pacing up and down the hallwayoutside. Freddy sat down on a cot and started to shiver violently. Davewent over to him instantly and put a friendly arm about his shoulders.
"Steady, Freddy!" he whispered. "We'll get out somehow. He was onlybluffing. He wouldn't dare shoot us. I'll make him let me see thenearest American Consul. I'll ... I'll make him let me telephone theAmerican Ambassador in Brussels."
"I hope you do for your sake, Dave," Freddy whispered. "But England isat war, and I'm an Englishman. And, Dave ... that map was mine. I usedit and marked my route until it got too dark."
Fingers of ice clutched at Dave's heart and pressed hard. He sucked airsharply into his lungs.
"Holy smokes!" he breathed. "Then you did put down all that stuff he wastalking about?"
"Oh no, not that!" the English youth said and shook his head vigorously."I just penciled in the route I had taken until it got too dark.Besides, I lost my pencil when I tried to do it in the glow of the dashlight. The rest of the things he must have marked in."
Dave gave a shake of his head and looked puzzled.
"I don't get it!" he murmured. "Why?"
"Don't you see?" Freddy said. "It's really very simple, Dave. They didit to frighten me, to make me answer their questions. They'll hold amilitary court and use that map as evidence. There'll be an awful row.They'll make one, hoping to scare me into talking. I knew a Jewish boyin England who escaped with his family from the German Gestapo and hetold me about the tricks they play to scare you into telling themthings. That's what he plans to do with me. But, I won't tell him athing, not a thing! It's my map all right, but they're not going tofrighten me into telling anything that would hurt the Allies. They can'tmake me!"
"You bet they can't, pal!" Dave said. "And they won't get anything outof me, either."
"I don't think he means any harm toward you, Dave," Freddy said after along pause. "You just insist on seeing the American Consul and I thinkhe'll let you. When you spoke of your father's trip to London he seemedsurprised. You're an American, Dave. You'll be all right."
"But what about you, Freddy?" Dave exclaimed.
"I won't tell them a thing, no matter what they do," the English youthsaid determinedly. "Never!"
Dave started to speak, checked himself, and stepped back a pace.
"So that's the kind of a pal you are, huh?" he grunted. "You just up andlet me down!"
Freddy jerked his head up in blank amazement. Tears were dangerouslyclose to his eyes.
"Let you down, Dave?" he gasped. "But, Dave...!"
"Sure, let me down," Dave snapped at him. "I thought we were pals? Ithought we were going to see this through together?"
"But, Dave, you...!"
"Me walk out and leave you behind?" Dave interrupted the English youth'sspeech. "Quit a pal just because I'm American and he's English? Not achance. We're sticking together. You can't toss me off like that!"
"But I was only thinking of you, Dave," Freddy protested. "After all Ireally got you into this, you know."
Dave suddenly stopped acting hurt and angry. He bent down and grinnedbroadly.
&
nbsp; "So what?" he whispered. "So I'll get you _out_. We've got untiltomorrow morning to think things over. That's what he said. Well, we'renot going to think things, we're going to _do_ things. Are you game,Freddy?"
For an answer Freddy put out his hand, and the two clasped hands warmly.The color came back into the English youth's face, and that made Davefeel almost happy.
"Okay, Freddy," he whispered. "I saw something besides airplanes out thewindow awhile ago. Come over and I'll show you."
For a couple of seconds Dave stood still listening to the footsteps ofthe guard outside, then he motioned to Freddy and tiptoed over to thewindow.
"Look out, and down," he breathed in Freddy's ear. "See? The bottom halfof this building sticks out. See the roof? It's not more than six feetbelow this window. And it's not more than ten feet from the edge of theroof to the back yard. Think you could jump it?"
"Easy!" Freddy whispered. "But what about this window, here? It'sscrewed in."
"Got that all figured, too," Dave said and pulled an army canteen spoonfrom the pocket of the old clothes he wore. "Swiped this from thebreakfast tray," he said. "A hunch made me stick it in my pocket. Aspoon makes a swell screw driver sometimes. I found that out once when Iwas a kid. I used one of my Mother's to open an old chest I found up inthe attic. I got a licking for it because I marked up the wood prettybad. But the spoon did the trick. Now, here's what you do."
Dave paused and slipped the tip of the spoon handle into the groove ofthe nearest screw head and applied pressure with both hands. He turnedthe screw a sixteenth of an inch or so and then stopped.
"Hot dog!" he whispered. "I was scared for a minute the darn thingswould be so rusted with age they wouldn't budge. But, it's okay. Now,you go over to the door and start talking to me. Talk about anything.Sure, let's talk about baseball."
"But I don't know anything about baseball!" Freddy whispered.
"That's swell!" Dave said. "You can ask me questions and I'll give youthe answers. But keep an ear open for that guard. If he starts to openthe door you ask me, What's a home run? See? That'll give me time to getaway from this window. Okay, got it?"
"Yes, I understand," Freddy said and nodded eagerly. "Gee, you're agreat friend, Dave!"
"You too, Freddy," Dave said and gave him a push. "Now, get over thereand start asking questions. Thank goodness this window is dirty andnobody can see me from outside."
The instant Freddy went over near the door Dave gave his attention tothe first screw. The English youth asked question after question andDave answered them without half thinking. Every second of the time heworked feverishly with the spoon on the screws. There were eight of themand he guessed it was well over an hour before he had seven of them outand the eighth well loosened. That one he let stay partly in so that thewindow would remain in place. The last thing he did was to cover thescrew holes with bits of cobweb so they wouldn't be noticed. Then hewalked over to the cot and sat down.
"Okay, that's enough baseball talk!" he said in a loud voice and winkedat Freddy. "Gee, how you can ask questions. Well, it looks like we'renot going to get anything to eat. So I'm going to try and get somesleep."
Stretching out on the cot Dave pointed at the window and grinned. Thenclasping his hands together he put them over his head and shook themlike a prize fighter being introduced to the fight fans. Freddy lookedpuzzled for a moment, then realized what Dave meant, and went throughthe hand-shaking motions himself.
"Well, I guess I might as well try to get a little sleep, myself," hesaid loudly and walked to the other cot.
A moment later the two boys listened to the sound of the guard'sfootsteps outside and looked at the gradually fading light of dayoutside the dust and cobweb smeared window.