THE BOY SCOUTS ON WAR TRAILS IN BELGIUM
Or
Caught Between Hostile Armies
by
HERBERT CARTER
Author of"The Boy Scouts First Campfire," "The BoyScouts in the Blue Ridge," "The Boy Scoutson the Trail," "The Boy Scouts in theMaine Woods," "The Boy ScoutsThrough the Big Timber,""The Boy Scouts in theRockies," "The BoyScouts Along theSusquehanna."Etc.,
Copyright, 1916By A. L. Burt Company
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE I. The News That Reached the Rhine. 3 II. A Bold Undertaking. 12 III. Giraffe Makes a Bargain. 19 IV. The Blocked Way to the Border. 28 V. At the Ferry. 37 VI. Scout Tactics. 45 VII. Dodging Trouble. 54 VIII. The Country of Windmills. 63 IX. At a Wayside Belgian Inn. 71 X. The Throb in the Night Breeze. 80 XI. Warned Off. 89 XII. The Penalty of Meddling. 98 XIII. Repentant Bumpus. 106 XIV. More Hard Luck. 115 XV. At the End of a Tow Line. 124 XVI. The German Raiders. 132 XVII. A Man in the Tree Top. 141 XVIII. Good Samaritans. 149 XIX. The Battle at the Bridge. 158 XX. Victory in Defeat. 167 XXI. The Call for Help. 176 XXII. Up from the Depths. 184 XXIII. "A Tempest in a Teapot." 193 XXIV. The Ambuscade. 202 XXV. The Scouts' Camp Fire. 210 XXVI. A Tattooed Fugitive. 219 XXVII. The Uhlan Hold-up. 228 XXVIII. Turned Back. 236 XXIX. A Change of Plans--Conclusion. 245
THE BOY SCOUTS ON WAR TRAILS IN BELGIUM.
CHAPTER I. THE NEWS THAT REACHED THE RHINE.
"It strikes me Allan's a pretty long time coming with those letters,Thad."
"Oh! perhaps he's struck some exciting news worth picking up; you knowhe's a correspondent for a newspaper at home in the good old UnitedStates, and must always be on the lookout for happenings. Have a littlemore patience, Bumpus."
"But you see I didn't sleep ten winks last night, Thad. After our lovelyquiet trip down the Rhine by boat from Mainz this place seemed just asnoisy as any boiler factory."
"No wonder, Bumpus, with trains pouring in from the east and north,every one loaded down with German first-line troops, field artillery,cavalry horses, aeroplane supplies, and all sorts of war toggery."
"Yes, but, Giraffe, I took notice that _you_ slept like a top through itall, just as if we were camping again in the Maine woods, or down inthat Louisiana swamp where we had such a roaring good time."
The boy who answered to the peculiar nick-name of "Giraffe" laughed whenthe stout, auburn-haired member of the trio, known as Bumpus Hawtree,made this assertion.
"Oh! I've got it down to a fine point, Bumpus," he remarked with a touchof boyish pride in his voice; "I've found out how to make mind win overmatter. When I lay me down to sleep I just tell myself to forget alltroubles; and after counting a hundred sheep jumping over a fence I losemyself the finest way you ever saw. Try it yourself, Bumpus, and see howit works."
"As a rule I don't have any trouble getting my forty winks, and you knowthat, Giraffe," the fat boy continued, sadly; "but just now I'm terriblyworried about my mother back there in Antwerp. Whatever would she do ifthis war does break out, so helpless to get away by herself, because ofthat paralysis she's trying to have cured by a specialist?"
"We've given you our promise, Bumpus," said the one called Thad, "thatwe'd stick by you through thick and thin, and do everything in our powerto get to Antwerp. So cherk up and try to feel that it's all going tocome out right in the end."
"Thad, a scout never had a better chum than you've always been to me,"Bumpus acknowledged, with a trace of tears in his eyes, as he laid hishand on the other's khaki sleeve; "and I'm going to do my level best tosee the silver lining of the cloud. But it's tough being hemmed in by awhole army like we are, and given to understand that it's impossible toenter Belgium again until the skies clear."
These three boys who wore the well-known uniform of scouts were seatedin a boat that had apparently been used as a means for descending thehistoric Rhine.
Thad Brewster was the leader of the patrol to which the others belonged.It was known as the Silver Fox, and formed a part of Cranford Troop. Hehad worked his way up until his field of experience was so broad that itentitled him to take the place of the regular scout master of the troopwhen the latter could not accompany the boys on their outings.
Giraffe was really known to his teachers in school as Conrad Stedman.His ancestors had come from this same Rhine country long ago, and as theboy had made a specialty of German in school he was able to jabberfairly well during their trip down the beautiful river. Giraffe came byhis nick-name honestly. He had been given an abnormally long neck by abountiful Nature, and on occasion it seemed as if the boy could evenstretch this out to an astonishing extent, just as the giraffe does. Henever complained because every one of his mates called him by such aname, for if it hadn't been that he must surely have been dubbed"Rubber-neck," which would have been infinitely worse.
Bumpus Hawtree also had another more dignified name, that of CorneliusJasper, but it was utterly unknown among his comrades. Whether on thebaseball field, in camp, on the trail, in a boat, or any other placewhere boys might gather it was always plain Bumpus. No one knew exactlywhy that peculiar name had been given to the fat boy, except that beingclumsy he was always stumbling into trouble, and given to bumpingagainst his chums.
These boys, with some others connected with the Cranford Troop ofscouts, had seen considerable in the way of adventure since the firstday they organized their Silver Fox Patrol. Wonderful opportunities hadcome to them whereby they were allowed to visit the Blue Ridge countrydown in North Carolina; go to the Maine woods on an outing; cross thecontinent to the great Rockies and enjoy a hunt for big game in thewilderness; and even take a trip down into the Sunny South, where amidstthe swamps of Louisiana they had encountered numerous remarkableadventures.
No matter what difficulties beset them, Thad Brewster and his chums hadalways met emergencies as became true-hearted scouts, and as a rulemanaged to emerge from the encounter in triumph. Earlier in the samesummer that we see them so far away from their home town of Cranfordthey had been concerned in a wonderful hunt for a valuable missing paperthat took them along the banks of the Susquehanna River, and broughtthem in contact with a number of thrilling happenings, all of which havebeen fully described in the volume preceding this.
Bumpus Hawtree's father was the president of the bank, and known to be awealthy man. The boy's mother had suffered from a paralytic stroke, andurged to go abroad to be treated by an eminent specialist, this trip hadsuddenly been thrust upon the chums.
Circumstances having arisen whereby Mr. Hawtree could not leave hisbusiness,
he had entrusted the care of the invalid to Bumpus, and evenagreed to stand for half of the expense of having his three comradesaccompany him.
Thad and Allan Hollister had long hoped to some day take a boat tripdown the Rhine, and when they learned that Bumpus was going this feverhad attacked them more furiously than ever. Then came Giraffe with thesuggestion that he join with them, making a party of four.
It proved to be an irresistible temptation. If Mrs. Hawtree had toremain for a month or so at the sanitarium of the specialist in Antwerpwhat was to hinder the four chums from carrying out their cherishedscheme?
At that time there seemed to be no cloud on the sky of Europeanpolitics. Servia had indeed put a match under the magazine when somescoundrel assassinated the heir to the Austrian throne, and the DualMonarchy was demanding redress; but nearly every one supposed it wouldend in Servia backing completely down, and doing whatever her bigneighbor insisted upon.
So the trip had been made, the invalid left comfortably in the Belgiancity on the Scheldt, after which the quartette of wide-awake Americanboys hurried across to the German city of Mainz, where they managed tohire a boat that would answer their purposes.
This was fixed up the best way possible for cruising, and they had takentheir own good time drifting down the beautiful Rhine. At night whenaway from any city or town the boys would proceed to camp just as thoughthey were over in America, and navigating the waters of the Mississippior the Susquehanna.
It would perhaps take a book to tell of the many interesting things theysaw and experienced while on this voyage along the German waterway. Thetask would be a most pleasant one, too; but there are too many morestirring scenes lying ahead of Thad and his friends and awaiting ourimmediate attention to linger here.
Bumpus had been greatly worried of late. The reports had grown more andmore serious the nearer they approached Cologne, and evidencesmultiplied that went to tell them the great German nation was taking nochances of a sudden invasion from the French border.
They had seen trainloads of soldiers all sweeping toward the west andsouth. Heavy traction engines had been noticed moving slowly alongcountry roads, and drawing enormous guns behind them. Thousands of motortrucks, each also loaded to the limit with men in helmets, had been seenscurrying along.
All these things pointed to a growing fear that some terrible calamitywas impending over poor Europe, so that possibly the long talked ofWorld's War might be nearer than most people across the Atlantic dreamedof.
To comfort Bumpus, Thad had solemnly promised him that no matter whathappened they would do everything in their power to forge ahead andreach Antwerp. When he made that brotherly promise Thad could not haveforeseen one-tenth of the tremendous difficulties that would have to besurmounted before it could ever be carried into execution; but once itwas given he had such a tenacious will that the leader of the Silver FoxPatrol was bound to try and keep his word.
Their other comrade, Allan Hollister, had gone into the city for anymail that might be awaiting their arrival at Cologne. Sitting there withthe magnificent twin spires of the famous cathedral in plain sight, theothers were impatiently awaiting his return.
It may have been ten minutes after the little talk occurred with whichthis chapter opens that a boy was discovered hurrying toward the boat.From the fact of his wearing a khaki suit like the ones Thad and hisother two chums sported, it could be set down for granted that this mustbe Allan Hollister.
As he drew nearer, all of them could see that his face was grave. Thisgave Bumpus a new pang, for he feared he would never be able to make thejourney across Belgium, and join his invalid mother, who would bewaiting for him in Antwerp.
Allan silently handed each of them some mail, but after a glance at hisThad voiced the feelings of his other two allies when he said:
"You're bringing us bad news, Allan; it's written on your face, andthere's no use keeping it back any longer. What's happened?"
Allan was the second in control of the patrol, a good woodsman, and astout-hearted scout. He braced himself with an effort, and after drawinga big breath went on to tell them the thrilling news he had heard whengetting the mail.
"The war is on--German armies have crossed the frontier intoBelgium--King Albert has refused to let them pass through his country,and there is a terrible battle being fought at Liege, with thousands ofmen killed and wounded on both sides. The whole of Germany and Austriahave flamed up, and it's going to be a fight to the death with thebiggest nations of Europe on the battle line!"