CHAPTER XVI. THE GERMAN RAIDERS.
The moon was well up in the heavens and this made it almost as light asday out there in the open. Both the scouts could see that scores andscores of men mounted on fine horses had halted for a breathing spell.Down by the pump as many horses as could gather around were drinkingtheir fill at the very trough where only a few hours before the animalsdrawing the guns of the Belgians had stood, according to what Giraffehad told them.
Crouching there in the window the boys stared and listened and took itall in. It happened that the moon was on the other side of the inn sothat the wall here was well in shadow. This prevented Thad and Allanfrom being noticed, and they had the good sense to remain perfectlystill so as not to attract undue attention.
There could be no telling what these hard-riding Uhlans might do.Doubtless nine-tenths of all the terrible stories told about their cruelwork could be set down as pure fiction; but even then some among themmight be reckless enough to fire a shot at a shrinking figure, half seenin a window, under the impression that it might turn out to be a"sniper" getting ready to shoot into their ranks.
The landlord had come out, and was now talking with one of those whoseemed to be in charge of the band. None of the boys had known up tothis time he could speak German; and Giraffe in particular would besurprised to know it, for had he only been aware of the fact on hisprevious visit it would have saved him much time and effort.
When Thad remembered about the Belgian battery having been on theidentical spot such a short time before he was strongly impressed withthe strange vicissitudes and contrasts of war. And had that same batterybut lingered in hiding it would have been in a position to strike a blowat the invaders not often encountered.
Remembering that they had companions in the other room Thad started tocreep through the connecting door, with the intention of waking them.Then they too could afterwards boast of having looked upon a band ofthose dashing hard riders known as Uhlans, and who with the RussianCossacks have had the reputation of being the most terrible fighters ofall Europe.
He had his trouble for his pains, for he found the bed in the other roomempty, with Giraffe and Bumpus over at the window watching all that wasgoing on below.
"Keep quiet, and don't draw any attention if you can help it," Thadwhispered to the others as he reached the spot where they crouched.
"Some of the officers are coming inside," said Giraffe; "I reckonthey've ordered the landlord to fetch up his best wines. It would bejust like them to make him clean up his wine cellar for the benefit ofthe troop. And just our luck not to have paid our bill yet; for he'sbound to make good his losses on his guests."
"Oh! let us hope they won't think to set fire to the inn, because hisstock of drinks gives out," whimpered Bumpus, doubtless alreadypicturing in his mind what sort of work he could make of climbing out ofthe window and down the water pipe, in case such a dreadful catastrophedid come about.
"Here, you're shivering at the window, fellows," whispered Thad; "andI'd advise you to go and get a blanket over your shoulders, if you wantto stay and see all that happens."
"You don't think they'll burn the house, do you, Thad?" asked Bumpus; "Iwant to know, because it'd take me some little time making a rope ladderout of the sheets. That's the best way to get down from here, becauseit'd be too big a drop for a fellow like me."
"Oh! don't worry about that," Giraffe told him; "there won't be anyburning done. You stand more chance of freezing to death right now; soget that blanket, Bumpus. Hold on, stay where you are, and I'll fetchone for you; it isn't safe to have you moving around so much."
Thad soon went back to his own room and provided himself with the bedcovers which he divided with Allan. There was really nothing new toreport. More men and horses kept pushing up to the pump and the watertrough. The handle of the former kept up a continual groaning as strongarms worked it constantly, to keep the trough from running dry.
"Here the officers come out again," remarked Allan; "they've had theirwine, and mean to let the landlord off easy this time. Perhaps they'rein too big a hurry to stay long in one place. That was the call to mountwe just heard. And, Thad, this is about as thrilling a scene as we'veever looked at."
"Yes," added the other, "and inside of a week half of those finestrapping big fellows may be dead, for all we know. They take theirlives in their hands when they go galloping across an enemy's countrythis way. Any hour they are likely to find themselves in a trap, withdeadly rapid-fire guns pouring a hail of bullets into the troop, cuttingdown horses and men. It's terrible just to think of it."
They saw the Uhlans begin to gallop away, with a sense of great relief.The little pennons at the ends of their long lances fluttered in thenight air. Seen in the mellow moonlight it was an inspiring picture thatmade the hearts of the onlookers beat faster than usual.
"I don't like that, though," Thad was muttering as he watched, with thelast of the troop leaving the watering trough.
"What is it, Thad," demanded Allan, who had just barely caught the lowwords.
"Don't you see which way they're going?" asked the patrol leader.
"Why, they seem to have come into town from the left-hand road, and areleaving by the one that runs toward the southwest," replied Allan.
"Well, that's our course to-morrow, you know," Thad continued, with ameaning in his voice that could not well be mistaken.
Allan gave a low whistle.
"I see now what you mean, Thad," he remarked. "It begins to look as ifthat Belgian gunner Giraffe talked with knew what he was saying when hesaid we didn't have more than one chance in ten to slip through. Ifthere are many more detachments of Uhlans like this floating around, soas to fairly cover the country, we'll be hauled up as sure as anything,and chased back."
"Yes, because they'd be afraid we might carry important news to theenemy, and set the Belgians on their trail," Thad went on to say.
They had no further reason for staying up in the chilly night air, witha comfortable bed so close at hand, and a few minutes later the twochums were tucked under the covers once more.
"You don't think they bothered our car, do you, Thad?" asked Allan, ashe prepared to coax further sleep to visit his eyes.
"I hope not," he was told. "I did see several of the men go into theshed and move around the stables, but they must have been looking forsound horses, and not broken-down wrecks of cars. As they didn't carryoff any horses that I could see I reckon all the good ones have alreadybeen taken for the Belgian cavalry and field batteries."
When eventually morning came it found all the scouts up bright andearly. Even Bumpus astonished his mates by showing no desire to remainin bed after being aroused.
"Course we're going on, boys," he decided, as they were dressing; "justbecause there's a bunch of German rough-riders cruising around theseparts isn't enough to make us back down and show the white feather, Ihope."
They all assured him that so far no one thought of doing such a thing,which information doubtless gave Bumpus more or less satisfaction.
"I wouldn't like to promise that we'll be able to break through, though,Bumpus," Thad warned him. "It's all going to depend on how the Germanshave scattered over the country down in that direction. If we have a lotof luck we'll escape them; but don't forget that we've still anotherscheme up our sleeve in case this one fails."
This fleeting visit by a troop of the enemy had aroused the Belgianvillage as nothing that had ever before occurred could have done. Thewomen were out gossiping over the low fences, or else gabbling in groupsin front of the houses. Boys, old men, and those who from some physicaldefect were debarred from participating in the active service of thearmy could be seen talking in knots.
Although as yet they had not heard the crash of gun, and seen menfalling in scores before the modern rapid-fire guns, or those usingshrapnel, it was getting pretty close to the border line with them. Tohave two rival forces visit the quaint and peaceful place only a few
hours apart brought the war home to those who dwelt in the littleBelgian town.
Giraffe had been greatly impressed. He was by nature a pugnacious sortof a boy, and it had always been a hard thing for him to subdue hispassion when he first subscribed to the twelve cardinal rules thatgovern the life of a scout. Now and then that old spirit would persistin cropping out again, in defiance to the law of the scouts.
"Tell you what," he was saying this morning, when, after eatingbreakfast at the inn, the boys started out in a bunch with an emptyfive-gallon can, determined to pick up enough petrol in small lots toserve to carry them over a good many miles of Belgian territory; "tellyou what, fellows, I'll be pretty much disappointed and broken-heartedif after being so near the firing line I don't get a chance to glimpsejust one solitary battle between these Belgians end the Germans. SomehowI've got a hunch that King Albert and his boys can put up a good articleof scrap; and from what we've heard they're giving the Kaiser thesurprise of his life over at Liege right now."
Thad told him he was foolish to wish that, because a battle was aterrible thing, and apt to give him a fit of the horrors every time heremembered what he saw.
"General Sherman knew what war was when he called it a pretty hardname," the scout master continued, "and it's silly for a boy to want tosee men shot down as if they were ripe grain. A scout should know betterthan that, Giraffe, you want to remember."
Giraffe did not make any reply, but from his manner it was plain to beseen that he was far from being convinced by Thad's logic. What was bredin the bone it was very hard to beat out of the flesh; and in other daysGiraffe had even owned a game rooster which he had proudly boasted couldwhip any barnyard fowl in and around Cranford.
They first got a few hints from the landlord, and then started out totry and get enough petrol to give them a fair start. Sometimes they metwith luck, and then again their mission proved just as fruitless as hadGiraffe's on the preceding evening when on the way to this same town.
Still, when half an hour passed and they had managed to buy four gallonsthey considered that they were doing very well indeed.
"If we can double that in the same length of time we'll considerourselves pretty lucky," said Thad; "but no matter how we come out we'regoing to start about that time. Every chance we get on the road we canstop and hold up the little sign our friend the landlord has made forus, and which reads: 'We want to buy a gallon or more of petrol, andwill pay twice the regular price for it. We are American Boy Scoutstrying to reach Antwerp. Help us out.'"
They took turns in carrying the can which was by this time beginning tofeel rather weighty. Even Bumpus insisted on taking his regular spell,for when they tried to spare him from doing his share of things healways grew indignant, and wanted to know why they tried to make him outto be a baby. Bumpus was getting to be exceedingly touchy on suchmatters, it seemed, for his pride received a severe jolt every time ithappened.
When the next half hour had expired and Thad told them they must go backto the inn so as to make a start they had close on seven gallons ofpetrol. Apparently the fluid famine had already started in that part oflittle Belgium, and it was certain to get worse continually as thebitter war went on.
The scouts quitted their refuge of the night, feeling that they hadpassed through another novel experience in watching the coming and goingof the raiding Uhlan troop.