CHAPTER XVIII
THE SMASHING OF THE PONTOON BRIDGE
"It must be a bridge they're building," said Josh presently, "becausejust then I saw a light move along, as if held by some one who wasrunning."
Sounds began to reach them at the same time, which were very significant.On the whole Jack realized that there could no longer be the slightestdoubt about the fact that the Austrians were pushing out a pontoon bridgewith all the haste they could throw into the undertaking.
Already they seemed to be much more than half-way across the river,having, no doubt, selected a place where it was not unusually wide. Andwhat were the Serbs doing all this while? Had they been caught napping,so that when the dawn broke the enemy would have secured a firm footingon the southern bank of the disputed river and could move the balance ofhis forces across at his leisure?
It looked that way, though Jack doubted it very much. From what he hadread and heard of the people of the smaller kingdom he believed theywere too smart not to see through the device of the enemy. He ratherfancied they were in force somewhere in the darkness shrouding thesouthern bank, and that just when the Austrians were congratulatingthemselves on having met with splendid success something was scheduledto happen calculated to give the invaders a surprise.
Jack realized that it was folly for them to continue down the river. Ifthe pontoon bridge had already reached a point three-quarters of the wayacross, the workers on it would quickly discover the oncoming motorboat.Indeed, the chances were the craft must bump up against one of thepontoons and could get no further.
This would be bad enough, but Jack fancied there was something ten timesmore dreadful awaiting them if they reached the swaying structure.Should the waiting Serbs conclude the time had come to put an end tothis bridge building, a hurricane of shot and shell would be hurledacross the scanty water separating them from the shore, and few therewould be who could escape the rain of missiles.
That was no place for neutrals, Jack decided. The only thing thatremained for them to do was to make speedily for the shore. Toaccomplish this desired end it would be necessary for them to start upthe engine at once, though Jack meant to keep the muffler in place andcut out all the noise he could, not wishing to draw attention to thatquarter.
That was where the benefit of preparedness came in handy. It took himbut three seconds to accomplish what he wanted to do. Following thecranking there came a series of explosions that were not very loud, andimmediately the boat started off at a lively clip.
Every one waited with more or less nervousness to see if anythinghappened, but not a shot was fired. Those at work on the swinging bridgewere in too feverish a condition of making haste to bother about a fewspluttering sounds like that; while the concealed Serbs, if there werereally any such near by, did not want to disclose the fact of theirpresence in the vicinity by doing anything prematurely.
Jack immediately swung the boat around and headed up-stream again. Hefancied they were a little too close to the pontoon bridge-builders forsafety if anything did happen, as he fully expected would be the case.
When he had gone a short distance he headed for the southern shore,meaning to come to the land and stay there until something was decided,one way or the other.
"Slow up, Jack!" exclaimed Josh, who was shading his eyes with his hand,though more from habit than because he thought it aided him in seeing."We're close to the bank now."
Cutting off the power, Jack allowed the boat to glide forward. Georgehad taken up the push-pole, and with this he proceeded to help thingsalong. So they presently came into shallow water and ran aground closeto the shore, which stood out above them against the gray sky, therebeing something of a small bluff.
So far everything had worked well. Jack felt they had reason to be morethan satisfied with the progress made. Here they could remain in secretand await coming events. If the bridge were finished, and the Austrianscommenced passing over, the boys would have to make some new planslooking to the future. Everything depended on the next half hour.
The furious hammering up on the distant heights across the river stillcontinued, and Serbian guns answered every shot, so that it might notappear they were either lacking in ammunition or courage.
There was a stir in the middle of the boat. Jack could easily guess thatthe two passengers were aware of the fact that they could easily springover the side and find their feet pressing their native soil. Now wasthe time for them to go ashore. They could either flee to the interioror else risk everything in entering the capital after the bombardmenthad ceased once more, in search of the mother, who had been last heardfrom there.
The boy gripped each one of them by the hand. What he said they couldnot understand, though it was easy to guess the meaning of his warmwords of thanks. They had each one of them to kiss the little girl, forJosh boldly started it and no one wished to be left out.
After that the Serbian lad jumped over the side, standing in water up tohis ankles, and lifted his sister to dry ground. The four motorboatchums saw them no more, but they would always remember the incident withpleasure.
After the two had gone Jack breathed more easily. He felt that he couldface the future, no matter what it had in store for them, with a betterspirit, now that the pretty little girl had been removed from danger intheir company. Besides, it must always be a source of satisfaction tohimself and mates to remember that they had been enabled to prove ofmore or less assistance to those who were in deep trouble, with no wayout of the difficulty save by the help of the American lads.
"I wonder now if the Serbs are asleep at the switch while all this thingis going on below here?" George said, after a little more time hadpassed, and they could hear the working human beavers on the pontoonbridge more plainly than ever.
"Don't you believe it," Josh told him. "Look up and see what a splendidambush this little bluff would make. Well, take my word for it, downbelow there Serbs are crouching in bunches, waiting with their machineguns until just when it seems the bridge is going to be joined with theshore. Then you'll hear something drop!"
"My stars!" muttered Buster, "I wouldn't want to be one of those poorfellows at work with those pontoons, not for all the gold in KingSolomon's mine I wouldn't. They won't have a ghost of a show, I'mafraid."
"But we're far enough away from the place not to be in danger--how aboutthat, Jack?" George went on to say in a cautious tone.
"Only a random shot could come this way, if the Austrians on the othershore start things going. I don't believe they will, because they'll beafraid of hitting their own men."
"This is exciting, all right," ventured Josh.
"Well, better all keep still again," Jack remarked; "we might attractsome attention, you know, and that's the last thing we want to do rightnow. If the bridge is destroyed we can wait a while until things cooloff, and then try our luck again, dropping down with the current."
They kept as well behind the side of the boat as possible, acting onJack's advice, though the thin shell could hardly serve as a means ofprotection in case a projectile of any sort came that way.
Once more the minutes dragged fearfully, though their suspense washardly of the same personal nature as before. It seemed to Buster thatthere was a mine to be exploded out there on the river, and that thosesoldiers who were working feverishly to complete the bridge must bedirectly over it. Any second now they might expect to hear a dreadfulcrash, and catch the shouts of those who were in range of the firing, aswell as the rending of the boats under the rain of missiles.
Nearer still the Austrian bridge builders were coming. They had beenwell trained in their business, those army engineers, and workedmethodically, even while laboring under a tremendous strain both of bodyand mind.
Jack, chancing to come in contact with Buster, found the other shiveringas if he had the ague. He knew that it was due to agitation consequentupon excitement. Doubtless the beads of perspiration were rolling downBuster's cheeks at the same time, even though the night air was ratherchilly now in
stead of being warm.
Jack was glad he had been wise enough to come back up the river somelittle distance before reaching land. If the Austrian batteries turnedsome of their guns on that shore later, the boys would stand less chanceof being hit when the mighty shells exploded along the bluff.
"Oh! I wish it was all over with!" groaned Josh, upon whom the dreadfulsuspense was telling terribly.
Hardly had he said this than the very atmosphere about them seemed to berent with a tremendous explosion. A gun had been fired not far away, forthe fire blazed forth from the little bluff almost over their heads.There was heard a dreadful rending of planks and boats, accompanied byshouts and shrieks.
This was the opening gun.
Almost immediately there leaped from the shore below the boys whatlooked like a long zigzag line of fire. Accompanying it came thediscordant grinding of numerous machine guns, sending a constant streamof missiles out there upon the swaying pontoon bridge.
The darkness was for the time being dispelled, and the boys saw withstaring eyes such a vivid picture as comes seldom in the lives of anyone not a soldier. It fascinated even while appalling them by itshorrible reality.
The constant flashing of the rapid-fire guns dazzled their eyes, but atthe same time they could see the strange low bridge built upon thealigned pontoons. It had been hastily but fairly well constructed,considering that the workmen had to handle their tools in almost utterdarkness. Instinct and long practice had to take the place of eyesight.
They were swarming like bees all over the structure even then, somecarrying planks and others hurrying back for new burdens. Just on thedown-river side the boys could catch glimpses of many who seemed to bepushing other pontoons out, by holding on to the part of the bridgealready finished. These they expected to use in filling the remaininggap between the present terminus of the bridge and the intendedanchorage on the bank.
Alas! they were never given the opportunity to carry out their well-laidplans. That hurricane of lead and iron was sweeping everything beforeit. Men were going down by dozens; some plunged from the bridge into theriver, seeking to take the chances of being drowned to the certainty ofdeath in that hailstorm of deadly messengers.
Every conceivable manner of outcry could be heard. Men shrieked, andshouted, and probably swore in their own language. They were sprawledout all over the shuddering bridge, some crawling, others perfectlystill. It seemed to be a regular shambles the wide-awake Serbs had madeof that promising pontoon bridge. Instead of being "asleep at theswitch," as one of the boys had hinted, it seemed that they had set asly trap, and simply bided their time, waiting until the enemy hadalmost completed his work before setting out to demolish it.
Again the boys heard that larger gun somewhere close by give tongue. Asthey continued to stare as though spellbound they saw that this time thegunner had planned to smash the bridge half-way across. True had beenhis aim, for the missile cut a passage completely through the pontoons,leaving a gap some four feet or more wide there.
Josh gave vent to a cry; he could no longer suppress the emotion thatseemed to be overpowering him. Unless he did something, or saidsomething, he would begin to believe it must all be a horriblenightmare.
"Look, oh! look!" was what he exclaimed shrilly, forgetting all need ofcaution, for the guns were still grinding forth with that weird strainthat, once heard, could never be forgotten; "they've smashed the bridgeover there with that shell! This half of it is beginning to break up andfloat away with the current. It's all going to pieces, I tell you!"
They could see that Josh had not overestimated the terrible damage thathad been wrought by that cleverly aimed shell. Deprived of its supports,the near end of the line of pontoons had already yielded to the drag ofthe current and was beginning to pass down-stream. As it went it alsocommenced to break into smaller sections. Here a boat sank, having beenpierced by some of the numerous bits of flying metal. Again others brokeaway and floated off by themselves, often with dead or living freight.
The whole surface of the water seemed to be dotted with innumerablefragments of what only three minutes before had been a splendid specimenof engineering skill. The Serbs had waited until just the right time tostrike their blow. They had made it felt, too, for the Austrian lossesmust have been terribly severe. More than that even, the injury to the_morale_ of the dual kingdom's troops must have counted for a whole lot,while renewed confidence would be the portion of the defenders of thesouthern bank.
It was almost like a strange dream to some of the boys. Buster, who hadgazed at the wonderful spectacle with distended eyes, might have beennoticed to pinch himself violently on the leg, as though hardly able tobelieve that he was really awake and looking at such a picture of war'shorrors.
The firing had mostly stopped by now, only that big gun sent anothershell over, and succeeded in cutting another third of the pontoonsloose, to be carried down-stream in a state approaching chaos.
Once again did darkness fall like a merciful curtain upon the scene. Theboys were glad to have its horrors shut out from their sight. Never solong as they lived would they be likely to forget that smashing of thepontoon bridge.