CHAPTER IX WITH THE FRENCH AT THE FRONT
“It’s all over but the shouting, fellows!” cried Giraffe, holding theboat steady in the current by means of his push-pole, while with hiscompanions he watched to see what was transpiring over on the furthershore.
The shells from the French battery continued to burst amidst the rapidlyscattering Uhlans, showing the wonderful accuracy of the gunners’ aim.Knowing that it would be simple madness to attempt a further advance inthe face of such a raking fire, the Germans had done the only possiblething under the circumstances. This was to scatter like a flock of sheepinto the midst of which a wolf has suddenly leaped.
The four scouts no longer found any reason to fear those riders; infact, the shoe was on the other foot now, and the Uhlans were fleeingfrom the peril that lay in French shells.
Giraffe clapped his hands excitedly and indulged in some of hischaracteristic sayings as he applauded the fine work of their friends aquarter of a mile away, it might be.
“Oh! look!” cried Bumpus, “there’s some one swimming across the riverbelow us!”
“It’s our friend, the driver of the caisson!” snapped Giraffeimmediately. “Glad he escaped being hit with any of his own shells whenhe let her go bang. Say, this is something like it now. It makes a heapof difference whose ox is gored, they tell us. And mebbe those Uhlanlancers don’t feel so stuck up, with all that chasing across fields toget away from the shells. Oh! did you see that one burst right alongsidea rider—and he’s down, sure he is!”
“Isn’t it frightful, though?” exclaimed Bumpus, whose face had as usuallost all its customary color.
“Let’s get ashore,” suggested Thad, for there might always be a chancethat one of the fugitive riders would appear on the bank, determined toget even with the boys in the boat, under the impression that they hadserved as stalking horses to lure himself and his mates into a trap.
Giraffe started to make use of his pole again, and as Thad alsomanipulated the oar they quickly made land. Allan was the first to jumpashore. He immediately began to draw the bow of the flat-bottom boat upon the little shelving beach they fortunately found waiting for them.Then the others tumbled out, Bumpus and his bag being the last todebark.
About this time the firing ceased as abruptly as it had commenced.Evidently the one in charge of the field battery considered that it wasuseless to expend any more valuable ammunition on such a scattereddetachment on the enemy, especially since the demoralized remnant of thelarge Uhlan force was fleeing madly and no longer to be feared.
The driver of the destroyed caisson had by this time managed to crawlout of the water. He shook himself much after the manner of a big dogafter a swim, and then came toward the boys, who happened to be near theroad leading away from the former bridge.
They met him in a spirit of genuine boyish enthusiasm, each fellowinsisting on shaking hands with the Frenchman, which act caused him tosmile with pleasure. Then the little party started along the road,hoping to come in contact with the battery before fresh orders caused itto change positions again.
In this they were successful, and before long they found themselvessurrounded by men in the French blue, who acted in a most friendlyfashion. The one in command exchanged a few sentences with the driver.Thad, listening, had reason to believe that he was commending thediscretion of the man in destroying his charge rather than take chancesof having it fall into the hands of the enemy.
Then came their turn. In a few short sentences Thad managed to explainwho they were and how they happened to be there. It was fortunate thatthe French captain of the guns could speak English.
“We would be under great obligations to you, M’sieu the Captain, if wewere allowed to ride on one of the caissons further, in case you may begoing on,” Thad wound up with.
He must have made a very pronounced impression on the soldier, for itwas really an unusual request, and one that under normal conditionscould not very well be granted. But after a brief period ofconsideration the officer nodded his head in the affirmative, much tothe secret delight of Bumpus in particular.
“We are about to start for a new position,” was what the captain said,briefly; “and no doubt room may be found for you on a couple of thecaissons. You must be good friends to France to be made a target forUhlan guns. Yes, after all, it is but a little thing, and no harm cancome of it. So find your seats, young Messieurs, for we are offimmediately.”
The gunners and the drivers of ammunition carts were eager toaccommodate. Somehow it seemed as though they looked on Thad and histhree chums as allies. Possibly this came of their having shared dangersof the driver who blew up his store of ammunition lest it fall into thehands of the invading foe.
Thad and Bumpus were given seats on one caisson while the other boysfound room on a second. The driver who had no longer a charge alsosecured a lift, for it turned out there was another seat vacant on agun; and the fact that one of the other men had a bloody bandage wrappedaround his left arm told the story of the shrapnel that had burstoverhead.
So they were soon on the road, the horses again galloping under theincentive of both voices and lashes. Thad took note of the fact thattheir progress was in a southerly direction. From this he knew that bydegrees the battery would manage to swing around until it reached alocation much nearer the spot where that furious boom of great guns toldof a battle in progress.
The boys all knew that they were yielding to the great temptation thathad waylaid them. By rights they should be heading directly for Parisinstead of allowing themselves to be tempted to follow along the courseof the French army. Bumpus, if given the opportunity, might have takenthat course, but it was a case of three against one, and he had nochoice in the matter but to keep right along with the balance of thecompany.
In fact, to tell the truth, much as Thad and Allan and Giraffe wouldlike to please such a beloved chum as Bumpus, they just could not resistthe yearning to try and see more of the tremendous historical eventsthat were transpiring on those battlefields of France, so near thecapital that the boom of the big guns might almost be faintly heardthere, if the wind proved favorable.
Discretion was thrown to the winds. Such a grand chance to witness themaking of history came but once in a life-time, and they would be sillyto deliberately cast it aside when it was offered to them for thetaking.
All they had to do was to sit there and allow themselves to be carriedalong to the new location of the fast-moving field battery, evidentlynow scheduled to take a more active part in the day’s engagement.
Thad knew that he was doing a very rash thing. His conscience alsoreproached him whenever he thought of poor Bumpus, for it was really apity that the stout chum, who did not have much stomach for fighting andexciting adventures, should be dragged into their midst. Thad tried tosalve his conscience by telling himself that they might run across achance whereby they could make themselves useful in some capacity,perhaps by assisting the ambulance corps connected with the Red Cross.Sooner or later he knew there would be many Americans enlisted in thishumane work, and it would at least give them a valid excuse for beingthere on the field of battle.
Now they came on other detachments of the French army, men working bigguns that seemed to fairly shatter the surrounding atmosphere each timethey were fired. The enormous missiles that they sent for a distance ofmiles must have torn terrible holes in whatever they struck.
The enemy could not be seen at all, which the boys considered mostremarkable. But Thad knew how the commanders made use of artificial eyesin the shape of powerful field-glasses; and besides, there were severalaeroplanes darting back and forth above in the blue heavens, theoperators of which doubtless continued to send valuable information downby means of a prearranged system of signals.
Still they kept moving on along the encircling road. Evidently they hadnot yet come to their appointed station, where an attack was expected,and scores of field guns would be needed to mow down the grayish-greenclad
lines of the Germans before they came within reach of therapid-fire pieces.
All the time the boys noticed that they were passing through heavymasses of troops eager for action. Temporary trenches had been thrownup, a mere shadow of an excuse when compared with the wonderful concretecreations that later on became such a part of warfare along the Aisne.Behind these ridges of earth the soldiers in blue lay, watching andwaiting for the coming of their enemies, and ready to do their duty withgun and bayonet after the customary gallant French style.
Many curious glances were cast in the direction of the four boys inkhaki who sat with the drivers of the caissons. Perhaps they were takenfor English lads, as had happened more than once before, and in somefashion connected with the new alliance that was being formed betweenFrance and her neighbor across the Channel.
Then the battery came to a pause. Thad guessed what it meant, so that hehardly had need to discover the captain making motions to him. They mustjump down now and take care of themselves.
According, Thad left his seat, in which action he was speedily followedby the other three boys. Bumpus even grinned a little, as thoughpleased. It had been a regular nightmare for a time for the fat boy,clinging desperately to some frail support alongside, as the ammunitionwagon bowled recklessly along the rutty road, and jolting the breathfrom his body with fits and starts.
So they saw their good friends leave them, still heading for theirappointed position in the long line that waited for the coming of thegray hosts of the Kaiser. The boys discovered the driver waving his handback to them, and as one they sent an answering signal. They never seteyes on him, or any of his comrades again; and if they actually survivedthe horrors of the amazing Battle of the Marne the fact remained amystery to Thad and his comrades. Still, in times to come, they wouldoften delight to recall their adventure of the road and the river, andwonder what became of the French caisson driver who blew up hisammunition wagon rather than yield his charge to the foe.
What they should do now was a question. No doubt their presence on thefiring line would not long be tolerated. Thad expected some officer tocome along at almost any minute and demand to know who they were and bywhat right they were at the front, when all boys of their age should befar in the rear. He was also prepared to do anything that militaryauthority might decree, though cherishing a vague hope that by somemeans they might be able to secure glimpses of the battle destined todecide the fate of Paris.
Men were around them chattering in French and looking curiously at thecluster of lads in khaki. Had it been a German camp they would verylikely have been under a volley of gruff questions as to the reason oftheir presence; but the French are by nature exceedingly polite, and sofar no one had ventured to question their right to be there.
All about them could be heard the thunderous discharge of the big gunsthat were shelling depots of the enemy and trying to delay theinevitable advance of the German army corps threatening the capital fromthe northwest. The air at all times throbbed with these mighty shocks.Shells, too, from enemy guns could be heard exploding here and there,showing that it was a game of “give and take” on both sides.
About this time Thad noticed that they were beginning to be the centreof a considerable crowd. Men passing by stopped to observe the four ladsand comment in their voluble way. Still, there were no unfriendlyglances cast upon them, which was one comfort. In good time, no doubt,an officer would bustle up and proceed to ply them with questions. Thadhoped he could satisfy the demands that would be made upon them. Bumpus,on his part, was secretly wishing that the French commander might be sotaken with their looks that he would be pleased to invite them to joinhim in a jolly little dinner shortly, for Bumpus had lately become awareof the fact that he was decidedly hungry.
“Here he comes now, Thad,” remarked Giraffe, noticing a sudden movementfurther along, where the soldiers hastened to fall back and make way fora number of advancing men in uniform.
Yes, Thad could himself see that one of these bore the insignia of rankthat stamped him at least a colonel. He had made up his mind just whatto say in order not to bore the officer, and at the same time create afavorable impression on his mind.
Another look caused Thad to begin to feel some uneasiness. He fanciedthat the old officer with the white imperial, who had such a decidedlymilitary air about him, also looked very severe. And that other party athis side, who was doing considerable talking it seemed, why did he takeit upon himself to point his finger toward the four boys in thataggressive manner?
Straight up to where the scouts stood came the little party. Thad raisedhis hand in respectful salute, in which act he was copied by his mates.To the astonishment of them all, at a word of command from the officer,two soldiers stepped forward and laid rough hands on poor, astoundedGiraffe, who stood there with his mouth open, simply staring at thestern colonel.
Thad, listening, heard a word that gave him a nasty shock. It was spokenby the man in the company of the officer, and had been hissed with muchvehemence.
“Spy!”