CHAPTER VIII
SKY HIGH
Harry's feeling of emptiness simply meant that he was only now beginningto realise the difficulty of the task undertaken so lightheartedly byhimself and his friend. They had come only about a fourth of thedistance they expected to cover, and it was the easiest portion, forafter all there was much less chance of meeting enemies in the quietcommunication trenches than behind the lines, where movement wasunconstrained, and a German might lurk behind every tree.
They lay for a few minutes, peering into the darkness, listening,thinking out their course. Somewhere to the left they heard the rumbleof carts, the clatter of motor cars, the voices of men. Similar sounds,but fainter, came from the right. On either hand there was a road toavoid. No doubt there was a path running from the church to one orother of these roads. Their best plan seemed to be to creep along bythe churchyard wall and strike across the fields, taking what cover thehedges, ditches, and isolated trees afforded. There was no definiteclue to their direction. The gun they had come to seek had not yetbegun its nightly work.
Assuring themselves that there were no sounds in their immediateneighbourhood, they got up and stole towards the tree-lined wall of thechurchyard. The wall was broken in many places; trees had been splitand felled and tombstones shattered by gunfire. They moved verycautiously along the wall towards the open fields. Suddenly they bothhalted and crouched. High up in the ruined tower a light had flashed fora moment. From the same place came faint sounds which they soonrecognised as the murmur of voices. The light again shone forth, andagain disappeared. It came and went at intervals, now long, now short,and in a few minutes they realised that the men in the tower weresignalling.
The light showed in the direction of the trenches. They had nevernoticed it in their night watches there; presumably the signallers wereat work for the first time, or perhaps the direct rays were masked, andthe light was visible only at a higher elevation. Beyond doubt thesignallers were Germans; no British soldiers, or natives in collusionwith them, would have chosen a spot within the German lines, and so nearthe trenches--a spot where the glow of the lamp could be so clearlydistinguished.
But it was puzzling. Why should the Germans signal towards their owntrenches? Was it possible that they were communicating with somebodybehind the British lines?
The two Englishmen crouched below the wall.
"Shall we take a look-in at the tower?" asked Harry in a whisper.
"It's not our present job," returned Kenneth. "We're out to find thegun. Perhaps afterwards--at any rate we'll report it. The men up therehave got a good view over the fields; we shall be lucky to get awaywithout being discovered."
Bent double, they hurried along the wall, and when it came to an end,crept on under cover of a hedge across a field. Descending into ashallow hollow, they sprang across a brook, and made for a small clumpof trees on rising ground in front of them. The ground was rough andstubbly; walking was difficult and fatiguing. They passed through theskirt of the wood, crossed more fields, taking to the ditches where theground rose, and quickening their pace through the depressions. Kennethfrequently consulted his compass and watch, the dials of which werefaintly luminous.
At length he announced that they must have come about three miles fromthe trenches.
"It's no good going farther at present," he said. "All we can do is towait until we hear the discharge of the gun, perhaps see its flash. Andit will be just our luck if they don't fire it to-night."
"How long shall we wait?"
"That's the problem! If we wait too long we shan't get back to-night,and that means hiding up all to-morrow. We can't possibly return indaylight. But it's no good talking. Let's make ourselves ascomfortable as we can in the shade of this hedge. And for goodness'sake don't let me fall asleep."
"Not much chance of that if you feel like me. I couldn't sleep a wink,though I'm tired enough."
They sat down, took some chocolate from their tins, and prepared fortheir vigil. All was silent around them. There were no longer soundsof traffic; the roads had apparently diverged. The whole countrysidelay peaceful under the silent stars.
Time went on. The air was cold. Now and then they got up and trampedto and fro to stir their chilled blood. Ten o'clock: eleven: no sound.Kenneth looked at his watch at ever shorter intervals. He was becomingrestless. Had they adventured on a vain quest? The moon crept abovethe horizon, dimly illuminating the landscape, showing here a darkrounded mass that must be a wooded hill, there the white walls of asolitary farmhouse.
"There's no getting back to-night," thought Kenneth, as the lightincreased.
It was just past midnight. They were sitting side by side, silent,disappointed, depressed.
"Hark!" said Harry suddenly.
There was a low continuous rumble in the distance. It grew louder.They rose to their feet, and looked across the fields eastward. Theground stretched away in undulations, alternate dark and light bands inthe moonshine. They could see nothing to explain the sound. It camefrom their right, increasing in volume as it approached, thendiminishing as it passed away to the left, finally ceasing.
"Sounded like a railway truck," said Harry.
"There's no line there," replied Kenneth. "The only line shown on themap is the one running through the village almost due east; it turns tothe north-east after cutting the German lines. It must be a good threeor four miles from here. That sound went right across our front, fromsouth to north, and couldn't have been more than half a mile away."
"Well, it's stopped now. We needn't bother about it. Quite certainlyit wasn't made by the guns, and that's the only riddle we're called onto solve. I'm fed up with this, Ken."
"So am I. The idea of a whole day here is sickening. Still, it can'tbe helped."
They sat down again, each thinking his own thoughts.
Suddenly there was a momentary flash, instantly followed by a terrificroar.
"The gun!" exclaimed Kenneth, springing up.
"And jolly close, too," said Harry, looking across the fields. "Whichside of us?"
"I don't know. We must wait for the next. This is getting exciting."
Within a minute or two they saw the flash again, lighting up the skybehind a low ridge on their left front. The noise of the dischargereverberated and died away.
"Come on!" whispered Kenneth.
They crept along the hedge in the direction of the ridge. A thirdreport rent the air; then, after a minute's silence, they were surprisedto hear a renewed rumbling, which passed across their front nearer thanthey had heard it before, and receded towards the south.
"'Pon my word, it seems to have some connection with the gun after all,"murmured Kenneth.
They went on, as fast as they could with caution. Crawling up theridge, they peered over. Nothing was to be seen in either direction.They crawled down the other slope, and came to what appeared to be asunken grass road. It was shadowed by the ridge. Looking to right andleft, and discovering nothing, they got up and began to walk across theroad. Suddenly Harry stumbled, and uttered a low exclamation.
"A whack on the toe," he murmured.
"By George!" whispered Kenneth behind him. He had stooped to look atthe obstruction.
Harry turned. The obstacle was a rail. There was no glint from it;apparently it was rusty. But it was sticky to the touch. Kenneth heldhis fingers to his nose. They smelt of tar.
Beside the rail there was a layer of loose grass, twigs, rubbish of allsorts, and beyond this, five feet away, a parallel rail.
"We have come on a single-track railway," said Kenneth. "It's notmarked on the map; must have been recently laid. Let us go on a little,and examine it."
In a few minutes their discovery was confirmed. The seeming grass roadwas a roughly laid track. But the rails had been painted over with tar,and the sleepers and permanent way were hidden under low heaps oflitter.
"They're
clever beasts," said Kenneth. "D'you see the trick? No airmanwould ever guess this to be a railway. The rails are quite dark."
"But what's it for?"
At this moment came the report of the gun, some distance to the south.
"That's what we are going to find out," said Kenneth.
They made their way stealthily along the track between the rails in thedirection of the sound. Presently, at a gentle curve, they came to awhite post with a small square platform in front of it, abutting on therailway. Wondering what it was for, they went on, and in a few momentsheard the rumble of an approaching train. They scrambled up the ridgeon their right, threw themselves flat on the ground and watched.
In a few minutes an engine and two trucks glided into view, makingextraordinarily little noise. They passed slowly below the watchers.There was no smoke from the engine; perhaps it was electric. The firsttruck carried a heavy gun; the other, containing men, was like anordinary railway wagon, but apparently better sprung, for it moved withonly the low rumble which the watchers had already heard. The effect ofthe train gliding past, dark, almost without sound, was mysteriouslystrange.
When the train had passed, they hastened after it, walking just belowthe crest of the ridge. They had scarcely started when they heard a lowscreeching of brakes. Stealing on a few steps, and peering over, theysaw that the train had stopped opposite the small platform. The men hadgot out of their truck, and were moving noiselessly but quickly aboutthe truck containing the gun. Orders were given in a low voice. Therewas a slight grating of machinery and creaking of timber. The recoilcradle of the gun, which still remained on the truck, was being placedon the platform; the gun itself was being loaded. Its muzzle pointedover the railway line towards the trenches.
Stuffing up their ears, Kenneth and Harry waited. The gun was fired.They heard the heavy projectile whizz over their heads. Three times thegun spoke; then it was swung round on the truck, and the train moved onto the north-east.
Dazed and deafened by the tremendous noise, the watchers followed italong the line. Here was a discovery indeed. It was no wonder that thegun had never been located. But what they had already learnt made themeager to learn more. Where was the gun kept when not in use? Where wasthe headquarters of the men? If they could find out this, they wouldhave information of real value to carry back with them.
They went cautiously along the line, on the look-out for sentries. Butthe line was not guarded. Its existence was probably known only to theGerman staff, and it was evidently used only for the gun train.
About half a mile beyond the platform, the train came to rest atanother. Again the gun was fired: then the train rumbled back. The twomen hid until it had passed, then continued along the line in theopposite direction. During its absence they would seize the opportunityto survey this part of the line.
Some ten minutes after the train had passed they caught sight of lowbuildings ahead on the east side of the track, and a dim light. In casethere might be Germans on the spot, they left the rails, walked across afield under cover of the hedge, and approached the buildings from theeast. These, they found, were three low wooden sheds, near the openingof a large quarry, which Kenneth remembered having seen marked on themap. The sheds were in ill repair: there were many chinks and gaps intheir boarded walls. Apparently the quarry and its appurtenances hadbeen for some time disused. The light which they had seen from therailway line proceeded from one of the sheds, from the interior of whichthey now heard guttural voices. Peeping through a chink in its wall,they saw four Germans smoking, drinking, and playing cards by the lightof oil lamps. There were narrow beds ranged along the opposite wall,some of which were occupied. Helmets and tunics hung from pegs. In onecorner rifles were piled. In another stood a cooking stove, its ironchimney passing out through the roof. It was evident that the shed wascontinuously occupied. At the end nearest the line the door was open,and a sentry paced to and fro.
While the Englishmen were taking stock of all this, they heard the droneof an aeroplane approaching. The four men at the table sprang up,turned down the lamps, seized their rifles and ran to the door. Kennethstole a few yards along the wall until he came within earshot of them.He was on the shaded side of the shed; there was nothing butmiscellaneous litter on the ground, so that it seemed unlikely that theGermans would come in this direction.
"Is it one of ours?" asked one of the men, as the drone grew louder.
"I can't see," replied another. "It sounds like an English machine."
"Well, they won't spot us. They haven't done it by daylight, so theywon't now."
"They're flying rather low. We could easily hit them."
"But that would be to give ourselves away. They have gone past. It'sall right."
The aeroplane disappeared. But the men had no sooner re-entered theshed than its drone was heard again. They hastened out.
"It's coming round in a circle," said a voice. "The cursed Englishmenseem suspicious."
"They're hunting for the gun, of course. But it has been quiet lately.The captain heard the sound in time. And there's nothing bright aboutthe gun. The English are dished."
"They're no good, the stupid English. They've no chance against Germanbrains."
The aeroplane finally vanished, and the men returned to their cards,turning up the lamps again. Some ten minutes later the report of thegun was heard. It was fired at intervals for an hour, at varyingdistances; then the low rumble of the train approached. The watchersheard the door of the second shed creak. In a few minutes the trainglided up, and entered the shed, into which, it being the middle one ofthe three, the Englishmen could not see from their present position.After a while the door was closed, and the gun crew joined theircomrades. They were not accompanied by their officer, who had no doubtgone to more select and comfortable quarters elsewhere. Afterexchanging a few words with the cardplayers, the newcomers threw offtheir clothes and got into bed.
"I should like to have a look into the other sheds," whispered Harry."But the moon lights up the other side; and the----"
"Don't talk here," said Kenneth. "Come round to the back."
Taking care not to displace loose stones, they crept along the wall andsome distance into the quarry.
"They can't hear us here," said Kenneth, still, however, speaking inwhispers. "I think we've found out enough. The place is marked on themap. Our gunners can shell it by map measurement."
"Yes, but let's have a look at the other sheds before we go. It won'tbe safe to go into the moonlight, perhaps; but couldn't we take a peepfrom the rear?"
"The sheds are built right against the quarry wall. But we'll go andsee."
They stole across the litter until they came to the back of the sheds.There they found that there was some chance of achieving their purpose.The wall of the quarry was very uneven, just as it had been hewn out.Consequently the back walls of the sheds did not fit flush against it;there was a space of varying width, but at its narrowest part wideenough to admit a man. Into this they crept.
They discovered that this end of the sheds was in worse repair than theside they had already seen. Protected from the weather by the wall ofthe quarry, the timber had not been renewed. There were many gaps, andwhen they touched the wood, its crumbling gave signs of dry rot. Butthe interiors of the second and third sheds were quite dark: it wasimpossible to distinguish anything within.
Harry broke off several fragments of the dry wood without making anysound.
"We can get in," he whispered.
Kenneth hesitated. They had learnt enough for their purpose; it wouldbe a pity to risk the failure of the whole enterprise. But youth isadventurous and confident. The voices of the men in the first shedwould smother any slight sounds they might make; the sentry was at leasta hundred and fifty feet away.
"All right," he murmured.
With their clasp knives they cautiously attacked the boards in the wallof the third shed, stopping every now and again to listen. Afte
r awhile they were able to remove two of the boards, leaving an openinglarge enough to admit them. Very carefully they climbed in. Dark asthe interior had appeared from the outside, they found when they wereinside that there was just light enough, filtering through cracks in thewall, to reveal the contents of the shed. The whole interior, except fornarrow gangways, was packed with shells and cases of high explosives.Near the door there were shells for field guns and howitzers, and acertain quantity of small arms ammunition. It was clear that the shedwas an ammunition depot.
Creeping carefully back, they replaced the boards, and went to themiddle shed, which they managed to enter in the same way, after theexercise of greater patience, owing to the more constricted spacebetween the shed and the wall of the quarry. Here they found the guntrain, and a number of petrol tins: evidently the engine was petroldriven. While Kenneth examined the engine as well as he could in thestill dimmer light, wishing he dared to use his electric torch, Harrystole to the front of the shed, and watched the sentry through a crackin the badly fitting folding doors. Kenneth followed him.
"Let me know when the sentry's back is turned," he whispered. "I'll usemy torch then."
Harry gave the sign by a scarcely audible hiss. Kenneth made the bestuse of the few seconds afforded him at intervals. His experience ofmotor engines had taught him exactly what to look for. And he wasprompted, not by mere curiosity, but by a sudden idea which had occurredto him, but which he had not yet mentioned to his companion. The enginewas still warm. He knew that it ran very smoothly; it was provided witha very efficient silencer, or he would not have mistaken it for anelectric engine. With their customary thoroughness, the Germans hadensured that the movements of their gun train should lack nothing insecrecy.
The mechanism was simple, similar to that of an ordinary touring car,except that there were only two speeds and reverse.
"Well," he thought, "why not run off with the train, gun and all?"
The train had backed into the shed trucks first. They were stillcoupled to the engine. The load was very heavy; the question waswhether he could get up speed in time to escape. Some of the Germanswere awake: the sentry was at the door; the feat seemed impossible, andKenneth dismissed the idea, feeling glad that he had not suggested it toHarry. But before leaving the engine he looked into the tank, and sawthat it was half full of petrol.
A hiss called him to the door. The sentry was being changed. The newman was grumbling at having had to leave his bed. The voices in thefurther shed had ceased.
"All gone to bed?" asked the sentry who was being relieved.
"Yes," replied the other, yawning.
"Schneider won five marks of me this afternoon. He said he'd give me myrevenge. Well, I'll beat him to-morrow."
He went into the shed: there was a rustling for a few moments: then allwas silent, except for the heavy tramp of the sentry as he paced slowlyup and down.
The two Englishmen went back to the quarry wall, and were replacing theboards.
"I say!" whispered Harry.
"What is it?"
"It's mad, perhaps; but I wondered if we couldn't run off with thetrain."
"Absurd!" replied Kenneth.
"But----"
"Hush! we'll talk presently."
They returned to their former position across the quarry.
"I daresay you are right," said Harry, "but I wish we could collar thatgun."
"It's impossible," said Kenneth, arguing against his own inclination."We couldn't open the door without being seen."
"But it's so ramshackle that it would burst at a touch."
"Then we'd make a row starting the engine, and before we had any speedon they'd be at us."
"I don't know. They've got to wake up, and dress----"
"Why waste time dressing?"
"Well, is a German a soldier without his uniform? Anyhow, they would betoo sleepy for a few seconds to understand what was going on. It mightjust give us time to get off."
"I don't mind telling you that the idea occurred to me, but I gave itup."
"Oh, do let us try it. It's a sporting chance. They feel perfectlysecure; that's so much in our favour. They'll be struck all of a heap,and you know what confusion there is when fellows are taken bysurprise."
"You've the tongue of the old Serpent, Harry. With a little luck--ah!while we're about it, oughtn't we to blow up the ammunition?"
"That means blowing up the men too."
"Well? We can't take 'em prisoners. And when you remember that everyshell in the shed may kill or maim a lot more Englishmen or Frenchmenthan there are Germans in the shed, you'll see that it's our duty.War's war, more's the pity. There are some fuses near the door."
"Come on, then."
They stole back. Kenneth crept into the ammunition shed, and started atime fuse while Harry removed the boards from the wall of the engineshed. Just as Kenneth, returning, had almost reached the opening, inhis haste he displaced a shell that was standing insecurely. It toppledover with a heavy thud. He sprang through the gap.
"Touch and go now!" he panted. "We haven't a second to lose."
There was no time to replace the boards. They slipped into the engineshed, hearing the sentry call to his comrades and run towards theammunition shed. In a few moments he would discover the gap in thewall, and the Germans would be scouring the place.
The Englishmen ran to the engine.
"Jump in!" gasped Kenneth.
He stooped down to find the starting handle, in the agitation of themoment forgetting that, when examining the engine, he had noticed thepush that indicated a self-starter. There was no crank, but only theshaft on which it should fit. For the moment his brain ceased to work;he was conscious only of the noise of shouts and hurrying footstepsdinning in his ears. Then recollection came in a flash. He raisedhimself, sprang into the cab of the engine, and simultaneously releasedthe brake and pressed the button of the starting mechanism. Beneath hisfeet there was a welcome whirr; he threw the engine into gear, and theheavy machine, with the heavier trucks behind, lurched forward.
The folding door was only eight or nine feet away--little enough spaceto allow for momentum. It was neck or nothing. At the first movementKenneth threw out the clutch, racing the engine; then he let it in, andthe train jerked itself forward in a way that alarmed him for thecouplings. The manoeuvre succeeded. The engine crashed into the crazydoor; it was shattered and partly wrenched off the hinges; and the trainglided out, rounded the curve, and ran with increasing speed into thestraight towards the south.
All this had occupied only a few moments. Meanwhile, what of theGermans? At the thud of the falling shell the sentry was at the fartherend of his beat. He hastened towards the ammunition shed, calling tohis comrades as he passed their door. Some sprang up, others onlyturned in their beds. The former, as Harry had foretold, began to throwon their uniforms. There was no sound from outside to alarm them. Buta second cry from the sentry caused them to seize their rifles and rushout as they were. They followed him into the ammunition shed, where heshowed them, by the light of an electric torch, the hole in the wall.They poked their heads through, and seeing nothing, were beginning toask each other what they had better do when they heard through the shedwall the whirr of the starting engine. Shouting, they hurried back,overturning shells and bruising their toes, heard the crash of the door,and reached the entrance in time to see the train lumbering round thecurve to their left.
One or two rifle shots rang out. Kenneth and Harry heard for a minuteor two, above the purring of the engine, shouts as if the Germans werepursuing them on foot. And then there was a terrific roar; the sky waslit up by a flash that blinded the pale moon, and fragments of metalfell in a thick shower upon the train, inflicting sharp blows upon theEnglishmen, of which their hands and faces bore signs for several days.
"What double asses we were!" gasped Kenneth. "The row will bring theBosches swarming about us."
"They'll make for the sheds. By George! w
hat a blaze! Lucky we'rerunning in a hollow. Where does the line lead to?"
"Don't know. Be ready to jump. We're going nearly thirty miles an hournow; I'll slow down in a minute or two. We must get away from the lineand hide up."
In a few minutes he slackened speed to about five miles.
"Drop off!" he said.
Harry leapt out. Kenneth opened the throttle to the utmost, put theengine into top, and jumped clear as it gathered way. By the time he hadpicked himself up the train had disappeared. Clambering up the westernbank, the two men, bending low, raced as fast as they could towards asmall clump of trees that stood up dark in the moonlight. They were buthalfway across the field when there was a tremendous crash somewhere totheir left rear, a sound of tearing and rending, then silence.
"It's run off the line or something," Kenneth panted. "Hope the old gunis smashed."
It was weeks before they knew what had happened. Then, passing over theground in the course of a general advance of the British forces, theysaw the debris of the train, engine, gun, and trucks, lying amidshattered masonry in and beside a shallow brook. The engine had failedto take a sharp curve and dashed into and through the parapet of thebridge.