CHAPTER XIX
LESE MAJESTY
"But we're not spies!" snapped Jimmie truculently. "We wouldn't bespies for anything!"
"Silence!" commanded the officer in a voice denoting his displeasure atthe interruption. "It will be best for you to keep silent."
"You may give your answer to the charges if you desire," said theKaiser in a not unkindly tone. "But," he went on, "you will rememberthat if the report of Captain von Liebknecht is at all correct matterslook rather unfavorable for you at present."
"I'll admit that latter part without argument," said Jimmie, muchrelieved that he was being given an opportunity to speak. "Things lookrather odd, as you say, but it is only looks. The facts are that weare over in this country on a peaceful mission, and have refused togive information to either the Germans or the Russians. That rathersquares the account, doesn't it?"
"In a measure, yes," admitted the Kaiser. "But your presence with theRussian troops does not incline us to look with much favor uponyourself or your comrades. Further," he continued, "the fact that yourcomrades have a high-powered aeroplane in our territory and have triedto rescue you from our regiment appears as if they do not care to beopen and frank with us. Can you explain that?"
"I think I can," replied Jimmie gravely. "I can see now that ouractions would appear rather mysterious to your officers, but you mustalso remember that they refused to take our word for anything. Theysimply went ahead and acted on the opinion they received from firstsight. Our statements were not given any weight at all."
"Perhaps the officers were a trifle over-zealous, we will admit,"continued the Kaiser, "but you have been well treated, have you not?"
"Fairly well," replied Jimmie. "I may say," he added, "that we havebeen very well treated considering all things. But I'd like to havethat little package that was taken from me."
The Kaiser turned an inquiring glance toward von Liebknecht.
"It is this little package to which I referred briefly in mystatement," explained von Liebknecht, producing the packet that hadbeen rescued from the Cossack uniform by Jimmie when Otto had attemptedto put the discarded clothes in the fire.
"And what do you say is in this packet?" inquired the Kaiser,addressing Jimmie, as he readied out a hand to take the parcel from vonLiebknecht. "Is it your own property?"
"It was given to me by a man who was trying to make money sellingmunitions to the Russians," replied the lad. "He was a villain if everthere was one. He stole a lot of money in the United States and cameover on a ship to Riga. He kidnapped me and had me enlisted in aRussian regiment of Cossacks, where he also found himself enlistedagainst his will. When an attack was made on a German troop trainbefore the assault on Peremysl he was badly wounded."
"Ah, then you both were there?" asked the Kaiser interestedly.
"Yes," went on the boy. "When he found he was so badly wounded he gaveme this packet and asked me to go back to New York, where he had putpapers and other things in a safe deposit vault. He wanted me to tryto straighten out some of his wrongdoings."
"Then this does not refer in any way to information that might be ofvalue to our enemy?" questioned the Kaiser, looking keenly at the lad.
"Not in the least!" declared Jimmie, returning the other's gaze franklyand fearlessly. "You are a good enough judge of human nature todetermine whether I'm telling you the truth or not."
"I rather think you are telling the truth so far as you know it," wasthe answer, accompanied by a smile in recognition of the tribute thelad had paid. "But," he added, "is it not possible that the manhimself may have been telling things that were not so in the hope thatthe information would fall into the hands of the Russians?"
"I don't believe it," returned Jimmie, positively. "He knew he wasgoing to die, and tried, I believe, to right the wrongs he had done."
"No doubt you are correct. At any rate, I'm inclined to take a chanceand return the packet to you if you agree to keep it as directed and doyour best to follow the man's wishes."
"I'll readily do that!" cried Jimmie, stretching his hand for theextended packet. "I'll promise that as I promised him."
"Thank you," smiled Kaiser, in one of his, rare moods of unbending fromthe dignity that marked his demeanor. "I am trusting you."
"Then I suppose that we will be permitted to depart for America asquickly as we can locate our comrades?" asked Jimmie, eagerly.
A shake of the head preceded the reply to this question.
"That can hardly be permitted at this time," said the other in adeliberative manner. "There are several matters to be settled."
"Will we have to go into action with the regiment and fight?"
"Have you any objections to assisting us in return for the favors wehave granted you?" asked the Kaiser with apparent surprise.
"Yes, sir, we have!" declared the boy, earnestly. "We are not at allconcerned in the war and we don't wish to become engaged in it. We'drather not shoot at anybody unless it is necessary to do so for our ownprotection or the defense of our country."
"Those are very noble sentiments, my lad," was the answer to thisstatement. "Just yet we cannot give you permission to depart, but weshall not require from you service that you are not able to give."
"Thank you, sir," both boys said in chorus.
"But, if you please," objected von Liebknecht, with a look of meaningin the direction of his superior, "the young men may be of great valueto us in the future, and I suggest that they be held in reserve for anyemergency that may arise."
"Not a bad idea, I'm sure," agreed the Kaiser. Then, turning to theboys, he added, "You will, of course, be expected to make no attempt atescape. Your matter will be decided later on."
In company with the officer who had guided them to the compartment theyreturned to the rear of the coach and fell to discussing the prospectsthe future held for them.
They were awakened from a sound sleep into which they had fallen tofind that the train had made another stop and that the regiment wasdisembarking. Men and horses were all about the track, baggage wasbeing hastily unloaded and every indication showed that their journeyby rail was at an end.
"Ho, hum!" yawned Jimmie, before beginning his setting up exercise, inwhich the lads found much benefit, "nothing to do till to-morrow, eh?"
"Looks that way, I declare!" said Dave. "But if I'm a judge, this istomorrow itself. I wonder are we going into action."
"Something's brewing as sure as fate!" declared the other. "Wewouldn't unload like this just for exercise on a fine morning."
"It is a fine morning, sure enough," agreed Dave, "but I think it isgoing to rain. I thought I heard thunder just now."
"Does sound remarkably like thunder," said Jimmie, with a glance at thesky, "but," he continued, "there isn't a cloud in the sky, and athunder storm seems about the last thing we could expect."
"What on earth is it, then?" queried Dave, puzzled at the strange soundthat came to their ears. "I see some of the Uhlans noticing it, too.Only they seem to be pleased about something."
"I know what it is!" announced Jimmie. "It's the sound of firing!"
"I believe you are correct, Jimmie," acknowledged Dave.
"Sure, I'm right!" declared the other. "Can't I tell what a cannonshot sounds like? I ought to, for I heard them some time ago, but fromthe other side of the lines."
"You did?" asked Dave, interestedly. "How was that?"
"Why," went on Jimmie, with just a touch of pride in his voice, "wewere in France with the airship we had built before this present one.We got nicely tangled up with the battling forces and nearly got blownto bits once. We got lost in the fog above the lines where the bigshells were flying around like mosquitoes."
"My word!" was Dave's astonished ejaculation.
"Yes," continued the red headed lad, "we thought once or twice we weregoners, but got out after all. The airship lived through all of it andfinally was drowned in the North Sea as we were trying to get home. Iwas certainly so
rry to lose that airship."
"But you were fortunate to escape without losing your lives."
"Sure were," was Jimmie's comment. "But look there! There's somemovement on foot or I'm mistaken. Wonder what it is?"
The boys were not long left in doubt. An officer came toward themapparently in some haste. As he approached he signalled the two tofollow him to a position where the Uhlans were mounting their horses.
"You will follow these men," he said, as the lads drew near. Heindicated two soldiers nearby who were mounted and leading two horses.
"Hello, Otto!" said Jimmie with a smile, as he wrinkled his frecklednose. "And I declare! If little Fritz isn't on deck also!"
"Here comes the Kaiser and his staff," said Jimmie, directly the linewas at rest. "He seems to be in a hurry about something."
"They're stopping here," announced Dave.
A group of approaching horsemen, at one side of which rode the Kaiser,drew rein exactly opposite the two lads. Jimmie's mount, in a somewhatrestive mood, refused to remain standing, but gave the lad sometrouble. In his effort to quiet the animal the lad did not notice thathe was gradually drawing closer and closer to the Kaiser.
Presently he succeeded in quieting the horse and took time to glance inthe direction in which the Kaiser was peering through a pair ofbinoculars. The lad saw stretching far below him a gradual slope thathad once been wooded by a forest. Now, however, there stood only theshattered stumps of trees, indicating that the place had been subjectedto a most galling fire from the enemy.
A puff of smoke caught his attention. With a startled exclamation hepointed to a small object flying through the air straight toward theposition occupied by himself and the Kaiser's staff.
The next moment he kicked the Kaiser's mount in the ribs and dug hisheels into the flank of his own horse. Both leaped forward.