CHAPTER III
OUT OF THE FLAMES
When the soldier who had been holding his rifle at Jimmie's backlowered the weapon and the ceremony of administering the oath ofallegiance to the Kaiser had been completed, the red-headed Boy Scoutwho had been masquerading under a Cossack uniform breathed a deep sighof relief that but faintly expressed his sentiments.
In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Jimmie maintained amental reservation that little less than contradicted his words sorecently spoken. He felt that it would be only policy to obey theorders of those in superior force, since he could see no advantage tobe gained by a flat refusal. His thoughts rapidly compassed thesituation, and he recognized the fact that the invading horde ofGermans were in no mood to consider dispassionately the matter of a boymore or less who was found under the circumstances in which they haddiscovered Jimmie.
Reluctantly, therefore, but because he thought it by far the betterplan, the lad had submitted to the course insisted upon.
During all the time that he had been repeating the words after theofficer the boy had been mentally conjecturing a means of escapewhereby he might rejoin his chums and be fairly sure of the escape ofthe entire party from the hands of the army that had so recentlycaptured Peremysl and who were now engaged in bringing order out of theapparent chaos that reigned.
Not until the searching party returned and reported to the Captaintheir unsuccessful quest after his three comrades did Jimmie realizethat an effort was being made to apprehend them.
Then he began to believe that it was not the intention of the GermanCaptain to allow the boys to leave the country. The thought was a verydisquieting one. In entertaining it, Jimmie felt himself fullyjustified in taking any possible course of escape.
"Well, my lad," began the Captain, addressing Jimmie in a not unkindlytone, the while his blue eyes regarded the lad with an amused glance,"now that you are a full-fledged Uhlan and your comrades are on theirway home, you will be fitted out with a new uniform by the properdepartment. See that you select a good strong one, for we have plentyof rough work ahead of us. Yes?"
"Very good, sir!" replied Jimmie with outward politeness, although hisheart was filled with rage at the thought of donning the Germanuniform. "I shall try to do well whatever I undertake."
"Spoken like a man!" declared the officer with a short laugh.
A brief order spoken in the German language to an orderly nearbyresulted in that individual signing to Jimmie. Obediently the ladfollowed his new guide. Past groups of soldiers who were, by theirfair hair, round cheeks, blue eyes and general stocky build, members ofthe German army, the boy and his conductor took their way.
Not far down the street they came upon several wagons in charge of acommissioned officer, before whom the guide stopped with a very formalsalute. After receiving a recognition of his salute the guideexplained his errand. A laughing response greeted his explanation ofcircumstances. The officer called one of his aides, and the work ofoutfitting the erstwhile Cossack began.
Jimmie discovered that the wagons were veritable stores on wheels, andwas greatly surprised at the neatness and order with which the largeassortment of goods were disposed. No difficulty was experienced insecuring clothing of the proper dimensions, and Jimmie soon stood forthto all external appearances as loyal and brave a Uhlan as ever followedthe banner of the Emperor or stuck a lance into a dummy at ridingexercise. He could not restrain a laugh at the peculiar round cap thatwas fitted to his head.
"Now I'm hungry!" he declared as he surveyed himself in his newregalia. "Where's the eats?" he asked of the guide.
A stare from a pair of pale blue eyes was the only response.
"I say," began Jimmie in a louder tone, "I haven't had anything to eatfor a long time. I'm hungry!" he finished in a shout.
Another stare and a nod of the head greeted this outburst.
"Aw, come off!" was Jimmied disgusted sally. "Where are your ears?Wake up! It's six bells and the cook has struck. Here--"
Seizing the guide by the sleeve, Jimmie shook his finger under theother's nose for attention. Then he repeated his old-time universalsign language denoting hunger.
The guide followed with great interest Jimmie's motion of pointing intohis open mouth and gazed delightedly at the patting of the stomach.Apparently, however, he could discover nothing amiss with the beltbuckle or any of the accoutrements that adorned the person of thenew-found recruit. He shook his head in a negative way.
"Oh, you mutton-head!" scorned Jimmie. Then, recalling the few wordsof German he had learned in haphazard fashion, he began again, pausingbetween each word to give emphasis to his request.
"Ach, Ich say, old scout," he stated, "Ich would like some brodt haben,und sauer kraut, und wiener wurst, and kaffee, and pumpernickel, undkaffekuchen, und Kolbfleisch, und--oh, whatever you have handy."
A smile slowly spread over the face of the guide as he began tocomprehend Jimmie's meaning. He nodded vigorously.
"And I say, dumbhead, Heute Ganse Braten!" Jimmie added vigorously."There!" he declared in an undertone, "I know I saw that sign in DickStein's restaurant on the north side in Chicago one time when I wasthere, and I asked the man what it meant. He said it was German for'We have roast goose to-day,' and I'd like a little of that, too."
"So-o," drawled the guide. "Und you haf been by Stein's restaurant?Yes? Vell, I vas waiter dere for two, tree year. It is a nice blace."
"You rascal!" shouted Jimmie. "You understood me all the time. Whydidn't you let me know you understood English at first?"
"Maype I didn't understand," the other stated simply.
"Maybe you didn't, and again maybe you did," retorted the lad rathertartly. "If you keep on playing your monkey shines on me, you'll getme sore pretty soon, and I'll be tempted to cloud up and rain all overyou. And there'll be considerable dunder und blitzen along with thecyclonic disturbance in the atmosphere," he added.
"All right," was the calm response. "You iss hungry. Maybe you vantsomeding to eat. Yes? Or maybe not?"
"Great frozen hot boxes!" cried Jimmie in a despairing tone. "I don'tsee how, with all the scarcity of ivory in the market, the billiardball makers let you roam about at large so long. Why," he added withrising indignation, "you're giving the exact symptoms of a chap who isossified from the shoulders to the sky! Of course I want to eat, andI'd be de-lighted to perform that simple operation now."
"But to eat before mess, it is verboten," declared the guide.
"Say," retorted Jimmie, "just let me have your name and the address ofany relatives you want notified in case of accident. Something isgoing to blow up pretty soon, and when the explosion is over they'll goaround with a sponge to gather up the pieces of the innocentbystanders. Among those present was a former waiter at Dick Stein's."
"Ach, yes," slowly replied the other. "My name iss Otto vonFreundlich. In America I am called Friendly Otto. It iss so in dertelephone book. Names iss backwards put down."
"Well, if you'll just be good enough to get me one of those nice largeGerman pancakes that we used to get at Stein's, with a couple of cupsof coffee and a little 'T' bone steak well done, with some friedpotatoes and a side order of cauliflower in cream, some cold slaw, alittle lettuce, some lentils, and a small platter of sauer kraut, I'lltry to worry along until mess time. Can't we eat at all?"
"No, not all of dot," soberly responded Otto seriously, evidentlybelieving that Jimmie intended to eat everything he had mentioned.
"Then for pity's sake tell me what I can have. I'm getting so hungry Icould almost eat the wheels off this wagon."
"Maybe a little soup und some rye bread?" replied Otto inquiringly.
"That listens good to your Uncle Dudley," was Jimmie's response in asomewhat mollified tone. "Lead me to it and I'll do the rest."
"Come," directed Otto, starting away and beckoning the lad to follow."Come; der cook maybe has something good for hungry soldiers."
Jimmie followed wi
th much interest, taking note of everything as hewent along. Here he saw a group of soldiers resting after someevidently heavy work. There another group were arranging theiraccoutrements and polishing their weapons as they rested in the shadeof a broken wall that had withstood the heavy hammering of the immenseGerman guns during the days of bombardment of the city.
Wagons were drawn up along the side of the street, gasoline trucks weredarting hither and thither on various errands, while small groups ofhorsemen were constantly passing to and fro about the town.
Everywhere was activity, indicating to Jimmie that not only were theGermans investing the city and preparing it for their occupation, butthat other preparations were under way. This could only mean to thelad that the commander of the invading forces was preparing to pressthe advantage he had gained by following the Russian army he had drivenfrom Peremysl and attempt to administer a crushing blow.
"What is all this bustle about, Otto?" he asked presently.
"Ach, I know not," was the reply. "Und if I should know, it isverboten that I should say. You will discover in good time."
"That's all right, but I'll bet my last year's hat that you know prettywell what's going on if you'd only talk a bit."
"That is perhaps so and perhaps not so," replied Otto.
"All right; I vote yes on the amendment," persisted Jimmie, feelingthat by a little maneuvering he could learn something from his guide."From what the Captain said while we were in the house and you were onthe street, I understand that your regiment will be one of the first tobe tolled off to pursue the Russians. Maybe he'll send me with them.I do hope so, for that will give me a chance to get a whack at them inpayment for the hard treatment I received."
"Ach, nein!" protested Otto, evidently endeavoring to set Jimmie right."My regiment is to return. We have done our work here."
"I thought so all the time," muttered Jimmie. "You may have been inAmerica a while, but you haven't got wise to the great game of 'bluff'the Americans pull off once in a while. You're easy."
"What is dot?" inquired Otto. "I did not hear what you say."
"I say," replied Jimmie in a louder tone, "I'm hungry. I wantsomething to eat, and I'm curious to know what is in that bundle youare carrying so carefully. Is it dynamite or something?"
"Nein; it is the Russian Cossack uniform you wore. I shall burn itwhen we arrive at the kitchen you see ahead of us."
"Oh, so you don't like Cossack uniforms any better than I do."
"It is orders," was the German's simple statement.
"Well, here we are at the cook's place," announced Jimmie as the twodrew near a movable kitchen equipment in the street.
A few words addressed to the person in charge of the kitchen broughtforth a smiling response. In a moment Jimmie was supplied with a smalldish of nourishing stew of cabbages and beans.
He devoured the contents of the dish with an appetite, and gladlyaccepted the cup of black unsweetened coffee that was tendered.
"Thank you! That was just like mother used to make!" he said as hereturned the empty dish and cup. "I'll see you again."
Jimmie stepped back a pace, preparing to follow Otto, presuming that hewould lead the way to regimental headquarters.
As he glanced about in search of his guide he discovered the Germanstuffing the discarded Cossack uniform into the furnace underneath ahuge kettle. With a startled cry Jimmie grasped frantically at hisbreast. Then he darted forward and snatched the clothing from the fire.