CHAPTER XVIII
The Summons
Later in the same night, being unable to sleep, Mrs. Burton was arousedby hearing the approach of another motor car. It must have been betweentwo and three o'clock in the dark hours before dawn when the earth is sostrangely quiet. Moreover, cars were not in the habit of passing Sunrisecamp at any hour, as it was too far from the main road to alluretravelers.
Mrs. Burton quietly slipped on her dressing gown and slippers in ordernot to disturb her sister, who slept in the room with her. As she walkedto the front door she was under the impression that Gerry must havereturned home to camp and would wish to see her.
But outside it was so dark that for a moment she could see nothing. Thenat a little distance off she discovered two figures standing closetogether. As Mrs. Burton drew nearer she recognized one of them as DanWebster, and as Dan was fully dressed he could not have been in bedduring the night. The other man was Lieutenant Carson.
As Mrs. Burton Drew Near She Recognized One of Them asDan Webster]
"Yes, I have been worried all night," she overheard Dan say. "Ipersuaded mother to go to bed fairly early by telling her I would waitfor Billy. But after midnight when he did not come I have not known whatto do. I had no idea where to go to look for him. I was afraid somethinghad happened. Is the accident serious?"
"If it were not I would never have wakened you at such an hour,"Lieutenant Carson answered. "Please break the news to your mother andsister as quickly as you can and ask them to hurry. I brought over oneof our army cars, so there need be no delay. On the way to camp I willtell you as much as I know."
Then Mrs. Burton stepped out of the shadow.
"Billy is hurt," she began, not asking a question, but stating aconviction. "What has he done?" she hesitated, her voice breaking.
"He has done something so wonderful there is not a soldier in camp whowould not be proud to accomplish one-half so much. But he has beeninjured and----" Lieutenant Carson tried to keep his own tones frombecoming husky.
"I'll see your mother, Dan," said Mrs. Burton. "Will you please wakenVera and Peggy? If Billy is conscious when we arrive he will wish tohave Vera near him."
Within ten minutes the four women and Dan were on their way withLieutenant Carson to the army cantonment.
The lieutenant had asked Dan to drive the car during the first part ofthe journey so that he might explain what had occurred.
"Yes, Mrs. Webster, your son is in our Red Cross hospital and everythingpossible is being done for him. A doctor reached him almost at once. ButI wish I could tell you exactly what happened. As it is I can onlyrepeat the story the little chap told himself. No one knows anythingelse, but he has been perfectly conscious all along and I am told is notsuffering a great deal," Lieutenant Carson faltered, wishing that thetask in which he was engaged had fallen to some one else.
"Please tell us everything you can," Peggy urged. "I feel my mother hadbest know the truth before we reach Billy."
"As far as I could find out there have been two laborers employed at ourcamp who are traitors. In spite of all the official red tape andinvestigations, your son Billy seems to have been the only person whodiscovered the fact. The little fellow apparently called himself apacifist and made friends with the men. Anyhow they must have believedhe sympathized with them, for he has been watching them for some time. Idon't know how long, I am having to guess a part of this. But they musthave finally decided he was one of them, as they allowed him to find outtheir secrets. It is amazing. I don't see how he managed!"
"But you have not yet told us how Billy chanced to be at your camptonight and how he came to be hurt, Lieutenant Carson," Peggy pleaded,knowing that the same thought was in all their minds.
"Billy knew there was mischief brewing without knowing exactly what theruffians were planning to do, at least, that is the way I understandthe facts," the young officer continued. "But it seems that when he hadfollowed them to their meeting place earlier in the evening, he foundout they had placed a bomb in one of our big buildings at camp which wasset to go off at a certain hour tonight. Billy says he made the menbelieve he considered this a great idea, otherwise they would never haveallowed him to escape. He seems to have had the nerve to get up andspout a little speech on pacifism before about half a dozen of them. Ibelieve he said that if only the men managed to destroy our war camps,the United States would never be able to enter the war in Europe and sopeace would soon have to be declared as the Allies couldn't go onwithout America's aid. Anyhow, after a while they let the little fellowgo and he pretended to be starting for home. But instead he made for ourcamp.
"Perhaps he could have managed better. What I should have done in hisplace I don't know; but he was a little chap up against a pretty bigproposition. He did not know how to get the news to camp unless he toldsome one out here what was about to take place. He was trying to slipinto camp with his news when one of our sentries shot him. He was justable to tell the soldier who picked him up what his business wasand--well, we found the infernal machine where he told us to look forit. And God only knows how many lives Billy has saved!"
"But my son will live?" Mrs. Webster inquired, with the quiet fortitudewhich comes now and then to some of us in the really great moments ofour lives.
"I don't know, Mrs. Webster," Lieutenant Carson answered honestly. "Iwas only ordered to bring you to camp as quickly as possible."
Then the young officer took charge of the car, as he was more familiarwith the road than Dan.
The southern dawn which Billy had learned to love in these past weekswas breaking into pale lavender and rose when the army automobilearrived at camp.
A good many of the soldiers were walking about, not caring to go back tosleep after what had occurred. More of them than one would imagineremembered seeing Billy about camp in the past few weeks, the delicateyoung fellow with the extraordinary blue eyes. Lucky thing for them thathe had been around, but hard on him!
Captain Mason and Major Anderson, two of the officers who were friendsof Mrs. Burton's, came forward to meet her and Mrs. Webster.
They led the way to the hospital, with the girls and Dan and LieutenantCarson following.
"Your son has been asking for you, Mrs. Webster, only he said you werenot to be frightened about him and we were not to let you know what hadhappened until breakfast time," Major Anderson remarked with that samehuskiness in his voice which Lieutenant Carson had been unable toconceal. "This war has made many heroes and will make many more, but Idon't know of a finer thing than your son has done. He must have knownthe risk he ran when he came out here alone tonight on such an errand."
At the door of the hospital, which was only a wooden house with a RedCross flag outside, the doctor met the little company.
"You will be as quiet as you can and try not to excite him," he said,and there was something in his voice which made all questioningimpossible.
Then Mrs. Webster and Dan and Peggy went inside the little hospital.Within a few moments Dan came out again with his head bowed and wentaway by himself without speaking.
"Will it be many hours, Doctor?" Mrs. Burton inquired.
The doctor shook his head.
"Not many."
Mrs. Burton was standing with her arm about Vera Lagerloff, feelingVera's grief almost as deeply as her own. Without a tie of blood,without the right to be near him which his family had, Vera was yetcloser to Billy in many ways than any other human being in the world.
"You shall see him soon, dear," Mrs. Burton murmured.
Vera nodded.
"Billy will send for me; there will be so many things he will wish tosay," she replied and her tone was one of love and understanding.
"I don't think I can get on without Billy afterwards, Mrs. Burton. Noone else has realized how wonderful he was, what beautiful things he wasplanning to do with his life." Vera was shivering so Mrs. Burton couldonly hold her more closely.
"I know, dear, and yet how could one do more than Billy has done?Greater love hath
no man than this that he lay down his life for hisfriend. Billy's friends, remember, were never merely the few people heknew; his idea of friendship was a bigger thing than ours."
"Billy wishes to speak to you, Tante, and to Vera," Peggy said at thisinstant appearing at the open door. "Don't be unhappy at seeing him. Heis not frightened and yet he understands perfectly he has only a littlewhile."
Billy was lying on a cot with a nurse on one side of him and his motheron the other, but, except for this, looking much as he usually did.
His face was paler and the blue eyes even wider open, yet for once inhis life they seemed to have lost their questioning look.
"I promised you not to get into mischief, Tante. Well, this is the lasttime; at least, I suppose it is my last. But after all one does notknow; there may be other chances over there."
Billy was trying to smile and Mrs. Burton leaned over and kissed him.
"I know there will be, Billy, and you will take them as gallantly as youhave done this one. Don't worry, old chap, I'll look after your motherand Peggy."
Then she turned away.
Vera had kneeled down and was hiding her face in the bed clothes.
It was to her Billy turned like a little boy.
"Please look at me, Vera, and tell me you are sorry. It was like me todo the right thing in the wrong way, wasn't it? Yet there are so manythings I want to say, want to explain to people. You see it is all aquestion of our learning to understand each other better to end fightingand all the rest of it. You believed in me, didn't you, Vera? Yet youunderstand that I could not let the soldiers out here be killed whenthey are getting ready to give their lives for ours. What is that weread about Christ the other day, Vera?"
Vera held Billy's two hands folded closely in her own.
"Listen, dear, and remember this:
"'Christ is courage, Christ is adventure, he fights for us and with usagainst death.'"