CHAPTER VI
A SNOWSTORM
Professor Garlach received the next day a neatly-written note. It wasthrust under the door of his private apartment, just as he was gettingready to go to breakfast.
"Ach! Dis is a letter," he said, carefully looking at the envelope, asif there was some doubt of it. "I vunder who can haf sent it to me?"
He turned it over several times, but seeing no way of learning what hewished to know save by opening the epistle, he did so.
"Vot is dis?" he murmured as he read. "Ha! dot is der best news vot Ihaf heard in a long time. Ach! now I gets me efen mid dot wienerwurst ofa Socrat! I vill vanquishes him!"
This is what the German professor read:
"I am a lover of the Fatherland, and I understand that an insult has been offered her glory by a Frenchman who is a professor in the same school where you teach. I understand that he said a small body of the despised French beat a large army of Germans. This is not true, but I am in a position to prove the contrary, namely, that in the Hanoverian or Seven Years' War, in 1756, a small troop of Germans, under Frederic II, defeated a large army of the French. The incident is little known in history, but I have all the facts at hand, and I will give them to you.
"The information is secret, and I cannot reveal to you my name, or I might get into trouble with the German war authorities, so I will have to ask you to proceed cautiously. I will deposit the proofs of what I say in the hollow of the old oak tree that stands near the shore of the lake, not far from the school. If you will go there at midnight to-night, you may take the papers away and demonstrate to your classes that the Germans are always the superiors of the French in war. I must beg of you to say nothing about this to any one. Proceed in secret, and you will be able to refute the base charges made against our countrymen by a base Frenchman. Do not fail. Be at the old tree at midnight. For obvious reasons I sign myself only
"BISMARK."
"Ha!" exclaimed Professor Garlach. "I vill do as you direct. T'anks,mine unknown frient! T'anks! Now vill I make to der utmostconfusionability dot frog-eater of a Socrat! Ha! ve shall see. I vill beon der spot at midnight!"
All that day there might have been noticed that there was a subduedexcitement hovering about Professor Garlach. Jack and his chumsobserving it, smiled.
"He's taken the bait, hook and sinker," said Jack.
When the class in history was called before him to recite, ProfessorGarlach remarked:
"Young gentlemens, I shall have some surprising informations to impartby you to-morrow. I am about to come into possession of some remarkablefacts, but I cannot reveal dem to you now. But I vill say dot dey villsimply astonishment to you make alretty yet. You are dismissed."
He had spoken quite loudly, and Professor Socrat, in the next room,hearing him, smiled.
"Ah," murmured the Frenchman, "so my unknown friend, who was so kind asto write zis note, did not deceive me. Sacre! But I will bring his plansto nottingness! Ah, beware, Professor Garlach--pig-dog zat you are! Iwill foil you. But let me read ze note once more."
Alone in the classroom, he took from his pocket a letter. It looked justlike the one professor Garlach had received that morning.
"Ha, yes. I am not mistake! I will be at ze old oak tree on ze shore ofze lake at midnight by ze clock. And I will catch in ze act ProfessorGarlach when he make ze attempt to blow up zat sacred tree. Zat treeunder which La Fayette once slept. Queer zat I did not know it before.Ha! I will drape ze flag of France on ze beloved branches. Ah! mybeloved country!"
For this is the note which Professor Socrat received:
"DEAR PROFESSOR: This is written by a true friend of France, who is not at liberty to reveal his name. I have information to the effect that the old oak tree which stands on the shore of the lake is a landmark in history. Under it, during the American war of independence, the immortal Washington and La Fayette once slept before a great battle, when their tents had not arrived. The tree should be honored by all Frenchmen, as well as by all Americans.
"But, though it is not generally known that La Fayette slept under the tree, Professor Garlach has learned of it in some way. Such is his hatred of all things French, as you well know, that he has planned to destroy the tree. At midnight to-night he is going to put a dynamite bomb in the tree, and blow it to atoms. He hopes the plot will be laid to the students. If you wish to foil him be at the tree at midnight. I will sign myself only
"NAPOLEON."
"Ha! destroy zat sacred tree by dynamite!" murmured Professor Socrat. "Iwill be zere! I will be zere!"
It lacked some time before twelve o'clock that night, when severalfigures stole out of a dormitory of Washington Hall.
"Have you got everything, Jack?" asked a voice.
"Yes; but for cats' sake, keep quiet," was the rejoinder. "Come on now.Lucky Martin didn't spot us."
"That's what," added Nat Anderson. "Scouring sky-rockets, but there'llbe some fun!"
"Easy!" cautioned Jack as he led a band of fellow conspirators towardthe lake.
They reached the old, hollow oak tree, of which Jack had spoken in histwo letters to the professors, and which he had made the rendezvous forhis joke. Into the hollow he thrust a bundle of papers. Then, somedistance away from the tree, he stuck something else upright in theground, and trailing off from it were what seemed to be twisted strings.
"Lucky it's a dark night," whispered Bony. "They won't see each otheruntil they get right here. What time is it now?"
"Lacks a quarter of twelve," replied Jack, striking a match andshielding it from observation under the flap of his coat as he looked athis watch.
The boys crouched down in the bushes and waited. It was not long beforethey heard some one approaching in the darkness.
"That's Garlach by the way he walks," whispered Bob Movel.
"Yes," assented Jack. "I hope Socrat is on time."
The German professor approached the tree, anxious to take from it thepapers that were to prove the valor of German soldiers. A moment lateranother figure loomed up in the darkness on the other side of the bigtrunk.
"There's Socrat," whispered Nat. "But what is he carrying?"
"Blessed if I know," answered Jack; "but we'll soon see."
He struck a match and touched it to the end of the twisted strings.There was a splutter of flame, and some sparks ran along the ground. Amoment later the scene was lighted up by glaring red fire, the fuse ofwhich Jack had touched off. By the illumination the boys hidden in thebushes could see Professor Garlach, with his hand and arm down thehollow of the old oak tree. At the same time Professor Socrat rushedforward, and what he had in his hand was a pail of water.
"So!" cried the Frenchman. "I have caught you in ze act! I will foilyou!"
"Don't bodder me!" cried the German. "Ach! You would steal der evidenceof your countrymen's cowardice, vould you? But you shall not! I villhaf my revenge!"
"Stop! stop!" cried Professor Socrat. "You shall not destroy ze treeunder which ze immortal Washington and La Fayette slept! You shall not!I, Professor Socrat, say it! Ha! you have already lighted ze dynamitefuse! But I will destroy it!"
Professor Garlach drew from the tree the bundle of papers. No sooner hadhe done so than Professor Socrat dashed the pail of water over him,drenching him from head to foot.
"Du meine zeit! Himmel! Hund vot you are! I am drowning!" cried theGerman, choking.
"Ha! ha! I have put out ze fuse! I have quenched ze dynamite cartridge!Ze tree shall not be blown to atoms! I will drape it wiz my country'sflag."
From his coat the French professor drew the tri-colored flag, which hedraped over the lowest branches of the old tree. Then, as the red firedied out, the boys saw the German make a spring for his enemy.
"Come on, fellows!" softly c
alled Jack. "We'd better skip while they'reat one another."
They glided from the bushes, while at the foot of the tree, in the dyingglow from the red fire, could be seen two shapes struggling desperatelytogether. From the midst came such alternate expressions as:
"Ach! Pig-dog! Frog-eater! Sauerkraut! Maccaroni! Himmel! Sacre! LaFayette!"
"Oh, but aren't they having a grand time!" said Nat as he hurried alongat Jack's side. "It worked like a charm. But who would have thought thatSocrat would have brought along a pail of water?"
"Couldn't have been better," admitted Jack, "if I do say it myself."
"But won't they find out who did it?" asked Bony.
"They may suspect, but they'll never know for sure," said theperpetrator of the trick.
"How about the bundle of papers you left in the tree?"
"Nothing but newspapers, and they can't talk. But I guess we've livenedthings up some. Anyhow, they've spoken to each other."
"They sure have," admitted Sam, as from the darkness, at the foot of thetree, came the sounds of voices in high dispute.
The next day Professor Socrat passed Professor Garlach without so muchas a look in the direction of the German, but when he got past hemuttered:
"Ze La Fayette tree still stands."
And Professor Garlach replied:
"Pig-dog vot you are! To destroy dot secret of history!"
Jack and his chums awaited rather anxiously the calling of the Frenchand German classes that day, but neither professor made any referenceto the happenings of the night previous. All there was to remind apasser-by of it were some shreds of a French flag hanging to the limbsof the tree.
"They must have ripped the flag apart in their struggle with eachother," said Sam as he and Jack passed the place.
Matters at Washington Hall went on the even tenor of their ways forabout two weeks. The boys buckled down to study, though there was plentyof time for sport, and the football eleven, of which Jack was a member,played several games.
The weather was getting cold and snappy, and there were signs of anearly and severe winter. These signs were borne out one morning whenJack crawled out of bed.
"Whew! but it's cold!" he said as he pulled aside the window curtainsand looked out. Then he uttered an exclamation. "Say, Nat, it's snowingto beat the band!"
"Snowing?"
"Sure, and I've got to go to the village this afternoon. Look!"
Nat crawled out, shivering, and stood beside Jack.
"Why, it is quite a storm," he admitted. "B-r-r-r-r! I'm going to get myflannels out!"
"No football game to-morrow," said Jack. "I guess winter's come tostay."