CHAPTER XXV
TO SEE THE WAR THROUGH--CONCLUSION
"Rap-rap-rap!"
It was just at two that afternoon, and the train from Richmond hadarrived ten minutes previously. Those within had seen a station hackdeposit some one at the Parmly gate.
Mrs. Parmly herself answered the summons, the colored servants havingbeen given an unexpected but welcome holiday when they appeared for workthat same morning, in order to keep them from making discoveries.
"Good afternoon, Aunt," said the smooth-tongued visitor, starting toenter without waiting for an invitation. "I learned after getting toRichmond this morning that Mr. Smedley had come out to visit you; anoccurrence which makes it convenient for me."
When he entered the sitting-room he found only Jack's aunt and the lawyerthere, Jack and Tom and Lieutenant Beverly being in an adjoining room,but with the connecting door ajar, so they could catch every word spokenand enjoy the dramatic situation to the utmost, being ready to step inwhen the crisis arrived.
Carringford proceeded to shake hands with the lawyer, after greeting Mrs.Parmly effusively. There was a smile as of triumph on his sallow face.
"Glad to find you here in Bridgeton, Mr. Smedley," Randolph again said,his voice like oil and his manner confident and condescending. "Ireceived the notification from you when over in France working in asecret capacity for the Government."
"Yes," remarked the lawyer, "I sent both out as required."
"Must say," continued Carringford, "I wasn't much surprised, because Ialways knew Uncle Joshua to be a queer old duck. Realizing that unless Igot a move on me and beat Cousin Jack home I'd stand to lose out in thegame I managed to get passage on the _La Bretagne_, of the French Line.Docked at one last night, couldn't get a train till morning; but here Iam, sir, ready to convince you that, being the first on the ground, myclaim is perfectly valid."
He evidently expected that his coming would have produced something akinto consternation in the Parmly family, and must have wondered how theycould meet bitter disappointment with such smiling faces.
"You have made very good time in crossing, Randolph," remarked thelawyer calmly, "considering the tempestuous times, and need of caution onaccount of the U-boats. I should say that the French steamer surpassedher record."
"And that being the case," resumed the other, smiling still as a winnerat the races might do when handed his stake ten times multiplied, "sinceI'm here on the ground first, and you are the lawyer in the matter,what's to hinder our completing the formalities necessary to put me inpossession of my great uncle's estate, according to his last will andtestament?"
"The only stumbling-block that I'm aware of, Randolph," said Mr. Smedleysuavely, "is a little matter of priority."
"But I am the first to appear before you, Mr. Smedley, and there were buttwo contestants for the property. Isn't that true?" demanded thenewcomer, frowning at the thought that some unexpected legal tangle wasabout to appear.
"You are perfectly right in one thing, Randolph," continued the lawyer."The race was to be between you and Jack. I must say you have made verygood time getting over here. But in spite of your speed, Randolph, youare showing up somewhat late. In fact, the affair is all over, and I havestarted proceedings looking to conveying the property to the oneundoubtedly presenting the prior claim."
The other was thunderstruck.
"Impossible, I tell you, Smedley!" he burst out. "With my own eyes I sawJack Parmly over there at the front in France when I hurried to the portto embark on _La Bretagne_. He was not aboard that ship, I can take myoath, and another couldn't arrive in New York for days. So you have noother resource but to admit my claim to be just, and hand over whatbelongs to me. I demand it, sir."
"Not so fast, Randolph," begged the lawyer. "A little more moderation.You have made some sort of miscalculation I fear."
With these words he stamped his foot. Recognizing the signal, Jackstepped blithely into the sitting-room, followed by Tom and Beverly. Hisappearance almost caused Carringford to "have a fit," as Jack afterwardsdescribed the effect of his coming on the scene.
"What does this mystery mean?" he managed to gasp.
"Only that I took a notion to come home and claim that legacy left by oureccentric Uncle Joshua," Jack told him, with a shrug of his shoulders, asthough miracles were an every-day occurrence with him.
"But I certainly saw you again and again, and heard you talk at the sametime just before I left for Havre to sail!" cried Randolph, neverthelessconvinced that at least this was the real flesh-and-blood Jack Parmlystanding before him.
"Oh! did you?" remarked Jack, mockingly. "Perhaps it was a dream. PerhapsI had an understudy over there. Perhaps a whole lot of things. But theone positive fact about which there isn't any doubt is that I'm hereahead of you, and you've lost out in your game, that's all."
"But--it's impossible, incredible!" continued the other, hardly able yetto believe his own eyes.
"Still, you must admit that I'm Jack Parmly, and quite in the flesh,which after all is enough to settle the matter," he was calmly told. "Myfamily here have received me as their own; and Mr. Smedley had notrouble in recognizing me. So perhaps you'd better be packing your gripagain, Cousin Randolph, and returning to your secret Government dutiesover in France!"
"But--how could you have reached here so far ahead of me?" gritted thedisgusted Randolph weakly.
"Please don't forget that I'm an aviator, and we fliers are able to putover all sorts of stunts these days," laughed Jack; though his mannerimplied that he might be joking when saying this. At any rate, it couldnot enter the mind of any one to believe such a thing as flying acrossthe Atlantic within the bounds of reason.
Carringford of course saw that his room was more desired than hiscompany. Besides, he had not heart or desire to linger any longer, sincehe had received such a staggering blow.
Accordingly he took his departure, and acted quite like a "bear with asore head," as Jack described his ugly way of slamming the door andhurrying out to the station hack that had been all this while waiting forhim at the gate.
Now that the one great object which Jack had in view was accomplished, heand the other two began to consider the best way in which they couldreturn to France without attracting too much attention.
"I have a scheme that may work admirably," said Beverly. "And it happensthat the boat my good old friend is master of is due to sail from NewYork the day after to-morrow. We'll go on that as stowaways."
Then, seeing the look of astonishment and also bewilderment that cameinto the faces of his hearers, he went on to explain further.
"Of course I don't use that word in the usual sense of getting aboardunknown to any of the officers, perhaps through the complicity of amember of the crew, and hiding ourselves among the cargo. Such stowawaysare a scarcity nowadays, the peril of torpedoes having given them coldfeet. But I believe I can fix it with my friend the captain so thathe'll allow us to remain aboard without our names appearing on thepassenger list."
"Sounds good to me," asserted Jack, while Tom said thoughtfully:
"I suppose we could stick to our staterooms during the day, and only goon deck late at night, when nearly everybody was asleep. Like as not,there'd be quite a number of army officers aboard, so we mightn't benoticed if any one ran against us while taking the air at night."
Accordingly this plan was settled upon; and as they were not absolutelycertain about the time of sailing, with much still to be done beforethat event took place, once again did Tom and Jack have to bid theirrelatives good-bye.
"It'll not be for so very long now, let's hope," said Tom's father, as hesqueezed his son's hand at parting; "for Germany is on her last legs, andunless all signs fail the war must soon come to an end."
"Besides," added Lieutenant Beverly, "none of us is likely to try torepeat the little flight we just carried through. We feel as if we canrest on our well earned laurels."
"And it'll be some time, I firmly believe," said Mr. Raymond, "beforeyour wo
nderful feat is duplicated, or even approached." But then, ofcourse, he could not foresee how even before the peace treaty had beensigned a number of ambitious aviators would actually cross the Atlantic,one crew in a huge heavier-than-air machine, another in an Americanseaplane, and still a third aboard a mighty dirigible, making thepassages with but a day or so intervening between flights.
When a certain steamship left New York harbor one morning soon afterwardsthree pairs of eyes took a parting look through a porthole in theirunited stateroom at the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe's Island.
Of course the occupants of the stateroom were Tom and Jack and Colin.They had managed to interest the big-hearted captain in their scheme.He knew that he must not appear to be connected with such an escapade;but such was his admiration for their wonderful achievement, as well ashis friendship for Lieutenant Beverly, that he readily consented tohelp them.
"And so here we are," Jack observed, after they had passed out from SandyHook and were heading across toward troubled Europe, "going back to duty,before our leave of absence will have expired, and the three weeksalready nearly half over. Let's only hope we can slip into the traces asif nothing unusual had happened and that mad flight was only an aviator'sday dream."
"It's a pleasure, too," added Tom reflectively, with a glance at hischum, "to know that there are loyal hearts waiting to greet us again overthere where the shells are bursting. For of course Nellie and Bessie, notto mention Harry Leroy, will be counting the days anxiously until we showup. Little do they suspect all we've been through; and we'll have to bindthem to secrecy when taking them into the game."
"H'm!" chuckled Lieutenant Beverly, "perhaps there's a littleSalvation Army lassie I, myself, will be glad to see again. Don'tfancy you two have cornered the whole market of fine girls. There areothers over there!"
So we will leave them, only hoping that at some other day we may oncemore meet Tom and Jack and Colin, and accompany them through otheractivities.
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