CHAPTER XI
THE COSSACKS
Something fell against Fred, something heavy and warm. It was a fullminute before he realized that it was von Glahn, staggering, coughing.He supported the German officer for a moment. Then they went downtogether with von Glahn, still coughing terribly, on top. That savedFred's life. For over him now, for the next five minutes, there raged afurious fight. Horses were all through the grounds; Fred heard them, andthe savage, unearthly cries of their riders. For the first minute therewas a good deal of firing. He guessed that the firing squad that hadbeen meant for him was putting up a stiff struggle; later he knew it.
Then abruptly it was all over. There was no sound save the groans ofwounded men. The firing ceased, and with it the fierce shouts of thosewho had invaded the garden at that most critical of moments. Fredrealized afterward that he must have fainted, for when next he could seeand hear, there was a faint light in the sky. He was aroused by themoving of the heavy weight of von Glahn's body, and looked up to see abearded man, small and wiry, in a rough sheepskin coat, who grinned downat him.
"Not hurt, eh, comrade?" said this man in Russian. He seemed surprisedwhen Fred answered in his own tongue, and started back. But he hadpushed the body of the German captain away, and Fred rose to his feet alittle unsteadily. It was a wild, strange scene upon which his eyesrested. All about the place where he had lain the ground was coveredwith evidences of a furious struggle. Nearly a score of Germans layabout, dead. Among them were half a dozen Cossacks, and over one ofthese stood a riderless horse, muzzling his master's body inquisitively.Fred was about to question the man who had relieved him of von Glahn'sweight when there was a sudden rush, and Boris, sobbing with delight,threw his arms about him and kissed him on both cheeks.
"Here--I say, Boris, don't do that!" he cried.
"Oh, I forgot that is not your custom!" said Boris. "But I thought youwere dead! I thought they had killed you! I saw them bring you out frommy window, and if the sentry had not stopped me, I would have thrownmyself out to join you! Come with me--my father is here!"
Fred was still dazed. His escape had been so miraculous that he wantedto pinch himself to see if he were still awake. A month before he hadbeen at home in America, envied by the rest of his patrol because he wasactually to go to far-off Russia by himself. And since then he had beenthree times a prisoner, had been in danger of exile to Siberia, and justnow had escaped by mere seconds meeting a blast of bullets from a Germanfiring squad, a victim of a war that had not even been dreamed of whenhe had sailed from America!
But there could be no real doubt of the truth as he followed Boris intothe house. In the dining-room where he had been sentenced to death, hecame upon Lieutenant Ernst, chatting amiably with half a dozen Russianofficers in their white coats. The German grinned at him.
"You're in luck, youngster," he said. "I'm not so sorry, really! Theydidn't get what they came after, you see."
"No, worse luck!" said a Russian. "How did the old fox know we werecoming?"
Ernst only looked wise, and did not answer. Fred was surprised by theway in which captive and captors mingled, seemingly on the most friendlyterms. But when he thought it over, it did not seem so strange. Ernstand these Russians knew what a huge thing this war was. Each had hispart to play, and would play it as well as he could. But individuals,after all, could not count for much, and the man who was prisoner to-daymight be on top to-morrow. Later bitterness and personal hatred mightcome, but as yet, as Fred began to understand, these men hadn't come tothat. They were like players on rival football teams after a hotlycontested game. In the play each man would fight his hardest; after thewhistle blew, friendship ruled. The referee's whistle had blown whenErnst was caught in a trap.
Boris pushed on into a smaller room. Here Fred saw a man he would haveknown anywhere as Boris's father, and, for that matter, as some closerelative of his mother. Alexander Suvaroff, General of Division in theRussian army, looked very much like Mikail, but there was a sharpdifference between them. This Suvaroff was as kindly in aspect as theother was repellent and harsh. His eyes twinkled affectionately when hesaw Fred.
"Welcome, cousin," he said. "Even if our chief purpose failed, I am gladwe got here in time to save you. You heard that General von Hindenburggot away?"
"I knew that before we were caught," said Fred, "but I didn't know youhad come for him."
"Of course they did!" said Boris. "Your wireless message told the staffhe was here, and my father led a cavalry raid behind the German lines totry to catch him. But--he ran away!"
The general laughed at the contempt in Boris's tone.
"Of course he ran away!" he said. "I only wonder how he knew we werecoming! That was bad luck--because not once did we strike so much as aGerman patrol as we rode."
"I can tell you," said Fred. "An aeroplane brought word. Its pilot musthave seen you as he flew overhead, and suspected that you were cominghere."
"So!" Suvaroff frowned. "I did not think of that! However, it is betterthan what we suspected at first. It looked as if someone at headquartersmust have betrayed the plan. Well, it was too good to come true. If wehad caught him and his staff, we might have hastened the end of the warby a good many months. Von Hindenburg is the ablest general in Germany,though he has been in disgrace for years. They sent for him as soon aswar came. He'll do good work."
Fred was thinking.
"If that aeroplane saw you coming, general," he said, "isn't theredanger that they may try to surround you here?"
"Yes, more than danger. They are sure to try to do it! But their cavalryis very slow, and I do not believe they have infantry enough near by tomake any trouble for us." He frowned thoughtfully. "There is somethingvery peculiar about the whole situation around here! If von Hindenburgis here, it means that their chief concentration on this front must behere. And yet we get reports of an astonishingly small number of troops!Not more than two corps."
Boris looked eagerly at his father, and then at Fred. But before hecould speak General Suvaroff went on, crisply.
"You can ride?" he asked Fred. "Good! I will see that you and Boris havehorses. Then we shall start. We can be back in our own lines beforedaylight."
Fred hesitated. Then Boris took the words from his mouth.
"Father, I want to stay!" he said, eagerly. "It will be safe. I can getback to the house and they can never catch me there, you know! They maynot even search for me, but if they do, I can hide from them in thetunnel. And you say the German movement about here is puzzling. Would itnot be well to have some way of sending word from here? Ivan is at work.But no matter what he discovers, if we are not at the house, it will dono good. Let me stay!"
"I should like to stay, too," said Fred.
"Impossible!" said General Suvaroff at once to that. "You would be shotas soon as you were caught--you are under sentence now. They would nottreat you as a prisoner of war, even if they caught you among mytroopers."
"But if they did not catch me--"
"No! I cannot let you take so great a risk. You are of my kin, and I owea duty to your mother. I shall see that you get back safely to Russiaand are sent home by sea from there."
"But if I go into Russia, I shall be arrested--those are Prince Mikail'sorders," said Fred, quietly. "I am sure to be caught there, and herethere is a chance that I may not be found. If you take Lieutenant Ernstwith you as a prisoner, no one among the Germans will know me, except asI appear now. If I change back to my own clothes, I shall be safe fromanything worse than detention. None of the officers of the court-martialescaped, did they?"
"No, that is true," said Suvaroff. He spoke thoughtfully. It was plainthat Fred's argument was making an impression on him. "I have heardsomething of your affair with Mikail. I shall look into that. Eh--Idon't know just what to do!"
"Let us stay!" pleaded Boris. "We will be careful, and we know now justwhat dangers we must avoid."
"I think we shall be back here, in force, before the week is out," saidhis father, after a moment'
s reflection. "Very well, you shall stay! Itis true that you may be of the greatest service. I have not the right toconsider personal matters when the welfare of Russia is at stake."
It was light by now. In curious contrast to the shambles of the gardenand the disorder of the house, its windows shattered by bullets, itsfurniture broken and draperies torn in the swift conflict that hadfollowed the appearance of the Cossacks, roosters were crowing outsideand birds were singing. General Suvaroff gave a sharp order;subordinates passed it along. A bugle sounded, and, five minutes later,after the general had said good-bye to the two scouts, the Cossackraiders rode away. They were strung out in a long column along the road.As they passed through the village Fred and Boris, watching from anupper window of the abandoned parsonage, saw the villagers watching.Boris had a powerful field glass, and through this he and Fred could seethe very faces of the watching Germans. Hatred and fear mingled in thelooks they sent after the invaders of their country.
"One can't blame them," said Fred, with a shudder. "War's ratherghastly, isn't it, Boris?"
He looked down into the garden, and Boris's eyes followed his.
"Yes," said the Russian. "That's the ugly part of it. It's all ugly. Butsometimes war must come, it seems to me. We in Russia have never wantedto make war. We have fought because we were forced to fight. I thinkthat is what history will say of us in this war."
"They are not going toward Russia," said Fred, looking after theraiders, who were melting into the landscape now. "Their road seems tobe due west."
"They must ride in a long circle, I suppose," said Boris. "If they wentstraight back, they would run right into the Germans. There must be alot of the enemy between us and the Russian lines--their main body, yousee. And my father won't want to fight. His object is to get back withas many men as possible. It would be useless to send a thousandCossacks against an army corps."
"Oh, of course! It's wonderful to think of how they got here, Boris,riding right through the enemy's country! It's like the work cavalry didon both sides in our Civil War. They used to get behind the enemy'slines and cut telegraph wires and railways all the time."
In the village, there were now more signs of life. As the Cossacks rodeby, the street had been empty, but now men and women were coming outfurtively. They began to come toward the parsonage.
"Time for us to go," said Fred, with decision. "We wouldn't have muchchance if they caught us here. And if we're to be of any use, thosepeople have got to think that we've gone."
"Right!" said Boris. "Hello--look up there! I was afraid of that!"
He pointed to a monoplane, flying high and coming from the north, fromthe direction of the Baltic.
"Looking for the raiders," said Fred. "Let's hurry. I think we ought toreport what has happened by wireless. Your father's party may needhelp."