CHAPTER VII
A DARING RUSE
It would be hard to say which was more surprised--Fred or the soldier.For just a moment they stood, both of them, perfectly still, staring atone another with fallen jaws. And then Fred acted by pure instinct, andwithout the semblance of a plan in his mind. He had played football inschool and on the team of his scout troop in America. And now he divedfor the astonished German's legs and brought him down with a flyingtackle. The heavy gun flew out of the soldier's hands, and, fortunatelyfor Fred, he fell so that his head struck the ground heavily. He wasstunned and, for the moment at least, safe and out of commission.
There was time, therefore, for Fred to see how the ground lay. He foundthat he was in a slight hollow, sandy in the bottom, where he stood andthe soldier lay. He imagined that at certain times this hollow might befilled with water, for the sand had that appearance, and, moreover,there was a gully, evidently washed out by water, leading down into thepit.
"Wonder how long he's good for?" speculated Fred, looking at thesoldier. "A few minutes, anyhow. He got quite a bump!"
He satisfied himself in a moment that the soldier was not badly hurt. Hewas a ridiculous figure as he lay there sprawled out. His breathing washeavy; it sounded almost like heavy snoring. He was very young, scarcelymore than a boy himself. His uniform was entirely new, as was hisequipment. He was very slight too, and his face was typical of a certainsort of German. He looked, Fred thought, like a bird. It was a queeridea, and he laughed as it came to him, but it did describe this Germanabsolutely.
"I'll risk it," Fred decided. He hesitated about the door. Perhaps heought to close it. But if he did, he couldn't open it again from thisside for that was a secret he hadn't learned. And, after all, the onlydanger was that the soldier might come to his senses and go in--and ifhe did that, Fred could follow him. So taking the rifle, he crawledalong the gully the rain had washed out, moving very cautiously. As heneared the top, he lifted his head and saw, not more than fifty yardsaway, a grey stone house, simple and unassuming. A flag pole had beenput up in front of this house, and a German flag drooped from it.Soldiers were all about the place, and two automobiles stood before thedoor. Motorcycles were lying on the ground. While Fred watched, two menrode up on the snorting, crackling little machines and hurried into thehouse.
This was undoubtedly the parsonage, now being used as the headquartersof Colonel Goldapp. Fred's heart sank as he surveyed the place. Itseemed to him that there wasn't much chance that he could rescue Boris.There were too many Germans about. Even though there was no reason forthe staff to anticipate an attack, he could guess that the place wouldbe well guarded. And yet he was here because he hoped that he would beable, after seeing the parsonage, to devise some plan of getting Borisaway.
However, that was something to be attempted later, if at all. His chiefconcern now was for the soldier he had thrown. And now he made his wayback, and found to his dismay that the man was beginning to recover hissenses. As Fred came back he stretched, yawned, and sat up, with themost ludicrous mixture of fright and wonder in his eyes. Fred had hisgun, and at the sight of that the soldier spoke indignantly.
"Give me back my gun!" he said, testily. "It is against the rules foranyone to touch my gun. If you let the corporal catch you with that,there'll be trouble. I promise you!"
Fred had hard work to control his features. He wondered if the man wasreally a little simple-minded, or if the effects of his fall stillconfused him. He finally decided that both theories were right. For amoment he hesitated, wondering what to do. He wanted to get back intothe passageway, and he did not want the German to see him doing it. Ashe thought, he studied the entrance attentively. And he was startledsuddenly to find that he could not see it! Had something happened? Hadthe door closed automatically? If that were so, he was in a nice fix,and he would soon join Boris as a prisoner.
But then he realized that the seeming disappearance of the opening wassimply the result of clever screening, by means of bushes. It haddeceived him for the moment. He saw that the door was so contrived thatanyone emerging from it would seem to anyone even a few feet away, to besimply coming out from behind a bush. And then he got his great idea, anidea that made him turn his head, so that the soldier would not see thegrin he could not suppress.
"Here, give me that gun!" said the soldier, again. He was more impatientthan before, and his tone was one of anger. He struggled to his feet,too, and stood, swaying uncertainly, still weak and very dizzy as theresult of his fall.
"Beware!"
The word came in a sepulchral, heavy voice from directly behind thesoldier. He swung around, greatly puzzled.
"Who's there?" he called, sharply.
"I am everywhere!" said the same voice.
But now it came from the very ground at his feet.
And then the voice spoke, swinging around, as the soldier turned, like adancing dervish, trying always to face the voice, only to have it comefrom some new quarter.
"Attend carefully to what I say!" said the mysterious voice. "You haverisked death by coming to this spot! But I am merciful, and I wish topreserve all soldiers who fight for their fatherland! I am the spirit ofthis place! I command you to go! Go up the gully. Stand with your backturned to this place and count one hundred. Then, and only then, you mayreturn. Your gun will be here, and you may then go in peace. This groundis sacred to me. On your life, when you have regained your gun, go! Donot look back! Do not hesitate! And, above all, tell no one what youhave seen! I have spoken!"
The soldier was trembling now in every limb. He looked hard at Fred, asif he suspected that he might have something to do with this mysterious,awesome voice. But Fred's lips had never moved. Fred, at home, had oftenamused the guests of his family and the gatherings of the scout patrolto which he belonged with this trick of ventriloquism. But the Germanevidently had never heard of such a thing. And suddenly he broke into arun. He made for the gully and ran along it with stumbling feet.
"Now stop!" boomed the voice--directly in front of him! "Not a stepfurther! Begin to count aloud. But do not shout!"
"Ein, zwei, drei, vier--" began the German, obediently.
And Fred, half choking with suppressed laughter, slipped behind thescreened entrance of the secret passageway, while the soldier's backwas still turned. He did not quite close the door, but waited to makesure that the German's curiosity did not get the better of his fright,which had certainly been real enough. But it was all right. The mancounted right up to a hundred, and once or twice, to Fred's hugeamusement, when he stammered, and lost track of his numbers, he wentback and counted several of them over again! But he finished at last,and Fred heard him come stumbling down the gully. He seemed to hesitatethen.
"May I really go now?" he asked. "I did not know there was a spirithere, or I would not have come."
"Yes. Go, and quickly!" said Fred, throwing his voice out so it camefrom far above the soldier.
He heard the soldier running then, and in a moment closed the doorbehind him, and began retracing his steps along the secret tunnel.
"Gee! That was a close call!" he said to himself. "Serves me good andright, too, for doing more than I was told! I might have spoiledeverything by not waiting until I knew more about the place. If thatsoldier hadn't been ready to see a ghost in anything he didn't have somereason to expect to meet, I'd be in a lot of trouble now. And yet I'llbet he's brave enough, too. If he had an enemy he could see and touch,he'd fight all right."
But Fred had more to think about now than what had happened, or whatmight have happened, either. He was more interested in what was to comenext. He went along, flashing his torch. There was no sound at the thinwall, where he stopped, when he reached it, to listen for the sound ofvoices in the great hall. That encouraged him. He decided that if anysoldiers had been left on guard in the place, they would have been inthere. And when he came near to the panel by which he had entered, whenhe let his torch wink out he saw that there was a light ahead of him.
For a
moment he caught his breath, wondering if some enemy haddiscovered the secret, and was waiting to pounce on him. But he went on,because he decided that if anyone were waiting they must know alreadythat he was in the tunnel. And in a moment he came face to face with oldVladimir.
"The coast is clear, excellency," said the old Russian. "All the Germanshave gone--a curse upon them! My master has told me to treat you as ifyou stood in his place until he returns. I have the things that Ivanbrought. Is it your pleasure that I should deliver them to you?"
Fred was puzzled for a moment. Then he remembered the wireless.
"Oh, yes, by all means!" he said. "And show me the room where thewireless is. You know all about that, Vladimir?"
"I know where it is. I do not understand such devil's work, but I am anold man, and stupid."
Fred laughed.
"Perhaps it's devil's work, but if we have any luck it will be prettyuseful to us," he said. "Come on, if it's safe for me to come out.There's a lot for me to do."
Vladimir led the way to the top of the house. On the roof, like apent-house, there was a little room or cupola, and in this was apartially dismantled wireless installation. Fred was left there alonewhile Vladimir went off to get the things that Ivan had given to him forsafekeeping, and he studied the installation closely. It was differentfrom any that he had ever seen, but its leading principle, of course,was familiar to him. At first it surprised him to find that it wassupplied with power by weak batteries, which the Germans had ruined.
"You couldn't send more than twenty miles with those batteries!" he saidto himself.
But when Vladimir returned that was explained. For he removed a picturethat hung on the wall and disclosed a number of wires.
"I do not understand," he said. "But my master and Ivan have told methat those wires that you see run down to a place far below the cellar,where there is a great engine that moves when petrol is put into it--"
"Oh, I see, a dynamo run by a Diesel engine, probably!" said Fred,suddenly enlightened. "That's a fine idea! They can develop powerwithout steam! Costs a lot--but it's worth it, of course! I'll just trythat out!"
Quickly he connected up the wires, tried out his key, after replacingthe parts that had been taken away, and in a moment got a powerfulspark.
"That's great!" he said, to himself, ignoring old Vladimir, who watchedhim in fascinated wonder. "I can send a long distance with that spark!"
Then he pounced on something he had overlooked before,--a little bookbound in black leather. As he opened it, he gave an exclamation of joy.It was a code book, as he saw at once, and on the inside of the coverwas a list of wireless stations, with their calls. There was one atVirballen, he saw, and a dozen other places just over the border, andrunning quite a distance into Russian territory, including one atAugustowo, were named.
"Ivan told me to guard that book as if it were my life," said Vladimir."He said to put it in a safe place, and to destroy it if the Germansfound it, even if they killed me for doing it."
"He was right," said Fred, soberly. "If the Germans got that book, itwould be as valuable to them as a whole army, Vladimir."
"It is very strange," said the old man. "I do not understand, but I amold and stupid, and it is not for me to question my betters."
Fred sat down and studied the code for a few moments. More than ever hewas glad now that his mother had always insisted that he must be able toread and speak her Russian tongue. He would have to send in Morse,instead of in the somewhat simpler Continental code, but that, hethought, would make little difference. Some operator would be certain tounderstand his sending.
And now he sat down and began calling Suwalki. He would have liked tocall Virballen, which was nearer, but he was not sure that the Russianswere still in possession of their station there, since he rememberedthat the Germans had had the superior force there on the Saturday nightwhen the war broke out--a night that seemed to lie a century in the pastnow!
For a long minute he hammered out his call. And then through the air,over miles of hostile country, came a welcome whisper in his ear--thewhisper of the answering call from Suwalki! He was in touch with Russia!