CHAPTER VI
TO THE RESCUE
After this there was silence. The men slept with snores and grunts anthey moved uneasily on their hard beds, and Ivan slept only atintervals. He was anxious to know whether the conversation had beenheard by Warren, but did not dare to communicate with him in any way,although he could hear an occasional sigh as though his friend wassuffering pain. Warren was indeed feeling badly from the blow that hadnearly broken his skull. Fortunately the weapon, a piece of iron shodwood, had glanced and so saved his life. But his head ached worse thanhe had thought a head could ache; and when he finally came out of thedaze of the blow, he slept only in a sort of stupor. He had not heardthe conversation that had been listened to so eagerly by Ivan, and sowas at least saved that anxiety.
Day came, and to Ivan, who was prepared, there were signs of departure.Warren, who still lay silent on his pallet of rags, did not seem to seeanything. He did not eat, but accepted a cup of' water from the woman'shand.
Elinor clung to him, and the woman did not object.
Ivan was afraid to speak to any of them. The day dragged away, andfinally (it seemed years) the room grew so dark that Ivan knew thatnight must be approaching. Soon he would know their fate. It wasuncertain, because he knew that at any time in the day they might havedecided not to leave their death to the poisoned food, but to shoot themto death before leaving the place.
However, Martha commenced the preparation of the meal that was meant forsupper, and Ivan noticed that she had made more than usual.
A crust of dry bread and a cup of water was given to Warren, and thesame fare thrown on the floor beside Ivan, who did not eat it andwatched anxiously to see if Warren would taste his. But the boy shookhis head.
"Never mind," said the woman, slyly looking over to the door where themen were bundling some ragged garments in a big square of cloth.
"Never mind. I am sorry for you, my poor boy. Soon those brutes willtake us away, but I will leave one good meal for you. I promise you thatif they beat me for it you shall be decently fed for once. And I am agood cook; you shall see!"
Ivan shivered. Then as the woman turned to the fire and rattled thepans, he said sharply in English:
"Warren, do not eat!"
The three turned threateningly as he spoke, but as he made no effort tocontinue the speech in what was to them an unknown tongue, they oncemore went about their tasks. As they became interested in the tasks theywere doing, Ivan spoke again.
"Warren?" he said.
Warren heard. "Yes!"
"Don't try to keep the girls if they start to take them," he said asrapidly as he could talk.
"There they go again!" said the woman "What are they up to, do youthink?"
Michael went over to Warren.
"Do you want your head broken again?" he scowled. "You will get it. Andyou, too!" He turned to Ivan, and shouted threateningly across the room."It will be your turn if I hear you speak again."
Ivan, who had said all he wanted to, nodded and was silent.
Soon Michael and Patro picked Ivan up and carried him to the massivebench that stood at one side of the table, and seating him there, tiedhis legs in a clever fashion so that he was unable to reach the bonds,he was so wedged between the bench and table. The place must once havebeen a public wine room, and what furniture there was of the heaviestsort.
Warren they lifted and tied in the same manner on the opposite side ofthe great table.
"There!" said the woman Martha. "Now you can see each other, and talk aslong as you like." She looked at the men and laughed.
"Where are you going?" said Ivan in Polish.
"Well," said the woman, "I don't mind telling you in the least."
"Don't do it!" warned Patro.
"Why not? They are safe," said the woman.
"Won't your bonds hold as long as necessary? You see," she said, turningto Warren, "it will be a day or two perhaps before your friends findyou. And even then I don't believe you will tell my plans. It will betoo late. We are going to tame these nice little girls, and make beggarsof them. Something useful, you see, instead of letting them grow up inidleness as they would if they stayed with you. We will go to Praguefrom here and I will give the little one to my sister. Then we will getout of this accursed country soon as we can, and get away where moneycomes easy to the poor war refugees. What do you think of that?" Sheleered close to the boy's face.
Everything was ready. The food, poisoned as Ivan knew it to be, stoodtemptingly between them, on the table. It was not an unpleasing meal. ToWarren, who had not tasted solid food for two days, everything lookedinviting. Ivan felt himself shaking with excitement. All was ready. Themen unbarred the door, and the woman with a last sneering jest at theboys, picked up little Rika, while Michael lifted Elinor. The childscreamed.
"Warren, don't let them take me away! Don't let them take me!" she criedover and over.
"Be a good girl! We will come for you very soon," said Ivan swiftly, asshe paused for breath.
The child screamed again, and Michael wound a thick muffler across herface.
The heavy door closed with a clash. The boys heard a faint cry, and thenthe great key turned in the lock. They looked at each other.
"What does it all mean?" said Warren. He struggled furiously to releasehis feet, but gave up to sit staring at Ivan. "What does it all mean?"
"Well, for one thing," said Ivan, "that food is poisoned." He proceededto recount to Warren, the strange circumstance of the whisperedconversation which he had so clearly overheard.
"It has saved our lives," said Warren solemnly. "I am starved and wouldhave eaten this stuff sure as nails. Gee, what an escape! Let us workout of these ropes and get out of here. Perhaps, we can get thosecutthroats before they got away from the city."
For some moments the boys both wiggled and twisted to free themselves.It was in vain. So closely were they wedged between the benches andtable, and so cleverly were their feet tied with rope and pieces ofboard to wedge them, that it was absolutely an impossibility to releasethemselves. All through the night they sat there, at intervals renewingtheir efforts to get free, and with despair growing in their hearts.They began to realize the seriousness of the situation. When Warren'swatch told them that morning had come, they found themselves lookingwistfully at the food. Its scent was in their famished nostrils. Warrendrew a piece of fish toward him.
"I wonder if it is all poisoned," he said.
With a cry Ivan reached out and swept the food from the table. "There!"he exclaimed, "I found myself wondering the same thing. If we die, wedie--but not that way, my Warren. We will be free yet. Ivanovich doesnot die today."
But Warren, weakened from, his hurts, laid his head down on his armswith a groan.
Ivan looked at him pityingly. The loss of his little sister had almostcrushed Warren. He who was always the leading spirit, quick andresourceful, was for the moment crushed.
Ivan did not speak. He respected the grief of his friend. He knew thatsoon he would be himself again, planning for success.
Late that same afternoon three Boy Scouts sauntered down the dark andtwisted alley leading to the river. The section of the city was strangeto them, and it was now so wrecked by the recent bombardment that theenemy themselves shunned it. The poor creatures that had once foundlodging in those dark holes of want and famine had all fled at the firstgunshot; and the boys idled here and there, looking at the marks of theshots, and picking up many a queer memento of the battle.
Warsaw had fallen; but the spirit of boys is the same all the worldover. In their imaginations, even while the smoke of battle still hungover the city, they had planned other and victorious battles. They hadalready saved Warsaw for a wonderful golden future.
As they climbed around, one of them pointed to the broken plaster on theground.
"See!" he said. "A Scout! Two of them have been here. There are themarks of the nails in their Scout shoes."
The other boys looked. Sure enough they saw distinctly the
marks of thewell known Scout shoes, sold even in distant Warsaw.
"Let's follow them up," said another boy, leading the way.
It was something to do and they bent to the chase like young hounds on afresh fox trail. Rather to their disappointment, the tracks did notdouble or disappear here and there. They led directly down the street.As they followed, a faint cry sounded. The boys stopped, startled.
"What's that?" whispered one.
The cry was repeated. "Someone in trouble," cried the first boy,hurrying forward.
The boy behind took a quick step, and caught him by the arm.
"Stop!" he whispered. "Don't go on! That's not a human voice."
Frozen in attitudes of astonishment, the boys stood listening with alltheir might.
"Pshaw!" said the tall boy, Thaddeus, in his rapid Polish. "What thinkyou would cry like that--spirits?" He laughed.
"It might be," said the second lad doggedly. "There are spirits, ofcourse; and when souls are set free in the violence of war they say theyever return to haunt the scene of their passing."
"Well, nobody has passed here," said Thaddeus, "alive or dead. Let's goon!"
"Wait just a minute," said the second boy. "I tell you there is evilsomewhere about here!"
"The street is dark and crooked enough to hold almost anything," saidThaddeus. "I am not surprised now that my father always ordered me tokeep away from these streets leading to the river. They say many andmany a poor wretch has been bundled down there and pushed off into theVistula. She tells no tales, that river."
The cry was repeated. It was faint, and there was a note of pain orterror in it that chilled the listeners. Very faint and far away it wastoo.
"I'm going back," said the second boy.
"Go!" said Thaddeus scornfully, "Go and give up your Scout badge, andtell the chapter that while the sons of Warsaw were not afraid to meet abloody death, you are not one of them because you think the spirits areabroad in the town."
The boy blushed.
"Come!" said Thaddeus. "I know you don't mean it. There is someone introuble. Let us find them quickly."
Following the tracks and listening every few steps for the voices, theboys reached the place where Warren and Ivan were imprisoned. They werenearly exhausted from the cramped positions and the long fast. They hadcalled until their throats were parched, and their voices croaked andwheezed. But as they heard the boys familiar and welcome voices soundfaintly through the heavy door, new energy thrilled then and they liftedtheir voices together in a shout that echoed in the vaulted room. It wasanswered.
So thick and close fitting was the door that they could not make thelisteners outside understand anything but the word "Help!" which, spokenin any language, is certain to bring response. The boys outside shoutedassurances which were, also not understood, but the sound of friendlyvoices put now life into Warren and Ivan every moment. The great lockeddoor was baffling; but there was plenty of heavy timbers around, andfinding a sort of battering ram was a moment's work. The three went towork with a will. Blow after blow fell on the heavy door. It did notyield an inch. The lock also held firm, but the new casing was built inold and rotted wood. It gave, and with a dusty splintering the doortoppled in, and the boys, springing over without a moment's hesitation,entered.
They hurried to the exhausted prisoners and cut the ropes and freedthem. Both boys were so numb that it was some time before the Scoutscould rub feeling into the cramped legs and feet.
Warren pointed to the floor where the pieces of food were scattered.Three dead rats lay near.
"You were right, Ivan," he said with a great shudder.
"What is it?" said the Scout who was rubbing him.
"Poison," said Warren. "Meant for us." A little at a time he told thenewcomers the adventures of the past long hours.
After the blow on the head Warren had lain unconscious for so long, andwhen he finally roused the darkness and dungeon-like appearance of theroom so perplexed him, that he thought himself delirious. He was verydizzy, and tried to sleep, feeling that if he could lose himself, hewould wake and find the whole thing a bad dream. Even when his sistercame and caressed him, he did not change his mind.
But finally full consciousness came, with all the suffering of hishurts, as well as the dreadful anxiety about Elinor and Rika and theseeming hopelessness of escape.
The boys all shook their heads when Ivan broke in to tell how he hadgiven up the great ruby, only to be thought a thief. They listenedbreathlessly when he told of the strange whisper that came so clearly tohis ears, and when they reached the account of the poison they scarcelybreathed.
"You couldn't see the rats, could you?" Warren asked Ivan.
"No!" said Ivan.
"Well," said Warren, "it queered me so I thought I wouldn't say anythingabout it. After you threw the food off the table, I looked down andpresently something slipped out of the shadow. It was the biggest ratyou ever saw. Much bigger than any of those. He walked around bold asanything, and I began to think what a big fellow like that could do if afellow got down and out. Well, it made me cold. Then he went off, and Ithink he told a lot of the others that there was a lot of good eats onthe floor, and half a dozen of them came along, and went after that meatand stuff. And when they ate it, one by one they just went staggeringaround for a little as though they didn't know what ailed them, and thenthey fell down, and I never hope to see such agony. It was back of you,Ivan, and I thought there was no use telling you. But it is all overnow, for the rats and for us too; and we can be glad you fellows foundus. As soon as we can walk," he ended, "we must take this thing toheadquarters. We know where to look for the girls, and they must help."
The largest Scout laughed.
"You don't know what you are talking about," he said. "You can't gethelp from anyone. Our people, the people of Warsaw, are so scattered,that it is the same as though they did not exist. As for the others, theenemy, they laugh. I know of one lady who lost a child--But there is nouse to talk. Whatever is done--we will have to do ourselves."
"We will go down ourselves, now we know where to look, and we will takethe children. We are strong, if it comes to a fight; we can still getthem away. We ourselves will rescue the children." He laughed and helpedWarren to his feet. "We are Scouts," he said.
"It is a good thing we are," said another boy, busy rubbing Ivan who laywith set teeth, stifling the pain of returning circulation in histortured ankles.
"You did a wonderful thing, Warren," he continued, addressing the boy henamed, "when you started the Boy Scout movement over here. Well Iremember the day I told my people about it. They were amused. Theycalled it one of the crazy plans of the Americans. They were afraid tohave me join. They were afraid that I would get into trouble with thegovernment. Everything is so strictly watched. But they were so glad tohave me have a good chance to learn the American language, that theywould not quite forbid me. I thought I never would learn. Sometimes Ithought I knew it well; and there would appear in your speech somestrange words that you could not seem to translate to us, and you calledit all with one word, 'Slang!' You said you could not get along withoutit. And it was and is the most difficult part of all the noble language.Yet now that I can read your native language, I never seem able to findthis slang you talk in the books or magazines. I have kept a carefullist of all I have heard you say, and I am teaching it to my mother andto my sister who was to have been presented at Court, had not this warcome up. It would be fine for them to be able to talk this slang to yourambassador." He stopped speaking Polish, and broke into lame and haltingEnglish. "Do you get me, Lissee!" he asked.
Warren groaned.
"For the love of Mike!" he said. "No, I don't mean that! For Pete'ssake--" He groaned again. "I don't know what I mean," he said, "but I doget you. Mikelovo and you don't want to teach your precious family anymore gems." He hastily sought an excuse. "You see only men and boys talkit as a general thing. Better teach the women stuff out of the books."
"All right," said the earn
est student of the American language, "but inall other things the Boy Scouts are all right for my family."
"When the books and other things came from your country, I showed themto my father with trembling; but he approved. And now we will do all thegreat things, we ourselves, that our poor country cannot do. We willhelp your good father, and rescue the little children."
"One thing I have noticed," said the first boy. "There are no boysaround the streets giving any help to the hurt or lost or troubledexcept the Boy Scouts. When Warsaw rises again, there will be a greatorder here, and all the boys in the city shall have a chance to preparefor it."
"Gee whiz, yes," said the student of slang, solemnly, "we will get 'emall in line."