CHAPTER XXIV
TROUBLOUS TIMES FOR JACK
The men bearing the lanterns came closer, Jack saw, as he himselfscurried amidst the bushes seeking a hiding-place.
"Guess that Potzfeldt must know that planes can drop down on his bigopen field," the youth muttered to himself. Then as a new idea flashedthrough his brain he continued: "Whee! I warrant you now that ourswasn't the first airplane to land there. Sometimes maybe the spy hewants to send back of the French lines gets aboard right here, with hislittle cage of homers."
Presently loud exclamations told that the men had discovered the marksof the arriving and departing Caudron machine. Jack could hear themexchanging remarks about it, in German of course. Then he saw one of thetrio start back toward the house. He was half running, as though muchexcited. Jack jumped to a conclusion.
"Say," he said to himself, in a whisper, as though even the sound of hisown voice might be company for him, "now that must have been CarlPotzfeldt himself. What's he making for the house with a hop, skip andjump for? Perhaps one of his sharp-eyed men has told him there are marksof small shoes around; and old Carl got a sudden suspicion somethingtremendous has happened."
The master-spy came back again. He was now accompanied by two others,and Jack saw by their uniforms that they were members of the general'sstaff.
All were talking earnestly, Potzfeldt, Jack imagined, telling them somestory concerning Bessie and her mother, in which he figured as a nobleman, trying to save Mrs. Gleason from the wiles of some American fortunehunter, into whose hands he now feared she and her daughter had fallen.
"My! but he's wild!" chuckled the hidden observer. "He realizes that thetwo American boys have been too much for his scheming after all. Guesshe must have had a suspicion all along we'd break up his game. That'daccount for his plotting with the other spy to have our planes meddledwith, so we'd meet with some terrible accident that would remove us fromhis path."
Jack was really enjoying himself. It did him good to hear Potzfeldtraging around, and spluttering as though his rage half choked him.
What Bessie had said concerning the cruel treatment she had received atthe hands of her mother's relative had fired Jack's blood. He detested aman who in order to accumulate money could treat a helpless woman andgirl as Potzfeldt had those who were in his power.
"I'd just like," he was telling himself as he listened, "to be one ofthree fellows who had that villain in their power, with a nice bigkettle of hot tar handy, ditto three feather pillows. Oh, wouldn't wemake him a queer bird, though! The extinct dodo'd have nothing on him,believe me! But it's fine to hear him raging around like that. I onlywish Bessie could listen."
After a time Potzfeldt and his men went away. They knew they could donothing, as the big enemy plane had long since departed, and must bythen be many miles on the return journey to the French lines.
An hour went by and all seemed quiet in the region of the big house bythe side of the road. Jack had not forgotten the promise made tohimself. It might mean additional danger, to be sure; but when hethought of a long day ahead, in all probability, with an empty stomachconstantly reproaching him, he felt equal to the task.
He had no trouble in finding the entrance to the grounds. Everythingseemed quiet, as though the general and his staff were endeavoring toget a little sleep before resuming their journey to the fighting front.
Jack was soon under the window that had been described to him by Bessie.It gave light to the pantry during the daytime. Also he had beenassured, the catch that secured it was broken, so that if he were boldenough he could easily gain entrance and take his pick of what thehousekeeper had stored there.
Such a nimble chap as Jack had no difficulty whatever in making anentrance. Finding himself within the big closet, he listened, and,hearing no sound, struck a match.
By the light thus afforded he could see what lay within his reach. Trustone with an empty stomach for knowing what he wants under suchconditions. Jack immediately commenced to gather together a supply offood of various kinds, such as could be eaten without need for a fire.
Quantity rather than quality seemed to rule his actions. At any rate,when he gathered his spoils together he had quite enough to last anordinary man several days.
"Well," he told himself, when lifting the bundle he had made. "I may bemarooned around here a long time, and never get another chance at thissupply station. I believe in striking while the iron's hot. Now to getit outside without raising a crowd."
It was indeed a lucky thing that there was no watch-dog at the Potzfeldtplace. Undoubtedly this was because of the many visitors coming andgoing at all times, who might be bothered by a savage beast.
Jack managed to get back safely to the nest where he had hidden at thetime of the excitement, when Potzfeldt and his men were in the field. Hegave a sigh of relief after it was all over.
Soon the young aviator settled down to try to get some sleep, as sometime still remained before dawn would break. He meant to be early astir.There was danger in the air, as he might be discovered unless hearranged for a better hiding place than the covert of bushes where henow lay.
Whether his sleep was worth while, or rendered uneasy by dreams, Jacknever told. He was awake though, when the sun peeped above the horizon,and began to bestir himself. Presently people would be moving about.Some of the men might even come out to the open field again, to look atthe telltale marks. And if they chanced to suspect that one of the crewof the Caudron had been left behind, a hasty search was apt to revealhis presence.
Accordingly Jack commenced to retire deeper into the wood, and managedby great care to cover his tracks fairly well in so doing. Finally hefound a place that seemed to him about as good as anything he mightexpect to run across; and so he crawled into the bushes again.
Then he had a most pleasing task to start upon, which was nothing morenor less than that of appeasing his appetite, never more voracious, hefancied, than just then. Without a twinge of conscience regarding thefact that it was stolen food he disposed of, Jack commenced his morningmeal.
"I'm only enjoying some of the good stuff that scoundrel deprived Bessieof," he told himself, with a grin of contentment, after he had eatenuntil he could not take another bite. "Besides, everything is fair inwar-times. When you're raiding through the enemy's country it's supposedyou'll live on the spoils around you. Well, I'm going to live, and CarlPotzfeldt is my enemy, all right. He's proved that in a dozen differentways."
That idea set him to thinking about Bessie again, how she had taken sucha queer way to try to warn him, after overhearing her guardian plottingwith one of his men the injury to one or both of the young Americans.
"Now I wonder," Jack mused, as he lay in perfect peace with the world,for he had eaten his fill, "how he knew we had joined the LafayetteEscadrille. But then those German spies learn a lot of things, and hemay have been keeping tabs on Tom and me right along. Deep down in hisheart he suspected we'd bother him, and so he wanted to get us before wehad a chance to strike. Well, the shoe is on the other foot, it seems."
The morning advanced. Fortunately it proved to be a fair day for soearly in April. Had a storm arisen Jack might have found it hard to findshelter. As it was, all he had to do was to lie under the bushes anddoze from time to time.
Whenever he got to thinking of Tom a queer feeling came over him. Itmade him uneasy, though he could not explain why that should be so; andfrom time to time he took himself to task for being worried.
"Of course Tom got back safe and sound," he would muse. "He's too clevera pilot to make a bad job of such a business. And yet, if he doesn'tcome to-night I'll be terribly anxious. Oh, forget all that! will you,Jack Parmly? Think of something pleasant now. For instance, that it'snearly high noon, and most folks lunch then."
He had just calmed down again, when he had a sudden chill. Men wereworking in a field about three hundred yards away, for he could hearthem calling to one another in German.
Suddenly there came a series of snappy barks.
Jack looking around washorrified to discover a small dog. It was a dachschund, long of body,and with crooked, bandy legs. It was standing before the hidden boy andevidently bent on telling everybody by his barks that some suspiciousperson was hiding in the bushes.
It was a crisis that made Jack's blood run cold!