Boy Scouts on Belgian Battlefields

  CHAPTER XXVI.

  FOR HUMANITY'S SAKE.

  "I think we're coming to Sempst," said Rob.

  It was nearly half an hour after Merritt had so firmly announced hisintention of staying in the game, no matter if he should meet with abitter disappointment in the town, which had been the loadstone fortheir advance through the heart of war-stricken Belgium.

  "Then Brussels can't be very far away, over there," said Tubby. "Gee! Ionly wish we could find some scarecrows about now, and get a change ofclothes."

  "What makes you say that?" asked Rob. "I thought you were so proud ofyour suit of khaki that nothing could tempt you to give it up."

  "Oh! I didn't mean I'd really want to discard this bully suit," Tubbyhastened to explain. "Only if we could manage to conceal the scoutuniform under something more common, why, you see the Germans mighttake us for Belgian boys, and in that case wouldn't molest us."

  "I understand what he's getting at, Rob," Merritt chuckled, "Tubby hassaid a number of times that the one thing he was sorry about was that wecouldn't have a run through Brussels. Seems like he got a great notionhe wanted to visit there, as he'd read a lot about the wonderful city.But you'll have to let that longing sleep until the next time you comeabroad, Tubby."

  "Unless we happen to find we've got business in Brussels," observed theother cunningly. "Then mebbe we might decide we'd find a way to go in.'Course I mean if they told us here in Sempst that Mr. Steven Meredith,who seems to be a pretty smart secret agent of the German Government,had changed his residence to Brussels, so as to be in touch with armyheadquarters and the General Staff. How about that, Merritt?"

  "We won't cross rivers before we come to them," Rob hastened to remark,not wishing the other to fully commit himself to any course. "Aftercoming so far with the intention to find our man here in this littletown, it seems silly to get cold feet when we're right on the spot, andbefore we know anything that's against our having the best of success."

  "Oh! you're right, Rob," agreed Tubby. "You remember the old motto weused to write in our copybooks at school long ago--'sufficient unto theday is the evil thereof.' Guess that's from the Good Book, too; but itapplies to our case, all the same. We'll wait till we see what is goingto happen here in Sempst. Anyway, they haven't burned this little placedown, because I don't see anything that looks like ruins."

  Indeed, it seemed as though the peasants living close to Brussels hadbeen induced by the Germans to continue their regular field work, underpromise of purchasing for fair prices all the green stuff they couldfetch into the capital. They, mostly women, old decrepit men, andchildren, for even the smallest could be given some task that would helpout, were working in the fields.

  "I wonder if any of them could understand my French," Rob was saying."Of course it wouldn't be likely they could talk English. I've got agood notion to try it on the first one we meet on the road ahead."

  "Do it, Rob," urged Tubby. "Merritt and I will stand by to catch him ifhe starts to faint."

  "Oh! I hope my French isn't quite that bad," exclaimed Rob. "I've beenpolishing it up considerable, you know, while on the steamer, and afterwe landed in Belgium; and, with what I know, and by pointing andshrugging my shoulders, I generally manage to make people understand. Ofcourse, I don't know how it would be with a clodhopper who didn't happento be as intelligent as I'd want. But here's a chance, and I'm going tomake the attempt."

  "It won't kill, even if it doesn't cure," said Merritt; "and, Rob, ifyou can get him to understand what you're saying, be sure and ask ifthat chemical factory, where we understood Steven had been given hisresponsible berth, has shut down, or if it is still in operation."

  "I'll do that, Merritt," the other promised.

  Accordingly, when the peasant, smoking his big pipe, came along in hiswooden shoes, Rob stopped him. He wanted to impress the fellowfavorably, so as to increase the prospect for a favorable answer; and soRob made sure to have one of his famous smiles on his bright face whenhe began to air his French.

  The other boys stood there watching the "circus," as Tubby called it.They saw, however, that Rob, many times at a loss for words in order toexpress his meaning, must have managed to make the peasant understandhim.

  Again and again each of them pointed toward the town so near at hand.Possibly Rob may have been explaining just who he and his chums were,and also how they had come all the way from Antwerp with the one hope offinding a certain person in this little suburb.

  "He's picking up some kind of news, seems like," Merritt told Tubby, asthe dialogue progressed under so many difficulties, expressive movementsof the shoulders, and waving hands taking the place of words thatfailed.

  "What makes you think so?" demanded the fat scout.

  "Look at Rob's face, and you can tell that he's feeling more or lesssatisfied with the way things are going on," replied Merritt.

  "Gosh! that's so," muttered Tubby. "Seems you're getting a move on, too,with observing things. I'll have to hurry and do something myself, if Idon't want to find that I'm no first-class scout, after all, but only adub."

  Finally Rob was seen to press a coin in the calloused palm of thepeasant, who took off his cap and bowed several times, as thoughgrateful, and then he continued on his way along the road.

  "What luck?" asked Tubby immediately; while Merritt, more deeplyinterested than any of them, silently waited to listen.

  "Oh! he gave me quite some information," replied Rob; "and, so far as Ican see, it looks good for us. I didn't learn anything about StevenMeredith, because the farm laborer probably never heard of such aperson; but he did tell me that the chemical works have been kept goingfull blast ever since the Germans occupied Brussels."

  "That must be because certain things are made there that they can use intheir war game, eh, Rob?" Merritt conjectured, and the other nodded.

  "No question about it," he said, "though the peasant couldn't say whycertain things were done, only that they did happen. But, if the factoryis running wide open, there seems to be a chance that we may find Stevenstill on deck, and keeping his finger on the pulse."

  "I'm only afraid that if he really is what we think, a secret agent ofthe government," Merritt suggested uneasily, "that he may have beentransferred to some other point where his smartness would be apt tocount, perhaps away down in France, so that he could send up valuableinformation about the making of artillery, or how the conscription ofthe Nineteen-Fifteen boy recruits is coming on."

  "Still, to find the works open, and doing business right along, lookslike a piece of good luck to me," said Tubby.

  "It is," added Rob positively. "We agreed long ago that we'd consider itsuch, if we learned there had been no shutdown. We hoped it would bethat way, for we already knew that German capital had been back of thechemical works. I wouldn't be much surprised if it was learned thatsomewhere about the place, unknown to most people, these clever Germanshad long ago built a heavy concrete floor, to be used in their business;but which would make the best kind of foundation for one of those bigsiege guns they used to knock down the Liege and Namur forts."

  When Rob said this he did not dream how closely he was hitting thetruth. It had not been discovered at that time how secret preparationsalong such lines had been made by the Germans, year after year, in closeproximity to many of the leading cities in Belgium, France, and evenover in England.

  "Well, now for moving on, and entering the town," Merritt remarked, witha look on his face that told how he was summoning all his resolution soas not to appear too heartbroken should they meet with bitterdisappointment.

  "I hope we don't run across any German soldiers here," said Tubby.

  "We want to keep on the constant watch for them," Rob gave warning. "Ifthey saw us, they might think it their duty to have us arrested atonce, and detained until our story could be investigated."

  "And that would spell ruin for all our plans, wouldn't it?" Merrittasked, not as cheerfully as he might, because he had been fearful allalong that something like this mi
ght come to pass just when he haddiscovered the object of his long search, and before he could proceed torelieve Steven Meredith of the old case in which he carried thosesplendid field-glasses.

  They were now among the outer houses of the town. So far as they couldsee, Sempst did not differ to any degree from various other Belgiantowns they had seen. It consisted of numerous small houses, a few morepretentious dwellings, possibly of Brussels business men, and somefactories.

  From only one of these stacks was smoke seen coming, and, having pickedup a pointer, it was easy for the scouts to decide that this must be theGerman-owned chemical works with which Steven Meredith had beenconnected, between his foreign trips.

  When thus entering the town that was so close to Brussels, where theGermans were in full charge, it was the policy of the three scouts todraw as little attention to themselves as possible. While thus far theyhad not chanced to notice any German soldiers, still there was always apossibility that some of them were around.

  Besides, Rob figured that if a German-owned chemical factory had been inoperation here for years, very naturally there would be many natives ofthe Rhine country employed there, and living in the town. If the Germangovernment were really back of this Belgian works, as seemed possible,they would want to have mostly reliable men on guard, who, in case ofsudden emergency, could throw off their workmen's garb and showthemselves in their true colors, as regularly enlisted soldiers, servingtheir superiors while plying their regular trade.

  When, therefore, the boys heard loud outcries, after entering the town,and made the distressing discovery that there was a runaway approachingthem, the first thought Rob had was that they must keep out of the way,and not interfere, lest by so doing they attract attention towardthemselves.

  With this discreet plan of action rapidly forming in his mind, Rob waseven in the act of hastily drawing both his chums back behind a walluntil all the excitement had subsided, when he made a discovery thatbrought his scheme to a halt.

  It was, after all, only a pony that had been seized with an attack ofblind staggers, and was now dashing frantically away, with a littlebasket-cart dragging back and forth at his heels; but in that cart Robsaw was a frightened child.

  In that moment, Rob struggled with a grave question. To show themselvesbefore a crowd such as would likely gather, was full of danger, not onlyto themselves, but for their mission as well. At the same time there wasa something within his soul that refused to avoid the responsibility byshutting his eyes.

  He could not do it. He knew that child was in deadly peril, for, smallas the pony might be, just then he was acting like a little demon. Ifhe allowed the runaway to go by, and something dreadful happened, howcould he ever reconcile his action with his vows as a true-blue scout?

  So Rob's mind was made up.

  "Merritt, we must save that poor little child, come what will!" heexclaimed; and that loyal comrade, forgetting all else for humanity'ssake, instantly cried:

  "We will, Rob! Hurry and get on one side, while I look out for theother!"