Boy Scouts on Belgian Battlefields Read online

  CHAPTER VII.

  THE DESERTION OF ANTHONY.

  "The miserable hound! Hanging would be too good for him!" exclaimedMerritt, who it appeared had not up to that instant suspected anythinglike the truth, and was therefore taken completely by surprise.

  "That all depends on what his motive may have been," said Robreflectively.

  "Why, it's plain he got cold feet after that little experience at thebridge this morning!" Merritt hastened to declare. "I thought he was aman of more nerve than that. I hope all Belgians are not made of thesame kind of stuff."

  "Hold on a minute, Merritt," Rob cautioned him, "you are jumping toconclusions now without being sure of your ground. I've been watchingAnthony from time to time and I've noticed that whenever he happened tospeak of the gallant doings of his people on the battlefields his facewould beam with pride, and what I took to be a touch of envy."

  "Oh!" said Tubby, grasping the idea, "then, Rob, you think our guideshook us just because he couldn't hold back any longer. He thought heought to be on the firing line along with the rest, and get in a crackat the invaders of his country. Is that the stuff, Rob?"

  "I'm thinking that way," Rob informed him gravely, "but we've got notime to look Anthony up. Whether he's gone to join the Belgian army orturned back to the city of Antwerp isn't going to cut any figure in ourcalculations."

  "That's about the size of it, Rob," agreed Merritt, beginning to showsigns of returning confidence, when the patrol leader spoke with suchvim.

  "What we've got to do is to figure out whether we want to call the wholething off just because we haven't a guide to do the talking business forus and turn back to the city, or set our teeth together and push on."

  Tubby and Merritt exchanged looks.

  The latter even half opened his mouth as if to indignantly protestagainst giving up the most cherished plan of his life for a little snag,such as the desertion of Anthony proved. Then he suddenly closed hislips firmly. He had remembered an important fact, which was that afterall he should not be the one to make such a suggestion. Let one of thesegood chums, who were his side partners, express an opinion first of all.That was why Merritt remained silent.

  "Oh! we just can't quit at the first puff!" remonstrated Tubby. "Fellowswho have been through all we have shouldn't be built that way. Think ofthe battles we've been up against on the diamond and the gridiron; anddid anybody ever hear us complain, or show a yellow streak? Well, Iguess not! Tell him how you feel about it, Rob!"

  "Just as you do, Tubby," responded the scout leader heartily. "I wasn'tcounting any too much on Anthony's services, come to speak of it.Nine-tenths of what we expected to accomplish would have to come fromour own hard work. If you put it up to me to decide, I say every time,go ahead!"

  Merritt looked almost joyous. Though he was not a demonstrative fellowas a rule, he could not help reaching out and squeezing a hand of eachof his faithful chums. Indeed, no one ever knew more reliable alliesthan Merritt possessed in Rob and Tubby, who were ready to go throughfire and water with him, if necessary.

  "It may all turn out for the best," Tubby continued, with fine optimism,such as these chubby fellows nearly always show since life looks rosy tothem. "And it's going to save you a little money in the bargain, too,Merritt. I must brush up my French and Flemish from now on. Already Ican say as many as six words of the first, and I think I know how toalmost pronounce one in Flemish."

  "No trouble to tell what that one is," remarked Rob, laughing.

  "It stands for grub!" added Merritt.

  "Now, I consider it strange how you should guess so easily," Tubby shotback at them reproachfully. "I suppose I'll have to acknowledge thecorn. We've got to eat to live, and so I thought I ought to know theright word that would produce results quickest. Don't blame me, boys; Iwas thinking of you as well as myself."

  "Well, shall we get out of here?" asked Rob. "I don't altogether likethe way we are being stared at by some of the people of the village.They say in Antwerp that there's a hidden sympathizer of the Germans inevery city, town and hamlet through the whole of Belgium always tryingto send information of value to the enemy."

  "Huh! don't know just what to believe, and what to brand as big yarns,"protested Tubby. "Since we've landed here I've heard stories that wouldmake poor old Baron Munchausen hide his head in shame as a has-been. Ifone-tenth of the same turned out to be true, these Germans are the mostremarkable people that ever lived for getting ready for a war againstthe whole world forty years ahead of the date. I'm beginning to use myown horse-sense, and figure things out."

  Ten minutes later they turned their backs on the little hamlet where afair meal had been procured, and which had also witnessed their firstreal misfortune in the base desertion of Anthony.

  In many cases they found the roads occupied with throngs of fugitives.These poor peasants were flocking, in a general way, toward Antwerp,though possibly a few of them meant to cross the line into theNetherlands, where they hoped to be safe from the German armies ofinvasion that were gradually progressing further and further toward thecoast.

  A thousand-and-one sights greeted the eyes of the three scouts. Morethan a few times they stopped for some purpose or other that did theirhearts credit. Once it was a limping boy whose condition excited thepity of Rob. He did not hesitate to put to some use the practicalknowledge of surgery that he had picked up in company with all the othermembers of the Eagle Patrol.

  Another time they saw a wretched woman trying to mend the wheel of amiserable old handcart, upon which she had some humble belongings, andthree small children. That was more than the boys could stand. Theystopped their horses, and giving the lines of their mounts into thekeeping of Tubby, Rob and Merritt busied themselves with fixing up thedisabled wheel.

  Although they had next to no tools with which to work, their skillproved sufficient to surmount the difficulty. Inside of twenty minutesthe woman was able to trudge along again. She thanked them volubly inFlemish, which they did not understand. Tubby listened eagerly, butowned up that it was beyond the range of his extremely limitedvocabulary, consisting, as that did, of but one word.

  "Well, that look on her face paid us for all our trouble," Rob remarkedcontentedly, as he once more remounted, and led the way along thehighway.

  "It's something fierce where all these forlorn people come from," saidTubby.

  "To me the greatest puzzle is where they're all going," Merritt added.

  "If you should ask them," Rob advanced as his opinion, "nine out of tencouldn't begin to tell you. Some have had their houses burned over theirheads; others I expect have seen their homes destroyed by burstingshells, where they happened to lie near the place where an artilleryduel was going on. So they've just started on the road, hoping to reach_somewhere_ the fighting won't follow."

  "It's a terrible sight," sighed Tubby. "I'll never forget it as long asI live. Every minute I'm telling myself we ought to be the happiestpeople going over in America, to know that we needn't get mixed up inall this butcher business."

  Slowly the afternoon wore away. The three chums did not make very rapidprogress, and for many reasons. In the first place their horses objectedto putting forth any unusual exertion, and seemed to consider that theywere doing their full duty by merely working their four weary legs in amachine-like fashion.

  Then, again, the roads were cluttered in places with squads of thepeasant population fleeing from the battle lines. Three times did thescouts come upon detachments of Belgian soldiers stationed behindtemporary intrenchments, where they expected to harass the advanceforces of the Germans whenever they appeared.

  From these men they received many curious stares. Of course the soldierscould not understand why three boys in khaki, who were undoubtedly notBelgian scouts, should be heading so boldly toward the scene of carnage,when everybody else was fleeing madly the other way.

  They were halted and questioned. At first Rob felt a qualm of anxiety,lest the fact that they no longer had an interpreter in their company toexplain things might get them into trouble. That fear soon vanished,however. In every instance it was found that some man could either talkfair English, or else what little French the patrol leader was able tomuster explained matters in a satisfactory manner.

  The probability was that the message given them by the burgomaster ofAntwerp was much more potent than anything else. The worthy official wasa well known and highly respected man; and among these commands therewere always those who knew him personally, so that his "passport," whilehardly worth the paper upon which it was written, officially, actedmagically with the Belgian officers.

  As the afternoon sun began to draw near the western horizon theycontinued to be on the lookout for some haven of refuge. Another nightwas coming; they must not only have food but lodging, if this lattercould possibly be obtained.

  "Of course," explained Rob, as they walked their sorry looking horseson, "while we'd like to find some sort of respectable beds to-night, ifthe worst comes, we can always make shift with a haystack. It wouldn'tbe the first time we've curled up in the hay and snatched a few winks ofsleep."

  "I should say not," Tubby assured him. "Only I do hope we manage tostrike a dinner-call somehow or other. I can do without a bed, but Imust have eats or I'll collapse utterly, like a balloon with the gas letout."

  "Please don't think of it, Tubby," Merritt implored him. "We promise todo everything in our power to find the grub. Brace up! We're coming to avillage; and I think I can see an inn the first thing."

  It proved to be as Merritt had said, and better still, the man who keptthe modest little tavern assured Rob in fair English that he would beproud to serve the honored guests; also that he had once spent a year inthe Birmingham machine shops himself.

  "Just like all the rest, he takes us fo
r Johnny Bulls," complainedTubby.

  "Well, that's partly your fault," Rob told him.

  "Just because I'm so well filled out, I suppose you mean, Rob? Well, ifthey keep on thinking that, I guess I'll have to get busy and cultivatea real cockney accent. 'Beg pawdon; thank _you_; my word!' You see I'vegot a few of their favorite jabs spotted."

  As before, they found themselves the object of more attention than anyof them enjoyed. People kept peeping in through the open door of theroom where the three strange young chaps in khaki were enjoying theirreally excellent supper.

  "Don't mind them," advised Rob, when he saw that Tubby was posing, as ifconscious of being in the lime-light. "Let's finish our supper, and thenwe can sit outside on the porch as the sun goes down, and talk over ourplans for to-morrow."

  "Yes," added Merritt quickly, "because to-morrow may take us so far onour journey that we'll either find our man, or meet with some bitterdisappointment, something I hate to think about."

  "Don't do it, then," advised Rob. "We must believe everything is boundto come out right, and that you'll not only run across Steven Meredith,but that the paper will be found under the lining of the cover to hisfield-glass case, where he's been carrying it all this while, withoutknowing it."

  "One thing sure," said Merritt grimly, "if he's left that post and goneanywhere else, I'll follow him, hit or miss, if it takes me to thebattle front."

  "Listen!" exclaimed Tubby. "What's that man shouting, Rob?"

  "As near as I can make out," replied Rob quickly, "he says the Uhlansare entering at one end of the town."