The Khaki Boys over the Top Part 26

There was no doubt of it. So dramatic had been the circ.u.mstances under which they had first seen this strange man that the boys would never forget his face. He was dressed differently now--in an unmistakable uniform of the Germans--but it was the same man.

"What in the world is he doing here?" demanded Bob.

"There can be only one answer to that question," said Jimmy, and his voice was low and intense.

"And what is the answer?" Roger wanted to know.

"He's a German spy!" was the declaration.

"When he saved us at the burning mill he was in an American uniform.

And now he is in German uniform. He's a spy!"

"He's in German uniform all right, there's no question of that"

declared Bob. "But what makes you think he is a spy--I mean a German spy, Jimmy?"

"Because he was within our lines, or close to them, in a uniform that was calculated to appear like one of ours. And, instead of going back with us to help us find our own command, he hiked off in the direction of the Huns. And now he's here again."

"But maybe he's a regular German, though he didn't talk much like one," suggested Bob. "I mean the time he saved us at the mill. He might be a decent, human sort of German--and he couldn't bear to see us roasted to death. Maybe that's why he saved us. Of course, I remember he acted queerly, and--"

"I don't know why he saved us," declared Jimmy. "But I believe he's a German spy, and he was close to, if not actually within, our lines, trying to get information. And if he's a spy he ought to be hanged for it--that's the punishment of all spies."

"Yes, hanging isn't any too good, for a German spy," agreed Roger.

"And if we ever get the chance we'll denounce this fellow," went on Jimmy. "We can tell how we saw him in an American uniform, or part of it, near the red mill, and now he wears a German outfit. Hanging won't match his crime."

"And yet," said Bob slowly, "it would be sort of hard to denounce him." "Why?" asked Jimmy quickly.

"Because he saved our lives," was the quick answer. "Of course, we'll have to denounce him, fellows, if we get the chance. But it will go hard. He saved our lives!"

Jimmy was silent a moment, as he gazed out amid the trees in the direction of the German searching party and the officer seated, looking over some papers. Then Jimmy said, slowly:

"Yes, he saved our lives!"

The three hardly knew what to do. And yet, now, there seemed to be but one thing--they must make all haste in the direction of the American lines. At any moment the searching squad might come back, or another might make its appearance, for the Germans would not let the inmates of the prison camp get away without an effort to bring them back.

"Well, this Captain d.i.c.kerson has an American name all right, and he may be a German spy," said Bob. "But he isn't within the American lines just at present, so he has a right to wear a German uniform I suppose. Remember how he hesitated about giving his name? Maybe he made one up."

"He won't wear that uniform long if any of our boys catch him!"

declared Jimmy. "Look here, fellows. His saving of our lives was a fine thing, and we can never forget it. But, at the same time, duty is duty, and our highest duty is not to the man toward whom we feel so grateful, but toward our own army and the boys of the Five Hundred and Ninth.

If we ever get back to our friends we'll have to denounce Captain Frank d.i.c.kerson, or whoever that fellow it. That's all there is to it"

"I--I guess you're right," agreed Bob, slowly. "It's tough, but it has to be done!"

"If we get the chance!" added Roger.

"Of course! If we get the chance," agreed Jimmy. "Mind, I don't say that we actually have to give him up, or capture him," he added. "That would be too much. But it's our duty to tell what we have seen."

The others nodded their heads.

"We haven't a chance to capture him now." Jimmy resumed. "He's armed, and we're not. Besides, even if we three could overpower him, he might signal to the Germans who were just here. No, all we can do is to wait and see what happens. And the first thing we'd better do is to get out of this neighborhood. It isn't healthy!"

They looked once more in the direction of "Captain Frank d.i.c.kerson,"

as he had called himself. He had folded up his papers and was about to rise from the log.

"Duck, fellows! He's looking this way!" hoa.r.s.ely whispered Bob, and the boys dropped behind a fallen tree.

The officer in the German uniform did, indeed, look toward the woods, but he made no advance that way, and presently walked off in the direction taken by the searching party which had been so close to the three former captives, evidently without knowing it.

"And now we'll make tracks the other way," decided Jimmy, and they put some distance between themselves and the man they believed a spy before they halted to eat.

"I'm glad I didn't have my five thousand francs with me when we fell into the hands of the Germans," said Sergeant Jimmy, as they sat and rested after the rather meager meal.

"Why?" asked Bob. "Maybe you could have bought some food, by bribing a guard."

"Not a chance!" was the answer. "The Huns would have taken every cent.

No, I don't mind Maxwell having it--even if he's skipped with it, or if he's missing with it in his pockets. That's better than having German jailers take it. But I guess we'll never see the sergeant or the money again."

"It doesn't look so," agreed Roger. "Well, it's the fortune of war, I reckon. But have we any chance of seeing our friends again?"

"We'll make a big try," declared Jimmy.

Of the miseries of the next two days the Khaki Boys never like to talk afterward. They ate all their food, and were still hungry. They managed to find some raw turnips which they devoured, declaring, in their hunger, that they were the best meal they had ever eaten.

Fortunately they managed to find water, though they had to drink it by stealth for they were like hunted animals, making their way through a country held and devastated by a cruel foe. They hid most of the day and traveled by night, not knowing whether or not they were going in the right direction.

But they kept moving, though, at times, Bob, who seemed worse off than either of his chums, said he must give up. But Jimmy and Roger fairly dragged him on.

One day, when it seemed that they must lie down in a field and give up, they saw, coming over the top of the hill, a party of soldiers. It was getting dusk, and they could hardly distinguish the uniforms.

"If it's Germans I'm too tired to run," said Bob, weakly. "Let 'em take us!"

"I will not!" declared Jimmy fiercely. "I'll fight 'em with stones, and die fighting, rather than go back to a prison camp!"

"I'm with you!" cried Roger, and this att.i.tude on the part of his chums seemed to rouse Bob.

Each one selected a large stone, though whether they really would have used them in their desperation I can not say. But in a moment all was changed.

The three figures, standing together in the field, attracted the attention of the officer leading the party of soldiers. He gave a sharp command, and at the sound of the words Jimmy cried:

"They're Englis.h.!.+ They're Englis.h.!.+ Hurrah, fellows! We're with friends once more!" And he ran forward followed by his chums.

It was true. A party of English soldiers, sent out to get some information, had come upon the three escaping prisoners, and, a little later, Bob, Roger and Jimmy were being well cared for while they told their story of what had happened.

"And so we blew their nasty dump to bits; eh, lad?" asked an English lieutenant, or "leftenant," as they are called.

"Yes," a.s.sented Jimmy.

"A little bit of hall right, I call that!" commented a c.o.c.kney sergeant.

So weak and exhausted were our friends that they had to stay in the English billets several days before they could be sent under escort to their own command. And you may imagine better than I can describe it the joy of Franz and Iggy when they welcomed their Brothers once more.