It was perhaps 4 o"clock in the afternoon when they arose. Outside the sun was shining brightly.
"By Jove!" said Chester. "This is too nice a day to remain in the hotel.
Let"s take a walk."
"Agreed," said Hal.
They left the hotel, and for an hour strolled about the city, looking at the sights of interest.
"By the way," said Chester, "what"s this Hotel de Ville where we are to report to General Gallieni to-night?"
"Why," said Hal, "that"s the city hall, or at least what we would call the city hall in America. I suppose that when Paris was put under martial law the military governor, who, of course, superseded all civic authorities, at once took up his quarters there."
"I see," said Chester.
Strolling along Bois de Boulougne, the lads saw, some distance ahead of them, a crowd gathered about what appeared to be a knot of struggling men. They hurried up and peered over the shoulders of the other onlookers.
In the center of the throng was a young man, defending himself as best he could, against the attacks of half a dozen smaller a.s.sailants, young rowdies and ruffians.
Even as the lads looked the a.s.sailed s.n.a.t.c.hed a club from the hands of one of his opponents, and laid about him l.u.s.tily, clearing a small s.p.a.ce on all sides of him.
But the weight of numbers was bound to tell, and the a.s.sailants closed in again, while the crowd stood and laughed.
Such unequal odds did not appeal to the two lads.
"Come on, Hal," said Chester. "We can"t stand idly by and let that crowd of ruffians beat that fellow up."
"I should say not," said Hal. "Come on."
Elbowing and shoving, the lads forced their way through the crowd and fell upon the a.s.sailants from the rear. The young man to whose a.s.sistance they had come welcomed this unexpected aid with a slight smile, and the three stood side by side and fought off the ruffians.
But the ranks of the latter were increased now, and the lads were hard pressed. They were giving a good account of themselves, but it was evident that, unless help arrived, they would get the worst of it.
Suddenly a tall man in a heavy fur overcoat, who had alighted from an automobile to see what the excitement was about, after a quick glance at the combatants, uttered a cry and dashed forward, elbowing his way through the crowd.
Hal and Chester each felt himself seized by the shoulder by a strong hand, and a voice exclaimed:
"So! I have found you young scalawags at last!"
At the sound of this voice Hal and Chester stood stockstill, and from the crowd came the cry of: "The police!"
Hal glanced quickly into the face of the man who held him and his chum firmly by the arm. The face was set in a stern expression, but there was a kindly smile behind it and the eyes twinkled.
Chester voiced his astonishment with two words.
"Uncle John!" he cried.
CHAPTER XXI.
OTHER RELATIVES.
"Mr. Crawford!" cried Hal, equally as surprised.
For the man who held the two lads in a vise-like grip was the brother of Chester"s father, whom they had last seen in America.
Uncle John smiled grimly.
"Yes, it"s me," he said, paying no heed to his slip in grammar, "and now that I"ve found you I am going to take you with me."
Still grasping each by the shoulder, he led them through the crowd and pushed them into the waiting automobile. He then gave the driver an address and climbed in himself. The machine started off.
"Now," said Uncle John, settling himself comfortably, "tell me where you have been. Both your mothers are frantic, and they set me a strenuous job when they turned me loose on your trail. I have been looking for you for months. Where have you been, and what are you doing in those French uniforms?"
"But where is mother?" asked Hal.
"You"ll see her soon enough," was the grim response, "and yours, too," he added, turning to Chester.
"Is mother here in Paris?" asked Chester.
"She is; you"ll be with her in fifteen minutes."
"And mine, too?" asked Hal.
"Yes; now tell me about yourselves."
"Well," said Chester, "there is not much to tell. I suppose Mrs. Paine told you how we became separated in Berlin?"
"Yes."
"Well, we managed to escape from Germany and made our way to Liege just before the German a.s.sault on that fortress."
"And were you there during its defense?" asked Uncle John in surprise.
"Yes, we were there. We were fortunate enough to render the Belgian commander some slight service, for which we were later made lieutenants in the Belgian army."
"Lieutenants!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Uncle John.
"Yes."
"Then what are you doing in French uniforms?"
"I am coming to that. Later we saw service with the British troops, and also with the Cossacks in Russia. We were captured several days ago by the Germans, and we donned these uniforms when we finally got into the French lines. To-day we came to Paris with a communication from General Joffre for the Prime Minister."
Uncle John sat straight up in his seat during this recital, so great was his surprise.
"And you have gone through all this unwounded?" he asked.