"Something like we read the Pilgrim Fathers used to do in the good old days when they used to ride to church with the wife back of them," Tubby explained, "and every man carrying his gun along. Their motto was "trust in the Lord; but keep your powder dry!""
"That"s the idea," agreed Rob. "And so far, in all our tramps and wanderings, we"ve managed to do our part fairly well."
"Let"s hope this venture turns out as good," Tubby added, with a side glance toward Merritt, for, of course, it concerned him more than either of the others whether success or failure resulted from their trip abroad.
That was only a beginning, for they were soon held up again. This time it came about that the soldier in charge of the detachment could not speak a word of English, so the guide had to exercise his ability in the line of a translator.
So well did he plead, and explain that they were all good friends of the burgomaster of Antwerp, that once again they were allowed to proceed.
Rob could easily see, however, that considerable doubt had arisen in the mind of the officer as to whether he should permit three boys to head into such a disturbed country as that lying beyond.
Like the lieutenant, he shrugged his shoulders, and dismissed the matter of responsibility from his mind. Indeed, there were too many other serious affairs to be considered just then to bother about a party of tourists fairly wild to say they had gazed upon actual battlefields; for, doubtless, he concluded this was the real reason why these venturesome boys elected to take chances in the war zone.
So long as they were not spies in the service of the enemy it was all right; only he wanted to warn them that they were apt to meet with some roving detachment of Germans at almost any time, since they were overrunning most of the country, appearing suddenly at villages, and demanding food and wine, or surprising isolated stations poorly guarded, so as to hold some important bridge for the coming of a column.
"Look what"s coming whizzing along ahead there!" Tubby called out a short time after this encounter.
There was a little cloud of dust, and they could see that it was caused by someone mounted on a bicycle, who was bending down over the handlebars and working his feet very rapidly.
"Give him the road, fellows; he seems to be in a big hurry!" ordered Rob.
A minute later and the bicyclist shot by them. As he did so he straightened up in the saddle, and to their surprise gave them a regulation scout salute. Then he went tearing down the road in that cloud of dust.
"Did you see that?" cried Tubby. "Why, he was a Boy Scout as sure as anything! Now, what in the wide world was he in such a terrible hurry for? He acted like he might be late for his breakfast."
"Just now the Boy Scouts in Belgium have a good many other things to bother them besides missing an occasional meal," explained Rob. "They have been taken over by the military authorities and are doing splendid work in heaps of ways."
"Yes," added Merritt, as they rode on again, "I noticed a number of them while we were in Antwerp, and they seemed to be on the jump constantly.
Every fellow had a badge on his left arm with the letters "S. M." on it.
You remember, Rob, when you asked what they stood for, you were told the letters meant "Service Militaire," and showed that the boys were working for the Government."
"What d"ye reckon they find to do?" asked Tubby, deeply interested.
"They act as dispatch bearers," replied Rob, "ambulance orderlies, and aids to the police. They told me that in Brussels, now held by the Germans, some scouts daily herded the women who came for their regular ration issued by the Government, and kept order, too. Everybody takes them seriously. This is no time for play among the Boy Scouts of Belgium, when war has gripped their native land."
"When we were over in England," Merritt related, "I made it a point to find out how all the scouts there were being made use of. It gave me a mighty proud feeling to know that I was authorized to wear the uniform of the Eagle Patrol; for there never was a time in the history of the world when boys were of as much use as now."
"But there have been no battles on English soil, up to now, Merritt; tell me how the Boy Scouts of Great Britain could do things, then?"
asked Tubby, who it seems could not have been bothering himself very much when his chums were making all these observations.
Merritt took a slip of paper from his pocket. They were riding slowly at the time, indeed at all times, for the horses did not seem desirous of making any particular speed.
"Here"s an account I clipped from an English paper while we were in London," he told Tubby. "It tells a lot of things the scouts have taken to doing in order to a.s.sist; for, during the war, school duties have been mostly dropped."
"Oh! what joy!" cried Tubby; "but go and read it out to us, Merritt."
"Here"s what the account says, then," Merritt told them, as he managed to read from the slip: ""Acting as guides to troops. Forwarding dispatches dropped from air craft. Coastguard work, such as watching estuaries, guiding vessels in unbuoyed channels, and showing lights to friendly vessels!""
"Whew!" remarked Tubby; "that sounds fine to me, Merritt. For once I almost wish I happened to be a Johnny Bull boy instead of an Uncle Sam.
Is that all?"
"It"s only the beginning," he was told. "Listen to some more work a scout can do for his country over there. "Collecting information as to available supplies and transports. Helping the families of men at the front. First aid; fitting up nursing stations, refuges, dispensaries, and kitchens in their own club rooms. Carrying on organized relief of the dest.i.tute. Guarding and patrolling bridges, culverts, telegraph lines, and water supplies. Serving as dispatch bearers, telegraph and mail delivery riders; and distributing millions of notices as to billeting, commandeering, safety precautions, and the like," How"s that strike you, Tubby?"
"It certainly gives me a thrill," the fat boy replied, "and I envy the lucky Boy Scouts of Great Britain. I reckon they"re doing things like that down in France. Yes, and in Germany too. Now people will see what it means to wear the khaki uniform. I"m prouder than ever because I have that right."
"They say," remarked Rob, chiming in with what knowledge he had picked up, "that for once the boys are appreciated in these times. They have at last come into their own. A scout"s uniform is regarded in England as a sign of competence and responsibility. It is treated with the same respect given to any other official garb."
"This account goes on to say that the boys have developed a wonderful topographical knowledge," Merritt continued, full of the subject as any Boy Scout might well be. "They pack ambulances systematically with instruments and medical supplies, checking off their lists like experienced quartermasters. Others take charge of the delivery of camp outfits from the stores to the troops about to embark for the seat of war. The bicycle corps and mounted squads can care for their machines and horses, make high speed, and meet emergencies with decision and intelligence. The signal corps can use the telegraph key, semaph.o.r.e, and flags almost as well as veterans, thanks to their training. They can repair telegraph lines and instruments, and have considerable knowledge of wireless."
"Hurrah!" exclaimed Tubby. "This is sure the day of the Boy Scout. I never thought I"d ever live to see him climb to such a dazzling height.
Of course, over in America, scouts have never been trained with any idea that they might be soldiers; for we don"t have a chip on our shoulder all the time, and feel that we"re spoiling for a fight."
"All the same," said Rob, "the time may come when what we"ve learned will be of great use to our country. Besides, every boy is ten times better off for joining the organization."
They had been riding in this fashion for an hour and more, often meeting parties of fugitives on the road, some of them bearing household treasures, leading a mooing cow, or driving a spavined old horse that was attached to a shaky wagon piled up with goods of value to the owners only.
These sights at first struck the boys as pitiful. They would in time become so accustomed to them that such spectacles must be taken as a part of the war game; still, all of them were sure that in this case "familiarity would not breed contempt."
Then at times it happened that houses were scarce, and a stretch of the road, from some reason or other, ahead appeared deserted. Often, in the distance, they heard strange sounds like far-away thunder. It thrilled them to imagine that possibly this was the roar of big guns; perhaps they were even drawing near to an actual battlefield!
About this time the boys noticed that their guide was acting as though excited.
"What"s the matter, Anthony?" asked Rob, bent on knowing the worst.
In his broken English the Belgian guide tried to tell them his fears.
"Look you--over thisaways--you see men, horses--they run thisaway, they run thataway--some shake hands at us--I do not know, but it may be they will turn out to be Uhlan cavalrymen--bad men who ride far in advance of the army, to screen movements of troops. If they are Uhlans, we may not go ahead further!"
CHAPTER V.
UNDER THE BRIDGE.
Of course what Anthony told them caused the boys more or less concern.
They had no desire to fall into the hands of the Germans. While it could not be said that they were against the invaders, the terrible stories they had heard in Antwerp, even if only a small part were true, gave them an unpleasant feeling toward the Kaiser"s men.
That word Uhlan was dreaded by every Belgian or native of Northern France. While it really stands for the cavalry arm of the German forces, still, ever since the Franco-Prussian war of more than forty years ago, it has possessed a terrible significance all its own. Humble peasants shivered when they p.r.o.nounced it, and no doubt many an unruly child was threatened with the coming of the terrible Uhlans unless it mended its ways.
"If that"s the case, then," Merritt voiced the opinion of himself and chums by saying hurriedly, "we want to get out of this. It"s a case of either run or hide with us."
"But where could we hide?" asked Tubby, looking all around him helplessly. "Just now there isn"t a single cottage in sight; and the bare fields around don"t offer much shelter, seems to me."
"There"s a bridge just ahead of us," said Rob.
"And we might manage to get our mounts down underneath," added Merritt instantly, grasping the idea that was in the patrol leader"s mind. "The bank slopes easy enough to allow of it."