Chapter 22

AT THE FORD OF THE RIVER MARNE.

"Oh! did you hear that?" exclaimed Hanky Panky, all excitement; "it was a sure-enough moan. Rod, Josh, there's been some poor fellow down there all this while; and we never dreamed of it when we pulled that bucket of water up!"

Saying this Hanky Panky leaned far over the edge of the well curb, and attempted to see into the murky depths. Rod cast a quick look in the direction of Josh, who gave him a sly wink, but kept a straight face.

"I can't see anything, for a fact," complained Hanky Panky in great distress; "but it was a groan, I'm sure--there it goes again, and worse than before. Oh! Rod, do you believe some poor chap tried to hide in the well when he saw all those awful Germans coming, and hasn't been strong enough to climb up again since?"

"Why, that might be possible, of course," replied Rod, "though just how he could stay down there this long is more than I can understand."

"What do you say, Josh?" demanded the sympathetic one.

"Oh! me?" remarked Josh, with a shrug of his shoulders, and not even offering to change his position; "if you asked me straight off the handle now I'd say that it might be only the wind sighing through the trees, or something like that. Don't stand to reason that anybody could be down there in that well."

When Hanky Panky met with opposition he always became more positive; possibly the sly Josh knew this full well, and allowed the fact to govern his actions.

"But we all heard the groans, didn't we?" demanded Hanky Panky; "and I guess I know one when it hits my ears. There certainly is some one down there. Listen to that, will you; isn't it just fierce the way he keeps going on, though?"

Indeed, the sounds had once more commenced to well up from the dark depths, and in a most agonizing fashion too. Even Rod felt a thrill, although he could give a pretty good guess concerning the nature of the poor unfortunate who was the contributing cause for those dismal groans.

"No use talking, fellows!" declared Hanky Panky presently, after they had listened again to the suggestive sounds that seemed to spell human misery; "I just can't stand this any longer. Something's got to be done, that's what. I've a good notion to slip down the rope myself, and find out what it means."

"But that'd be going a whole lot, just to satisfy your curiosity, wouldn't it?" asked Josh, cunningly, for he knew that he was taking just the course to further aggravate the other's intention to act.

"Well, you don't seem to care much what happens to a poor chap who's made a fool of himself, and got caught down in a well; but I do," asserted Hanky Panky, proudly. "I don't think I could ever sleep decent again if I had the nerve to ride away from here, and never even try to get him out."

He deliberately started to remove his coat, showing that his mind was made up. Rod looked at Josh, but received in turn a pleading glance, as though the other begged to be let alone, and turn his trick. The chance to "get one" on Hanky Panky was too good to be lost, Josh evidently believed.

So those amazing groans continued to well up out of the depths, increasing in pathos if anything as they proceeded.

"Take care not to slip, Hanky," advised Rod, "or we'll have the job of drying a chum out before we can go on our way."

"And say, that well water's awful cold in the bargain," remarked Josh, carelessly; "keep a tight hold on the rope. We'll look after this end, and when you say the word pull you out."

Accordingly the determined one started to lower himself into the haunted well, showing a most commendable spirit, Rod thought. It was really too bad to allow the joking Josh to play this trick on so gallant a fellow; but possibly there would be no harm done in the end, and at least it served to break the terrible monotony of seeing sad sights on the road through the devastated country.

Presently the shaking of the rope ceased, and the voice of the explorer came up from the depths.

"This is certainly a queer deal I'm getting," he said, complainingly.

"What's the matter now?" asked Josh, tantalizingly.

"Why, I tell you there's nothing down here," replied Hanky Panky. "My eyes have got used to the dark, and I can see perfectly well. All around me is the stone of the well, the water is just under my feet, but high or low I can't see a single sign of anybody."

"Didn't I tell you so?" asked Josh, laughing harshly; "the old well must be a haunted one, I reckon. If that was really a groan we heard it was given by a ghost, or a goblin, and not a living being."

"Hey! that's enough, Josh! Get me up out of here quick, I tell you!" called Hanky Panky, shaking the rope vigorously; "you promised you would, remember!"

Josh was chuckling at a great rate; nevertheless when Rod signalled to him he condescended to lend a hand, and between the two of them they speedily had Hanky Panky up safely, none the worse for his experiment, but looking deeply puzzled.

"That's the queerest thing I've run across for many a day," he was saying; "but you notice that it doesn't come any more now, since I went down. Oh! thunder! I spoke too soon, didn't I?"

The sounds had indeed started in again with even more vigor than before. Hanky Panky, catching what seemed like a chuckle, suddenly turned on Josh.

"I've tumbled to your silly game at last, Josh," he said, pointing a finger at the other in a stern fashion; "somehow I clean forgot how you used to be such a smarty at throwing your voice, and aimed some day to be a regular ventriloquist on the stage. Well, you _did_ fool me all right, I own up; and I had my climb down into the old well for nothing. Hope you're satisfied now. Let's take another drink all around, and then get along."

Hanky Panky was one of those good-natured fellows who could laugh at a clever joke even when himself the victim; so that he did not bear any grudge for the way in which Josh had deluded him.

"But I'm glad anyhow that I didn't lose my grip, and drop into the water," he went on to say; "because it was terribly cold down there."

"All's well that ends well!" croaked Josh, with a happy grin, for he believed he had once more cleared the slate in the account with his fun-loving comrade.

Soon afterwards they left the ruined place and once more started along the road. Again they came upon scenes of desolation, with clusters of natives standing by the ruins of their late possessions, to wave an encouraging hand as the three boys sped past. Doubtless many of them believed Rod and his mates must belong to some section of the brave French army, for their khaki uniforms seemed to proclaim this. And every little helped when the gigantic task of turning the invaders out of France was considered, even the assistance of a trio of half-grown lads.

If things kept up as they were now going Rod confidently believed they would be close to the battle line again inside of two hours. The roar of the guns announced that severe fighting was going on not many miles distant.

They were making only slow progress at this time, so many obstacles impeded their way. Numerous stops were also made so that Rod could exchange a few sentences with some of the people they came upon, so as to pick up information that might prove of advantage to strangers in a section of country new to them.

There was no time when right and left they could not see a myriad of interesting things. Most of them pertained to warfare--marching troops; strings of prisoners being led to the rear; broken caissons and abandoned guns; wrecked bicycles, and even motorcycles cast aside when of no further service to the retreating Germans; cooking outfits that had been wonderful contrivances before being utterly smashed on their late owners finding they could not be taken along; and other things too numerous to mention.

Rod himself was of the opinion that the enterprising peasants might manage to partly indemnify themselves for their losses by taking possession of some of the various things abandoned, and renewing their usefulness.

It was now getting well on toward noon. Hanky Panky had even been heard to call out that he felt hungry, though Rod could see little hope of appeasing their appetites in that country, so thoroughly cleaned out by the enemy.

Suddenly there came an outburst of heavy firing close at hand. It was so furious that the three boys involuntarily stopped short, and huddled together to compare notes, so that they might decide upon the safest course for them to pursue.

Smoke began to climb upwards above the trees not more than a mile away, where Rod had reason to believe the Marne River ran.

"That's where the fight is going on, Rod, you can see!" shouted Josh, eagerly, pointing as he spoke; "look at the French batteries wheeling into position, would you? They mean to give the Germans a lot of pounding, looks like. I wonder what it all means; can you give a guess, Rod?"

Rod could, and lost no time in advancing his opinion.

"From what I heard when I talked with that last bunch of natives," he called out, for the racket was growing more deafening with every minute's passage, "there's a ford to the river right about that place. Now like as not the Germans have determined to dispute the passage of the crossing, and left a big force there to hold Joffre's men in check. The battle for that ford is now starting up, and it will be a pretty stiff fight unless all signs fail."