CHAPTER XIX

THAD TURNS MAGICIAN

Their troubles began almost as soon as they struck the road. Owing to the fact that there was an almost constant stream of motors and other vehicles going and coming, it took on the aspect of a moving procession.

Thad was compelled to fall in line and curb his impatience as best he could. Of course, at the same time, he remained on the alert for such openings as occurred, when he might take advantage of a chance to pass ahead, and spin along a stretch of territory that offered the opportunity.

Progress was tedious, and was made all the more so on account of the open hostility shown by many of the truck drivers and those connected with ambulances. These natives could not understand what business those three boys dressed in faded khaki could have seated in a fine car and heading apparently toward Paris. They must have jumped to the conclusion that Thad and his chums were out for a lark; a trio of curious English lads who wanted to bother everybody by trying to see some of the fighting.

Consequently the French drivers resented this seeming impertinence. More than that, they began to interfere, whenever they found a chance, by deliberately blocking the road and delaying the boys unnecessarily. Often, too, some husky chauffeur would call out to them in a sarcastic tone; and while they could only guess at the import, they understood that it was not meant for a compliment; in fact, they were very likely being compared to “pigs.”

Thad stood all this patiently for a little while. Allan was beginning to show signs of anger, while even gentle Bumpus fumed considerably.

“Can’t we do something to put a stopper on this thing, Thad?” finally demanded Allan, when a van deliberately blocked their passage and the man at the wheel thrust his bearded face out to leer back at them impudently.

For reply, Thad shouted out a few words in French, much to the surprise of both his comrades; at the same time he made a certain sign with his hand. Then, to the utter amazement of both Bumpus and the other boy, the driver of the van containing wounded heroes on the way to the Paris hospitals hurriedly drew his vehicle aside, even going so far as to hold up so as to allow of a free passage.

A minute later this was repeated, and again with surprising results. No wonder simple-minded Bumpus fairly gasped and stared hard at Thad.

“Say, since when did you practice for a magician, Thad?” he demanded, bent on learning the secret of that magical pass of the hand, that majestic signal that would have well become a king. “Why, look at them get out of our way, will you? Honestly, I believe you must have hypnotized the bunch, Thad.”

“And what’s that French phrase you’re shouting at the drivers?” pursued Allan. “I can only make out the word ‘Joffre’ in it all. Are you telling them we’ve got a dispatch for the big push at Headquarters and that perhaps the fate of the whole battle may depend on our getting it to him in a hurry?”

“You’ve guessed it, Allan,” admitted Thad; “for that is just what it means. And you can see how those patriotic drivers understand. They no longer see in us three happy-go-lucky schoolboys from across the Channel, poking our noses where we hadn’t ought to be, and interfering with men’s work. Why, I feel like taking off my hat to those chaps after seeing how they give us the road now.”

“It works like magic, for a fact,” said Allan, looking happy once more; “but how did you get on to it, Thad?”

“Our friend, the American surgeon, told me what to say, and how to give that signal with my hand,” came the reply. “He realized that we’d have lots of trouble getting along this congested road. I think the officer who was so badly smashed must have passed it on to the doctor.”

“Well, keep it going then, please,” Bumpus pleaded, “because it seems to save us heaps and heaps of bother.”

As they were constantly moving away from the scene of action of course the awful clamor grew gradually less in volume. Still the boys were of the opinion that if the wind was favorable the citizens of the French capital might even catch distant sounds of apparent thunder. How it would revive thrilling memories of those bitter days of ’71 in the minds of the old folks who had passed through the previous siege, and seen the heel of the proud Prussian victor pressing their pavements in Paris.

Once they came to where a van heavily laden had broken down, and blocked the entire road. With so many vehicles passing back and forth in a constant stream such a happening was not singular. But those astute drivers had been equal to the occasion. An adjoining stone wall had been torn down so that vehicles might turn into a field, and thus go around the block, once more reaching the road further on.

Bumpus felt relieved when he saw how easily this difficulty had been met and conquered. Men were even then busily engaged in repairing the van that had caused the trouble. Had it been beyond help they would have removed its load, and dragged the heavy machine to one side of the road, so as to leave a free passage.

“But how far do we keep on this route?” Bumpus wanted to know, presently. “It runs direct to Paris, I understand, and surely that isn’t where we’re bound.”

“Well, I don’t think General Joffre has yet taken up his headquarters so far away from the fighting line,” laughed Allan. “As I understand it we’ll soon come to a place where we turn aside, and head into the west; isn’t that it, Thad?”

“Just what we will,” replied the driver; “and then, unless I’m mistaken, our course will gradually carry us back toward the front once more. We can tell that from the direction we head for; and, besides, as like as not the roar will begin to increase again instead of getting softer.”

Bumpus fell silent at that. Given his way and no doubt he would have candidly admitted that he had seen quite as much of fighting as he ever wanted to look upon. The terrible things that had passed in review before his eyes would never leave his mind; and his heart felt heavy because of the intense human suffering they had tried their best to alleviate. Still Bumpus was very loyal, and so long as these chums of his thought best to see the great battle through he was determined not to show the white feather.

It was certainly amazing, the amount of traffic that was passing back and forth along that road. It had evidently been given over entirely to this sort of thing; for they did not encounter any batteries of guns, or marching regiments of troops coming out of Paris as reinforcements on the way to the fighting line. No doubt arrangements had been perfected whereby all such went either by train, or along still another main artery of travel, where they might have an unobstructed passage conducive to haste.

“Thad, do you think we’ll ever run across Giraffe again?” Bumpus suddenly asked, as though the missing chum might have been in his mind as he watched an empty ambulance swinging by on their right, for vehicles abroad always pass to the left.

“Oh! it’s to be hoped we do,” the boy at the wheel replied, hastily. “If he gets back to where the field hospital is, and meets the surgeon, who promised to keep an eye out for Giraffe, he will be told where we’ve gone; also that he is to go back to Paris, where we’ll join him. I even left an address with our friend, so that if it came to the worst Giraffe would know where to find us.”

“Thad, you just manage to think of nearly everything,” commented the admiring Bumpus, once more looking pleased, as if some weighty doubts had been thus removed.

“I’m glad you said ‘nearly,’” the scout leader told him, “because I’ve got my weak points as well as the next fellow. But here we come to another pack; and it’s going to take a whole lot of managing to get through in a hurry.”

They were making very good progress all this while, however. Thad felt greatly encouraged. He believed it could not be long before they arrived at the place where they expected to leave this main artery of travel, and strike out along the road running parallel with the fighting line. Here the vehicular traffic might be expected to become much less dense, and they would be able to make better time.

“Keep your eyes on the watch for an opening to the left,” he told the others, after they had managed to get by the jam, and had a little clear space ahead.

“Watch that ambulance coming, Thad; it seems to wobble a bit, in the hurry of the man at the wheel to get back to the front; and we don’t want any smashup at this stage of the game, you know.”

“Oh! they’ll give us plenty of room when we get closer,” retorted Thad. “With three on the seat they ought to be able to manage things, I should think.”

“The ambulance is full of men, too,” remarked Allan just then. “Just as like as not they’re fresh workers of the Red Cross Corps getting out on the front line to help the tired gang we left up to their eyes in business.”

“Say, it seems to me there’s something mighty familiar about one of those chaps on the seat of that machine!” exclaimed Bumpus.

His words caused both the others to look closer. Then Allan gave a laugh.

“As sure as you live that’s nobody else save our chum, Giraffe!” he exclaimed. “I’d know that long neck of his among a thousand. And see, he recognizes us now, for he’s grabbed the arm of the pilot of the ambulance, and means to get him to stop. Well, if this isn’t luck, then we never had it come our way.”