CHAPTER VI.

SCOUT TACTICS.

The horseman was now coming down the bank. Already he seemed to eye the four passengers aboard the ferryboat, as though they interested him more or less.

"Giraffe," muttered Thad.

"What is it?" asked the other, in a whisper.

"You might take occasion to ask the ferryman while we're crossing, whether we can strike the road leading north to Grevenbroich, after getting over. Get that name, do you?"

"Yes, and I'll do it as a sort of blind," continued the other; "he'll naturally believe we're meaning to put up there instead of heading across country."

The man was undoubtedly a soldier, but Thad came to the conclusion that he must now be on some important mission rather than simply riding to a concentration camp. In fact, he soon decided in his own mind the other might be a dispatch-bearer, for he noticed what seemed to be a small leather pouch partly hidden under his long coat.

They were soon moving across the stream. The man had dismounted before leading his horse aboard the craft, since the animal showed positive signs of not liking the ill-smelling old car. None of the scouts blamed the intelligent animal either, for the mingled odor of gasoline and burnt grease was anything but pleasant; although they believed that "beggars should never be choosers," and that it was bad luck to "look a gift horse in the mouth."

Giraffe did not forget his instructions. When they were about half-way across he spoke to the old ferryman, and apparently asked for directions about the way to the town mentioned by Thad, for he plainly said "Grevenbroich."

The man with the setting pole answered him, and even pointed several times in a northwesterly direction, as though assuring him that the place mentioned lay in that quarter.

As though regretting one thing he had done, Thad took out the miniature Stars and Stripes and fastened the little flag to his coat again. He realized that the man would readily guess they were not Germans, and it was better that he know their nationality than to suspect them of being English.

He looked sharply at the emblem, and his heavy eyebrows went up, but he did not say a single word to indicate what he may have thought.

The boys were only too well satisfied that matters should be as they were. They had feared something much worse, and that the soldier would order them to turn back again.

"What did he say about Grevenbroich, Giraffe?" Thad asked, so that the horseman could plainly hear him mention that name.

"Oh! it lies off there some ways," said the other, also pointing.

"How can it be reached from this road?" further inquired the scout leader.

Giraffe shrugged his shoulders. It was a new habit he had picked up since coming abroad, for over there on the Continent nearly every one depends on contortions of the facial muscles, and movements with the hands and shoulders to add emphasis to what they say, or else take the place of words.

"I couldn't understand all he said, you know, Thad," he explained, with a broad grin, "because he speaks such terrible German, not at all like our teachers gave us at school. But as near as I could make out, this road comes to a place inside of a mile or so where it branches in three different directions."

"Well, now," said Bumpus, "you wouldn't dream it was of so much importance."

"One road runs southwest to the city of Duren, where the railroad from Cologne goes, and where all the soldiers are pouring through on the way to Belgium. Then another runs almost north, and lands you at Grevenbroich; while the third keeps on until it strikes the border at the Holland town of Sittard."

"Gravenbroich is the place for us!" said Thad, meaning to ring the changes on that particular name until it had become impressed on the mind of the listening soldier who must naturally believe they were headed thither.

They believed they had deceived him when the landing was made, for after paying the ferryman he sprang on his horse and galloped away, never once looking back over his shoulder.

Thad willingly handed the man the sum agreed on, and the old fellow was very polite, making sure that everything was secure before allowing them to get the car off the float.

"That was what I call luck," said Giraffe, as they lost sight of the river and the queer ferry.

"Soon we ought to come to the three forks of the road," announced Allan; "when we must decide whether we want to go to Duren, Grevenbroich or the Dutch border."

"As if there could be any doubt which we'd choose," observed Bumpus.

A short time later and they found themselves drawing near the split in the road. Just why there should be so many feeders for so ordinary a road none of them could understand; they simply found it so, and acted accordingly.

"Of course we strike out over the middle one, Thad?" Giraffe remarked; "but I say, what's going to happen, now that you've pulled up here at the forks?"

"Wait for me a minute, while I take a look and see which way our friend with the horse went," the other told him.

"Thad never forgets he's a Boy Scout, and able to find things out in a way that would never occur to any ordinary fellow," said Allan, not without a touch of genuine admiration in his tone; for he realized, much to his regret, that there were times when the same could not be said of him, skillful tracker that he was, as all Maine boys are supposed to be.

The three of them sat there in the car and watched Thad. Apparently he had not the slightest trouble in finding what he was looking for, since the hoofs of the horse had left plain imprints on the dusty road.

"He's turned up the road that leads to Duren, all right, as sure as anything!" announced Giraffe, after they had seen Thad pass along that way for a short distance.

"That means a good riddance of bad rubbish," laughingly remarked Allan.

When a minute later Thad returned he looked satisfied.

"He started on that way, and so far as I tracked him he kept right along, so it looks as if we might be well rid of him," he reported.

"Guess all that talk about Grevenbroich told on him," insinuated Bumpus, proudly, as though the idea had originated with him, and he felt that the credit should come his way also.

They had just started off and gone about a hundred yards when Giraffe was heard to snort in disgust.

"Played a neat game on us after all!" he exclaimed; "we're a fine lot of babes in the woods to let a German soldier bamboozle us in that way. Look over yonder and you can just manage to glimpse him through little openings in the trees."

"Oh! he's galloping off in the direction of Duren!" cried Bumpus; "and I warrant you after going along that road a piece he came back on the side, to hide, and was there watching us all the while."

Thad shook his head as though he did not like the situation.

"You see," he explained, "if he had any suspicion before about us, it must have doubled when he saw me following his tracks, and then watched us come along this road. He knows now all that talk about Grevenbroich was hot air, and that we're making for the Dutch border."

"Yes, and going lickety-split at that!" added Giraffe, contemptuously, as the engine emitted several sounds as closely approaching groans of protest as any inanimate object could produce.

"Well, what's to be done about it?" asked Bumpus, uneasily, looking behind him, as though half anticipating seeing a squad of Uhlans with their bedecked lances chasing headlong after the suspicious car.

"Nothing," replied Thad. "All we can do is to keep pushing on, trusting both to luck and our sagacity to pull us through."

"There's one comfort about it, boys," Allan told them; "every rod we cover means we're just that much nearer safety. If we can only get within a mile or so of the border, and the cranky old motor holds out we'll give them all the laugh, even if it means a hot chase at the end."

"I wonder if the old tub would be equal to showing a clean pair of heels if you hit up the pace for all it was worth," questioned Giraffe. "I'd be afraid we'd all go up in a cloud of smoke and fire. These sort of machines are always balking or else exploding."

"Oh! now you're just saying that to bother me, Giraffe," complained Bumpus; "but I've got too much confidence in our pilot to be afraid of trouble. It may stop on us, that'd be the worst that could happen."

"Now you notice we're coming to a place where it's well settled, for you can see fields on every side, and gardens, too. Yonder are some women and boys getting in the harvest; and here comes an old man, his cart loaded down with some kind of roots or potatoes. I hope there isn't a town ahead of us, where we'd find that the officer had telephoned about us."

It was Giraffe who said this. When making out to be tormenting Bumpus he was evidently only voicing his own fears.

"No, the road chart shows no place worth mentioning along this section," Thad assured them; "but you know the soil here is something like that in Holland, and very rich. Westphalia and Rhenish Prussia are the garden spots of Germany, so we'll see plenty of farms and grain fields."

Indeed, as they passed along they saw people working in the fields on every side, but it was always the same, not a single stalwart young man, only boys, women and very old men. The rest had all obeyed the call to the colors, and were already either fighting at the front, or else in concentration camps, preparing for the time when they would be needed to fill awful gaps in the ranks.

All at once the engine stopped short.

"That's what I call a low-down trick!" said Giraffe, as Thad sprang out to throw back the hood so as to take a look, and see what was wrong this time.

"Oh! we must expect something like that to happen every little while," he was told by Allan; "it's a poor arrangement at the best, and pretty well worn out in the bargain. But we agreed to make the best of it, and so what's the use of knocking?"

The three of them sat there for a little while, as Thad pottered at the refractory machinery. Then Allan jumped out to assist him, saying that "two heads might be better than one," as often proved to be the case.

"Wake me up when you've found out the trouble, and rectified the same," said Giraffe, pretending to stretch himself out over the seat, and make ready for a nap.

Just about three minutes later he had reason to change his mind. It was Bumpus who did it, and if Giraffe suddenly started up it was not because the other had been malicious enough to thrust a pin into his leg.

"Say, looky here what's bearing down on us, Thad, will you?" the fat scout had called out, and Giraffe was up on his feet like a flash.

As he turned and looked back he saw something that was not apt to make him feel happy, to say the least. Along the road came a swarm of women, boys and old men. They must have been recruited from the fields near by, for they were carrying all manner of pitchforks and such tools that looked dangerous when held in the hands of aroused tillers of the soil.

Whether the people of the farming country could have received word concerning the four boys in the old car, and meant to effect their arrest; or mistook them for some other parties who may have been disturbing the peace in that section of the country, Thad and his chums were fated never to learn.

It was quite enough for them to know just then a threatening cloud had appeared above the horizon, and that unless they could fortunately get a quick start out of that particular neighborhood they stood a good chance of finding themselves warmly beset.