CHAPTER XII--THE TALE TOLD BY THE BELGIAN
"Agh, mine goot savior! Mine beeg fine frent! I feel so full to choy datI must cry!" The Belgian acted exactly like an overjoyed mastiff whenhis master returns from a long absence.
"Why, Johann! This _is_ a surprise," cried Bob, rising from his chairand joining Bill who still remained pinned in the arms of the happyforeigner.
The others in the party at the dinner table watched with amazement asthe little tableaux came to a finish.
"Now that Johann is on the stage, it is most appropriate that he tellthe story of our adventures in France. For, be it known to all present,Jo was with us when we first went over with the Canadian boys, and itwas Jo's mother who nursed me after I got away from the Hun temporaryprison in Belgium."
Bill now turned to Johann and made him understand that he was to tellthose around the table of the adventures of the three buddies. Mr.Dalken immediately placed a chair for Johann, but that worthy felt hecould talk louder and gesticulate better if he stood upon his longstaunch legs.
"Agh! Dat wass beeg times--ven we fight so fine for my countree, eh? Butnow--agh! poor Johann iss no more dan a keetchen boy."
The great big fellow shook his head despairingly and had it not beenthat he was deadly in earnest over the complaint, his audience wouldhave laughed at such a dire circumstance as his being a kitchen boy.
"Yah! I tells dat story fine, Beel! Now hear me: Von day in ver earlymorning, I am sent to find someting to eat fer my mudder and seekseester. I like to belong to a solger's life but eferyone say I tooyounk and I got'ta tak care ofer my family. Dis time I hear one farmergot a beeg peeg what he not like the Huns to eat, and he sent me vord tocome carry him off and help to keel him.
"Veil, I go so far on one road dat I think pretty soon thet farm he comeup and show himself, but I finds onny black smokin' ruins wherever I go.When I think I been gone far enough on one road I say to myself: 'Jo,now go dis way--mebbe dat man live down dis way.' I take him. But I notfind a farm--I find plenty Huns what sit and laff and eat pork what deyfry ofer a wood fire.
"I smell dat pork and I know now dey eat dat peeg what my farmer frensend vord to me to come keel for my mudder. So I go right up to dem sixfat enemy, and I speak right out in him face and tell him what I feel.Mebbe dey don't laff so much at me dat one man he say: 'Ketch him andslit his gullet. He make a fine beeg dinner next time we eat!'
"Veil, and so, anudder Hun come ofer and stick out a hand to hoi' myarm, but I shake him off like I feel he insult me. Den one fat fellerwhat looks like a boss, calls out for him to put me in the peegpen wheretwo more prisoners they keep.
"Queeck like anything four Huns ketch hold on me and push me in a leetlepen where I see here my good fren' Beel and my nudder fine fren' Bob. Wetree mus' live in a peeg pen all night, and nex' day dose fat enemy tinkto take us to a prison in heem own countree. But I tink difrunt.
"I say to Beel here, 'Six Huns, tree white man. Six what so fat dey nojump, and tree of us what lean like famine.' But we got good arm, and westay in dat peeg pen all night and fix up sometings what make our enemyfall down er run like nudding.
"All night we vork and pull old wood from dat peeg pen and viles ourenemy sleep we fix up our cloobs. I mix oop so much peeg-mud in bigcannon balls like anyt'ing, and Beel he laffs so much he falls down. Bobhere he not laff so much but he grin all over cause we got such a fineway to shoot dem enemy and run away.
"Veil, Beel say dis Hun bunch what he call foratch scouts--dem whatshould go out and bring in eat stuff. But dis crowd sit and eat what deyfind, and so mebbe dey got'ta go back in the morning. Anyway, I hear theboss say late dat night, 'You two go back and report in the mornin'--nofood yet. We four go on and keep huntin' for more. See!'
"Yes, two men see, and I see, too! Dat's ven I tell my plans and we vorkhard all night.
"Pretty soon, when daylight comes ofer the sky, two men hurry off, andleaves four enemy to me. I got efery plan fixt so I tel Beel and Bob tobe retty to hit dem cloobs hard, soon as I fire my soft mud-balls rightin dem beeg fat faces of dem Chermans. Den I fixes plenty soft--ah, sosoft--peeg-pen dirt-balls on my left arm, and I comes out sofly to wherethe Boss rolls on the grass asleep, and I stuff most his face and hismout' all full of peeg-mud. Same time I fire mud-bullets all in the faceof dem udder tree solgers, whiles Beel and Bob come right off me andwhack! Bang! down coom dem peeg cloobs on top off dose Hun's heads. One,two, fall down on the ground, and the Boss he got what Beel callsbracelets put on his hands, queeck. Bob he find dem right by the side ofdat Boss, so he use 'em right!
"Veil, one man what stands oop, and dat Boss, we mek to walk queeck--ohso queeck--for the army what sits off away from the Hun side. And pootysoon, we march ofer No Man lant and Beel yell like he was mad. Eferybodymek such a beeg time ofer me, and Beel and Bob say I must go to tell theCapataine all about dem peeg mud-shots. So we go and Capataine laff, ohhe laff, and he say: 'Give Johann all the food he can take to hisfamily.'
"But I say: 'Agh, no, Mr. Capataine! All dem enemy now like to ketch Joand find out how to mek peeg cannons, and I nefer again see my seesterand mudder. Mebbe I like much better to dress oop like my seester andride back to home in a peasant cart, yes?'
"Efery body laff again and say yes. So I find Beel here to go to get mea gurl's dress, and I put him on. But Jo not so beeg den as now, and datdress go on pooty goot, eh, Beel?"
Thus appealed to Bill agreed, but the hardly controlled laughter of theaudience now pealed forth and the narrator could not be heard for a fewmoments. Then he resumed his tale.
"All right! Beel and Bob find me a seat in a Belgium peasant cart whatdrivin' back home, and I sit like a nice beeg gurl on a seat and callher mudder. I find goot luck dat time, cause no Hun stop me and no onetake the beeg dinner what Capataine pack for my family.
"Mebbe my mudder not cry tears for joy when I come in all dressed ooplike my seester, and my seester she laff and say: 'Now I got a fine newdress to wear.'
"Veil, I tell my mudder I got'ta go join Beel's friend's in dis fight. Ifind I beeg enuff to take prisoner by my enemy, so I beeg enuff tofight, too! My mudder cry, and my seester say. 'Oh, vere shall we findhelp?' En I say: 'Leaf this old house 'cause soon it make fire for myenemy to cook peegs, and you run so fast what you can to my onkel's inBruges.' So dey run an' I coom back to fight wid Beel. And so dat'sall."
As he concluded his story, Johann instantly stooped and took theabandoned tray. He quickly transferred its contents to the table andturned to hurry back to the kitchen without waiting for applause fromhis interested audience. At the same moment the Oriental chef came downthe deck and brandished a long wooden spoon. Johann saw and grinned. Hehalf turned to Mr. Dalken and said in a most laughable way: "My enemycooms!"
Then he scuttled away down the other side of the craft, and the chefstood and shook an angry fist in his direction. But the Oriental heardthe loud laughter from those seated at table, and saw their pleasedfaces and he surmised that Johann must have been the cause of it. Hencehe hurried back to his culinary heaven to question the servant and learnwhat had so amused the guests.
"Jo hasn't told half the story," declared Bob, as the merry laughtersubsided.
"No, he skipped anything that went to tell you what a loyal man he was,and how he fought for country as well as for us, his friends." Billseemed to go back and mentally review the incidents.
"Then it is up to you to tell us, Bill," said Jack.
"Perhaps we have a hero with us who should have had a decoration. Ibelieve in giving honor where honor is due, and Jo shall have everythingthat's coming to him," said Mr. Dalken.
"Well, the Croix de Guerre which I wear belongs to Jo, according to allrules of the game, but it fell to my lot to get it, and to Jo's lot toget the shell in his leg," said Bill. This caused a demand for thestory, and Bill began.
"Bob and I volunteered at midnight to hunt on No Man's Land for theofficer who had important orders in the breast pocket of his uniform. Hewent out that afternoo
n with his men but was reported missing upon ourreturn. No one saw him fall, nor had he been seen captured by the enemywith whom we had a mix-up. This was soon after Jo returned from home tolink his future with that of the Canadian Troops.
"We managed to crawl unseen all over the same ground where we had theskirmish late that afternoon, but not a sign of the lieutenant could wesee. Finally Bob lifted his head and nodded at what had seemed to me tobe a heap of debris.
"'It's a ruin,' whispered Bob. 'I don't remember seeing it there thisevening.'
"'You didn't, Bob. It was a little barn when last we came out here,'replied I.
"'Then a shell must have smashed it since. Could the Left, have beennear it, do you think?' Bob's tone suggested possibilities, so Isilently agreed to follow him.
"We crept along, slowly and carefully, fearful of a surprise at anymoment, for the enemy were out that night as well as others, and theymight be seeking in this ruin, exactly as we purposed to seek formissing pals.
"We reached the heap of stones and plaster without interruption and thenwe felt we could breathe better. The barn fell so that some of thetimbers caught in the ends of others and stuck up after the manner ofloose jack straws. Under this small hollow pyramid was enough shelterfor both of us, and we crept there hoping to hide and plan our return.
"To my horror I came in contact with a cold face, and after discreetlyfeeling over the body I found it to be a Hun. We heaved a sigh of reliefto find it was not our Lefty. But close upon that relief came a shock: Agroan from under the timbers.
"'Look out for a surprise!' warned Bob, and I nodded.
"But we had no time to lose in wariness, for immediately after the moanwe heard a German cursing fluently. The voice was not the same. I soonmade my way into the impromptu cave and there discovered our officer,pinned down by a timber and quite unconscious. It was his moan we hadheard. Almost within arm's reach of him, the Hun soldier was pinned downalso, but he could not move his body even though he was mad to drive hisspike into our Lefty's unconscious heart.
"In a few shakes we had the German tied securely and the timbers liftedfrom our officer. Then we planned to return with the injured man uponour backs. The enemy we were hoping to drive before us into camp, but heobjected so strenuously that we feared detection if we insisted. It wasmore important to get the officer back and leave the Hun. Yet we did notcare to murder him in cold blood, and he refused to go quietly. Wedecided to bang him over the head with one of the logs, and whensenseless we could drag him after us. Even this seemed unnecessary riskat the time, so we made him understand that we would shoot him down inhis track if he refused to creep ahead of us as commanded. He knew thathe ran the danger of fire from both sides should we be discovered on NoMan's Land, yet he was daring enough the moment we had started on ourway to try and expose us to that double fire. In fact, he figured thatthere would be but one German less if all were killed, but there wouldbe three men of his enemy's side lost. But he failed in his little plot.
"We had not advanced ten feet, I was carrying the officer upon my backas I managed to worm my way after Bob, when we heard a small unit ofGermans coming from the other direction. They, too, were creeping,creeping stealthily, in order to find their lost companions.Fortunately, we had gagged the Hun who went in advance of me, and hecould not shout, but he could kick up such a racket on the ground withhis feet that it must attract attention in the stillness of the night.
"That made Bob so mad that he stood right up, grabbed the Hun andhustled him back again to the ruin. I had no choice but to turn with myload and return also. We had hardly reached this comparative securitywhen the Germans who were out to find their comrades, heard us andreached the spot we had just abandoned.
"'They'll be in here next!' whispered Bob. 'Got your gun ready?'
"I had placed the officer back under the low shelter of the fallentimbers, and then roped the Hun to a huge post, which had been a cornerstud of the barn, leaving the gag in his mouth; his head and his armssecured, to prevent his chewing the ropes or fumbling with his harness.Then I took my station near the aperture by which any one would have toenter the ruin. Bob squatted on the other side of the heap.
"We had not long to wait. In only too short an interval, the heads ofour enemy came into view. They were not as circumspect as Bob and I hadbeen, for they did not advance with guns cocked and ready, hence I foundit an easy matter to pluck the gun directly out of the hand of the firstcomer. At the same moment, as if he caught my idea, Bob fell upon himand closed his mouth with a big flat hand. The surprised man was sofrightened that he forgot to yell for help, and his other two comradescame on without warning until it was too late to retreat.
"The captured man did give a cry but it was muffled and sounintelligible that his pals might have taken it to come from prisonershe had found within the ruin. But the two who followed the first capturewere alert, and poked the muzzles of their rifles almost in my facewithout being able to see what they were up against. I dropped suddenlyand rolled over against the hulk of the man who came first. The blowagainst his legs and in the pit of his stomach made him double over meand go headlong into the Hun who sat roped against the post. Instantly Iwas on him and had him at a disadvantage. It took but a jiffy to forceback his arms and make him let go his clutch on the gun. I laughed atthe simple task we had had, when right behind me sounded the report of arifle. It was so close to my head that I jumped and let go the hold onmy prisoner.
"But the bullet meant for me found its rest in the German I had justreleased. He rolled over with a groan, and I turned to fight the thirdman whose gun I thought had fired at me. To my astonishment I saw Johannin silent combat with the enemy. He had crept in just in time to see theHun aim at me, and he had jumped the man so unexpectedly that the riflewent off wild and hit the wrong man.
"In a few seconds we had all the prisoners roped and willing to followwherever we commanded--even to the ends of the earth. And Jo insistedupon taking our officer upon his own broad back. We managed to securethe Lieutenant to his back by means of bits of harness found in theruins of the old barn, and having secured the important order in my ownbreast-pocket, we started out, driving the four prisoners before us.
"It was almost dawn when we reached our own line, and great was thewelcome we got as we came in 'bringing our sheaves with us.' But, as Isay, Bob and I got the medals, for doing what really Johann brought to apass. Without his presence at the very moment when he was needed most, Iwould have been a dead man and Bob would have been at the mercy of threelively Huns. And it was Jo who turned the table for us."
When Bill had finished his story, the girls cheered for Jo. He was justapproaching with the next course, but when he saw all the eager smilingfaces turned his way, and realized that Beel had told the story of theold ruins, he set the heavy tray upon the seat of a chair and fled.Scouts were sent to find him and bring him back, but not a trace of himcould they see. He had found a better hiding place than his seester'sdress in which he had travelled back to his home in Belgium that day.
"Well, let's finish our dinner, children, and then we will take up thehunt for Jo. It will be better fun than hunting the slipper," remarkedMr. Dalken.
The dinner continued merrily, every one pleased at the discovery of areal hero on the crew of the yacht, and Mr. Dalken pleased to hear ofJo's courage and simple childlike bravery without thought of recompense.But he also had a plan.
Later in the evening, while the young folks were dancing and tryingtheir best to forget the warm climate of the Equator, Mr. Dalken slippedaway and remained absent for some time. He had gone to find Jo and havea heart to heart talk with him.
Thus he learned that Jo had signed up to take this voyage in order toearn more money to send to his sister who now was in a French hospitalin the north of France, suffering from nervous collapse and lack ofnutrition. His aged mother had died from exposure at the time the enemyhad swarmed over Belgium and had driven every native forth from home andfriends.
"Well, Jo, I am goi
ng to communicate with a relative who is doingreconstruction work in France now, and I shall ask her to visit yoursister and see if she is able to travel. If she is I shall send her themoney to bring her over to you, and henceforth you shall work for me--notfor the Captain, or the chef, or any other boss, but for me. Do you likethe plan?"
Johann sat and stared for a few moments, then he jumped up and shouted."Do I like heem! Oh, Meester Boss, I _love_ heem! And my seekseester--ah, I love you, Beeg Boss!" And to Mr. Dalken's astonishmentJohann threw both arms about his neck and wept tears of joy upon thenice black dinner coat.
But Mr. Dalken never mentioned this to others, for he appreciated theembrace which came spontaneously from the heart of this great big giantof a young Belgian whose gratitude was unbounded. And he took Johann'shand and shook it in a friendly way, to seal the compact. Just as heended the hand-shaking, the chef came in.
"O-oh, Hon'able Master, muchee warm t'night! Most hon'able company feelplenty sweat mebbe--me pour nice cool jlink, eh, Hon'able Boss?"
"I wish you would, please, and throw in plenty of ice," laughed Mr.Dalken, turning and leaving the little room.
"Come, now, Mos' Hon'able So'jer in French--pour plenty ice for our Mos'Hon'able Boss," commanded the chef, thus placing Johann upon a pedestalfrom which he could look down upon all the other members of the crewthenceforth and forever. For the Oriental had heard the story of themedals and bowed down in hero worship and named Jo "Mos' Hon'able Jo"thereafter. To the delighted Belgian it was as acceptable an honor asthe medal was to "Beel."
Polly's Southern Cruise Page 12
