Dave Dawson at Dunkirk

by Robert Sidney Bowen

  CHAPTER FIVE

  _In the Enemy's Camp_

  The first thing Dave saw as the Lieutenant pushed him through the opendoorway was a desk bigger than any other desk he had ever seen. It was agood nine feet long and at least five feet wide. It took up almost onewhole side of the room and upon it were piled books, official papers, acouple of portable short-wave radio sets, and at least a dozentelephones. And seated at the desk was a huge red faced, bull neckedGerman in the uniform of a staff colonel.

  "My prisoners, _Herr Kommandant_ Stohl," the Lieutenant said. "_HeilHitler!_"

  The big German Colonel lifted his gaze from some papers in front of him,looked at Dave Dawson and Freddy Farmer and started violently. His eyeswidened and his jaw dropped in amazement. He got control of himselfalmost instantly and whipped his eyes to the Lieutenant's face.

  "Is this a joke, _Herr Leutnant_?" he demanded in a booming voice thatshook the thick walls of the room. "What is the charge against these twopeasant urchins? Look, the clothes of that one, there, are in rags!"

  The high ranking officer lifted a finger the size of a banana and jabbedit at Dave. The lieutenant flushed and made gurgling sounds in histhroat.

  "They are not urchins, not peasants, _Herr Kommandant_," he explainedhastily. "This one of the brown hair claims he is an American. And thisone of the light hair is an Englisher. I caught them trying to sneakpast our advance units with an ambulance. They stated that they werelost, and wanted to know the way to Courtrai. When I caught them theywere a good forty miles southeast of that city. I did not believe theirstories so I escorted them here at once."

  "And the ambulance?" the German asked slowly. "There were woundedsoldiers in it, perhaps?"

  "No, _Herr Kommandant_," the Lieutenant said with a shake of his head."There was nothing. It was completely empty. It has never been used.That, also, added to my suspicions of these two. I shall give it abetter examination at your orders, sir."

  "Do so at once, now," the senior officer said and made a wave ofdismissal with one hand.

  "At once, _Herr Kommandant_," the Lieutenant said in a magpie voice."_Heil Hitler!_"

  The German Colonel waited until he had left, then focussed his eyes onDave and Freddy, and smiled faintly.

  "And now, boys," he said in a kindly voice, "what is all this about? Howdid you happen to get so far behind our lines?"

  "We told the lieutenant the truth, sir," Freddy Farmer spoke up. "I waslost. It was all my fault. I had no idea where I was. You have no rightto hold us as prisoners. We have done nothing except get lost, and itwas all my fault."

  The German's smile broadened and his shoulders shook.

  "So, I have no right, eh?" he chuckled. "You are not in your Englandnow, my boy. But suppose you tell me all about it?"

  "Very well, sir," Freddy said in a quiet dignified voice. "And you cantake my word for its being the truth, too."

  The English youth paused a moment and then told the story of leaving theParis headquarters of the British Volunteer Ambulance Service, becomingseparated from the others, and after many hours picking up Dave Dawson.

  "And so there you are, sir," he finished up. "A very unfortunateincident, but I've already told you it was my fault."

  The big German, shrugged, started to speak but checked himself andswiveled around in his chair to peer at the well marked map that took upmost of the wall in back of him. Presently he turned front again andfixed his eyes on Dave.

  "And you?" he grunted. "Where were you forced to leave your car? Andwhere is this French Army lieutenant your friend mentioned?"

  "I don't know where he is," Dave said. "When the German planes startedshooting and bombing those refugees I...."

  "One moment!" the Colonel grated harshly. "Our pilots do not shoot orbomb helpless civilians. Those were undoubtedly French planes, orBritish ones, made to look like German planes. Go on."

  Anger rose up in Dave Dawson. He had seen those planes with his owneyes. And he knew enough about foreign planes to know that they wereneither French nor British. They were German, and there were no two waysabout that. He opened his mouth to hurl the lie back in the German'sface, but suddenly thought better of it.

  "The spot was about seventy miles north of Paris, I think," he said. "Iknow that a few minutes before, we had passed through a small villagenamed Roye. And I remember looking at my watch. It was a little afterone this afternoon."

  "I see," murmured the German, and an odd look seeped into his eyes. "Andwhen you awoke it was night? You saw the ambulance of this Englishboy's, and he picked you up?"

  "That's right, sir," Dave said with a nod.

  "And so?" the German said in the same murmuring tone. "So from a littleafter one this afternoon until your friend picked you up you traveledover thirty miles ... _while unconscious_? You expect me to believethat?"

  "I'm not telling a lie!" Dave said hotly. "You can believe what you darnwell like. It's still the truth, just the same. I don't know how I gotthere. Maybe some passing car picked me up, and then dumped me outthinking that I was dead. Maybe somebody took me along to rob me becauseof my American clothes. They might have thought I had some money,and...."

  Dave slopped short at the sudden thought and started searching thepockets of his torn clothes. All he could find was a handkerchief, abroken pencil, and a bent American Lincoln penny that he carried as alucky piece. Everything else was gone. His wallet, his money, hispassport ... everything. He looked at the Colonel in angry triumph.

  "That's what happened!" he cried. "Somebody picked me up and robbed me,and then left me in that field under the trees. Good gosh! I'm broke,and I'll need money to get to England. I...."

  Dave stopped short again as he saw the smile on the Colonel's face. Thistime it was a different kind of smile. There was nothing pleasant orfatherly about it. It was a cold, tight lipped smile, and Dave shivereda bit in spite of himself.

  "You are not going to England ... yet!" the German said slowly. "Thereis something very funny about all this, and I mean to find out what itis. Yes, it is rather strange, I think."

  "For cat's sake, why?" Dave blurted out. "We simply got lost in thedark, and that's all there is to it!"

  "Exactly!" Freddy Farmer spoke up. "It is the truth. We are not even oldenough to be soldiers ... unfortunately."

  The German officer scowled so that his heavy black brows formed a solidline across the lower part of his forehead.

  "Your sharp tongue may get you into more trouble than you think, mylittle Englisher!" he growled. "You had best take care. Now, we will asksome more questions. You both left Paris this morning, eh? You sawtroops and tanks and things on the march?"

  "Millions of them!" Freddy Farmer said quickly. "And airplanes, too. Inever saw so many soldiers, or so much military equipment."

  "So?" the German breathed. "You saw which way they were heading, ofcourse?"

  "Naturally," Freddy said. "They were going into Belgium, of course. Andnot just French troops with tanks and guns, either. There were thousandsof British and Canadians. And there were more thousands from Australiaand New Zealand, and South Africa. And the sky was filled with R.A.F.and French planes. And...."

  The German's booming laughter stopped Freddy. The big man shook likejelly and he was forced to blow his nose before he could speak.

  "I must say I admire you, my young Englander," he said. "I suppose nowwe should become very frightened and order a general retreat at once,eh?"

  "You will be forced to, shortly," Freddy said stiffly.

  The laughter faded from the German's face and his eyes became brittleand hard.

  "Germans never hear such an order, for it is never given!" he snapped."But, I see you want to treat this all as a little joke, eh?"

  "Do you expect us to give away military information?" Dave demanded.

  "It would help you a lot, boys," the officer said slyly. "You two wantto get to England, don't you?"

  "Not that way, we don't!" Dave said, standing up to him. "You'll get nomilitary inform
ation out of either of us, even if we had any to give."

  "Good for you, Dave!" Freddy said in a low voice. "He can't make dirtytraitors out of us."

  Heads up and shoulders back the two of them stared defiantly at theofficer. He glared back at them for a moment and then as quick as theblink of an eye his big face broke out all smiles.

  "Good, good, boys!" he cried. "I like you all the more for refusing. Iwouldn't tell anything either if I should happen to be captured. Allright, we will speak no more about that. But, I must make out a report.Give me your names, and addresses. I will send word through the RedCross to your families so they will know where you are."

  "But I live in America!" Dave cried. "I'm on a trip with my father. He'sin London, as I told you, but I don't know where!"

  "What is his name?" the officer said and picked up a pencil. "I willhave word sent to the hotel where you stopped in Paris. It will beforwarded to him wherever he is. Well?"

  Dave hesitated a moment, then decided there wasn't anything else to bedone about it.

  "Mr. Richard C. Dawson," he said. "My name is David. Hotel de Ney,Twenty-One Rue Passey, Paris. But, wait! He went to see the AmericanAmbassador in London. You can send word there."

  That bit of information seemed to startle the German. He gave Dave along piercing look, then nodded and scribbled on a piece of paper infront of him. In a minute he glanced up at Freddy.

  "And you, Englisher?" he grunted.

  "My name is Frederick Covington Farmer," Freddy said. "I live atSixty-Four Baker Street, London, England. But, see here, sir! You don'treally intend to keep us prisoners, do you? I mean, after all, youknow!"

  The officer laughed and shook his head.

  "Keep you prisoners?" he echoed. "Of course not. But I can't very welllet you go until I get proof who you are, now can I? In a very shorttime I shall learn if you've told me the truth. And then, if you have, Iwill have you put in a car and passed through the Belgian lines. Just assimple as that, see?"

  "We have told you the truth," Freddy said grimly.

  "You bet we have!" Dave said.

  "Then there is nothing for you to worry about," the big German chuckled."And now, you must be hungry, eh? Well, I shall at once see that you aretaken care of and given something to eat."

  The German reached out one of his big hands and jabbed a desk buttonwith a thick finger. As though by magic a side door swung open and aGerman soldier with a Staff Orderly's arm band about his tunic sleevepopped into the room. The officer fired words at him so fast that Davecouldn't catch a single one of them. The orderly saluted and thenmotioned for Dave and Freddy to walk out ahead of him. When he hadclosed the door he pointed toward a flight of stairs, and then up. Hestopped them on the second landing, pushed open a door and waved theminside. There were two army cots with a blanket for each, a couple ofbroken chairs, and nothing else. A single window was at the rear of theroom and its sill was a good five feet up from the floor. It was thickwith dust and cobwebs and looked as if it hadn't been opened in years.

  The two boys glanced at the room in dismay. Then the click of the doorlatch, and the grating sound of a bolt being shot home, spun them botharound. Dave leaped for the door and grasped hold of the knob. Itturned in his hand, but the door refused to open. He gulped and glancedback at Freddy. The English youth's face had paled a bit, but his eyeswere grimly defiant.