CHAPTER XVIII
SLIM GOODWIN A PRISONER
"If I had a good rifle I could 'pot' half a dozen of them from here,"said Jerry the following morning as he and the rest, standing back amongthe trees of the mountain in which they had sought safety, watched twolong, converging lines of German soldiers marching back in the directionwhence they had come on the preceding day.
"And we owe them that much for that nice, nifty little night trapeze actwe had to do through space on their account," added Slim.
"Not to mention the wrecked tractor," put in Frank.
"Well," spoke Lieutenant Mackinson, calling them to the business of theday, "I guess we can make a report to headquarters now--and a good one,too."
With which he opened up the wireless and began repeating the callletters.
When headquarters had responded, the lieutenant gave them the gladtidings of the Boche retreat. That done, he proceeded to give thedetails of the wrecking of the tractor and of their escape to the secondmountain.
"Ought to be aviators," the operator at headquarters came back at him onhis own account, and then added: "Wait for orders."
These came a few minutes later.
"Divide as follows: Lieutenant and two men return here; other two goforward at safe distance with portable, and report to-night."
Lieutenant Mackinson read them the message.
"Well," he asked, "which two are to accompany me back, and which two areto stay on the heels of the Boches?"
"I've got a scent like a deerhound," averred Slim.
"And I was born to be a scout," declared Jerry.
"You two spoke first," announced the lieutenant pleasantly, "so I guessthat shall be your end of it, if that's what you want."
"Fine!" exclaimed Jerry and Slim in unison.
"Anyway," added the lieutenant, "I guess there'll be enough serious workfor the rest of us when we get back. For instance," winking at theothers, "there's that smashed tractor, Frank, that you will have toexplain."
"Not so long as you were in charge of the party," Hoskins retortedquickly. And Lieutenant Mackinson, unable to determine whether theremark was a facetious evasion of responsibility or an indirectcompliment to himself, on the ground that no act of his would bequestioned, pursued his bantering no further.
"I guess," he said, "that Joe, Frank and I had better start back atonce. You two will have to wait here some time before you can begintrailing that army. I'm sorry we can't stay with you, but I feel that weought to report back as soon as possible."
And so the three of them began the preparations for their return, whileJerry and Slim watched and studied the movements of the regiments theywere to follow.
"They seem to be pretty well tired out," said Slim at last. "Guess theydidn't have any sleep at all last night."
"We're going to find it pretty heavy tramping through that snow, too,"Jerry answered. "And with the wireless and rations we'll be carrying ahefty weight."
"Well, boys; we're off," announced Lieutenant Mackinson, and theseparating parties shook hands all around. "Take care of yourselves," headmonished, "and we'll look for you back by to-morrow."
The officer, Joe and Frank started off on their long tramp back to camp,and Jerry and Slim watched them until they were out of sight.
"That looks like the last regiment of the Germans going over theopposite hill there, too," said Jerry, as they turned to observe theenemy army. "We can start in a short while."
And in half an hour, Jerry carrying the heavy pack-set and Slim totingthe equally weighty rations and incidentals, they set off on the Boches'trail.
Out in the open, and especially in the mountains, distances aredeceptive. Jerry and Slim learned this when they had been traveling fortwo hours, and the point where they had seen the last German disappearover a hilltop seemed as far away as when they started.
"Ever travel along in a train at night watching the moon, and notice howit seemed to move right along with you?" asked Jerry.
"Lots of times," answered Slim, as he puffed along, "Why?"
"Well, that's the way that hill seems to be traveling along, alwayskeeping the same distance ahead of us."
"I've heard of armies 'taking' a fort, or a city, or a trench," saidSlim. "Do you suppose those Germans are 'taking' that young mountainalong with them?"
"Seems so to me," said Jerry, coming to a halt to shift the heavypack-set to the other hand.
As a matter of fact, early evening--a cold, biting winter evening--wassettling about them when they finally climbed to the crest of that hillto cautiously "see what they could see."
Far beyond the slope ahead of them, in the dim dusk, they could discerna mass of men, evidently halted for the night.
"That's their rear guard," announced Jerry, with the field glasses tohis eyes. "I can even make out their sentries."
Slim took a look and agreed. "Hadn't we better report?" he asked.
"I think we ought to make this bunch of trees here our position, andthen scout ahead a little first," said Jerry.
"All right," Slim agreed. "Which one of us shall go?"
"Let's toss."
They did, and it fell to the lad who had claimed to have the scent of adeerhound to go out and reconnoitre, while the "natural-born scout"remained behind.
Divesting himself of all his burdens but his revolver and ammunitionbelt, Slim started off. Leaving Jerry to arrange their effects, he gavethat young man a real shock when he silently returned five minutes laterunheard by Jerry, and, standing only half a dozen feet behind him,blurted out:
"Forgot my field glasses."
Jerry whirled around as though he had been shot. "Why don't you sneak upand try to frighten a fellow to death?" he demanded.
"Sorry," Slim apologized. "Thought you heard me coming."
"I believe you did it on purpose," Jerry growled, as the other youthagain started off.
"I'll send in my card first next time," was Slim's parting remark.
"Well, be sure to make yourself known," retorted Jerry, "or I mightmistake you for a Boche and send in a bullet."
Slim's laugh floated back and he disappeared down a ravine through whichhe was making for a higher point of observation further on.
Ten minutes elapsed and there was no sign of Slim. When a quarter of anhour had passed Jerry began to get worried. Had his friend perhapsfallen and injured himself? Had he lost his way? A dozen fears came intoJerry's mind, and at the end of another five minutes he decided that itwas time to take some measure to learn the whereabouts of Slim.
Softly, but with great carrying force, he gave the well-known"Whip-poor-will."
The answer was the same that Slim himself had received that night in NoMan's Land when the wounded and unconscious Rawle lay bleeding besidehim--nothing but absolute silence.
A great dread that he could not have defined gripped Jerry's heart.Something had happened to Slim; there was no doubt about that. What wasit? Injury? Death? Capture?
Again Jerry gave their mutual Brighton signal: "Whip-poor-will."
"He can't be entirely out of hearing," he argued. "There's some reasonwhy he doesn't answer." It was fast growing dark. Sliding the pack-setand their other paraphernalia into a little gully which he easily couldidentify later, but where it would be entirely hidden from the view ofanyone else who might chance upon the scene, Jerry set out in search ofhis friend.
It was a difficult task that he set himself, for he knew no more thanthe general direction that Slim had taken. But remembering that his chumhad started off down the ravine, and that his purpose was to reach ahigher hill a quarter of a mile away, Jerry took that route, too.
Two or three times as he stumbled along he snatched out his pocketsearchlight and was about to use it, when some sixth sense, plus themystery of Slim's absence, prevailed upon him to take his chances in thedarkness.
Coming out of the ravine, he turned to the left and, by a steep incline,reached a ledge that seemed to be a natural pathway to one of the higherpeaks.
Somewhere ahead of him, but seemingly upon a lower level of ground, menwere talking! And they were talking in German!
As though a bullet had struck him, Jerry dropped forward upon theground. Grasping the outstretched roots of a tree, he pulled himself upwithin its heavy black shadow. There, scarcely daring to breathe forfear of attracting attention, he lay and listened.
He thanked Brighton then for his understanding of the German language.
Slim Goodwin was a prisoner, and those men--how many there were of themhe could not tell--were questioning him! Slim was pretending not tounderstand.
Jerry's brain worked rapidly. There was no use of his returning to thewireless and attempting to summon help that way, for even if aid wassent it would be hours before it could arrive, and, presuming that therescuers could find the spot, there was every likelihood that theGermans would have departed with their prisoner before that time. No,assuredly, if Slim was to be rescued, he, Jerry, must do it. But how?
As he lay there thinking, he heard the one who seemed to be the officerin charge order another man to build a fire. As it crackled and began toblaze up, the reflection of the flame gave Jerry their exact location.Also it formed a curtain of light against which it would have been easyfor him to have seen any Boche sentinel or outpost, had there been onebetween him and them.
Assuring himself that there was not, he crept cautiously forward, footby foot, until he was at the edge of the shelf of rock and could gazealmost directly down upon them. The fire gave good illumination. Therewas a young German lieutenant and four of his men. A short distanceaway, in the shelter of some trees, five horses were tethered.
Slim finally had consented to talk--if what he was doing could be calledtalking. And in what was purposely the most miserably broken Germanimaginable, he was telling them that he got separated from his unitseveral days ago (which was true), and that he had been wandering aboutthat part of the country for the last couple of days (which also wastrue), and that he did not know where he was (which likewise was thetruth).
While this was going on Jerry had scribbled upon a piece of paper: "Amnear. Look lively if they sleep." This he wrapped around a small stone.For a moment all the Germans turned toward the fire, where one of themen was preparing supper. In that instant Jerry tossed the messagestraight at Slim's feet.
Slim gave a little start, recovered himself immediately, stooped over,and, pretending to wash his hands in the snow, unwrapped and hastilyread the note, and then trampled it into the ground. When one of theGermans turned suddenly, he was innocently drying his hands.
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