CHAPTER II.
BEYOND THE ENEMY.
Hal Paine and Chester Crawford, two young American lads, had alreadyseen much active service in the great European war of 1914, the greatestwar of all history.
With Hal's mother they had been in the capital of Germany when theconflagration broke out. In making their way from Berlin they had beenseparated from Mrs. Paine and, thrown upon their resources, it becamenecessary for them to make their way out of Germany alone, or else tostay in Berlin for an indefinite time. The boys elected to leave.
With Major Raoul Derevaux, a French Officer, then a captain, and CaptainHarry Anderson, an Englishman, they had finally succeeded in makingtheir way into the Belgian lines. They had witnessed the heroic defenseof the Belgians at Liege, and had themselves taken part in the battle.Having accomplished several missions successfully, they had come to belooked upon with the greatest respect by the Belgian commander.
At Louvain Hal was wounded, and Chester had him conveyed to Brussels.Here the lads again fell in with Captain Anderson, and, through the goodoffices of the latter, eventually found themselves attached to theBritish forces on the continent. They had gained favor in the eyes ofSir John French, the British Field Marshal in command of the Britishtroops, and had successfully accomplished several difficult missions.
Taken prisoners by the Germans, they had been saved from death at thehands of a firing squad by the Emperor of Germany himself, and hadfinally been taken back to Berlin.
In the streets of the German capital, one day, a message had been putinto their hands by an English prisoner, who declared that its deliveryto the Grand Duke Nicholas, commander of the hosts of the Czar ofRussia, was a matter of much moment.
Displaying great resourcefulness and bravery, the lads had succeeded inescaping from Berlin in an aeroplane, as narrated in "The Boy Allies onthe Firing Line," the same in which, at the opening of this story, wefind them flying swiftly eastward.
Crack revolver shots, and having skill in the use of the sword and withtheir fists, the boys had fought themselves out of many ticklishsituations. And now, free again, they were making all speed to deliverthe message from the combined leaders of two countries to Grand DukeNicholas, a message that would mean closer cooperation between theRussians in the east and the British and French forces in the west.
The Russian campaign so far could hardly be called a success. True, thefirst German advance into Poland, with Warsaw as its object, had beenchecked, and the invader had been driven back; but the mighty legions ofthe Czar of all the Russias could not be mobilized with the swiftness ofthe Kaiser's troops; and, when mobilized, could not be transported tothe front with the same dispatch.
Reenforced after their first defeat in Poland, the Germans had begun anew drive into the heart of Poland. Day after day they drew nearer andnearer to the little capital, Warsaw--the Russians retreating beforethem.
But now, within two days' march of Warsaw, the Russians held steadily,and, try as he might, the German commander could not break through thisline of steel. Grand Duke Nicholas, commander-in-chief of the Russianarmies--who at first had been with the southern army opposing theAustrians and advancing upon Cracow, in Galicia--had hurried north, totake personal command in Poland.
His presence had instilled new vigor into the Russian troops, and, afterseveral days of defensive action, the Russian troops had at last resumedthe offensive.
It was toward this mighty army that the aeroplane that had borne theboys through the heart of the enemy was now flying swiftly.
"Seems to me," said Hal, "that by this time we must have passed theGerman lines. I guess we might as well go down a bit and have a lookaround."
Accordingly the machine glided nearer the earth. The day was dark andfoggy, and at first the lads could discern nothing below but a greatblur.
They drew closer.
At that moment there came a shot from below. Hal instinctively threwover the lever in an effort to take the craft out of harm's way.
But the machine did not respond to his touch.
"Great Scott!" he cried. "That one bullet must have put us out ofcommission. We'll have to go down, or be shot to pieces up here."
Gently the little craft glided toward the earth; and now the boys couldmake out the objects below.
On all sides, stretching out as far as the eye could see, was a mightymass of moving men.
"Germans?" asked Chester anxiously.
"We'll soon see," replied Hal briefly.
It was apparent now that those below, realizing that the aircraft wasfalling, would not fire at it again. With upturned eyes thousands of menwatched the flight of the little plane, as it soared down among them.
Hal looked closely at the men, as the machine drew near the ground, andthen exclaimed:
"No, they are not Germans; Russians, that's what they are."
Chester raised a feeble cheer.
"Hurrah!" he shouted.
Marquis, aroused by the sound of the lad's voices, arose and stretched.Even he seemed pleased.
And now the aeroplane bumped the ground, and the lads stepped out to seea long line of rifle barrels confronting them.
The lads threw up their hands instantly, but Marquis's back bristled andhe growled threateningly.
"Keep quiet!" Chester commanded, and the dog grew still. An officerapproached the lads.
"What do you here?" he demanded, in some language the lads could notunderstand.
The lads shook their heads, and the officer tried again, this time inGerman.
"What do you here?" he demanded.
As briefly as possible, Hal, acting as spokesman, explained. Theofficer's incredulous gaze grew more so as the lad went on with hisstory. When the lad had finished, he said simply:
"I don't believe you!"
Hal was angry in a second. He took a step toward the officer.
"What do you mean by that?" he demanded.
The officer stood his ground.
"Just what I say," he replied. "I don't believe you. The tale you tellis impossible."
Chester stepped into the breach. He took Hal by the arm.
"Of course such a tale is hard to believe," he said. "But, nevertheless,it is true. We carry an important message for the Grand Duke."
"Well," said the officer, "I don't think you will see him. He is toobusy to give up his time to listen to such a tale as yours."
But at this moment a second officer, apparently the other's superior,approached. To him, upon request, Hal repeated his story. This officeralso looked incredulous, but the result was different.
"You tell a very strange story," he said, "but it is not for me to passupon its veracity. You shall be given an audience with the Grand Duke;but, mark me well, if it is found that you have been lying--that youhave nothing of importance, it will go hard with you."
"We have no fear of that, sir," said Chester briefly.
"All right, then. Follow me."
The lads did as ordered, Marquis trailing along after them. Throughthousands of rapidly-moving men the lads followed the officer, and atlast, after more than an hour's walk, came to a stop, upon command, infront of a large, bewhiskered man, of imposing military stature.
"This," said the officer who had conducted them, "is Grand DukeNicholas."
The officer looked down on them.
"What is it?" he demanded gruffly.
The officer repeated the story the boys had told him. The Grand Dukegrew greatly interested as the story progressed, and, when the messagewas mentioned, he interrupted.
"Enough," he said. "I have been expecting such a message." He turned tothe two lads. "Do you bear it?" he asked.
Hal bowed in assent.
"Then give it to me!" he cried eagerly.
Chester reached in his pocket, and a moment more the Grand Duke eagerlyclutched the paper the lad handed him--a paper they had gone through somuch to deliver.
The Grand Duke read the message through twice, sitting on his horsewithout a move, his fa
ce a perfect blank. Then he thrust it into hispocket and turned once more to the two lads.
"You have done well," he said. "Captain, you will see that they arebrought to my quarters to-night at eight o'clock. I desire to questionthem. In the meantime, see that they are fed and clothed properly, forit is very cold."
The officer saluted, and the Grand Duke rode away, closely followed bythe members of his staff. At a sign from the officer in whose chargethey had been left, the lads followed him.
Toward the rear of the army they continued their way, coming at lastupon a row of tents. Into one of these the officer led the way, the ladsand the dog following him.
Here the officer quickly set out food, and the boys fell to with a will,for it was a long time since a morsel had passed their lips. Then,having satisfied their appetites, they informed the officer that theywould like to rest.
The officer nodded, and showed them into another tent, where two bunkshad been prepared. With a word of thanks, the boys climbed in, and theofficer left them alone.
"Well," said Chester, "we have accomplished our mission successfully.What are we going to do now?"
"I have been thinking," Hal replied, "of how life on this side of thewar arena would go."
"You mean stay here and not return to France?" asked Chester.
"Exactly. I have read that the Russian Cossacks are terrible fighters. Iwould like to see some of them in action."
"And so would I," declared Chester.
"All right," said Hal. "Then, if you are agreeable, when we see theGrand Duke to-night, I shall ask him if he cannot arrange to assign usto duties with the Russian army."
In another moment the two lads, tired out, were fast asleep, withMarquis on guard.
Boy Allies with the Cossacks; Or, A Wild Dash over the Carpathians Page 2
