[image]HANDS UP!The German officers meanwhile had picked themselves up. They were surrounded and seized. The light had died away."Quick!" said Hedley. "I hear the Huns rushing out of the farm. Where's Lumineau?"The farmer had risen, and came to him."Get away to the cave," said Burton. "I'll be after you in a second: must fire the machine."He rushed to the aeroplane, poured some petrol out and applied a match, and as the flame shot up into the air, dashed after the Rutlands and their three prisoners, who, under the guidance of the farmer, were disappearing into the wood. Five minutes later, when the Pomeranians arrived on the scene, their amazed eyes beheld only a blazing aeroplane; not a man was in sight.Arriving at the cave, the panting Englishmen threw themselves down; some laughed silently; the spectacle of three gagged Germans was very pleasing."What brought you up so opportunely?" asked Burton. "Not the shots? There wasn't time.""No. Old Jacqueline warned us. She missed the officers, saw the open window, and guessed that they had got on the track of Lumineau. Trust a Frenchwoman's wits! But I say, what's your news?""It couldn't be better. The Brigadier, as it happened, had ordered an attack on the German trenches for to-night. When your C.O. explained the circumstances, he was quite keen to fit his arrangements to our scheme.""That bombardment wasn't bluff, then?""He timed it to give me cover, and broke off to delude the Huns. The attack is fixed for two o'clock, when they'll have given up expecting it.""That leaves us plenty of time to get to the trenches. It'll be ticklish work, getting through. I'll tell old Lumineau: we depend on his guidance. If he declines the job we shall be horribly handicapped."He took the farmer apart, and held a quiet conversation with him. The old man readily agreed to guide the party to the vicinity of the third line of trenches."But you'll come with us all the way?" said Hedley. "The farm won't be safe for you after this. You'll be shot."Lumineau shrugged and smiled."Perhaps not, monsieur," he said. "The Bosches did not see us; they will only be puzzled. I will go now back to the farm; do you see my amazement when they tell me their officers have disappeared? I will lead a search--not in this direction, par exemple!--and I will come back in good time to lead you. A bas les Bosches."VISome few days later, Lieutenant Hedley was dispensing hospitality to a few friends in a neat little officers' estaminet in a village behind the lines. Among his guests were Captain Adams and other officers of the Rutlands' supporting battery, and Burton of the Flying Corps."It took us about forty minutes to smash that battery you spotted, Burton," said Adams, with an air of pride."Better than pig-killing," returned Burton solemnly."Oh, we cut up a few pigs too.""How do you know?" asked Hedley."Well, you see, in the first place," Adams was beginning earnestly, when Laurence Cay interrupted him."We haven't time for firstly, secondly, thirdly, old man. We want to hear about Hedley and his missing platoon. By George! it must have been creepy work.""A good deal of it was literally creeping," said Hedley. "Old Farmer Lumineau led us through woods and orchards for miles--a roundabout way, of course. It was ghastly, trudging along in the dark, trying to make no noise, afraid to whisper, stopping to listen, starting at the least sound. We got at last to a little copse just behind the farthermost line of trenches, and there Lumineau left us. We were on thorns, I can tell you. It seemed that the attack would never begin. We couldn't hear any Huns anywhere near us, but caught a note of a cornet now and then from some billet on our left rear. I looked at my trench map----""In the dark?" asked Adams."No, you juggins! in the light of my electric torch, screened by the men stooping over me. I got a pretty good idea of our whereabouts, and talked over a plan of action with my sergeant--a capital fellow--and Burton. I nearly yelled in sheer excitement when I heard the row as our chaps started bombing the first trenches. We heard the Huns then, too; rifles, machine-guns, whizz-bangs: it was an inferno. We crept out into the communication trench I had spotted, and had nearly got to the second line when we heard a crowd of Huns racing across from our right. We waited a bit, went on again, and came smack into a traverse. It was pitch dark, but we had no sooner scrambled over than a star-shell burst right overhead. We flung ourselves down, dashed on when the light died, and--well, I hardly know what happened next. All I know is that somehow or other we discovered that we were pressing on the rear of a lot of Huns who were being forced back by our fellows in front, and there was a good chance of our being scuppered by our own bombs. I passed along word to give a yell, and the men shouted like fiends let loose. That was enough for the Huns. Rutlands in front of them, Rutlands behind them! 'Kamerad! Kamerad!' they bawled when I called to them to surrender; and to make a long story short, we scooped the lot and got safe through with a few trifling casualties.""What beats me," said Adams, "is how Burton managed to deal with three armed Germans single-handed. How was it, Burton?"Now Burton was never very ready to talk about himself. He flicked the ash off his cigarette, and hesitatingly answered--"Just a bit of luck, Adams.""Yes, but what?""There were only two really.""Hedley said there were three.""So there were," said Hedley, "but there was only one upright when I arrived on the scene.""What about the others, then? Come, Burton!""They weren't far away. The fact is, I knocked 'em down, if you must have it.""Both at once? Right, left--that way?""No, one after the other. You see, the captain gave me an opening, and I took it, that's all."The company were not satisfied with this far from lucid explanation, and pressed Burton with questions until the details were dragged out of him. He had to endure a flood of congratulations, until a diversion by Captain Adams, who had been meditating a tit-for-tat for Burton's "chipping" on the occasion of his visit to the battery, brought welcome relief."Well," said the captain, slowly unfolding a copy of theTimes, "Burton has been gassing a good deal, but what does it all amount to? The official account won't shock his modesty. Listen! 'Last night we captured certain elements of the enemy's first and second lines of trenches in the neighbourhood of ----, and are now consolidating our gains!'"THE ENDPRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY R. CLAY AND SONS, LTD.,BRUNSWICK STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.* * * * * * * *HERBERT STRANG'S STORIES OF THE GREAT WARA HERO OF LIÉGE (Belgium).FIGHTING WITH FRENCH (Flanders).FRANK FORESTER (Gallipoli).BURTON OF THE FLYING CORPS.THROUGH THE ENEMY'S LINES (Asia Minor).HISTORICAL STORIESWITH DRAKE ON THE SPANISH MAIN (Elizabeth).HUMPHREY BOLD (William III and Anne).THE ADVENTURES OF HARRY ROCHESTER (Anne).ROB THE RANGER (Wolfe In Canada).ONE OF CLIVE'S HEROES (Clive in India).BOYS OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE (Peninsular War).BARCLAY OF THE GUIDES (Indian Mutiny).KOBO (Russo-Japanese War).BROWN OF MOUKDEN (Russo-Japanese War).ROMANCESJACK HARDY: A Story of One Hundred Years Ago.PALM-TREE ISLAND (Adventure in the Pacific).SETTLERS AND SCOUTS (East Africa).THE ADVENTURES OF DICK TREVANION (Smugglers).THE AIR SCOUT: A Story of National Defence.THE AIR PATROL: A Story of the North-West Frontier.TOM BURNABY (the Congo Forest).SULTAN JIM (German Aggression in Central Africa).A GENTLEMAN AT ARMS (the Times of Elizabeth)SAMBA (the Congo Free State).THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN (Central Asian Mysteries).*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOKBURTON OF THE FLYING CORPS***
[image]HANDS UP!
[image]
[image]
HANDS UP!
The German officers meanwhile had picked themselves up. They were surrounded and seized. The light had died away.
"Quick!" said Hedley. "I hear the Huns rushing out of the farm. Where's Lumineau?"
The farmer had risen, and came to him.
"Get away to the cave," said Burton. "I'll be after you in a second: must fire the machine."
He rushed to the aeroplane, poured some petrol out and applied a match, and as the flame shot up into the air, dashed after the Rutlands and their three prisoners, who, under the guidance of the farmer, were disappearing into the wood. Five minutes later, when the Pomeranians arrived on the scene, their amazed eyes beheld only a blazing aeroplane; not a man was in sight.
Arriving at the cave, the panting Englishmen threw themselves down; some laughed silently; the spectacle of three gagged Germans was very pleasing.
"What brought you up so opportunely?" asked Burton. "Not the shots? There wasn't time."
"No. Old Jacqueline warned us. She missed the officers, saw the open window, and guessed that they had got on the track of Lumineau. Trust a Frenchwoman's wits! But I say, what's your news?"
"It couldn't be better. The Brigadier, as it happened, had ordered an attack on the German trenches for to-night. When your C.O. explained the circumstances, he was quite keen to fit his arrangements to our scheme."
"That bombardment wasn't bluff, then?"
"He timed it to give me cover, and broke off to delude the Huns. The attack is fixed for two o'clock, when they'll have given up expecting it."
"That leaves us plenty of time to get to the trenches. It'll be ticklish work, getting through. I'll tell old Lumineau: we depend on his guidance. If he declines the job we shall be horribly handicapped."
He took the farmer apart, and held a quiet conversation with him. The old man readily agreed to guide the party to the vicinity of the third line of trenches.
"But you'll come with us all the way?" said Hedley. "The farm won't be safe for you after this. You'll be shot."
Lumineau shrugged and smiled.
"Perhaps not, monsieur," he said. "The Bosches did not see us; they will only be puzzled. I will go now back to the farm; do you see my amazement when they tell me their officers have disappeared? I will lead a search--not in this direction, par exemple!--and I will come back in good time to lead you. A bas les Bosches."
VI
Some few days later, Lieutenant Hedley was dispensing hospitality to a few friends in a neat little officers' estaminet in a village behind the lines. Among his guests were Captain Adams and other officers of the Rutlands' supporting battery, and Burton of the Flying Corps.
"It took us about forty minutes to smash that battery you spotted, Burton," said Adams, with an air of pride.
"Better than pig-killing," returned Burton solemnly.
"Oh, we cut up a few pigs too."
"How do you know?" asked Hedley.
"Well, you see, in the first place," Adams was beginning earnestly, when Laurence Cay interrupted him.
"We haven't time for firstly, secondly, thirdly, old man. We want to hear about Hedley and his missing platoon. By George! it must have been creepy work."
"A good deal of it was literally creeping," said Hedley. "Old Farmer Lumineau led us through woods and orchards for miles--a roundabout way, of course. It was ghastly, trudging along in the dark, trying to make no noise, afraid to whisper, stopping to listen, starting at the least sound. We got at last to a little copse just behind the farthermost line of trenches, and there Lumineau left us. We were on thorns, I can tell you. It seemed that the attack would never begin. We couldn't hear any Huns anywhere near us, but caught a note of a cornet now and then from some billet on our left rear. I looked at my trench map----"
"In the dark?" asked Adams.
"No, you juggins! in the light of my electric torch, screened by the men stooping over me. I got a pretty good idea of our whereabouts, and talked over a plan of action with my sergeant--a capital fellow--and Burton. I nearly yelled in sheer excitement when I heard the row as our chaps started bombing the first trenches. We heard the Huns then, too; rifles, machine-guns, whizz-bangs: it was an inferno. We crept out into the communication trench I had spotted, and had nearly got to the second line when we heard a crowd of Huns racing across from our right. We waited a bit, went on again, and came smack into a traverse. It was pitch dark, but we had no sooner scrambled over than a star-shell burst right overhead. We flung ourselves down, dashed on when the light died, and--well, I hardly know what happened next. All I know is that somehow or other we discovered that we were pressing on the rear of a lot of Huns who were being forced back by our fellows in front, and there was a good chance of our being scuppered by our own bombs. I passed along word to give a yell, and the men shouted like fiends let loose. That was enough for the Huns. Rutlands in front of them, Rutlands behind them! 'Kamerad! Kamerad!' they bawled when I called to them to surrender; and to make a long story short, we scooped the lot and got safe through with a few trifling casualties."
"What beats me," said Adams, "is how Burton managed to deal with three armed Germans single-handed. How was it, Burton?"
Now Burton was never very ready to talk about himself. He flicked the ash off his cigarette, and hesitatingly answered--
"Just a bit of luck, Adams."
"Yes, but what?"
"There were only two really."
"Hedley said there were three."
"So there were," said Hedley, "but there was only one upright when I arrived on the scene."
"What about the others, then? Come, Burton!"
"They weren't far away. The fact is, I knocked 'em down, if you must have it."
"Both at once? Right, left--that way?"
"No, one after the other. You see, the captain gave me an opening, and I took it, that's all."
The company were not satisfied with this far from lucid explanation, and pressed Burton with questions until the details were dragged out of him. He had to endure a flood of congratulations, until a diversion by Captain Adams, who had been meditating a tit-for-tat for Burton's "chipping" on the occasion of his visit to the battery, brought welcome relief.
"Well," said the captain, slowly unfolding a copy of theTimes, "Burton has been gassing a good deal, but what does it all amount to? The official account won't shock his modesty. Listen! 'Last night we captured certain elements of the enemy's first and second lines of trenches in the neighbourhood of ----, and are now consolidating our gains!'"
THE END
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY R. CLAY AND SONS, LTD.,BRUNSWICK STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.
* * * * * * * *
HERBERT STRANG'S STORIES OF THE GREAT WAR
A HERO OF LIÉGE (Belgium).FIGHTING WITH FRENCH (Flanders).FRANK FORESTER (Gallipoli).BURTON OF THE FLYING CORPS.THROUGH THE ENEMY'S LINES (Asia Minor).
HISTORICAL STORIES
WITH DRAKE ON THE SPANISH MAIN (Elizabeth).HUMPHREY BOLD (William III and Anne).THE ADVENTURES OF HARRY ROCHESTER (Anne).ROB THE RANGER (Wolfe In Canada).ONE OF CLIVE'S HEROES (Clive in India).BOYS OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE (Peninsular War).BARCLAY OF THE GUIDES (Indian Mutiny).KOBO (Russo-Japanese War).BROWN OF MOUKDEN (Russo-Japanese War).
ROMANCES
JACK HARDY: A Story of One Hundred Years Ago.PALM-TREE ISLAND (Adventure in the Pacific).SETTLERS AND SCOUTS (East Africa).THE ADVENTURES OF DICK TREVANION (Smugglers).THE AIR SCOUT: A Story of National Defence.THE AIR PATROL: A Story of the North-West Frontier.TOM BURNABY (the Congo Forest).SULTAN JIM (German Aggression in Central Africa).A GENTLEMAN AT ARMS (the Times of Elizabeth)SAMBA (the Congo Free State).THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN (Central Asian Mysteries).
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOKBURTON OF THE FLYING CORPS***