“that’s splendid news,” jack at once remarked. “i’m glad for the sake of little jacques that his brave father did not die there in front of antwerp as you all believed. if i had time i’d like to hear his story, because i reckon it’d be well worth listening to. but we have business of our own to look after, and so must once more take leave of you.”
“do you think he will get well again?” asked amos, who under different conditions, would only too willingly have volunteered to help take care of the wounded, since his education as a boy scout had taught him how to apply the principles of “first aid to the injured.”
“we have strong hopes,” replied the old burgomaster. “joy is better than all the medicine a doctor can bring. jacques has found his father[297] again; and besides, his young heart is filled with happiness because he was given a chance to strike a blow against the enemies of his country. yes, he surely must get well now, and live to see a new day dawn for belgium.”
they both went over to nod to the boy, and the look of contentment upon his face told them his severe wounds were at the time forgotten in the thanksgiving that filled his heart. both of them would in time to come often think of jacques, and hope the good angel that had brought back his father would continue to guard the boy’s further fortunes.
once again jack and amos found themselves outside, and wandering amidst the ruins of the village where only recently the fighting had reached its height. here was the high-tide mark of that furious german drive; just as gettysburg marked the apex of the lost cause in the war between the states in ’63. jack wondered whether history would repeat itself, for he believed that if germany were defeated it would only be through the force of greater numbers[298] arrayed against her, with pretty much all the world in arms.
they wandered around seeking some means of learning where they could secure the information they required. never would they forget the sights that greeted them on every side. the ground looked almost as though it had been ploughed, such were the number of shells that had fallen on that devoted village during the time it was under bombardment. to amos it seemed incredible that any living thing could have remained there and lived through that holocaust of crashing shells; and yet those undaunted men in khaki must have found some sort of concealment, for every time the teuton force charged, after a cessation in the firing, they were met by the british, and mowed down by the maxims that were hurriedly brought to bear on the solid ranks coming forward.
most of the wounded had been removed by now, and were being taken to the rear in the motor vans, lorries, and red cross ambulances. the dead for the most part lay where they had[299] fallen, though several gangs of men stumbled among the gruesome piles, and seemed to be engaged in placing them in shallow graves, after securing the identification medals which every soldier wore about his neck, so that his fate might be made known to his sorrowing people at home.
again and again were the boys stopped, and asked what business they had there in the midst of such harrowing scenes. on every occasion jack showed the order from the commanding general, which was couched in no uncertain words, and invariably produced the desired effect, for all opposition was immediately removed.
they had been instructed whom they must ask for in order to learn whether frank bradford was still hard at work serving the allies as a daring aviator. no one was likely to possess this information save some of his comrades, or the chief of the aerial staff, in whose charge all these operations had been placed.
for two hours did the boys walk after leaving the ruined village. sometimes they were misinformed, for changes were being made rapidly[300] in those stirring times, and headquarters today might be miles away from where it had been twelve hours before.
“it’s a long run, trying to find that officer,” remarked amos, who of course was racked constantly by his hopes and fears, and wished the crisis would hurry along, so that he might know what to expect.
“that’s so,” admitted the cheerful jack, “but all the time we’re getting warmer and warmer on the trail. right now i can see where that last monoplane rose from, and the chances are we’ll find the party we’re looking for at that spot.”
“it gives me the queerest sort of feeling, jack, just to believe that any minute now i may be squeezing frank’s hand, and looking into his eyes again. i was always mighty fond of my big brother, you know, and it nearly broke my heart, small chap that i really was at the time, when he told me he was going away forever, because our father had unjustly accused him of doing something which he denied. if only i find him[301] safe and sound i’ll be the happiest fellow in all europe.”
“except one, perhaps, amos, and that’s little jacques, whose father came back to him from the dead.”
“well, finding frank and carrying him home with me will be almost like the same thing, for he’s been as dead to us for many years!” declared amos, eagerly watching the aeroplane that was now soaring swiftly aloft, already a target for hostile fire, as the little white puffs of smoke told where the shrapnel shells were bursting all around the daring pilot. “i’m wondering again whether that can be frank up yonder, and if he’ll come back safely. it would be a terrible thing if something happened to him just when i had run him down.”
“oh! don’t allow yourself to give way to such an idea,” said jack. “look on the bright side of things all the time. think how we’ve been carried through our troubles so splendidly. no matter how dark things seemed they always took a turn for the better in the end, and every time[302] it proved the best thing that could have happened to us.”
with an effort the boy managed to get a better hold upon himself. this companionship with jack was the luckiest thing that could ever have happened to amos; for the western lad always seemed to steady him at times when his nerves were sorely tried, so as to give him renewed strength of purpose.
“there goes another ’plane up, jack!” he exclaimed a minute later. “that first pilot, now high over the german lines, seems to be holding his own in spite of all the shrapnel they can send after him. yes, you must be right in saying we’re coming to where we will find the controlling force of the aviation corps. before another half hour goes by i’m likely to know the best—or the worst!”
“you’ll be wringing frank’s hand and telling him how proud you are to learn that the boldest of all the allied aviators, known under the name of frank bradford, is your own dear brother—make up your mind to that!” said jack, sturdily,[303] for he saw that his chum was trembling with suspense.
when one has dreamed and thought of a certain object for days and weeks, and it comes time when he may know the truth, small wonder that he shivers with alternate hope and dread. amos was only human. you and i most likely would feel the same nervousness under similar conditions.
amos uttered a cry of dismay, as though he had received a sudden shock.
“oh! jack, they did get that second pilot, you see!” he exclaimed. “he’s volplaning down now like everything, and will fall inside the german lines perhaps!”
“no, he’s heading this way!” declared jack. “from the fact that they’re still keeping up their fire i reckon they fear he’ll escape them. the pilot couldn’t have been badly hurt when his ’plane was struck, because i can see him sitting up and managing his machine. it was only his motor that was put out of commission, and if[304] he keeps on as he’s going now he’ll get safely down.”
“there, he’s disappeared behind that line of trees!” cried amos, “but the firing has nearly stopped, so they must think it’s no use wasting any more ammunition on him. let’s hurry, jack! i’m wild to know if that was my brother. something just seems to tell me it must have been. ten minutes more ought to take us over there where he came down. just to think of it, only that short time, and i’ll see him, if i’m lucky!”
apparently jack was as intent upon settling the question as amos himself could be. he put on more speed, and side by side they broke into a run, such was their eagerness to cover the intervening ground. men in khaki looked after them in bewilderment, not knowing who these two boys were, or what object they could have in thus braving the fearful ordeals to be encountered on a battlefield.
amos was caring little for all this. he had but one object in view, and that the settling of[305] the question whether his long absent brother frank, now one of the allies’ aviators, was working on that section of the firing line, and if he was fated to meet him face to face after so arduous a search.
whether amos and his faithful chum jack were to be rewarded with immediate success after their eventful hunt for the missing frank, or meet with still further disappointment, must, however, be left to another story, which the reader will find ready for his perusal later on.
