Book: The Boy Allies in Great Peril

C >> Clair W. Hayes >> The Boy Allies in Great Peril




"But they'll get you, Chester," said Uncle John.

"Perhaps," was the reply. "That's the chance I must take. But we can't
let a little thing like that stand in the way. As soon as I tackle them,
or him, you two can rush out and lend a hand. There'll be a hard fight,
of course, and the first fellow that gets a chance to make a break
through the door will do so. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," said Hal. "And the plan is not so bad. There is a certain
chance of success."

"Well, it doesn't look good to me," replied Uncle John. "One of you boys
is almost sure to get killed."

"You are taking the same chance, sir," replied Chester.

"Oh, I'm not worrying about myself," returned Uncle John. "But you must
remember that I am to some extent responsible for you and I shall have to
answer to your mothers for your safety."

"If you wish," said Chester dryly, "we'll each write you a little note
exonerating you of all blame should either of us be hurt."

Uncle John was forced to smile.

"Oh, never mind," he said. "Well, boys, if you have decided upon your
plan, I guess I shall have to agree to it."

"I believe it will succeed," said Chester. "But at all events, we can't
remain here inactive while that villain Robard is about his work."

"You're right there, Chester," said Hal. "Something must be done, and as
there is no one else aware of this plot, I guess it is up to us."

"As I said before, you can count on me to the limit," said Uncle John.

"I'm counting on you, Uncle John," replied Chester. "I know you will do
your part."

"Thanks," was the quiet response.

"Any more suggestions?" asked Chester.

There were none.

"What time is it?" asked Hal.

Chester glanced quickly at his watch.

"Great Scott!" he ejaculated. "Ten o'clock! I had no idea it was so
late."

"Nor I," declared Uncle John.

"Time to get busy, then," said Hal.

"Right," Chester agreed. "We haven't a whole lot of time."

He gazed quickly about the room and then took his position at one side of
the door, where he would not be seen by one entering the room. Hal and
Uncle John also took their places.

"Everything ship-shape?" asked Chester.

"Guess so," replied Uncle John, somewhat nervously--he was not used to
this kind of work, although each lad knew there was no question of his
nerve and courage.

"All set," replied Hal quietly.

"Good!" said Chester. "Now for the disturbance. You fellows will have to
help me out a little."

He raised his voice in a loud shout.

Hal and Uncle John followed suit.

"A terrible racket," said Chester, drawing a long breath a moment later.
"It should raise the dead."

"It should," agreed Hal.

"But it didn't," said Chester. "Again. All together now, and keep it up."

Again the room rang with a horrible noise. Came footsteps running
without.




CHAPTER XII.

A FIGHT.


"All ready now," called Chester in a hoarse whisper. "Here comes
some one."

The others made no reply, but stood silently waiting.

The footsteps paused just outside the door.

"What's the matter in there?" asked a voice.

Chester made no reply; instead, he raised his voice in another
blood-curdling shout.

The man outside wasted no more time in parley. Evidently he believed
there was something serious the matter within. A key grated in the lock
and the door swung inward.

Chester held himself tense--ready to spring upon the man the moment he
should come within reach. Just inside the door the man paused and again
sought to determine the cause of the commotion.

"What on earth is the matter in here?" he demanded loudly.

Seeking to help matters along, Hal gave vent to a sepulchral groan.

"Somebody must be sick," muttered the man to himself, and advanced into
the room, casting discretion to the winds. One, two, three forward steps
he took, and then whirled suddenly as Chester's hands closed about his
throat from behind.

Now the Austrian was a big man, and in spite of Chester's strength, the
lad realized in a moment that he was no match for his opponent.

"Quick, Hal, while I am able to hold him," he panted.

Hal wasted no time in words, for he realized it was time for action. He
sprang from his place of concealment and darted toward the door, calling
over his shoulder to Uncle John:

"Lend Chester a hand!"

But even as Hal would have darted through the door, the Austrian
succeeded in freeing himself of Chester's hold, and hurling the lad from
him with a swift backward kick, he turned just in time to encounter Hal.

Hal's right fist shot out sharply, and the Austrian staggered back as the
blow caught him upon the point of the chin. But the blow had been
delivered too quickly to have the desired effect, and the Austrian
recovered himself in a moment, and, crouching low, advanced upon Hal. At
the same time he raised his voice in a call for help.

"We'll have to dispose of this fellow pretty quick or it's all off," said
Hal to the others. "Jump him from behind, Chester, while I keep him
occupied here."

Chester needed no urging. He stepped aside quickly, and then jumped
behind the Austrian, before the latter had time to back into a corner,
had such been his intention. Uncle John circled about a bit and moved on
him from the other side.

The Austrian took a quick look at his foes, threatening him from three
sides. He realized he was no match for all, and his thoughts turned to
escape. There was just one way by which he could get away--through the
door by which he had entered the room--and this would give the prisoners
a chance to make a break for liberty.

Hal struck out savagely with his right fist, and the Austrian hesitated
no longer. With a quick backward leap, he passed from the room, making no
effort to close the door behind him.

"After him!" cried Hal, also jumping forward.

The Austrian turned and took to his heels, and Hal, Chester and Uncle
John gave chase. Down the hall ran the man, with Hal but a few paces
behind him.

And then, suddenly, the Austrian turned in his tracks. Hal was quite
unprepared for this maneuver, and before he could check himself, he had
bumped squarely into his opponent, who seized him in close embrace. The
man's hands closed about the boy's throat, and Hal gasped for breath.

Chester and Uncle John, seeing Hal's predicament, charged forward with a
shout; and then the reason that the Austrian had turned to give battle
became apparent.

A second and a third figure stepped around the two who were struggling in
the center of the hall, and faced Uncle John and Chester. One held a
drawn revolver and the other was in the act of drawing a weapon.

It was no time to hesitate, and Chester realized it.

"Come on!" he cried, and leaped forward.

There came a flash and a loud report; but Chester was unwounded. He had
stooped at the moment the man's hand pressed the trigger, and now came up
beneath the other's guard. Before the latter could fire again, Chester
drove him back with a hard right-handed blow to the jaw. The man uttered
a low imprecation and at that instant Chester's left fist reached his
opponent's stomach. The latter doubled up like a knife, and his revolver
fell to the floor with a clatter.

Chester stooped quickly and his hand found the weapon. As he straightened
up again, his eyes unconsciously took in the scene about him. He saw Hal
make a last futile effort to free himself from the grasp of the first
Austrian, and then fall to the floor with the man on top of him; and he
saw Uncle John crumple up as a flash of flame came from the revolver of
the third Austrian.

Chester gave a cry, and turning his newly acquired weapon in the
direction of the man who had just fired at Uncle John, he pulled the
trigger almost without taking aim. There came a cry, and the latter threw
up his arms and fell to the floor. At the same moment the first Austrian
rose from above Hal's prostrate form, and his revolver and Chester's
spoke simultaneously. Chester felt a sharp tinge in his left arm and
realized that he was not seriously hurt. He dropped quickly to the floor,
even as the Austrian's revolver spoke again.

A bullet whizzed over his head. Chester now took deliberate aim and
fired. The Austrian's weapon fell to the floor with a clatter, the man
himself staggered and tried to retain his feet. He reeled forward toward
Chester and then, just as the boy would have pressed the trigger again,
collapsed almost at the lad's feet.

"I guess that settles the whole lot of you," Chester muttered to himself.

He ran quickly to where Hal lay and raised his chum's head to his knee.
Hal made no move. Chester laid his hand over Hal's heart, and drew a
breath of relief as he felt a faint beating. He stroked his friend's
head, and rubbed his hands, and presently was rewarded by a sigh of
returning consciousness.

Then Hal opened his eyes.

"Wow! A terrible dream I just had, Chester," he said.

Chester smiled in spite of himself.

"It came almost being your last dream," he replied quietly.

Without waiting for a reply, he laid Hal gently down again and hurried to
Uncle John. The latter raised himself on one elbow even as Chester bent
down beside him.

"Careless of me to get in the way of a bullet like that," he said with a
faint smile. "I'll know better next time."

"Where are you hit, sir?" asked Chester anxiously.

"Caught me in the left side, some place," replied Uncle John, and with
Chester's aid, got to his feet.

Chester made a quick examination.

"Lucky, sir. Just a flesh wound," he said. "I'll have it fixed up
in a jiffy."

Making a bandage of his handkerchief, he soon had the wound tied up as
well as could be done under the circumstances. Then the lad lent Hal a
hand as the latter staggered to his feet.

"How do you feel?" asked Chester.

"Well, I don't feel very chipper, and that's a fact," replied Hal with a
grimace. "That fellow had powerfully strong fingers."

"I guess we are lucky at that," remarked Chester.

"Lucky?" exclaimed Uncle John. "I'd like to know how you make that out,
and me with a bullet hole in my side."

"Why," Chester explained, "the best we figured on was for one of us to
get away, and now we are all at liberty."

"Perhaps we are," said Uncle John dryly. "I'll feel a whole lot safer
when I once get outside of this house."

"Then we had better be moving," said Hal. "Come on."

He led the way to the end of the hall and into the room beyond.

"I guess we can get out this way," he said.

He examined a window at the far end of the room.

"Quite a drop down there," he said, "but I guess it can be done."

Chester and Uncle John also surveyed the distance to the ground.

"It's got to be done," said Uncle John. "I'll go first, if you
don't mind."

"Go ahead, sir," said Hal.

Uncle John climbed to the sill, and then lowered himself until he hung by
his hands.

"Here I go," he said.

He dropped.

"He's safe enough," said Chester, peering down, as Uncle John got to his
feet and brushed himself off. "You next, Hal."

Hal climbed into the sill, lowered himself and dropped.

"All right," he called up to Chester.

Chester climbed to the sill.

"Here I come," he called; and just as he was about to lower himself a
figure dashed suddenly into the room and seized him by the leg.

Chester gave vent to a cry of vexation.

"Hey," he called to Hal and Uncle John, "one of the big Austrians has
grabbed me by the leg."

"Kick him in the face," cried Hal, dancing excitedly about, and making
vain attempts to jump up so he could reach the sill.

Chester attempted to follow Hal's advice, but it was no use. Slowly he
was dragged back through the window, and landed on the floor with a thud.
When he was able to get to his feet, he faced a revolver held in a steady
hand. He was caught and he knew it.

"He's got me, Hal," he shouted. "Hurry! Never mind me! Give the warning!"

For a single moment Hal hesitated after hearing Chester's voice. Then he
took Uncle John by the arm.

"Chester is right," he muttered hoarsely. "Come on, sir, or we shall be
captured, too."

Uncle John seemed about to protest, but Hal led him down the street at a
rapid gait.

"What is one to many?" he asked.




CHAPTER XIII.

CHESTER MISSES A CHANCE.


Chester surveyed his captor with a slight smile on his face, although the
bitterness of disappointment had touched his heart.

"Well, you've got me," he said quietly. "Now what are you going to
do with me?"

The Austrian returned his look with a sour scowl.

"That is not for me to decide," he said. "Come with me."

He waved his revolver in the general direction of the door, and Chester
walked out of the room. The Austrian followed closely, keeping his
revolver close to the back of the lad's head. Evidently he had decided to
take no further chances with him.

Chester smiled faintly to himself.

"Guess he'll hang on to me pretty tight this time," he muttered.

A moment later he found himself back in the same room the three had been
locked in when first brought to the house. The lad threw himself down
dejectedly when the captor left the room and locked the door behind him.

"Well, I'm in for it now," he told himself. "Hal and Uncle John will warn
the Italian general in time, and when Robard fails in his plot he'll come
back to deal with me. I hope I am able to give a good account of myself.
However, a fellow can never tell what is going to happen, so in order to
be prepared, I'll try and get a little sleep."

He lay down and closed his eyes; and in spite of the seriousness of his
situation, and the hard floor upon which he lay, he was soon asleep.

Meanwhile, Hal and Uncle John made all haste toward the headquarters
of the Italian general staff, which at the moment were in Venice. It
took Hal some moments to convince several subordinate officers that it
was essential he see the commander himself, but after some
explanations the lad, accompanied by Uncle John, was ushered into the
presence of the general.

Hal laid bare the details of the plot in a few words, and the Italian
commander eyed him incredulously.

"How am I to know you are telling the truth?" he demanded.

"For one reason, because I don't lie," replied Hal. "Besides, if you
doubt me, sir, it would be well to be on the safe side, anyhow. It can do
no harm to take the necessary precautions."

"What you say is true," replied the general.

"A wire to General Ferrari might tell you we are to be relied upon,"
continued Hal. "We were so fortunate as to be of some slight service to
him recently."

The Italian commander glanced at his watch.

"It is best to be on the safe side," he said. "I shall take the necessary
precautions, meanwhile wiring to General Ferrari, as you suggest. In the
meantime, I fear I shall have to detain you, at least, until I receive a
reply to my wire."

"But, sir," Hal protested, "I would like to go back and find my friend."

"I cannot permit that," was the reply. "How do I know that you are not
spies yourselves and have concocted this story for some reason of your
own--a reason that precautions I might take against the plot you have
outlined might throw my troops into more serious difficulties? No, I
shall keep you under guard. That is final."

Hal realized the futility of further protest and subsided. Not so
Uncle John.

"This is an outrage, sir," he exploded. "I repeat, this is an outrage.
Here we are, three of us, who have gone out of our way, to do the Italian
army a service, and the best we get is trouble, fights and insults. I--"

The Italian commander raised a hand.

"I trust that you are telling the truth," he said turning to Hal, and
ignoring Uncle John. "But I must make sure. You say you are a soldier.
You can appreciate my position."

Hal nodded affirmatively. But Uncle John refused to be appeased.

"I think you are a lot of savages," he declared. "I wish the Austrians
would blow up your whole army and drop bombs on every spot in the
country. I'd help 'em do it if I had a good chance. I wouldn't turn my
hand over to help you again."

The commander began to grow angry, and Hal realized it.

"That's enough, Uncle John," he remonstrated. "You'll get us in worse
trouble than ever if you are not careful."

"Worse?" exclaimed Uncle John. "What can be worse than being in the same
room with a bunch like this? I--"

Again the Italian commander raised a hand.

"Enough!" he said sharply. "I am convinced you have come here for no
good. I shall send the wire I promised, but I am confident of the reply I
shall receive. Orderly!"

An orderly approached.

"Keep these fellows safe," said the general.

"At least, sir, you will still take the precautions," said Hal.

The general hesitated a moment.

"Yes," he said finally, "you may at least have the satisfaction of
knowing you have caused me to change my plans. All precautions shall
be taken."

Hal and Uncle John were led away.

"I wonder what they have done with Chester?" said Uncle John.

"Whatever they have done will not be a circumstance to what they will do
when Robard's plot fails," replied Hal. "That's why I was anxious not to
antagonize the general. If the wire goes through we will possibly be in
time to save him, if not--"

He broke off with a shrug.

"You mean--" began Uncle John.

"I don't know just what I mean," replied Hal. "I'm afraid. That's all."

Both lapsed into silence.

When Chester opened his eyes in his improvised prison the evil
face of Robard bent over him. Chester sat up, stretched and then
rose to his feet.

"Hello," he said. "Back again, I see."

Robard scowled fiercely, but made no reply.

"Well, did you blow up the whole Italian army?" asked Chester with a
pleasant smile.

Robard stretched out a hand suddenly and seized Chester by the wrist and
with his other hand struck the lad heavily in the face. Chester reeled
back, but, recovering, promptly sent his right first into Robard's face.

The lad thought for a moment of following up his advantage and attempting
to escape, but before he could act, Robard whipped out a revolver and
covered him.

"Stand back!" he ordered.

Chester stood still.

"I've a notion to kill you right here," cried the Austrian furiously.
"What do you mean by hitting me?"

"What do you mean by hitting me?" demanded Chester.

"You young American upstart!" shouted the enraged Austrian. "I'll--"

"I wouldn't if I were you," said Chester calmly, as Robard raised a heavy
fist. "You may be able to fight with a gun or a knife, but don't come at
me with your fists or I'll spank you."

If Chester's object had been to enrage the Austrian he had succeeded.
Robard cast discretion to the winds, and, lowering his revolver, struck
at the lad.

It was the chance for which Chester had been waiting and hoping.

He ducked under the heavy blow, and instead of returning it, he kicked
out with his left foot. His aim was true and Robard's revolver fell to
the floor with a clatter. Chester pounced on it, beating the Austrian by
the fraction of a second. A moment later the Austrian struck him a heavy
blow on the side of the face.

Chester became suddenly very angry--not furiously and excitedly so, but
his temper blazed up and his anger was quiet and deadly. Calmly he
blocked a second blow from his opponent and took the time to put the
revolver hastily in his pocket.

"Now," he said, "I am going to give you a first class licking. I didn't
take boxing lessons for nothing, and if you have anything to say when I
get through I'll be willing to listen."

At that moment the Austrian rushed. Chester side-stepped neatly, and his
left fist crashed to the side of the Austrian's jaw as the latter brushed
past. Before Robard could turn, Chester planted his right fist upon the
back of the other's neck, sending him staggering.

Then he waited for Robard to come at him again.

Turning, Robard advanced more cautiously this time. Chester feinted with
his right, and sent his left to Robard's nose. Blood flowed. Chester
danced about the big Austrian, raining blows upon him almost at will.

"Take that, and that, and that," he said gleefully, skipping first this
way and then that, skillfully evading the heavy blows launched wildly
by Robard.

This continued for perhaps five minutes, and then Chester grew tired.

"Well, we'll end it now," he told the Austrian with a smile. "Watch, here
comes the finish."

He stiffened a bit, took a backward step, then danced suddenly forward.
He feinted with dazzling rapidity once, twice, three times, and then, his
opponent completely bewildered, planted his right fist squarely upon the
point of Robard's chin. Robard staggered back, but a second terrific
blow, delivered to the stomach, brought him forward again, and Chester
straightened him up with another terrific drive to the point of the chin.

The lad stepped back and dropped his hands, watching the big Austrian
with a smile on his face.

Clear across the room the man staggered and then crumpled up in a heap.

"That settles him," said Chester. "Now to get out of here."

He turned toward the door, and stopped, a cry of dismay on his lips.

In the doorway stood three figures. As Chester turned, one of them
advanced toward him.

"You did a pretty job," he said, eyeing the lad appreciatively, "and we
are glad to have seen it. But, we cannot let you escape."

Chester groaned and sat down.

"There're too many of them," he said to himself. "So near and yet so far.
If I hadn't let my temper get the best of me I would have been safely out
of here. I'll never waste another second on an Austrian. This is what I
get for not shooting him like a dog, and using my fists on him, like I
would on a gentleman. Never again."




CHAPTER XIV.

THE AMBASSADOR AGAIN.


While Hal, Chester and Uncle John were having their troubles with members
of the Austrian diplomatic corps on Italian soil, the Italian army itself
already had taken the field against the enemy. War having been declared,
the Italian general staff had wasted no time.

Along the Austrian frontier, at the head of the Adriatic, clear north to
the Swiss border, the troops of King Emmanuel had intrenched themselves
against a possible attack of the foe; big guns even now were roaring and
raining the messengers of death upon the fortified positions of the
Austrians in their front.

Skirmishes between isolated forces of the two armies, some of which
reached the proportions of real battles, had taken place, and upon the
southern border some slight success already had crowned the efforts of
the Italian troops.

The Italian fleet had been set in motion; giant battleships and other
vessels of war had joined other craft of the quadruple entente in an
effective blockade of Austrian ports in the Adriatic; and the Austrians
were keeping well behind the shelter of their own mines.

In one or two cases they had ventured forth to give battle, but each
expedition of this nature had resulted disastrously--at the bottom of the
sea. Apparently, now, they had given up attempts to run the blockade and
were content to lie snug in their well-fortified harbors, even as their
German allies were doing in their ports.

Several Austrian aircraft had left their bases and flown over Genoa,
dropping bombs, killing and wounding a score of non-combatants, but
doing little damage to fortified positions or to munition plants and
provision camps, which were presumed to be their goal. Also several had
been brought to earth by the accurate fire from the anti-air craft guns
of the Italians.

Unlike England, France, Russia and Belgium, Italy entered the war
prepared. She was not taken by surprise, as had been her allies. She went
into the war with her eyes open and a full realization of her
responsibilities. Also mobilization had been completed before she had
finally decided to take the plunge into the maelstrom. Again, she was
better prepared than her allies for the reason that she had recently
emerged from a successful struggle against the Turks in Tripoli and her
army was an army of veterans.

There was no doubt that Italy would be the first to take the offensive.
The question was, where would she strike? It was an established fact that
she would not await the attacks of the Austrians, but where would she
deliver her first blow? Would it be by sea, hurling her fleet upon the
enemy's base across the Adriatic? Would it be across the southern
boundary of Austria, or would it be farther north--through the Alps?

There was little to choose between the latter methods; but the first was
given little thought. It was well known that the Austrians had mined the
Adriatic thoroughly near their ports, and to attempt an expedition there
threatened destruction for the attackers.

An advance through the Alps also presented its difficulties. In spite of
the fact that the weather was still warm, it was anything but warm in the
mountain fastnesses. True, a passage of the Alps had been forced before
now--one by the Carthaginian General Hannibal in the middle ages, and
again by Napoleon. But it was still a desperate undertaking.

The world waited to see.

Chester Crawford, still in the hands of his captors, took no thought of
these things now. His one absorbing thought at the moment was of hitting
upon some plan whereby he could elude his guards and make his escape. At
the same time, he realized that he had a hard problem before him; for now
that he had almost made his get-away twice, he knew he would be guarded
with more vigilance than before. Still, he determined to bide his time
and take advantage of the first opportunity that presented itself.

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