Part 10 (1/2)

”And that must be Arracourt,” said Tom. ”I heard about that place--it ain't so far from Nancy. Gee, I wish we could read that letter!”

”I'd like to know what kind of a Yankee a b-l-o-e----”

But Archer gave it up in despair.

CHAPTER XI

THE SCOUT THROUGH ALSACE

As soon as it was dark they started southward, following the ridge.

Their way took them up hill and down dale, through rugged uplands where they had to travel five miles to advance three, picking their way over the trackless, rocky heights which formed the first foothills of the mighty Alps.

”S'pose we should meet some one?” Archer suggested, as he followed Tom's lead over the rocky ledges.

”Not up here,” said Tom. ”You can see lights way off south and maybe we'll have to pa.s.s through some villages tomorrow night, but not tonight. We'll only do about twelve miles tonight if it keeps up like this.”

”S'pose somebody should see us--when we'rre going through a village?

We'll tell him we'rre herre to back the Kaiser, hey?”

”S'pose he's a Frenchman that belongs in Alsace,” Tom queried.

”Then we'll add on _out o' France_. We'll say--look out for that rock!--We'll just say we'rre herre to back the Kaiser, and if he looks sourr we'll say; _out o' France. Back the Kaiser out o' France_. We win either way, see? A fellerr in prison told me General Perrs.h.i.+ng wants a lot of men with gla.s.s eyes--to peel onions. Look out you don't trip on that root! Herre's anotherr. If you'rre under sixteen what part of the arrmy do they put you in? The infantry, of course. Herre's----”

”Never mind,” laughed Tom. ”Look where you're stepping.”

”What I'm worrying about now,” said Archer, his spirits mounting as they made their way southward, ”is how we're going to cross the frontierr when we get to it. They've got a big tangled fence of barrbed wirre all along, even across the mountains, to where the battleline cuts in. And it's got a good juicy electric current running through it all the time.

If you just touch it--good night!”

”I got an idea,” said Tom simply.

”If I could get a piece of that electrified wirre for a souveneerr,”

mused Archer, ”I'd----”

”You'll have a broken head for a souvenir in a minute,” said Tom, ”if you don't watch where you're going.”

”Gee, you've got eyes in your feet,” said Archer admiringly.

”Whenever you see a fallen tree,” said Tom, ”look out for holes. It means the earth is thin and weak all around and couldn't hold the roots.”

”It ought to drink b.u.t.termilk, hey?” said Archer flippantly, ”if it's thin and pale.”

”I said thin and weak,” said Tom. ”Do you ever get tired talking?”

”Sure--same as a phonograph record does.”

So they plodded on, encircling areas of towering rock or surmounting them when they were not too high, and always working southward. Tom, who was not unaccustomed to woods and mountains, thought he had never before traversed such a chaotic wilderness. He would have given a good deal for a watch and for some means of knowing how much actual distance they were covering. It was slow, tiresome work.