Part 26 (1/2)

”From which direction do you come?” asked Carstairs.

”North,” replied Weber flas.h.i.+ng a smile from gray eyes.

John thought his eyes good, but all the lower part of his face was concealed by the beard.

”I hope you're doing better there than we are on the east,” said Carstairs.

”Have you, then, had bad luck?” asked Weber.

”I'd scarcely blame any part of it on luck. Jove, but it's just a plain case of the other side being ready, while we are not.”

”And you ride then for help?”

”Something of that kind, although of course we couldn't tell anybody where we are going.”

”And I shall not dream of asking you. I know a soldier's duty too well.

I ride on an errand myself, but I shall not refuse to tell you anything because you are not going to ask me.”

All four laughed. John liked Weber better and better. He saw that he was a cheerful man, with a touch of humor, and he heartened the other three mightily.

Weber told that the French were now well ahead with their preparations, the English were beginning to stir and presently the Germans would find the armies before them much more powerful.

”On what road did you receive your wound?” asked John. ”You won't mind telling us this, I hope, because that will be a good road for us to avoid.”

”The Uhlans may have pa.s.sed on,” replied Weber, shrugging his shoulders, ”but it was the road from the north. I encountered them about fifteen miles from here. It was so dark that I couldn't see very well, but I don't think they numbered more than half a dozen.”

”We were going on that road,” said Carstairs rising, ”but perhaps we'd better take the western one for the present. We have to hurry. Good-by, Mr. Weber, we're glad we met you, and we hope that transfer of the t.i.tle deeds of Alsace real estate will take place.”

Weber's gray eyes beamed.

”It's good of another race to help us,” he said. All three shook hands with him, said friendly farewells to the benignant Monsieur Gaussin and the neat Annette, and hurried to their horses.

”A good fellow that Weber,” said Carstairs as they swung into their saddles. ”I hope we'll swing Alsace and Lorraine too, back into France for him.”

”If it's done,” said Wharton, ”England will claim that she did it.”

”A perfectly justifiable claim.”

Wharton turned upon John a look of despair.

”Can you ever change a single idea of theirs?” he asked. ”They're quite sure they've done everything.”

”There's one race,” said John, ”to whom they yield.”

”I never heard of it.”

”Oh yes, you have. When Sandy of the long red locks comes down from the high hills London capitulates at once. Don't you know, Wharton, that Great Britain and all her colonies are ruled by the Scotch?”

Carstairs broke into a hearty laugh.

”You have me there, Wharton,” he said. ”Certainly we're ruled by the Scotch. We have to let them do it or they'd make the country so disagreeable there'd be no living in it. Jove, but I wish I could hear the bagpipes now and see a hundred thousand of their red heads coming over the hills. It's such fine country around here that they'd never let the Germans have it.”