Chapter 8 THE CHILD DESPATCH BEARER

"You already have heard of some of the heroic little despatch bearers of France," said Captain Favor. "I shall now tell you of little Henri, one of the bravest and most resourceful of them all.

"Despatch carrying is a desperate business, all of it exposing the bearers to enemy fire at least part of the time, for most of the work of these brave men is in the open where the enemy can see them. Some go on foot, others on fast motorcycles. Ordinarily they travel in pairs, so that in case one be killed the other may take the message and hasten on with it to its destination. Henri, however, traveled alone.

"The Germans, at some distance from the principal battle line and at one end of it, had advanced several miles into French territory, and, spreading out, had covered considerable ground. They were making themselves a nuisance, as they usually did, and a French force was sent in to drive them back. The French, too, had spread out and the officer in command, after becoming a little more familiar with conditions, had made his plans.

"'Now,' said the French colonel, 'what I wish is a man of undoubted courage, familiar with all this surrounding country, to carry letters to the commanders of our various units.'

"'I fear you will not find such a man,' answered one of his lieutenants. 'All the men of this section, of course, are fighting.'

"'Young Henri can do it,' suggested another officer.

"'A civilian who has been attached to the army unofficially for some few weeks.' Henri had made himself so useful that his presence with the army was not only permitted, but welcomed. While he was but thirteen years of age, he was very strong, alert and active. The colonel told his aide to summon the boy so the commander might look him over.

"'Why do you follow the army?' demanded the colonel, after observing the boy critically.

"'Our home has been destroyed by the Germans, my father has been taken prisoner by them and my sisters have fled to other provinces,' he answered simply. 'That is why I am trying to serve my country in every way I can.'

"The colonel nodded approvingly.

"'It is a most important mission and a very dangerous one on which I must send a man. Do you think you can go through with it?'

"'Yes, sir.'

"'You may fall into the hands of the Prussians. In that event what would you do with the letters I shall entrust to your care?'

"'Swallow them, sir,' was the reply.

"'Good! You will do. You are a real Frenchman and while you are a mere child, I have full confidence that you will somehow manage to carry out my orders.'

"'I shall do my best, sir.'

"'That is all that any man can do. Give careful heed to what I tell you.' The colonel gave Henri careful instructions, after which he handed the letters to the lad and bade him God-speed.

"Henri set out quietly, slouching along with a carelessness not in keeping with his all-important mission. He was soon lost sight of in the undergrowth that covered many miles of territory in that section of the country, and that finally merged with a dense forest. The lad reasoned that the Germans would be found in this forest, as well as in the more open country, but somehow he must manage to get through their lines and reach the French on the other side. It was not an easy task, as he well knew, yet he was undaunted.

"He was following a course close to the edge of the forest when all at once he saw a Prussian soldier just outside the forest line. The boy plunged deeper into the woods and was unseen and unheard by the soldier, who evidently was a sentry.

"Later in the day Henri heard voices-German voices. By the sound he judged there must be a great many of them. He imagined he could hear commands.

"'I must be close to a nest of them,' he muttered. 'I must find out about those fellows, for the commanders will wish to know about them.' Creeping cautiously ahead he came to the edge of a clearing, a vast open space where the timber had, he judged, been cut off some time since, and the brush growth that followed the cutting of the trees had by now been well trampled down by the Germans, who appeared to be making this out-of-the-way place a sort of headquarters for their operations. He was amazed at what he saw.

"There, before Henri's eyes, was a small German army, all branches of the service being represented. His association with the French Army enabled him to observe very closely and understand what he saw. And in this instance his observation told him that the Prussians were preparing for battle; he knew, too, that the orders he was carrying had to do with the very preparations he was witnessing. After fully satisfying his curiosity Henri plunged again into the forest, using great caution and watching keenly for stray Prussians. Finally he reached the brush again, being now free of the forest itself.

"'Halt!'

"The command brought him up standing. He rarely had been caught napping, but drew a breath of relief when he saw that the sentry who had halted him was in the uniform of his own army.

"'France!' was the boy's answer to the challenge. 'I have a letter for your commander.'

"'Pass!'

"Henri easily found his way to the commander's headquarters and delivered the letter intended for him.

"'You are going further?' questioned the officer.

"'Yes, sir. I have other orders to deliver.'

"'You had better watch closely that you are not captured,' warned the commander. 'The country through which you go is full of Prussians, and they are ugly. Be cautious.'

"Assuring the officer that he would use due caution, Henri went on his way, apparently without a care in the world. He was a most innocent appearing boy and it would be keen eyes indeed that would suspect him of being other than what he appeared, an irresponsible child.

"Henri now began to see German uniforms on all sides. They were increasing in numbers.

"'Henri never will get through, this with his letter,' grumbled the lad. 'I must act while there is yet time.' Crouching down and watching the Prussians a few moments, he finally drew the remaining letter from his blouse; he read it carefully several times, read it until he had memorized every word of it. Having done this, the child tore the letter in bits and, munching them thoroughly, calmly swallowed them with a great gulp.

"'Ugh!' he grunted, making a wry face. 'That is not pleasant food, but if the Boches can read the letter now their eyes are sharp indeed. Henri carries his knowledge in his stomach. A queer place for knowledge, but a good place when there are Boches about. Now I shall be going.'

"He did not get far. The lad was halted shortly after leaving his cover. Germans sprang up on all sides of him. He saw that he had stumbled into a nest of them and that there was no escape.

"'What would you of me? I have done nothing,' cried the boy when he was roughly dragged before an officer. 'I go to my parents in yonder village.'

"'Is it for that that you crawl along and hide yourself as a spy?' demanded the officer sternly.

"'I saw the soldiers and I was afraid,' he whimpered.

"'Take him away!' ordered the officer.

"'Take me where? You can see I have nothing. I am but a poor peasant boy who could do no harm even if he would.'

"'You are shamming. You are a spy and you should be shot. Search him!' commanded the officer.

"They stripped the child, Henri, during the operation, weeping bitterly, but such tears as he shed were forced, yet they appeared real to the onlookers. His clothing was very thoroughly searched, the soldiers even tearing out the lining of his blouse and ripping his necktie apart to make certain that no despatches were concealed in them. Of course, they found nothing.

"'You see, I have told the truth,' he whimpered, now addressing the officer. 'Please let me go to my parents.'

"The officer laughed harshly.

"'Lock him up. He is a fraud, and we shall yet find him to be such. The French resort to many tricks.'

"Henri was placed in charge of a soldier, by whose side he trudged along, wiping his eyes frequently, apparently in great distress of mind, as a boy naturally would be in his situation. Henri's eyes were red, but they were red from rubbing rather than from the tears they had shed, and were keenly on the alert; they missed nothing of what was going on about them. He did not know where they proposed to take him, but wherever it was he determined not to go, for the letter in his stomach was a constant reminder of what was expected of him.

"There was much activity about them; it was a busy scene, and Henri's guard was plainly interested in it-he was becoming more interested in the activity than he was in his prisoner, which fact did not escape the lad, who appeared to be so filled with despair.

"Soldier and prisoner finally came to the bank of a canal, along which they walked, the soldier still watching the movements of the troops. Now Henri saw his opportunity.

"All at once he sprang away from his guard, and, taking a long leap, plunged head first into the canal. He dove deep and shot himself half way across before coming to the surface.

"The soldier guard stood stupefied for a moment. Recovering his wits, he began to shoot at the bobbing head of Henri that was now out of the water then under it.

"Henri, by this time, was rapidly nearing the opposite bank of the canal, taking little heed of the bullets that were splashing all about him.

"'It is good luck to be little,' he chuckled as he scrambled up the bank and dashed into the bushes. Bullets were singing all about him now, showing that several soldiers had joined in the shooting, but the plucky boy was not hit, though there were bullet holes in his jacket and two through his cap.

"'Good bye, Mr. Boche,' he called back. 'Henri thanks you that you did not hit him in the place where he carries his orders.' He then ran swiftly over the remaining few miles that lay between him and his destination. Reaching the French lines safely, he was led to the commander of the detachment in his home village.

"'I have orders for you, sir,' he said, saluting the commander.

"'Very good. Where are they?'

"'In my stomach, sir.'

"The officer was puzzled for the moment, then he began to laugh. Henri related the circumstances that had made necessary the destruction of the letter, and at his dictation the commander wrote down the orders, which the lad repeated to him exactly as they had been written in the letter. Henri's mission had been faithfully carried out.

"'France has need of such as you,' said the commander approvingly. 'What shall you do now?'

"'I must return to my troops and make my report to my commanding officer,' was the simple reply. 'I shall wait for the night before starting, for the Boches this time cannot be so easily fooled. Remember, I still have the orders in my stomach. Would it not be sad if the Boches discovered them and took them from me?' Henri grinned and the commander laughed heartily.

"Henri's return journey was made without disaster, though several times he narrowly missed being captured. Late on the following morning the plucky boy reached his regiment and made his report to his colonel, who warmly commended the child for his patriotism and courage."