Fortunately, they had taken the precaution to carry plenty of wraps, so they were not at all uncomfortable. They gathered leaves, made up comfortable berths, and, after a most exciting day, slept soundly all night.

As soon as the first grey of the morning sun lightened up they arose, and began an investigation of the surrounding vicinity. A reconnoitering journey was proposed, as, during the night, faint whistles of locomotives could be heard coming from the east.

"That is the direction we must go," said the lieutenant, as they prepared themselves for the trip.

They entered a dense forest, setting their course by the compa.s.s, and marched due east for an hour without seeing the first sign of habitation, when they were suddenly startled by a locomotive whistle, which could not be more than a mile away. They drew back and listened for a time, then cautiously crept forward, looking for an opening. A quarter of a mile to the left they discovered a wagon trail leading to the north.

This began to look as though some one might be living in the vicinity.

The trail was followed, as cautiously and as closely as possible, and a mile beyond a cabin was sighted. This was the time for them to exercise care, but they felt sure the people living there would sympathize with them.

"You see, we are in Belgium now, and they hate the Germans," said the lieutenant. "I suppose we are close to the border of Luxemburg, and the people there feel the same as the Belgians."

"Do you know a place in Belgium called Bovigny?" asked Ralph.

"Yes," responded the lieutenant. "That is on the other side of Luxemburg, close to the frontier. Why do you ask?"

"That is where we entered Belgium, and near where we a.s.sisted in capturing the auto load of Germans," said Alfred.

"Yes, Bovigny is less than forty miles from this place," said the lieutenant.

"Isn't that strange," said Ralph. "Here we are, close to the place where we started on this excursion. Why, we made a regular circle to get here," and they laughed at the situation.

It was now past six o'clock in the morning. No one was in sight, and they a.s.sumed it might be too early for the people, so they waited for an hour; still there was no sign that the cabin was occupied.

"I suppose we might as well go closer and investigate." They went forward without seeing a sign of life, except a dozen or more chickens, which were scattered over the lawn to the rear of the cabin. "If there is any one there a whistle might bring them out," continued the lieutenant.

There was no response, and after waiting a short time they circled about the house, and they saw that the front door was open, but there was no furniture within. They then boldly approached, and began to examine the contents of the rooms. Not a sc.r.a.p of food was found, although ants and other vermin were numerous, and there was a mouldy smell in the second room, there being only two compartments or rooms. While they were searching about, two chickens appeared at the door, and with a common instinct the boys encouraged a closer acquaintance, to the amus.e.m.e.nt of the lieutenant. One of the chickens was finally trapped, and a meal was soon prepared and cooked in the oven. They had barely time to finish the repast, when a shot was heard in the woods to the south, at which they hurriedly left the cottage, and rushed to the nearest clump of brush across the clearing. A second shot followed, evidently quite near, but apparently from the same direction as the first.

"They are probably hunters," remarked the lieutenant.

"Isn't our machine over in that direction?" asked Ralph.

"Undoubtedly," said the lieutenant.

"I wonder what they would do if they found it?" queried Alfred.

"I think it would be perfectly safe if the hunters are natives. I am sure they would suspect the truth, for they would at once recognize it as a French machine," replied the lieutenant.

"Would it be safe to go in that direction?" asked Alfred.

"That was in my mind," replied the lieutenant. "As we must find some one in this region, and they seem to me to be the most likely fellows to approach, come on," he added.

They hurriedly went forward, expecting every minute to catch sight of the hunters. Their progress was slow, as the ground was full of leaves, and the wood thick; besides, there was considerable underbrush. They thus wearily tramped on and on for more than an hour, covering a distance which should have brought them close to the location of their machine. Despite all their efforts it could not be found nor the place located.

The only remedy was to retrace their steps and go back to the cabin, and from that place they could readily follow the wagon road back to the place where they emerged from the woods. The cottage was reached shortly after noon, and an hour was spent in catching several of the chickens and roasting them, so that it was in the middle of the afternoon before they again retraced their steps back to the starting point.

Here another difficulty presented itself. They could not find the place where they first reached the trail, so they sat down to wait for the welcome sound of a train to guide them. Even that aid was denied them, and as darkness was now coming on a suitable place was found to rest for the night at the base of an uprooted tree. There the night was spent in comparative comfort, as, fortunately, the weather still continued mild and agreeable.

The matter of food now became a vital one, but so, also, was the necessity of locating the airplane. The matter was debated, and the lieutenant finally said: "We must find our machine; from that point I think we should strike to the west. It would be unwise for us to approach the railroad to the east, as that is in the hands of the Germans, and every mile of it is patrolled."

By means of the compa.s.s they trudged to the west, and soon reached familiar ground. As they were about to enter the open s.p.a.ce, which was recognized as their landing place, voices were heard. The three glanced at each other in dismay, until Alfred's keen ears detected a French word or two, of which he quickly advised his companions.

"I will call to them in French," said the lieutenant.

He did so, and the two men, for the lieutenant could now distinctly see them, were startled, but in another moment returned an answer.

"We are French," said the lieutenant. "That is our machine, and we have been reconnoitering."

"We are friends," said one of the men.

In another moment the lieutenant and the boys were at the machine, and grasped the hands of the hunters. "We are Belgians," continued the man.

"Where are we?" asked the lieutenant.

"In the forest, north of Messanoy," was the reply.

"Are there any Germans near?" asked the lieutenant.

"Yes, at St. Leger, to the north, and at the junction of Arlon, to the northeast. But troops are constantly going along both roads to Longwy and Metz," replied one of the spokesmen.

"Where can we get something to eat?" was asked.

"Ah, we can arrange that," said one of the men with a smile. "Follow us."

On the way the lieutenant learned a great deal of the system in force by the Germans. They were conducted north, through the woods for fully a mile where they reached a wagon trail. Here the lieutenant stopped.

"Where does this trail lead?" he asked.

"From the railway station on the east line to a little village on the west side of the forest," was the answer.

"Then we were on this trail yesterday," said Ralph.

If they had gone a quarter of a mile farther, after reaching the cottage, they could have seen the first cottage in the village. It was also learned that the two men were the hunters whose shots were heard the previous day while at the cabin. The men lived a quarter of a mile from the village, in the elevated part, near the border of the forest, and like true Belgians were glad to help their French brothers.

CHAPTER XII

EXCITING EXPLOITS ON LAND

"That is the place where I live," said the elder of the two men, as he pointed to a low cottage on the side of a hill, "and Raoul here lives below the turn. We must approach the house cautiously, for we know spies to be in this part of the country."

"I will go ahead," said Raoul. "Follow and go up to your house through the orchard."

They tarried by the roadside until the signal appeared. Upon reaching the house they were greeted by Felix's wife, for that was the name Raoul bestowed on his friend. A good meal was soon spread before them, and in the meantime the lieutenant was plied with questions, as the people in that section had no opportunities for learning what was really taking place in the outside world.

Finally the lieutenant asked: "Do you know of any place where we could get some petrol?"