The Boy Scouts in Front of Warsaw

C >> Colonel George Durston >> The Boy Scouts in Front of Warsaw

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As they turned a corner, a faint shout reached them. The officers had
returned to the empty room!

The way was long, with many sharp turns. It seemed to be a space
between rooms. Once or twice shouts and laughter were faintly heard,
as they seemed to pass near a room full of soldiers. It was dark. The
girl ahead felt in her pocket, and brought out a tiny flashlight. They
came finally to a steep flight of stairs.

Now for the first time the girl spoke. In a cautious whisper she said,
"Be careful!" and holding the flash behind her for their guidance, went
swiftly and lightly down, with the manner of one who is familiar with
every inch of the way. The stairs were wide and shallow. There were a
great many of them and they seemed to go down a long way. Evelyn
wondered if the place was built on a hillside, making it a long way to
the underground regions she suspected beyond or below. She afterwards
found out that this was correct. A door barred with iron was at the
foot of the stairs. Indeed, they ended right against it. The girl
pushed the door open, and when they had entered, closed it behind them
and dropped a massive bar across it. They were in a large, stone
chamber, empty save for a few scraps of furniture.

Their guide swiftly crossed the room and opened another forbidding
looking door. The second room was like the first, but was filled with
casks and huge barrels. Beyond this again they entered a narrow
passage, so very narrow that their garments brushed the walls at either
side. The stones underfoot were rough and uneven.

Professor Morris walked carefully, picking his steps by the aid of the
flashlight. Evelyn and Jack, more careless, stumbled frequently, but
still the girl, light as a feather, flitted on, swift and sure footed.

Once more the flash revealed a wall ahead. As she approached it the
girl turned and smiled. Evelyn stared. There was no sign of any
opening in the rough wall and the great stones seemed fast in their
cement, but the girl, stooping, pressed a corner of one of the paving
stones. To their amazement it slid from its place, revealing another
very narrow flight of steps. The girl descended, and when they were
all down, pressed another spring, and the stone slid in place. Another
flight of steps exactly like the ones they had just descended rose
against the flooring; and when the girl had led the way, they one by
one stepped into a large and brightly lighted room.

Professor Morris blinked; Jack turned red; Evelyn gasped with
surprise.

CHAPTER VIII

THE SECRET CHAMBER

It was a vast apartment of stone, but the rugged walls were nearly
covered with the most rare and beautiful hangings -- curtains,
tapestries and strange oriental rugs. Numerous paintings apparently of
great value also hung about, or stood on the floor leaning against the
wall. The stone floor was deep with rugs and fine furs. A number of
couches, wide and comfortable, were set here and there, and one corner
of the room was hidden by a great black and gold screen. From this
corner came the comforting odor of coffee.

Professor Morris sniffed it with joy.

In the center of the ceiling hung a simple drop light of great power
illuminating the place with almost the glare of sunlight. Beneath the
light stood a large table littered with magazines, papers and articles
of value. Beside it, in a deep easy chair, sat a woman. She was about
forty years of age and beautiful. Her garments were very rich, and she
sat listlessly leaning her head on her hand for she had been weeping.
At her side, evidently bent on comforting her mistress, knelt a woman
in the costume of a servant. A footman in livery stood at attention
behind her chair. Even in that strange, sunless, underground place,
everything in sight, confused though it was, gave evidence of immense
wealth and luxury.

After the dark, blank, twisted passages, and the horrors so lately
escaped in the room above them, the scene seemed unreal enough to be a
dream. As they appeared through the small square in the floor and
stood in a hesitating group the lady in the easy chair leaned forward
and looked at them earnestly.

Their guide, the young girl, pressed the spring that replaced the
flagstone, and as soon as she was sure that it was adjusted, ran
eagerly across the wide space and knelt at the lady's knee. She spoke
rapidly and excitedly in Polish. Evelyn could catch a word
occasionally. Then the lady rose and advanced with a graceful gesture
of welcome.

"You are indeed welcome," she said easily in English. "I cannot be
thankful enough that my daughter overheard those brutal soldiers and
was able to rescue you. Come and tell me about it."

Professor Morris bowed low over the hand extended him. Then leading
the way, the lady returned to the table where the footman drew chairs
for the group.

Professor Morris told his story of the arrest and imprisonment and the
result of the conference in the dining-room. The lady shuddered.

"You are safe now, at least," she assured him when the story was
finished. "And we are happy .to have you with us. It is a comfort to
have someone with whom to share one's sorrows. One has no happiness to
share now." She smiled sadly.

"I am the Princess Olga Nicholani; with my husband and children I have
lived here all my life. The Prince is with his troops, living or dead
I know not. Our son is with him. When the war separated us I,
Modjeska here and my baby girl, with a few of our old servants,
remained in Warsaw.

"We were perfectly safe until the bombardment of the city commenced.
Then we decided to escape, if possible. We clothed ourselves plainly,
and under cover of darkness crept from the house the first night. All
lights were out, and we reached the corner safely. We had planned to
go down to the river front, where we had a motor boat, in which we
planned to escape. But just as we turned into the river street, we
were met by a maddened crowd of citizens all rushing to safety. They
met us like a great wave. Modjeska and the servants were crushed
against a building, but I was thrown down and for a moment stunned.
When the crowd had passed, my people assisted me to consciousness, but
oh, my heart -- my heart! How can I tell?"

She bid her face in her hands and shuddered. Modjeska clasped her in.
other in her arms, murmuring loving words of comfort.

In a moment the Princess looked up.

"You can imagine our agony, Professor Morris, when we found that our
baby was gone. She had been torn from me in the crowd. We could not
find her. We searched all night. Then they brought me home here by a
secret passage, and, the men hastened to bring down everything movable
of value or comfort. We have plenty of light because we have our own
electric light system, and this building was not struck by shell or
bomb.

"The secret passage through which Modjeska brought you was revealed to
me by my husband, the Prince. His father had taught him the way, and
not long before the war we carefully taught our two elder children the
secret springs and all the turnings. I do not know why Modjeska
happened to venture along those dark passages to the dining-room."

"I don't know either, mother," said Modjeska, shyly. "I had a strange
feeling that I had to go. Something seemed to drag me there."

"Did you hear the conversation?" asked Professor Morris.

"Part of it," answered Modjeska. "Enough to tell me that something
terrible was going on. I was wild with fright. I did not know how I
could help you until I heard that dreadful man say that he and the
other officer would go out for half an hour. And mother, he told them
they could not escape, because the windows were barred, and the door
guarded. Then at first, when I pressed the spring, the panel would not
open. Something had rusted. I worked and worked before it slid,
back."

"A moment later would have been too late," said the Professor, shaking
his head.

"This room is absolutely safe," said the Princess. "There are seven or
eight of these chambers, about fifty feet from the house, under the
garden. So compose yourselves and rest. I cannot leave -- half the
city is searching for my baby - - I can do nothing but sit here in
agony and pray for her return. I know she is dead; I almost pray that
she is, but how can I ever rest until I know?" She bent her head and
sobbed.

Professor Morris cleared his throat.

"I do not doubt that the infant is safe, Madame. No one would
deliberately molest a helpless baby. "

"She wasn't really a baby," said Modjeska. "Mother calls her that
because she was so tiny. She could walk, and talk a little too."

"Don't say was!" cried the Princess. "Don't talk as if she was dead!"

"No, mother darling, no!" soothed the girl.

"How old is she?" asked Evelyn.

The Princess again controlled herself. "Rika -"

She had no chance to continue --

"Rika?" cried Professor Morris, and Evelyn, and Jack, and again,
"Rika?"

Evelyn reached inside her blouse, and pulled out a heavy gold chain
hung with a splendid diamond ornament.

"Is this yours?" she cried.

The Princess took one look, then seized Evelyn by the shoulders.

"Yes! Yes!" she cried, chokingly. "Tell me where is she? Have you
seen my baby? Tell me! Tell me!"

Evelyn said the thing quickest.

"She is with my sister, and I think they are safe," she cried.

The Princess gave a deep sigh and fainted quietly away.

It was a long time before she recovered, and then she wanted to be told
over and over all about little Rika. How she had looked, how she had
borne the separation, everything. The Morrises having been assured by
Ivan that Warren was on the track of the men who had kidnapped the
children, and knowing the cleverness and determination that Warren
always put into everything he ever did, were positive that Warren had
the children safely in his possession. And Evelyn knew well that once
with him, they would not get out of his sight again. All of this she
used to comfort the Princess who could scarcely contain herself for
joy.

"Now it will all come out right!" she said. "When the men come back
next time, we can set them to hunting up your son and Prince Ivan, and
we will soon be reunited."

She clapped her hands softly, and the footman approached.

"Luncheon, Michael!" she said, and the Professor watched with pleasure
the speed with which the Princess was obeyed. Soon they were eating a
delicious and much needed meal. The Princess herself was so
strengthened by the tonic of hope and joy that she was able to enjoy
the delicate food. She could not hear enough about Rika and at every
sound declared that the men must be returning, although Modjeska
reminded her over and over that they were unlikely to return before
dark.

The afternoon wore on, Professor Morris and Evelyn glad to rest after
the recent shocks, and Jack playing games with Modjeska, while the
Princess walked restlessly about the vast chamber, constantly looking
at her watch. Finally she said joyfully:

"It must be growing dark now. The men will soon return, and we will
send them to your house where the boys and your little daughter will be
waiting with my baby Rika. Oh, how can I ever be thankful enough to
you for your goodness to her?"

Professor Morris smiled. "Considering the fact that Miss Modjeska has
saved all our lives," he said, "I think that you need feel under no
obligations to us. We were delighted to entertain the little Rika. I
am positive that my son will have them in safety somewhere, so you
really need not worry. I do not."

Evelyn suppressed a smile. She was quite sure her father did not
worry. He was always ready to let someone else do the worrying for
him.

Suddenly a silver knob fastened to the wall dropped from its place and
swung back and forth on a thin chain.

"They have come!" cried the Princess. She rushed across the room, and
as the footman drew aside one of the heavy hangings, she pressed with
all her might on a rough spot in the granite wall. As in the case of
the flooring, the wall itself parted and slowly swung open. In the
dark opening stood not one of the well-known house servants, but a
slight figure covered with dirt and grime. He was tattered and
barefooted. Under the dirt his pallid face looked deathly, but fire
blazed in the dark eyes, the fire of love.

"Mother!" he cried. "Don't you know me?"

The Princess gave a cry, and clasped her son in a passionate embrace.

"Ignace!" she cried; and "Ignace!" over and over, while she patted him
and felt of him as though to assure herself that it was not a dream.

"Where is your father, Ignace?" she whispered finally, as a dreadful
thought pierced her.

"I come from him," said the young man wearily. "He is wounded, mother,
and needs you, but be brave, because he will live. Let me sit while I
tell you."

He sank wearily into a chair, still clinging to the hand of the
Princess. He paid no attention to the strangers, but closed his eyes.

"I thought I would never see you again, dear ones," he said huskily.
"I simply can't tell you now what we have been through. All I can say
is that in the final encounter, as the enemy passed Lodz, my dear
father was desperately wounded. I missed him, and searched for him.
When I found him he was unconscious. Mother, I thought he was dead.
But he lived, and under cover of darkness we carried him to the house
of our Aunt Francoise. She has turned it into a hospital, mother, and
all the forty rooms are filled with soldiers. Well, father had good
care then, for all the rush Aunt Francoise had him taken to the hidden
chapel in the east wall, and it is quiet and safe. But you must come
and care for him, mother, for there are not enough nurses by half, and
the men suffer so."

"Where was he injured, Ignaee?" asked the Princess, shuddering. The
boy hesitated.

"Mother dear, it is pretty bad, but I have see it so much worse. He
has lost his left arm."

The Princess covered her eyes. "Oh, my dear, my dear!" she murmured.
"How can I bear this for you?"

"It might be far worse," said Ignace cheerily. "We must start back to
him tonight. Did you save any of the motor cars?" He turned to
Michael.

"Two, your Excellency," said the man. "They are hidden in a haystack
down past the woods at the end of the estate. The large touring car,
and your racer."

"Good!" said Ignace; then suddenly, "Where is my little Rika?"

At once the Princess and Modjeska commenced the story of her loss, and
all the other events leading up to the appearance of the Morrises and
the strange coincidence of their having found the little girl.

Ignace listened breathlessly.

Once more the silver knob fell. Someone else was coming.

The footman opened the stone portal, and three men entered. They bowed
profoundly to the Princess and greeted Ignace with deepest respect.

They had of course no news of Rika but the Princess was able to impart
the good news to them and to tell them that, after they had eaten, they
could go to the Morris house and fetch the two girls, Ivan and Warren
back.

"I am not sure that we can do so tonight, Excellency," one said.
"There is great confusion in the house. A triple guard surrounds it.
So far the guards are no nearer than our doorway, but if they spread
their lines we will not be able to get back. I heard a soldier say
that two important prisoners had slipped out from under the very eyes
of the officers and could not be found. They are in hiding somewhere,
and every effort is being made to find them. They know they have not
left the building."

He glanced suspiciously at the strangers.

"Yes, they are here," said the Princess. In a few words she
explained. The man bowed low.

"By your leave, Excellency, I will take the others and go -- at once,"
he said. "One may eat some other time perhaps. We are in danger even
here, and I will not feel safe until we are on our way."

"Go then by all means," said Ignace. "He is quite right, mother, and
the sooner we are out of this, the better."

"Go, and in the meantime we will prepare for the journey."

The men saluted and left silently, and the Princess with the
woman-servant and the two girls, collected dark cloaks and warm rugs.
A bountiful lunch was prepared and packed.

Professor Morris, holding his manuscript, sat searching through one
pocket after another with a mournful persistence. Finally Evelyn noted
him and asked what was the matter.

"I have lost my reading glasses," he said.

"Can't we find them for you?" asked Modjeska politely. She started to
look on the rugs.

"They are not here," said the Professor. "I heard the ease fall out of
my pocket when we were coming through the passage."

"Then we will get them," said Modjeska. "It will only take a minute.
Would you like to come with me, Evelyn?"

"Yes, I would!" said Evelyn, who was nervous and wanted to do
something.

"Hurry!" said the Princess. "I know it is absolutely safe, but I can't
bear one of you out of my sight for a moment."

The passage was very cold and damp, and the girls each put on a heavy,
dark cloak. They threaded their way through the rooms that lay between
the living- room and the passage, and went up the narrow hallway with
the flashlight illuminating the stone floor. The case was found at
last and they were turning to go back, when the sound of an explosion
reached their ears and a dim light appeared at the end of the
corridor. For a moment the girls stood motionless; then they turned,
and ran swiftly down the twisted way to the sliding stone, and found
themselves once more in the room they had left, but it was in
darkness.

The electric lights were out and the little flashlights made but a dim
illumination in the room.

The men had returned, and all stood staring as the two girls raced into
the room and told their story.

"I think they are dynamiting the dining-room to find the prisoners. We
must leave now," cried Ignace. "No one knows how they may guard the
grounds. They are bound to find their victims."

"'Where is Rika?" cried Modjeska.

"They could find no trace of any of them," said the Princess. "We can
only hope that the boys have taken the little girls either to the
American Consul's or away from Warsaw. We will have to trust to them
and believe that they are all together, until we can get in touch with
them. In the meantime there is but one course open. We must go to the
Prince at Lodz."

"And at once, mother! I have a feeling that we are not safe even
here. Have you your jewels?"

"I have them all," said the Princess. "All that I had placed on Rika,
and which Miss Evelyn has returned, and the court jewels as well.

"Then let us go," said Ignace. "I'll lead the way, Jan. When we reach
the waterfall, go ahead and see if all is safe."

In perfect silence they left the room, slipping along a narrow, low
passageway that at first seemed walled with stone, then gave forth a
moldy, earthy odor.

Presently they heard the sound of gently falling water, and found
themselves under a narrow waterfall. Again a clever spring was touched
by some hand in the darkness, and one by one they emerged so close to
the edge of the falling water that the spray wet them.

They were in the open air once more.

Ignace clasped Evelyn by the hand, and she could feel the nervous
strain in his grasp. Noiseless as shadows, they slid from tree to tree
through the great park, and down the grove of interlacing trees. It
was a long walk. As Evelyn was wondering if she could possibly go much
further, a dark, round shape appeared in the opening ahead.

It was the haystack.

CHAPTER IX

NEW CLUES

Walking along in the pleasant, fresh air, Warren and Ivan soon gained
control of their cramped muscles. It was good to be free. They were
faint from lack of food, however, and at the suggestion of one of the
Boy Scouts, retraced their steps to the deserted bakery and once more
raided the ovens. Then, rested and refreshed, they picked their way
into the residential section where they knew the officers of the
invading forces had settled themselves.

Repeated questions finally led them to the building where Professor
Morris and his son and daughter had been taken as spies. As they
approached it, they noticed a triple guard at the gate and a large
number of soldiers close around the palace. The boys hesitated.

"Let's see what this all means," said Ivan. "There is some special
reason for all these soldiers on guard. Perhaps we can get one of them
to talk."

"They are not allowed to, you know," said Warren.

"We will try this," said Ivan. He took a large cake from his pocket
and approached the nearest soldier. He was a young fellow with a
wistful, hungry face, and as Ivan approached, his keen eyes fastened
themselves on the bread.

"Eat?" said Ivan.

"Yes," said the soldier, seizing the cake and biting off a great
corner of it. "Bless you, brother, I was starving!"

"There is more where that came from," said Ivan. "If you are hungry,
why don't you go eat your supper."

"Eat?" said the soldier bitterly. "Who knows how many hours we have
been on guard here? I guarded a door in there all day, and now they
have sent me here. The Captain is so enraged that he thinks nothing of
us, nothing!"

Ivan leaned carelessly against the wall and shrugged his shoulders.

"What happened?" he asked, idly.

The soldier laughed. "It is funny," he said. "You are nothing but a
boy, so it will not hurt to talk to you, and I have been silent so long
that my tongue's stiff. Besides, this is good cake. Well, know then,
little brother, that some people were brought here last night with
suspicious papers on them. An old man, a boy and a beautiful girl.
The old man would not explain the mysterious words in his little book,
and they threatened him with death. He did not believe it. Did I tell
you he was an American? He was. These Americans never fear. They say
simply, "Kill me? That is impossible. Postpone it, if you please,
while I write to the Consul!" Always it is so. Well, that old man, he
could not be made to realize that Captain Handel is absolute ruler now,
right here. They were brought to the state dining-room this morning,
and the Captain told them straight what he intended to do. It was
death for the old man and the boy, and he would spare the girl." The
soldier laughed. "I and one other were guarding the door, so we
heard. Presently the two Captains came out. As they left the room
Captain Handel called back, 'Half an hour. Just half an hour,
understand!'

"Then he closed the door sharply. The two Captains went to a little
table not far from the door, and sat down. They were not for one
second out of sight of the door.

"We two stood directly facing it about three feet away in the hall.

"The half hour passed., Captain Handel looked every minute at his
watch, and Captain Schmitt kept saying, 'Wait, wait; be fair.'

"At last the time was up. They went to the door. Captain Schmitt
straightened his saber belt, and threw the door wide.

"He looked, then he dashed in, almost upsetting Captain Handel. The
room was empty. We could see. He called us, and together we searched
in and on and under everything in the great room. We rapped on the
wall. We examined the iron bars, but the windows had not even been
opened.

"Captain Handel went into a fearful rage. The prisoners had
disappeared as though they had never been. Even the book was gone from
the table, and the package of papers the old man had guarded.

"We went over every foot of the place again and again. There was not
an inch that sounded hollow, as though there was a secret passage. We
even tore out a panel of the woodwork, and found a stone wall behind
it."

The soldier finished his cake, and drew a grimy hand across his lip.

"That was good, brother," he said.

"What happened then?" asked Ivan, while Warren pressed closer.

"Why, we hunted all day," said the soldier, "but of course we couldn't
find them. Why should we?"

"Why not?" asked Ivan.

"Why not?" repeated the soldier. "Why, those were not human beings at
all. The old man was too silly for a real man, the girl was too
beautiful. Human beings do not disappear from a guarded room with four
stone walls about it."

The man lowered his voice, and spoke in a whisper. "They were devils,
of course," he said.

The boys were silent.

"Of course," said the soldier, "Captain Handel would not believe
anything so simple. He would not believe they were gone, so tonight he
fixed them. It is all over now, and I wish I could go get some
supper."

"What did he do?" asked Ivan, trying to keep the anxiety out of his
voice.

"He dynamited the room," said the soldier calmly. "That part of the
palace is in ruins. The stones fell like rain. No human being could
have lived in it.

But they did not find the bodies. However, they may be buried under
the wreckage. I don't believe it, though." He sighed. "That was good
cake," he said.

"Here's another," said Warren. He clutched Ivan and sunk into the
shadow. He was shaking.

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