A Hero of Liége: A Story of the Great WarStrang, Herbert
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A Hero of Liége: A Story of the Great War
Strang, Herbert
World War, 1914-1918 -- France -- Juvenile fiction
"Then we will capture them. I will ride on to the road and keep my eye
on them. You hurry along the lane and tell our men to hurry. There is
no time to be lost."
Willing enough to do something, even at this last moment, for the common
cause, Kenneth and Pariset hurried along the lane. In the course of a
quarter of an hour they met the Chasseurs. Pariset gave the message,
and on explaining that he was a Belgian officer and knew the country
well was invited to mount behind the captain and act as guide. Kenneth
sprang up behind a trooper, and they set off at a trot, riding across
the fields in order not to be heard.
Presently they heard, in the distance, a revolver shot. Immediately
afterwards came the crack of carbines. Quickening their pace, they
galloped in the direction of the sounds, expecting to find that the
scout had been killed.
At Pariset’s instructions, they rode in a north-westerly direction, so
as to strike the Waremme road some miles west of the spot where he and
Kenneth had seen the Uhlans. The firing continued; the sound of the
single revolver was clearly distinguishable from the reports of the
carbines. Wondering what was happening, they came suddenly upon a
remarkable scene.
Dawn was stealing over the country. At a turn of the road, the cyclist
was standing behind a tree, resting his revolver against the trunk. No
one was in sight at the moment, but just as the Chasseurs, who had now
reduced their pace to a walk, came up behind the cyclist, he fired his
revolver at a Uhlan who had edged round the corner.
The Chasseur captain took in the situation at a glance. Whispering to
Pariset and Kenneth to get down, he gave his men the order to charge.
With a wild cry they dashed forward, swept round the bend, and fell upon
the Uhlans, grouped indecisively at the side of the road. There was a
brisk fight, lasting half a minute. Ten of the Uhlans were killed or
wounded, the rest flung down their arms and surrendered.
"Many thanks, messieurs," the cyclist was saying to Pariset and Kenneth.
"I was afraid they would not be up in time. But they are a timid lot,
these bosches."
It appeared that, not content with merely watching the Uhlans, he had
conceived the bold notion of holding them up until the Chasseurs
arrived.
The Chasseurs returned with their prisoners towards their own lines. The
captain had invited Pariset to accompany them, but Pariset decided,
tired though he was, to continue his course towards Brussels. With
Kenneth, he plodded along the road, and an hour later they were
challenged by Belgian outposts at Waremme. They were too fatigued to
enter into explanations at once, and sought shelter in a cottage, where
they slept until the sun was high. And when they awoke and went into
the village street, they found the people streaming westward, in carts,
on foot, carrying what they could of their household gear. Fort
Boncelles had surrendered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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