Tom Slade with the Boys Over ThereFitzhugh, Percy Keese
General
Tom Slade with the Boys Over There
Fitzhugh, Percy Keese
World War, 1914-1918 -- Juvenile fiction
"I'd like to know just what's going on over there," Tom said as he gazed
at the blue heights. "Maybe those wagons down there on the road have
something to do with it. If there's a big battle going on they may be
bringing back wounded and prisoners.--Some of our own fellers might be
in 'em."
They tried to determine about where, along that far-flung line, the
sounds arose, but they could only guess at it.
"All I know is what I hearrd 'em say in the prison camp," said Archer;
"that our fellers are just the otherr side of the mountains."
"That would be Nancy," said Tom thoughtfully.
"That Loquet feller that got capturred in a raid," Archer said, "told me
the Americans were all around therre, just the otherr side of the
mountains--in a lot of differrent villages: When they get through
training they send 'em ahead to the trenches. Some of 'em have been in
raids already, he said."
"You have to run like everything in a raid," said Tom. "I'd like to be
in one, wouldn't you?"
"Depends on which way I was running.--Let's have a look at these paperrs
before it gets too darrk, hey?" he added, hauling from his pocket the
papers which he had taken from the dead Boche. "I neverr thought about
'em till just now?"
"I thought about it," said Tom, who indeed seldom forgot anything, "but
I didn't say anything about it 'cause it kind of makes me think about
what happened--I mean how they took her away," he added, in his dull
way.
For a minute they sat silently gazing down at the vineyard which was now
touched with the first crimson rays of sunset.
"You can just see the chimney," Tom said; "see, just left of that big
tree.--I hope I don't see Frenchy any more now 'cause I wouldn't like to
have to tell him----"
"We don't know what happened," said Archer. "Maybe therre werren't any
otherr soldierrs; she may have escaped--and her motherr, too."
"It's more likely there _were_ others, though," said Tom. "I keep
thinking all the time how scared she was and it kind of----"
"Let's look at the papers," said Archer.
The German soldier must have been a typical Boche, for he carried with
him the customary baggage of written and statistical matter with which
these warriors sally forth to battle.
"He must o' been a walking correspondence school," said Archer,
unfolding the contents of the parchment envelope. "Herre's a list--all
in German. Herre's some poetry--or I s'pose it's poetry, 'cause it's
printed all in and out."
"Maybe it's a hymn of hate," said Tom.
"Herre's a map, and herre's a letter. All in Gerrman--even the map.
Anyway, I can't understand it."
"Looks like a scout astronomy chart," said Tom. "It's all dots like the
big dipper."
"Do you s'pose it means they're going to conquer the sky and all the
starrs and everything?" Archer asked. "Here's a letter, it's dated about
two weeks ago--I can make out the numbers all right."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account