Two Daring Young Patriots; or, Outwitting the HunsShervill, W. P.
General
Two Daring Young Patriots; or, Outwitting the Huns
Shervill, W. P.
World War, 1914-1918 -- Belgium -- Juvenile fiction
The next day they left the hospitable streets of Maastricht and arrived
safely in Liege, still in their disguises as Walloon workmen. A visit to
a clever hairdresser before they left had completed their disguise.
Their fresh complexions were hidden beneath a stain that darkened the
skin to the tints of the swarthiest Walloons of the Liege district.
Max, as he was by far the better known and ran the greater risk of
detection, had, in addition, his brown hair dyed a much darker hue and
his eyebrows thickened and made to meet in the centre. A few lines
skilfully drawn here and there about his face gave him the appearance of
a much older man than Dale, and enabled them to pose as brothers aged
about twenty-eight and twenty respectively. Their hair was allowed to
run wild and mat about their brows and ears; hands and wrists were left,
much to their discomfort, to get as grubby as possible, and in the end
they were ready to meet the gaze of all as Belgian workmen of the most
out-and-out kind.
The necessity for the constant renewal of their various disguises was
not overlooked, and the hairdresser was prevailed upon to part with a
supply of his dyes and to tell them exactly how and when to apply them.
Max of course could maintain the part of workman to perfection, even if
questioned at length, but Dale was under the necessity of answering only
in monosyllables, as his knowledge of the language was at present not
very great. With Max at his elbow, however, this was not a serious
drawback, and neither anticipated any difficulty on that score.
Max was now a broad-shouldered, well-built young fellow of twenty. He
was not much above medium height, but his rowing and running at
Hawkesley and his hard work in the various shops of the Durend concern
had given him a muscular development that most of the real workmen might
have envied. His responsibilities as stroke at college, and, later, as
the future head of the firm, had given him a self-reliant attitude of
mind that was reflected in his bearing, and enabled him to maintain with
unconscious ease his sudden increase in years over his more
youthful-looking comrade.
Dale was still slim and boyish-looking. He was wiry enough, however, and
was, as we have seen, extremely cool and courageous in any tight corner.
He was quick, too, and the pair made an ideal couple to hunt together.
Had Schenk known that they were bending all their energies to the task
of hindering his use of the Durend workshops for the benefit of the
Germans he would probably have bestowed more than a passing thought upon
them. And had he had an inkling that they were at the bottom of the
shrewd blow already dealt him within the sacred precincts of his office
he would, no doubt, have spent a sleepless night or two.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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