Dave Porter's war honors

“I wonder why Dave doesn’t come back?”

“He must have taken quite a walk, Roger.”

“I should think, Phil, that he would be too tired to go very far; we’ve had quite a strenuous day, if you’ll remember.”

“I don’t have to remember! My back keeps reminding me of it all the while,” said the shipowner’s son. “I’ll tell you what—being a working engineer in the army is no fool of a job!”

The two chums had finished the letters they had spoken of writing, and along with several of the others were taking their ease in that portion of the abandoned mines which had been turned over to them for quarters. Not far away Ben and Buster were sitting beside a small nail keg, playing a game of checkers on a home-made board with some French coins for men. Close at hand sat Shadow, telling one of his innumerable stories to some of the other engineers.

“What do you say if we go out and meet him?” remarked Roger, after a pause.

“Suits me,” responded Phil. And a moment later they were on their way.

Outside the moon still shone brightly, so that objects could be seen for quite a distance. They looked up and down the path through the trees, but, of course, saw nothing of the young lieutenant.

Presently an officer approached them who proved to be Captain Obray.

“Out a little late, aren’t you?” said the captain pleasantly, as they saluted. “I thought all you fellows were pining for sleep after such a hard day’s work.”

“We came out to look for Lieutenant Porter,” answered Roger.

“I’m looking for him myself,” said the captain in some surprise.

He was after the notebook which our hero had promised to get for him. This notebook contained several plans and specifications which were of importance. The captain had left the notebook at headquarters, and knowing that Dave had gone there to make a report, had requested him to get it.

“He came out for a walk, leaving us to write some letters,” remarked Phil. “But he ought to be back by this time, unless he went a long distance, and I shouldn’t think he would do that after such a day’s work.”

“Have you any idea which way he took?”

“He didn’t say anything about it, but I rather imagine he walked up through the woods to that spring we located there,” answered Roger. “If you don’t mind, Captain, we’ll go up there and take a look around.”

“I’ll go with you,” answered the captain. And then he added suddenly: “I don’t know but what it might be well for you to take your guns along.”

“Do you think there are any Germans in this vicinity?”

“It’s possible. They may be sending out some night raiding parties, you know, through some openings of the mines.”

The two young engineers ran back to their quarters and soon returned armed. The captain carried his pistol; and thus the three walked through the woods until they reached the spring. Here they saw where some of the water had been splashed around on the otherwise dry rocks, showing that somebody had been there not so very long before.

“It’s too bad we can’t call him,” said Phil. But this was against the regulations, no loud cries of any kind being tolerated during the night. Had they given such a cry it would have been taken at once for an alarm, and this would have caused a commotion throughout the entire camp.

The three walked on past the spring and presently came close to the hill up which Dave had climbed. But here they saw no evidences of the missing lieutenant, and at last turned back to their quarters.

“I must say, Captain, I don’t like this at all,” said Roger.

“Neither do I, Sergeant. Unless Lieutenant Porter went off on some special mission, it looks to me as if something bad may have happened to him.”

“Do you think the Germans would dare to come so far behind our lines?”

“They might if they thought they saw a chance of capturing some of our men. It’s bad to have so many mine openings around.”

“Oh, I hope Dave hasn’t been captured!” cried Phil, in dismay.

With heavy hearts the three returned to their separate quarters. As soon as Captain Obray had left them, Roger and Phil acquainted their chums with what had occurred.

“Dave missing! You don’t mean it!” exclaimed Ben, and his face showed his concern.

“What in the world do you suppose could have happened to him?” asked Buster.

“If any of the Heinies are on a raiding party we had better get prepared for them,” was Shadow’s comment.

They talked the matter over for fully an hour, but without arriving at any satisfactory conclusion. The disappearance of Dave worried all of them a good deal, and it was a long while before any of them got to sleep, Roger and Phil being unusually restless.

“Gee! if the Germans have captured Dave, however are we going to tell his folks?” was the way the shipowner’s son expressed himself.

“And how are we going to tell Jessie Wadsworth?” added Roger. “Oh, it just makes me sick to think of it!”

All of the young engineers were up at an early hour, and they readily received permission to go on a hunt for their missing chum. Captain Obray, however, cautioning them to be careful and not expose themselves needlessly to the enemy.

The search for Dave lasted the best part of the morning. During that time they visited not only the vicinity of the spring, but also came close to the spot where the young lieutenant had been knocked senseless. But they saw nothing which threw any light on what had occurred.

“Beats the Dutch what has become of him!” sighed Ben, after they had walked up and down through the woods and along the hills in that vicinity.

“Looks almost as if the earth had opened and swallowed him,” said Buster.

“Say! do you suppose it’s possible he broke through to one of the openings of the mines?” questioned Phil.

“That might be possible, Phil,” answered Roger. “Just the same, if it did happen, it’s queer we don’t find some evidence of it. If Dave went merely for a walk, it isn’t likely he left this path, and we have searched every foot of that several times.”

Much discouraged, the young engineers returned to the camp and made a report to their superiors. Captain Obray shook his head seriously.

“It certainly looks bad,” he mused. “I’ll have to list the lieutenant as missing.”

The others did not feel much like going to work, but there were a number of things that had to be done. The news soon spread throughout the entire engineering camp, and Frank Andrews and a number of others who had known Dave intimately were much affected.

“He wouldn’t go away like this on his own account,” said Andrews. “Something undoubtedly happened to him.”

“And that something couldn’t have been anything good,” returned Roger.

As soon as the young engineers were through with their work for the afternoon they started on another hunt for Dave, this time being accompanied by Frank Andrews and several of the older engineers. Every foot of the woods in that vicinity was gone over, including a portion of the hill which Dave had ascended.

“Here are some footprints,” said Frank Andrews presently, as he pointed to some marks in the soft soil near where Dave had been thrown down.

They examined this locality with great care, and presently Phil picked up a uniform button.

“That shows one of our men was up here,” declared the shipowner’s son. “It’s an American button.”

“It may be one of Dave’s,” answered Frank Andrews, after looking the button over.

They soon came to the opening down which Dave had been shoved. But here nothing greeted their eyes which looked suspicious.

“It’s possible he may have slipped down into just such a hole as that,” remarked Roger.

“But why should he? No fellow would do it with his eyes wide open,” said Ben.

“But it was night-time,” suggested Shadow.

“That’s true; but it was moonlight. And besides, if Dave slipped into any place like that, I’ll bet he would soon pull himself out.”

There seemed nothing more to do, and with hearts that were heavier than ever they returned to their quarters.

On the following day Phil went out on an errand which took him past the infantry command to which Gebauer and Nat Poole belonged. He saw Nat sitting on a fallen tree. The money lender’s son looked anything but cheerful. Phil at first thought of passing the young soldier, but suddenly wheeled around.

“Hello, Nat!” he called out, as pleasantly as he could.

“Hello, yourself!” was the surly response.

“Say, Nat, have you heard the news about Dave Porter?” questioned Phil.

“What are you talking about? I haven’t heard anything,” answered the money lender’s son in a nervous, high-pitched voice.

“Dave went out the other evening for a walk, and he hasn’t returned. I don’t suppose you have seen or heard anything of him?”

“I haven’t seen anything of Dave Porter! I don’t know anything about him!” Nat’s manner showed his agitation. “Why should you come to me about him?”

“Oh, I thought you might be interested. His disappearance is worrying us a good deal.”

“Humph! Perhaps he got scared and deserted.”

“You know better than to talk that way, Nat,” replied Phil sharply.

“I mean maybe he went back to one of those French towns to have a good time for a day or two,” continued the money lender’s son.

“Don’t talk like a fool! You know Dave Porter would never break away like that. His disappearance has a serious side to it, although what, we don’t know.”

“Well, if you know all about it, why do you bother me?” went on Nat, looking more sour than ever.

“Nat Poole, if I had your disposition I’d go down to the river and drown myself!” declared the shipowner’s son in disgust. “Dave is right from your home town, and he’s as good a fellow as there is in the world. And even though he did give you what you deserved, you ought to have some interest when he is missing and may be in serious trouble. For all we know, he may be a prisoner of the Germans.”

“I don’t know anything about him—and I don’t care!” said Nat, and jumped up from the log upon which he was sitting and walked away.

To tell the truth, Nat was very much disturbed, and he hurried away, fearing that Phil might discover his state of mind. He and Gebauer had kept track of matters, and early that morning had learned that our hero was still missing.

“I wonder what will happen if he never turns up?” thought Nat, as he walked back to his quarters. The very idea that Dave might never return caused him to shiver.

A little later Nat ran into Gebauer and, motioning the lieutenant to one side, told him of the interview with Phil.

“I hope you didn’t give yourself away!” cried Gebauer quickly.

“Trust me for that,” answered the money lender’s son. “Just the same, Max, I think you carried things too far.”

“I carried things? You, you mean!” answered the lieutenant quickly.

“See here! You’re not going to stick it off on me like that,” stormed Nat. “It was you who gave him the crack that knocked him senseless.”

“Sh-sh! Not so loud!” interrupted Gebauer, and placed a hasty hand over his companion’s mouth. “Somebody might hear you!”

“Well then, don’t say I’m to blame.”

“Don’t let’s talk about that now.” Gebauer drew a deep breath. “I’m glad Lawrence mentioned the state of affairs to you. Now they won’t think it’s strange that we know all about it.”

“But suppose he never returns?” questioned Nat hoarsely.

“Oh, he’ll get back some time or other.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m sure he will. Just tumbling him down into that mine can’t have hurt him so very much.”

“But he might have gone down into some terribly deep hole.”

“I think you’ll find Dave Porter turning up safe and sound sooner or later. Just the same, I guess we had better not say anything about having seen him on his way to one of the towns in the rear,” continued Gebauer.

“Why not? I thought that was part of your scheme to get him into trouble.”

“Well, I’ve changed my mind about it, Nat. You see, it’s this way: If we were positive that he would show himself in a day or two, we might spread such a report. But if he doesn’t turn up, then they would be sure to come to us and ask for all particulars, and that might prove very embarrassing. So I guess for the present we had better say nothing.”

“What did you do with that notebook you picked up?”

“I put that away.”

“You had better place it where no one can find it, Max. If it was found among your things it might be used as evidence against us.”

“I’ve got it in a safe place, so don’t worry.”

“Do you think we ought to go on a hunt for him ourselves?” continued Nat, after an unsatisfactory pause.

“What do you mean? Go down into that shaft of the abandoned mines?”

“Yes.”

“Not on your life! I wouldn’t go down there for a thousand dollars,” answered Gebauer quickly. The very thought of going down into that dark place to look for his victim caused him to shudder.

“Somehow I think we ought to do something,” continued Nat. He was feeling more and more uncomfortable as he realized the awful possibilities attached to their actions.

“We’ll lie low and say nothing!” answered the lieutenant firmly. “You keep your mouth tight shut. If those friends of Porter’s come to you and try to pump you, beware of them. If they got an inkling of what we did, we would certainly be in bad.” And then Gebauer looked at Nat in such a fierce way that it struck terror to the slacker’s very soul.