Dave Porter's war honors

Evidently the German soldier who had gone overboard with Dave knew little or nothing about swimming, for the minute he touched the water he seemed to grow frantic, clutching our hero around the neck in a deathlike grip.

“Save me! Save me! Don’t let me drown!” he spluttered hoarsely, in German, as soon as both of them came to the surface again.

The young lieutenant did not reply to this. He was in the grip of a deadly enemy, and he did not purpose to lose his life if he could help it. Gathering what strength remained to him, he twisted around and gave the German a stinging blow in the chin.

Ordinarily such a blow would have caused the other to fall back; but now fear clutched at the German’s heart, and though his head went back with a jerk, he still retained his hold upon our hero. Evidently he did not intend to drown unless Dave did likewise.

By this time the rowboat had drifted down the stream away from the pair. But one of the oars was close at hand and Dave seized hold of this. From a distance came a yell for help, evidently from the first soldier who had gone overboard. These cries gradually became fainter and fainter, and then ceased altogether.

With the oar in his hand, the young lieutenant wondered what he had best do next. He must act quickly, for already both he and the German soldier were on the point of going down a second time.

Perhaps it was a cruel thing to do, but this was war, and Dave did not purpose to lose his life if he could possibly avoid it. He brought the broad point of the oar around, and, catching the blade with both hands, made a jab with all of his strength for the German’s throat.

The thrust went true, the sharp end of the oar catching the man full in the neck. The force of the blow made him gasp, and for the instant his hold upon Dave was relaxed. Our hero made another lunge with the oar, catching the fellow in the breast and sending him several yards away. Then the German suddenly disappeared from view beneath the surface of the river; and that was the last the young lieutenant saw of him.

Dave swam a distance of twenty odd feet, and then looked back to see if he was being pursued. But when neither of the German soldiers showed himself, he continued his swimming, heading for the distant shore and also for the rowboat which was drifting on ahead of him. It did not take him long to reach the boat, and, almost exhausted, he pulled himself aboard and sank down on the middle seat.

Less than ten minutes had elapsed since Dave had made his attack on the enemy, yet to him it seemed as if it was an age. He had been close to death, and he thanked Providence for his escape.

“More than likely both of those chaps are drowned,” he told himself. “Even if they could swim, they were both too befuddled by liquor to take care of themselves.”

The rowboat was without oars, so he had to let the craft take its own course to a large degree. He did find a small board in the bottom of the boat, and with this as a paddle succeeded in heading more toward the shore than before.

The craft had passed a point where there were a number of small lights as if belonging to some village or camp, and was now drifting along a portion of the stream where all was dark.

“I’ve got to make a landing sooner or later,” he reasoned; “and I might as well turn in here as anywhere. If I see anything to alarm me, I can slip overboard and swim for it.”

In utter silence he turned the boat toward the shore, and presently the current brought it close alongside a number of bushes which overhung the river bank. Dave caught hold of these bushes, and then by peering around in the semi-darkness at last made out a little opening in the bank. Into this, by means of the heavy brushwood growing on all sides, he pulled the boat until it was almost entirely hidden from view.

By this time the sky had cleared more than ever, and all the stars were shining brightly. Growing accustomed to the semi-darkness beneath the bushes, Dave, after resting for a minute, arose cautiously and, standing on the middle seat of the rowboat, peered around him.

All that he could see was the river with the bank fringed with brushwood backed up by a small forest. In the distance he thought he could discern the outlines of a number of stone buildings, but of this he was not certain. Looking out on the stream, he could see nothing in the shape of a boat.

“It doesn’t look to me as if there were any guards around here,” he told himself. “But those soldiers must have been bound for some camp, so I’ll have to be very careful about showing myself or making any noise.”

Having completed the survey, Dave sat down on the seat of the boat and gave himself up to his meditations. He also wrung some of the water from his clothing and took off his shoes to empty them.

In the bottom of the boat still lay the two rifles, and both were loaded, as he noted with satisfaction. He resolved, if it became necessary to do so, to use the rifles and sell his life as dearly as possible.

A long-drawn hour went by, and during that time Dave made himself as comfortable as possible in the rowboat. This, of course, was not saying much, for the boat was bare of anything in the way of blankets or cushions. He tried to sleep, but succeeded only in getting a few fitful naps, awakening from each with a violent start.

“I guess this situation is getting on my nerves, all right enough,” he murmured. “My, what wouldn’t I give to be back safe and sound with our boys!” And then he pictured himself safe in the quarters at the abandoned mines. He wondered what his chums had thought concerning his disappearance.

Slowly the night wore away, and at the first streak of dawn Dave arose on the seat of the rowboat and took another look around.

He had been right about the stone buildings in the distance. They were located half-way up the wooded side of a hill and were evidently some ancient castle.

Up and down the stream he noted several villages and towns, but they were all a goodly distance away. Near him seemed to be nothing but the brushwood and trees with some farm lands behind them.

As soon as it became light enough to do so, Dave set to work to push the rowboat still further in among the bushes until it was completely hidden. Then he began a closer inspection of the craft, having noticed that it contained two small lockers, one at the bow and the other under the stern seat. In the bow locker was a small amount of fishing tackle, and this he examined with care.

“If I can’t find anything else to eat, maybe I can catch a few fish,” he thought. “Although how I am going to cook them without being noticed, I don’t know.”

From the bow locker our hero turned to that under the stern seat, and here a pleasant surprise awaited him. The locker contained a bundle rolled up in a raincoat, such as he had seen the German soldiers occasionally wearing.

“That raincoat will help me disguise myself,” he reasoned with satisfaction. “And there, too, is a hat to go with it. Good enough!”

The bundle was done up in an old newspaper tied with a cord; and, undoing this, our hero brought forth several links of smoked bologna, a loaf of fresh bread, and a covered dish filled with potato salad.

It may be surmised that Dave lost no time in supplying himself with an early morning meal, washing it down with a drink from the river. The bologna, although rather highly seasoned, proved to be quite palatable, and the bread was much better than he had seen since becoming a prisoner. The potato salad, too, was very good, even though smelling quite strongly of onions.

“Not exactly like the Waldorf-Astoria in New York or the Parker House in Boston, but it’s plenty good enough for a hungry fellow like me, and I’m mighty thankful that I’ve found such food,” was what he told himself, as he proceeded to make himself at home.

With nothing to do, Dave took his time over the meal, and after he had finished he put away what was left of the food with great care.

“It may have to last me for several days,” he thought.

By the time the young lieutenant had finished the repast the sun had come up full and clear and it was growing much warmer. This being so, he disrobed and hung his clothing on the nearby bushes to dry, in the meantime covering himself with the raincoat.

By the middle of the afternoon Dave had become pretty well rested and his clothing was thoroughly dry. Dressing himself once more, he put on the raincoat and the hat he had found and took up one of the rifles and also the package of food. As he did not wish to burden himself with the second firearm, he unloaded this, placing the extra shells in his pocket.

“Now I’m pretty well fixed,” he thought. “I’ve got on a German raincoat and hat and I’ve got a loaded rifle with some extra ammunition, and also some food. If I can’t manage to get along on that I’m no good.”

But though the young lieutenant told himself these things, he realized that he was in a precarious position. He was in the enemy’s country, and should they discover him they would most likely shoot him down on sight.

“Having been captured once, I’ll be worse off than ever,” he mused. “I’ve certainly got to watch things closely.”

He had already made up his mind in what direction he intended to travel. That was away from the river and up to the top of the hill which lay to the westward.

“The fighting front must be in that direction,” he told himself. “But I guess it is a long way off, otherwise I’d hear the booming of the artillery.”

With the bundle tied by a fishline over his shoulder, and with his gun ready for use, the young lieutenant left the vicinity of the rowboat and toiled slowly and painfully along through the brushwood and then among the trees leading to the top of the hill. He had thus progressed about a hundred yards when he came out on a footpath which presently led into an old wood road, evidently used by the foresters of that vicinity.

An hour of hard trudging brought Dave at last to the top of the hill. As he advanced he heard a low rumble in the distance which gradually increased in intensity.

“It’s the artillery, all right enough!” he told himself with satisfaction. “I can’t be so very far from the fighting front after all. I must have come farther on that freight-train than I imagined.”

Getting to the very top of the hill, Dave took a careful look around, and, having assured himself that no one was in that vicinity, he dropped his bundle, his rifle, and the raincoat, and commenced to climb one of the tall trees growing close by.

Even when a boy on the farm Dave had been a good climber, and he went up branch after branch until he found himself at the very top of the tree.

Here a grand panorama, stretching for many miles, was spread out all around him. He could see the river he had left gleaming brightly in the sunshine, and the smoke from a number of villages and towns along its banks. But most of his attention was fastened on the landscape to the west. Here the rumble of the cannons had increased, and he could occasionally see a vast cloud of smoke arising and rolling southward.

“That’s the fighting front, all right enough,” he told himself. “Now the thing of it is to get there and then to get through to our side. I wonder if I can do it?”

Our hero was about to descend from the tree and continue his journey when a noise below reached his ears.

“I am quite sure he came this way,” said a voice, in German.

“Then he can’t be very far off,” was the reply.

With caution the young lieutenant peered down toward the ground and presently made out the figures of two German soldiers.

“They must be after somebody, and most likely they’re after me,” he reasoned. “If they spot me, what am I to do?”

Dave kept quiet for several minutes, and then heard voices in the distance. Presently three other German soldiers appeared, and then the whole five came to a halt directly under the tree in which he was hiding.