Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-05
CHAPTER VIII


ATEVER before in the course Of a some.
N what varied life had Dalroy felt so
Irresolute. so helplessly the victim or CIR
cumstances. Bereft of the local knowledge
possessed by Joos and the other Belgians'
any scheme he adopted must depend wholly
on blind chance The miller had described
the wood as occupying promontory In
bend Of the Meuse with steep cliirs forming
the southern bank of the river. There was
a towpath possibly a series OF narrow ra-
vines or clefts gave precarious access from
the plateau to this lower level Probably
too. in the first shock of fright the people
in the hut had made for one Of these cut
tings. taking Irene with them. They be-
lieyed, no doubt that the Englishman had
been shot or captured. and after that squirt
of musketry so alarmingly near at hand
the lower part of the wood would seem alive
with enemies.
Dalroy blamed himself. not the others,
for this fatal bungling Before snatching
a much-needed rest he ought to have ar
ranged with JOos practicable line of re-
treat in the event Of a night alarm. OF
course he had imposed silence on all as
sort of compulsory relief from the tension
of the earlier hours, but he saw now that
he was only too ready to share the miller's
confidence Not without reason had poor
Doctor Lafarge warned his fellow country
men that there were far too many Ger
mans in Belgium" Schwartz and his like
were to be found in every walk of life
from the merchant princes who controlled
the trade of Antwerp to the youngest brush
haired walter In the Cafe de la Regence
at Brussels.
Dalroy was aware of a grim appropriate
ness in the fate Of Schwartz. The German
automatic pistols carried soft-nosed bullets,
so the arch-traitor who murdered the Wise
doctor had himself suffered from one Of the
TO the battlehelds Of Flanders. But the
punishment of Schwartz could not undo the
mischief the wretch had caused The men
he led knew the nature and purpose of
theiE errand. They would report to the
first officer met on the main road who
might be expected TO detail instantly a
sufficient force for the task of clearing the
wood In fact, the operation had become
a military necessity. There was no telling
to what extent the locality was held by
Belgian troops az, of course the runaway
warriors would magnify the firing a hun
dredfold, and no soldier worth his salt
would permit the uninterrupted march of
an army corps along road hanked by
| such a danger-point In effect, Dalroy con-
ceiYed a hundred reasons why he might
| anticipate sudden and violent end but
not one Offering a fair prospect Of escape
At any rate, he refused to be guilty Of tho
| folly of plunging into an unknown jungl,
OF brambles rocks and trees, and elected
to go back by the path TO the foot Of tn,
quarry whence he might. with plenty o.
| luck, break through on a flank before tn,
| Germans spread their net too wide
He had actually crossed some part Of tn,
| clearing in front OF the hut when his gorg,
| rose at the thought that. win or lose in thli
| game OF life and death he might neve
| again see Irene Beresford. The notion wa
| intolerable. He halted, and turned towar,
| the black wall Of the wood. Mad though /
| was to risk revealing his whereabouts, sine
| he had no means Of knowing how close tn
| nearest pursuers might be, he shouted loud
| ly, Miss Beresford"
| And a sweet voice replied, "Oh, Mr fDal
roy, they told me you were dead but 1 re
\ fused to believe themF'
| Dalroy had staked everything on that las
| despairing call, little dreaming that II woul
/ be answered. II was a. though an anRe
/ had spoken from out OF the black portal
\ Of death. He was 50 taken aback. his spirI