Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-20
THE DAY OF WRATH
A STORY OF 1914
BY Louis Tracy

sir-smithy. Macdonald and shiner--for-
ward 80
Three shapes materalized close to the
trlo III 'front.' The rain was still peting
down and the trees nearly met overhead
so the road was discernible only by a strip
OF skyline, itself merely Il less dense black
ness.
Them two Yewans," explained the cor
poral, probably bringing "A prisoner. Mind
you don't hurt him"
NO more explicit instructions were given
or needed OF such material were the First
Hundred Thousand
Take her ladyship back few yards,
SIR, gurgled Bates, The horses may bolt
II they do we must stop 'em before they
gallop over us"
Every other consideration was banished
instantly by the thrill Of approaching COM
bat. BY this time Dalroy was stepped in
admiration for his escorts methods, and he
waited developments now with keen pro-
fessonal curiosity And this is what he
saw, after breathess interval fash
in the gloom and the vague silhouettes of
two hussars on horseback. one horse
reared, the other swcrved One man never
spoke. The other raped out an oath which
merged into a frantic suueal BY an odd
trick of memory Dalroy recalled old Joos's
description of the death of Busch: He
squealed like a pig"
lncn came tOckneN voice. 'Cheer-O,
mitev. We're friends, ammies Damn
it all, you amt tikin us for Boches, are
YER"
"Hola Jan Maertz" shouted Dalroy.
Monsieur -
Irene laughed--yes laughed, though two
men had died before her eyes at the
amazement conveyed by the Walloon's gruff
yelp.
Don't be alarmed, These are friends
naI
Il thought they were devils from hell"
was the candid answer.
Jan was unqIIestionably frightened For
one thing, his hands We're tied behind his
back, and he was being led by halter
fashioned out of heel-rope. a plight in
which the Chevalier Bayard himself might
have Qualed. For another. he had been
plodding along at the side Of one Of the
horses, thinking bitterly of the fair Leon
tine, whose buXom waist he would never
squeeze again, when a beam Of dazzling
light revealed a crouchng, nondescript be-
ing which flung itself upward in panther
like spring, and buried a bayonet to the
socket in the body of the nearest trooper
No wonder Jan was scared
SThe soldiers had caught both horses
Dalroy cavalryman, had abandoned the
earlier remounts with a twinge of regret
He thought now there was no reason why
he and Irene should not ride as the days
tramp. not To speak of the strain Of the
last hour, might prove drawback before
morning.
can you sit n horse astride?" he asked
her.
Il prefer it," she said promptly.
Bates offered no objection, as long they
in rear. The hussar's cloaks came
in useful, and Dalroy buckled on sword
belt Jan announced that he was good
for another twenty miles provided he could
oil Of GoIn 10
eager to relate his ADVENTURES hut DalrOy
queted him by the downright statement
that IL his tongue waggcd he might soon
be either a prisoner again or dead
A night so rife with hazard could hardly
close tamey. The rain cleared off. and the
stars came out ere they reached the ferry
on the Scheldt, and scout sent ahead
came back with the disquieting news that
strong cavalry picket, evidently on the alert,
held the right bank. But the thirteen had
made a speciality of disposing of German
piclets in the dark. In those early days
Of the war. and practically In Flanders,
reuton nerves were notoriOusly jumpy, so
the little band crept forward resoutely,
lodging from tree to tree, and into and out
Of bitches, until they could see the stars
reflected in the river. Dalroy and Irene had
dismounted at the first tidings of the
enemy. turning a pair of contented horses
into n meadow. They and Maertz. OF
course, had 10 keep NeI. beninu the main
body.
The troopers. veritable Uhlans this time
had posted neither sentry nor vedette In tho
lane Behind them, they thought, lay Ger
many In front, across the river, the small
army Of Belgium held the last strip of
Belgian territory, which then ran in an ir-
regular line from Antwerp through Gand
to Nieuport. So the picket watched the
black smudge OF the opposite bank and
talked of the Kronprnzs stalwarts hack
ing their way into Paris, and never dreamed
Of being assailed from the rear, until a
number of sturdy demons pounced on them.
and did some pretty bayonetwork
Fight there was none. Those Uhlans able
10 run ran for their lives. one fellow. who
happened to be mounted, clapped spurs to
the charger, and would have got away
had not Dalroy delivered most salts
factory lunge with the hussar saber, !
No sooner had Bates collected and |
counted sixteen people than the tactics were |