"Impossible!" came in a general chorus, from all present.
"Well, it sounds like it, but it is true enough," and Ralph repeated, word for word, the proclamation which he had translated to Major Tempe.
As might have been expected, it raised a perfect storm of indignation; and this lasted until, at nine o'clock, the sergeant gave the word:
"Lights out."
In the morning, after parade, Ralph and Percy strolled away together and had a long talk and, at the end of an hour, they walked to the house where Major Tempe had established his headquarters.
"Good morning, my friends," he said, as they entered. "Is there anything I can do for you? Sit down."
"We have been thinking, sirPercy and Ithat we could very easily dress up as peasants, and go down to Saverne, or anywhere you might think fit, and find out all particulars as to the strength and position of the enemy. No one would suspect two boys of being franc tireurs. It would be unlikely in the extreme that anyone would ask us any questions and, if we were asked, we should say we belonged to some village in the mountains, and had come down to buy coffee, and other necessaries. The risk of detection would be next to nothing, for we speak German quite well enough to pass for lads from the mountains."
Major Tempe was silent a minute.
"You know you would be shot, at once, if you were detected."
"No doubt, sir, but there is no reason in the world why we should be detected. The Prussians can't know everyone by sight, even within the town itself; and will not notice us, at all. If they do, our answer is sufficient."
"I tell you frankly, boys, I was thinking only last night of the matter; buthowever much you may make light of itthere is, of course, a certain amount of danger in acting as spies; and your fathermy friend Captain Barclaymight say to me, if evil came of it:
"'I gave you my boys to fight for France, and you have sent them to their death, as spies.'
"So I resolved to say nothing about it."
"But now we have offered, sir, the case is different," Ralph said. "From our knowledge of the language, and from our age, we are better fitted than anyone in the corps to perform this service; and therefore it would be clearly our duty to perform it, were it greatly more dangerous than it is. Our father said to us, at starting:
"'Do your duty, boys, whatever the danger.'
"We will see about our clothesthere can be no difficulty about that, there are several lads in the village whose things would fit us. Shall we come in this afternoon, for instructions?"
"Thank you, lads," Major Tempe said, warmly. "I trust, with you, that no harm will come of it. But your offer is of too great advantage to the corps for me to persist in my refusal."
Upon leaving the quarters of the commandant, the boys went at once to the house of a farmer a short distance from the village where, the day before, they had noticed two boys of about their own size. They explained to the farmer that they wanted to buy of him a suit of the working clothes of each of his sons. Greatly surprised at this request, the farmer had inquired what they could possibly want them for; and Ralphwho thought it better not to trust him with the secretreplied that, as the Prussian General had given notice that he should shoot all franc tireurs he might take prisoners, they wanted a suit of clothes, each, which they might slip on in case of defeat or danger of capture. The pretense was a plausible one; and the farmer sold them the required clothes, charging only about twice their cost, when new.
The boys took the parcel and, instead of returning to the village direct, they
hid it carefully in a wood, at a short distance away. They then returned and, in the afternoon, received detailed instructions from Major Tempe.
It was arranged that the matter should be kept entirely secret, lest any incautious word might be overheard and reported. They were to start at daybreak, upon the following morning. Their cousins and Tim Doyle beingalonetaken into their confidence, their friends regretted much that they could not accompany them, and share their danger. The boys pointed out however thateven could they have spoken German fluentlythey could not have gone with them as, although two strangers would excite no attention, whatever, five would be certain to do so.
The next morning they started together, as if for a walk. Upon reaching the spot in the wood where the peasants' clothes were hidden, the boys took off their uniformswhich were wrapped up, and concealed in the same placeand put on the clothes. They fitted fairly; and more than that was not necessary, as peasants' clothes are seldom cut accurately to the figure. Rounding their shoulders, and walking with a clumping sort of stride, no one would have imagined that they were other than they pretended to betwo awkward-looking young Alsatian lads.
They cut two heavy sticks, exchanged a hearty goodbye with their friends, and started for Saverne. Two hours later they were walking in its streets; staring into the shop windows, and at everything that was going on, with the open-mouthed curiosity of two young country lads. Then they made a few purchasessome coffee, sugar, and peppertied them in a colored pocket handkerchief, and then went into a small cabaretwhere they saw some German soldiers drinkingsat down at a table, and called for some bread and cheese and beer.