Copyright, 1917
By A. L. Burt Company
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE [I Landed in Antwerp] 3 [II Held Up on the Border] 11 [III Down the Slope] 20 [IV Giraffe on Guard] 29 [V At Calais, on the Channel] 39 [VI Caught Between the Lines] 48 [VII A Narrow Escape] 58 [VIII The Dangerous Crossing] 65 [IX With the French at the Front] 76 [X Giraffe Faces a Serious Charge] 87 [XI The Battle] 98 [XII The Wanderings of Bumpus] 106 [XIII A Thrilling Spectacle] 114 [XIV Back to the Firing Line] 123 [XV In the Service of the Red Cross] 132 [XVI At the French Hospital] 141 [XVII The Scouts Under Fire] 151 [XVIII Making History] 162 [XIX Thad Turns Magician] 170 [XX Running the Gantlet of Shells] 178 [XXI At Joffre’s Headquarters] 189 [XXII The Man Who Saved Paris] 198 [XXIII Where Victory Was Seized] 207 [XXIV Headed for Paris] 216 [XXV Giraffe Has a Narrow Escape] 225 [XXVI The Badge of Courage and Honor] 234 [XXVII Conclusion] 244
THE BOY SCOUTS AFOOT IN FRANCE
CHAPTER I
LANDED IN ANTWERP
“Well, here we are, up the River Schelde at last, and landing at old Antwerp, boys.”
“Yes, that’s right, Thad, and glad to set foot again on solid ground, after that long trip over the North Sea from Rotterdam, away up in Holland.”
“Of course Bumpus is happy, because he expects to join his mother here at the Sanitarium. We all hope you’ll find her much improved, and ready to start for the good old United States, where peace hangs out and folks don’t dream of lining up in battle array like they’re all doing over here in Europe.”
“Thank you, Thad, I am hugging that same wish to my heart myself right along. Just as soon as we can get some sort of vehicle let’s head for the Institution. I’m in a cold sweat for fear something may have happened. It’s a long time since I heard from my poor mother, you know, boys.”
“Yes, you worried all the time we were drifting down the Rhine on that boat we chartered; and Bumpus, I really believe you’ve been thinking of your mother every hour we spent trying our best to get through Belgium, while running into so many snags at every turn that we finally had to go into Holland and take a steamer here.”