The moon even peeped into view over in the east, and there was no welcome hail in the cheery voice of the absent chum. Bumpus gave himself up to the most agonizing speculations. He possibly saw, in his mind, poor Giraffe undergoing all manner of tortures, from being shot as a German spy on account of having tried to converse with some one in the Teuton language, to being taken prisoner by a band of raiding Uhlans.
And while engaged in thinking of all these things Bumpus actually fell asleep. He could do that about as easily as any one Thad had ever known. Hearing his regular breathing, and seeing that Bumpus was lying back in the corner under the hood which had been raised, Thad gently placed the one thin cover they possessed over the sleeper; and after that when he and Allan wanted to converse they lowered their voices so as not to disturb Bumpus.
“What do you think has gone wrong, Thad?” Allan asked, as though not fully satisfied with his own conclusions.
“It’s hard to say,” replied the other; “but let’s hope it’s only because Giraffe is dead set on getting the juice, and nothing else will suit him. We know once he makes up his mind he can be dreadfully stubborn, almost as bad as Bumpus here, for a fact.”
After that they sat there and exchanged sentences only once in a while. The time was August, but all the same the night air began to feel more or less cool; and Thad was even wondering whether it would not be a good idea to resurrect the fire they had used for heating the iron, so as to ward off this chill, when suddenly he heard sounds along the road that gave him a thrill.
Instantly his hand sought the arm of his chum. Allan may have been half dozing, but as he felt that warning touch he was instantly wide awake.
“Listen!” whispered Thad.
More plainly than before came the sounds, and Allan, too, was thrilled when he made out what seemed to be voices, mingled with a clanking noise such as would be made by soldiers bearing arms. Yes, and now he plainly caught the thud of horses’ hoofs on the hard road.
“Sit tight!” said Thad; “there’s nothing we can do to help ourselves. Even if it is soldiers they may be Belgians maneuvering to get in the rear of the Germans. But we’ll soon know the worst, for the sounds are coming closer all the time.”
So, sitting there while Bumpus slept peacefully on, the two chums awaited the explanation of the mystery.