That is he was careful not to disobey his instructions, but that he was anything but careful of himself the boys learned later. They heard stories of how he went up to the very front lines of the fighting, so he might be nearer the big guns, and he took with him cages of insects, noting the effect of the concussions of the great cannons on their nervous systems.
Professor Snodgrass would have laughed had you called him a brave man, but he dared as much 180 for his beloved science as others did for their country’s honor. And, moreover, only the age limit kept the professor out of the army.
The journey to the prison camp where Nick Schmouder was held took place the next day, and was accomplished without incident worthy of note.
But if Professor Snodgrass hoped to obtain any more information from the former janitor than the boys had about the two missing girls, he was disappointed. For Nick Schmouder could only repeat what he had already told. He was glad to see Professor Snodgrass, and it was quite pathetic to hear the man tell his story about having always fired his gun into the ground to avoid hurting any of those he called his friends.
“I didn’t believe there were any good Germans in Germany any more,” said Jerry, “but I guess Nick is pretty near one.”
So they listened to his stories, and Professor Snodgrass made notes about the girls. He said he would try to get into communication with them through the parents of the former janitor, though the latter did not know, himself, whether his father and mother were still alive.
“Is it not terrible—awful—this war?” he cried. “I wish all my countrymen were prisoners, and then they could no longer fight, and we would have peace.”
“Well, if it keeps on we’ll soon have most of 181 the Kaiser’s army in a cage like this,” declared Ned. “Don’t worry—we’re going to make a good clean-up of it.”
“I hope you do,” said Schmouder, and many of his fellow prisoners agreed with him.
At present all the professor could do was to depend on some message getting to the missing girls. As they were not prisoners of war it was thought that perhaps some missive might reach them, though all ordinary communication between Americans and Germany was held up.