The Boy Scouts Afoot in France

emed to see a host of obstacles confronting him. Paris must have been some

ng too fine to last. I had a sneaking idea in my mind something was

e thing," replied the leader firmly, with that de

it is, Bumpus, and we'll carry it out on that line if it takes all the balanc

rs have been pulled out of the carriages. Listen to them babble, will you? They are mostly French, and as excitable as wildfire. Everybody wants

uch as he disliked walking any great distance, he should be the last one of the

up any and all information possible. Since they knew so little of the language it was hardly likely t

hings; moreover, in this case, he was better fitted for catching snatches of con

eir eyes, bidding them join him. This they did only too gladly, for up

right, I guess," Thad

e, eh?" queried Bumpus eagerly, while a

is place that leads to Calais, which, you know, is on the Channel,

nto this war game she must be sending her little army across the Channel, or th

interior. So there has been made up a long train of empties that is going to start across country right away, aiming for Calais. And the rai

"we'll shut our eyes and go in a cattle v

we'll be out of the line of the invading German army; and it ought to be a whole lot

even at that time he might be having a faint vision of the terrible difficult

ad," implored the

assed along the line that if they chose to head for the city on the Channel there was an opportunity offere

mselves at another station and gazing upon a long string of

troops, with their batteries, and horses, had caused a tremendous drain on their limited resources. They did not have these things "down pat" to the minutest detail, as in

s descending the scale rapidly until they reached the lowest depth of unpainted transportation vehicles, no doubt taken hurriedly from

ordinary open flat cars seen on all American railways. Box cars are not i

r boys care about this. The day was pretty hot, and the sun beamed down from a clear sky, but

," remarked Bumpus, as they started to walk al

things good and strong when he travels. No ordinary coach will do for a fellow of

pied his example without delay. Men were boarding the train all along the line, picking out their locations as the whim moved them. There was more or less la

the means of transportation over at Calais, where possibly British troops and munitions and batteries wer

the signal from the man in the motor ahead, to start the strin

nd was looking fairly comfortable, though that anxio

ess. The younger men had rushed off to mobilization centres, and were even now fighting valiantly on the front line, in the endeavor to delay the forward push of the Teuton host, until the defences of Paris could be strengthen

ber of times the boy had declared the other hung around as though trying to listen to what they might be saying. An

stated that it was already well known how the Germans had planted a host of secret agents all over Belgium and Northern France. Many of these people had lived there for a long term of years, and were in daily touch with their neighb

get the other out of his mind; but then that was Giraffe's usual way; for once h

ais to find out what was happening there," he was saying, after taking a good look over

which they had passed below Antwerp, only that now they met with occasional low hills, and there were times when

eyes to look steadily toward the southeast there appeared a wistful expression in their depths that did credit to the boy's faithful hea

like, Thad," remarked Allan about this ti

ore them. Just as Allan had said, the train was soon slowly and laboriously ascending the grade. Giraffe became interested, and

with our big machines, and I guess we'll make the riffle in decent shape. I'd hate to get stuck

hen the boys felt a sudde

e train is going on without these four last vans. There, we've commenced to start back down the slop