TWO AMERICAN BOYS IN THE WAR ZONE

BY L. WORTHINGTON GREEN

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY The Riverside Press Cambridge 1915

COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY L. WORTHINGTON GREEN

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Published October 1915

TO GLADYS

WHOSE OWN WORK SERVES AS AN INSPIRATION

NOTE

In writing this story the author has been indebted, for suggestions of local color, to George Kennan’s illuminating article in the National Geographic Magazine, “An Island in the Sea of History,” to Stephen Graham’s fascinating book, A Vagabond in the Caucasus, and to Ruth Kedzie Wood’s excellent guide, The Tourist’s Russia.

CHAPTER I THE JOURNEY TO RUSSIA

After the Porter brothers, Sidney and Raymond, had escaped from Mexico in their flight from Mexican rebels, they proceeded as rapidly as possible to their El Paso home. There they found their father, who had succeeded, several weeks before, in reaching El Paso from Chihuahua.

Mrs. Porter declared that the boys should then remain at home, at least until they had ceased to be boys. She said that her nerves were not equal to another such strain as they had endured while the boys were in the wilds of Mexico, and that she would have no more wandering in dangerous foreign lands.

Her husband reminded her, however, that there seemed to be nothing in the boys’ recent adventure that would justify so[2] drastic a prohibition. The boys had successfully made a difficult journey without harm, and had proved that they were quite able to take care of themselves under unusual conditions of great danger, as he had all along maintained that they were.

There was no question, though, of their going back to the Mexican mine. The entire State of Chihuahua was so unsettled by the frequent changes of the revolution that even Mr. Porter admitted it would be the wildest folly to attempt to return there. So the boys entered the El Paso High School for the rest of that year and the next, and their father gradually reconciled himself to the idea of losing his entire Mexican investments.

It was difficult for Mr. Porter to settle down quietly at home, where he had no regular business, and, moreover, he possessed in a high degree the American mania for travel. The result was, that one year of inactivity was as much as he could endure, and as the second summer approached he began to long for a change of scene. Being cut off from his accustomed Mexican stamping ground, he was forced to look farther[3] afield. One day he read an account of the great Russian Fair at Nizhni-Novgorod and that reminded him that he had long wished to visit that wonderful mart. So he proposed that the entire family should make the trip. It would, he said, be a liberal education for the boys, and it was providential that the date of the Fair and their summer vacation exactly coincided.

Mrs. Porter was plunged in despair at the proposal, for to penetrate to the interior of Russia seemed to her like invading one of the wildest and most impossible countries on earth. In vain her husband assured her that Russian hotels were notoriously comfortable, and that, indeed, to attain comfort in every department of his living was the ideal of the Russian. To begin with, there was no more delightful course of ocean travel than that supplied by the steamers of the Russian-American line from New York to Libau. And to visit any of the peaceful countries of Europe was a very different matter, anyway, from a journey in strife-broken Mexico. Mr. Porter was obliged to admit that it would necessitate a long journey, but he was sure every part[4] of it would be so delightful that his wife would never regret having gone.

Mrs. Porter was not in the least convinced, but experience had taught her that when her husband once fixed his mind on a thing he seldom gave it up, so she proposed a compromise. She would make one of the party as far as New York, but would remain there with her sister, whom she had long wished to visit, until Mr. Porter and the boys returned in September.

The boys were clamorous that their mother should go with them, and reminded her of the Eastern silks and rugs which she would undoubtedly see, and might buy, at the Fair. They also made a great deal of the delightful long voyage, knowing their mother’s enjoyment of the water; but Mrs. Porter remained firm, and it was finally arranged as she had suggested.

In a very short time, really, though it seemed an age to the impatient boys, they were on the pier in New York ready to board the fine steamer Kursk for Libau, Russia. Mrs. Porter gave the boys final instructions about their clothes, and told them just where, in their trunk, she had[5] placed the box of sewing materials. The boys, besides being crack shots with the rifle and six-shooter, an accomplishment which they had found so valuable in their Mexican adventure, could replace missing buttons, sew up ripped seams, and even put on patches, if necessary.

“Oh,” said Raymond, “I wish we had brought our rifles, though I don’t suppose we should be allowed to use them anywhere. But, mother, if we should get switched off into mountains where we couldn’t send you word, you mustn’t be alarmed if you don’t hear from us for a long time.”

“If I thought anything of that sort would happen,” said his mother with a worried look, “I should refuse now to let you go.”

“Ray is talking wild, as usual,” said Mr. Porter. “We are going by rail direct from Libau to Nizhni-Novgorod, and then back by way of St. Petersburg. I imagine there will not be much chance for a wild mountain trip on that route.”

“I wish it were a mountain trip, though,” said Raymond.

“I guess we’ll have to travel in a civilized[6] way this time, Ray,” said his brother, “and I believe I shall enjoy it more.”

“I am sure,” said Mrs. Porter, “there will be no war, as there was in Mexico, so I don’t see how you can get into any trouble.”

“Of course we shall not get into any trouble, my dear,” replied her husband.

“I told father,” said Sidney, “that we ought to go through Germany, to give him a chance to use his German.”

Mr. Porter’s mother had been a native German, and she had insisted that her boy, during his childhood at home, should speak her tongue. Learning the language in that way he had never known any difference between it and English. He had not, however, been as wise as his mother, and had not taught it to his own boys.

“I should like to do that,” said Mr. Porter, “but it would take too long; you boys would not get back in time for school.”

“Which wouldn’t bother me any,” declared Raymond.

The last good-byes were finally said and the travelers stood on deck waving their handkerchiefs to Mrs. Porter on the fast-receding pier.

[7]

While the boys had been great travelers by land, they had never before made a long ocean voyage and the novel scenes and sensations were of constant interest to them. The greatest interest began, however, after the ship had traversed the English Channel and had passed through the Strait of Dover into the North Sea. There the ships which they encountered were numerous and made a pleasant variety after the broad expanse of the Atlantic.

On the eighth day after leaving New York they made the port of Rotterdam and the boys could give a day to quaint Dutch scenes. Then came the delightful voyage up the North Sea, around the north end of Denmark, through the narrow strait into the Baltic and to their destination, Libau, three days packed full of pleasure and charm.

With the Great Fair in prospect there was little in Libau to detain the travelers and at the earliest possible moment they were aboard a train for Nizhni-Novgorod with three days of what they feared would be tiresome travel ahead of them. But the boys found, to their delight, that in the[8] first-class coach they were given a compartment for three. As Raymond said,—

“It’s just like having a private car.”

“And we even have our own bedding,” said Sidney, “which makes it still more private.”

They had followed Baedeker’s instructions and had provided themselves with traveling-rugs and pillows, which is the wisest course to pursue on Russian railways.

However, even the charms of a private car may become tiresome, and all the party were glad when, on the afternoon of August 1, their train pulled into Nizhni-Novgorod. That city is situated along the right bank of the Volga River, and of its great tributary, the Oka. The most important part of the city is on the high bluff that borders the two rivers along that side, and the hotel which our travelers selected was on the bluff near the Kremlin.

Climbing the bluff in a cab they had tantalizing glimpses of the magnificent view, and the boys did not want to go into the hotel until they had seen more of it. Their father, however, suggested that they had better help him select rooms. When that[9] was accomplished and they were alone Mr. Porter said,—

“I asked you to stay, boys, because I want to arrange an important matter. I think I should make a better disposition of our money; it does not seem to me wise for me to carry it all.”

“I don’t want to be bothered with money, father,” expostulated Raymond.

“I think you ought to have a reasonable amount, though,” said his father. “You might want some badly when you were not with me.”

“I would rather have some,” said Sidney. “We should have been up a stump in Mexico, Ray, if we hadn’t been able to use Ramon’s money.”

“What I propose is this,” said Mr. Porter: “I will turn over two hundred dollars to you, Sidney, and one hundred dollars to Raymond. I will keep a couple of hundred myself and will place two hundred dollars in the trunk. I think I had better divide my express checks with you, Sidney, too, and I will place a portion of those in the trunk.”

“Now that’s fixed up, let’s hurry out,”[10] urged Raymond. “I want to see that view before dark.”

Mr. Porter insisted on dividing the money and checks first, but when that was done they went out to the Alexander Gardens, near by.

While there are high bluffs along the right banks of the Volga and the Oka, on the opposite side extend level plains. From the Gardens the travelers saw at their feet the two broad rivers, and on the peninsula formed by the junction of the two streams was situated the great temporary city of the Fair, connected with Nizhni-Novgorod by a bridge of pontoons, transitory, like the community it served.

Beyond the Volga stretched plains, farther than the eye could reach toward the Urals, hundreds of miles of cultivated fields and meadows.

“Gee!” exclaimed Raymond, “that looks like Russia, all right, without any limit.”

“It is evident that one must travel in Russia,” said his father, “to comprehend the size of the country.”

“Those plains look broader, somehow, than our own Western prairies,” said Sidney,[11] “but I guess it’s because we know they are bigger, for often we can’t see across ours.”

Near them stood a gentleman who was also regarding the view. He must have understood what had been said in English, though he turned to Mr. Porter and spoke in German.

“We Russians are used to vast expanses of country, and a view like this has a great charm for me. I have often wished that I might see the American plains; they must be wonderful.”

“The American plains, no less than the American mountains, are wonderful,” replied Mr. Porter in German. “But then, America is a wonderful country.”

“And the Americans are a wonderful people,” said the stranger. “They have accomplished marvels in an incredibly short time. Are many of them linguists like yourself?”

“I can hardly be called a linguist,” replied Mr. Porter. “I speak only German besides English. My mother was German.”

“Ah, your mother was German?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Porter, surprised at the rather significant tone of the stranger’s voice.

[12]

A policeman who stood a short distance away, approached in response to an almost imperceptible signal from the gentleman and placed himself at Mr. Porter’s side.

“Will you have the kindness to come with me?” said the gentleman; “there is some business that I wish to transact with you.”

“But, my dear sir,” said Mr. Porter, “why should I go with you, who are a stranger to me? I must beg you to excuse me.”

“I am sorry that I cannot accept an excuse,” said the other, very courteously; “it is absolutely necessary that you should go with me.”

Mr. Porter saw that he was probably being placed under arrest, and concluded it was for political reasons of some sort. Though he believed that any objection on his part would be futile, he determined to make an attempt to at least obtain information.

“I beg of you the favor of an explanation,” he said.

“I cannot give you an explanation,” replied the other, “and I must request you to come with me at once.”

“I have a passport issued from the office of the Secretary of State, at Washington.”

[13]

“That will be examined later.”

“May I not appeal to the American Consul, if there be one here?”

“The United States has no representative here.”

“Well, sir, I suppose at least my sons may go with me.”

“It is not desired to detain the young men,” replied the gentleman with considerable impatience. “You must come with me at once.” And he said something in Russian to the officer, who stepped up and placed a hand on Mr. Porter’s shoulder.

“Sidney,” said Mr. Porter as he was being led away, “I am arrested, but this man will not tell me why. I believe I can clear myself of any suspicion, but of course I can’t be sure. You boys go back to the hotel and I will try to send you word. Don’t follow me, it would not be allowed. Good-bye; keep a stiff upper lip.”

[14]

CHAPTER II THE ARREST

Sidney and Raymond, not understanding anything that was said, had listened in great suspense to the conversation between their father and the stranger. At first they had supposed the gentleman’s remarks were merely politely casual. They were made uneasy when he began to show impatience, and when the policeman stationed himself at their father’s side their wonder and fear grew. They recalled tales of arbitrary Russian political oppression, and imagined they were all about to be thrown into a dungeon. Their dismay was hardly allayed by their father’s brief explanation as he was hurried away, and there was only time for Sidney to call after him,—

“Don’t worry about us, father.”

When Mr. Porter had disappeared with the officer, and the man who was, apparently, the officer’s superior, the boys were left gazing at each other in consternation. The whole affair had occupied so little time[15] that they were dazed, and could hardly believe that it was reality and not a dream.

“Wouldn’t that jar you, Sid!” exclaimed Raymond finally. “What do you suppose they have arrested father for?”

“I can’t imagine,” replied Sidney. “It must be a mistake. I am sure he will be released right away.”

“I guess mother was right when she thought Russia was a dangerous country; here we’ve come straight from the ship without stopping anywhere, and couldn’t have done any mischief if we had wanted to, and yet father has been arrested before we have been here an hour.”

“Well,” said Sidney, “it will probably come out all right, and we will be laughing about it to-morrow. But we’d better go back to the hotel, so if father sends a message we shall be there to receive it, or maybe he will come himself.”

With that idea to encourage them, the boys hurried back to the hotel and went directly to their room. Mr. Porter had selected connecting rooms, and their one trunk was placed in the room which he had expected to occupy. When the boys entered[16] they found a man in uniform directing the removal of the trunk by two porters.

“Has my father sent for his trunk?” asked Sidney eagerly.

“Yes,” said the officer with an amused smile, and in English with a strong foreign accent, “he has sent for the trunk.”

“Did he send us any message?”

“No; he sent no message.”

Meantime the men had carried the trunk out into the corridor, and the boys followed in their eagerness to get news of their father. The officer turned and said sharply,—

“Do not follow. Remain here.”

The boys stopped with the sensation of having received a blow, and returned to their rooms feeling very forlorn. There everything looked cheerful and homelike. The windows were suffused with the soft light of late evening in a high latitude, and the prevailing aspect was so peaceful that they were more than ever inclined to think they were dreaming. When they looked about them, however, and saw the trunk was gone, the reality of the situation returned. When they had come from the train the[17] traveling-rugs and pillows had been thrown across a couch, and there they still lay, not having been noticed by the men who took the trunk. Mr. Porter’s handbag was gone, but a small one which Sidney had carried was on the dresser in the boys’ room. That bag and the rugs were all that remained of their belongings.

“I don’t believe father sent for his trunk,” said Raymond; “the authorities have simply seized it.”

“I’m afraid that is so,” replied Sidney; “but I can’t think of any reason unless there has been a mistake, and father has been taken for some one else. Let’s go down to the office; the man there speaks English, and we may learn something.”

Accordingly they descended to the office and found the English-speaking clerk.

“Do you know the officer who just went out with our trunk?” asked Sidney.

The clerk looked at him hesitatingly for a moment without replying; then after a cautious glance about the lobby, where there happened to be no one within hearing, he said,—

“You are not Germans, are you?”

[18]

“Of course not,” replied Sidney; “we are Americans.”

“But your father speaks German.”

“Yes, he does, but we don’t. His mother was German.”

“Ah!” and the man shook his head dubiously; “Germans will not be safe in Russia now.”

“But we are not Germans,” protested Sidney. “Anyhow, why should they not be safe here now?”

“On account of the war.”

“I didn’t know there was a war.”

“Germany declared war on Russia to-day.”

“That’s just what is the matter, Ray!” —and Sidney turned to his brother excitedly. “They think father is German because he speaks the language. But they must have known before that he speaks German, for that man who spoke to him in the park must have had everything arranged to arrest him.”

“Don’t you remember, Sid, that father replied in German to a man who asked him some question when we left the train?”

“Yes, I believe he did. I am greatly relieved,[19] Ray, for I am sure father can prove he is American. He will show his passport and that will settle it.”

“Your father’s passport is here in the safe,” said the clerk.

“Did the officer who arrested father see it?”

“Yes, he examined it before he followed your father to the park.”

“And yet they arrested him!” exclaimed Sidney.

“Many Germans,” said the clerk, “will be coming from America now, and some might come directly here as spies.”

“Do you mean they have taken my father for a spy?” And a vision of Major André of Revolutionary times rose before the horrified boy, whose face turned pale at the thought.

“I do not know,” said the clerk, looking with pity at the distressed boys; “but I would advise you to wait quietly and your father may return in the morning.”