THE BLACK EAGLE'S CLAW.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17178, 4 June 1919, Page 12

THE BLACK EAGLE'S CLAW.

- : -BY JOHN SUMNER. >

■; (SIOET OP tee SECRET SEBTICB.) ''" » . ■■■>—

.. ' : . COPYRIGHT. .■, 'P'/.'- : v. .. ~ &~:j f£,v V' s CHAPTER XL—(Continued). • ' / •; It was too lat6: to remedy the blunder ■_ now, and I sprang round the last turn of - the stone stairway prepared; for a fierce *' ' : struggle. As J expected, the guard had ! ' r received the alarm and 1 had remained alert I and at 'his post: a captain. and -four men. ' ' V The captain had his automatic in his hand, j *• but I shot Kim down'beforo. he could at- '? tempt to use it. ■_> Leo flung himself upon one of the guards who had begun to run forward with his bayonet at the charge, while I accounted , for the nest, one who moved, ordering them at the same time to raise their hands. One fellow obeyed, and the other, who seemed dazed at the suddenness of the en- .. counter, now started to assist his comrade „ who was [getting none the best of it wit h . Lee. . I ' Him also I stopped with a shot, just as : Lee threw his man 'down and pinned him by the throat. - . " Where is the key? " I demanded of the coward who stood with his 'hands in the air. " Qriick, or I shoot." i ; He pointed to tho writhing body of the captain.; I3?his called ray attention to the .. fallen pistol, which I retrieved and pressed } into Lee's-hand. Then I had opportunity • to search, and at the first- attempt found '• the key, in the outer pocket of the tunic " jacket. " It was not a moment too soon. I could hear the clatter of many feet above, and - n-uch hoarse shouting. The key turned - readily in the lock, and as I withdrew it „ Lee's pistol spoke twice. I held the door ODen and he backed through. • I slammed the thing—it was a fine stout riece-of German work strengthened witn iron tends—and I drew a long breath as i locked it, just as a heavy thud announced" that our pursuers were throwing their weight upon the other side. The passage was as dark as midnight, but Lee still had our precious electric : torch.- With its circle of, light dancing " before us we scuttled along the tunnel tin- - til we, came to an opening, a place where - it number of passages such as that wo had Traversed were all united to the passage which led to the Kaiser's villa. There " must,have been seven or eight of these, each leading to some one of the more im- ■ hortant administrative offices in C'harleville. Lee was for running on, but I stopped Slim. I knew just where wo were; and * it was German thoroughness which aided me. At this point in their work the L engineers had built a ventilation shaft, and • had marked the place by an ornamental ~ blaster affair which had puzzled the good . folk of Charleville not a little. I explored i L" the domed roof, 4 and there, sure enough, ' ~ was the ventilation shaft, wide enough to - permit the passage of a man's body, and only a couple of feet above our heads. ~ < That's .the ; way out," - I gasped, " if ~ only they have not netted tho top of it." - - At the word he was upon my back, and •«. tcramblinz up the narrow shaft. For a 5 ' " minute or more he struggled up there, and "■ then a flood of daylight swept down the :: opening.*;'-The thickly meshed wire cover j • had not been fastened down, but moved j T. "on a hinge, which he had contrived to j ■' r throw ; back. ' . •, .* The'Temains of his rope now dangled j down to me, and like a cork out of a | A bottle I plopped into the upper air once . more.; We closed down the cover, and scaling the iron fence which enclosed the i ~ 'structure,'.found ourselves in the best resi- j . dential street in Charleville. We were not alone either. A group of little ' French girls, under the guidance of three nuns, were walking demurely towards 1 us. On the pavement two elderly - Frenchmen Were staring at us with amazement and fear. But, with the exception of the one I wore, no German uniform was insight. f r . ! Lee was first to act. He ran across to the two staring citizens, and:explained, as I imagined our plight in a few swift sentences. I devoted myself to an encounter with the nuns, imploring them to impose upon their charges silontfe. • . . " They are not, likely to speak," said the pood woman to whom I addressed myself. ''They have learned silence in the 6chool of war.'' "Quick!" Lee.shouted: aud as he snoke one o; the elderly Frenchmen began ' ""to'run at a pace remarkable for his years. Lee followed him, and I followed Lee. We turned down a back street, and along j ' a still narrower passage, where the French- j man opened a little wooden gate which led 1 ' £ into a spacious garden. He, shut* the gate hastily behind us, and ' . conducted us to • a summer-house, all cov- * ered with . trees, and embedded in fallen * leaves. _ There he left us, still moving with ~ surprising agility. r . "Can you beat the French? asked Lee I ni sOoii 2fi he was able to draw a steady breath. " That fine old fellow is off to get ;/ ns; disguises. A score of people have seen — him/with us; but he cheerfully takes all • the' risks, though he does not understand .' one "bit." 2rX' "'lt means death for him," I said re- '' morsefully. "We have not got our noses ; -out of th; trap yet." - - - " Well, Clarice has a good chance any- ' way," he said hopefully*. I shook my head despondently. ' " She is in a worse case than we," I replied ; and in a few words described what I had seen. < But nothing could shake the optimism of . ' the man. • "."You don't know Clarice yet," he as- ,_ sured me. ." She thinks of" even-thing. the is armed, and the first thing she will - do when she gets clear of tho streets will ■ be to look behind her. Then, good-bye, * Herr Felhausen." ]' At last our Frenchman returned, ex- . ; hibiting in triumph the black and white „:. vestments.of two nuns, and a shaving kit as well v II It' was long before I could get what I required," ho panted. " See, your face- ,. bandages will be hidden by the bonnet and the white linen bands. But first both - ; of you must shave your lips. Not even the most elderly sisters wear such moustaches as those." ''You must hurry, hurry, hurry," he said. " Already the Boche has begun a - house to ljouse search, and brings more and more men to the task every minute. _ Ouick,.quick, my friends; or 'we are all " ■ lost." We struggled into our strange garb, which covered us from head to foot, hiding * even our heavy boots which we had found . time to put on once more. As our nost had said, even the bandages 011 Lee's face were capable of concealment by the face bands and the big bonnet. " Quickly, the children wait! " saiJ our . preserver, and led us to his house. Wait- ~ ing there was the good sister to whom I ■' 'had spoken when we emerged from the - ..tunnel, while drawn up on the pavement outside were the wide-eyed children who had been the witnesseo of our sudden appearance. : ' The brave woman led the way into the street; and by her side I placed myself at! the head of the !ine of little girls. Lee ' took his place at the tail of the procession. ! * Lead in which direction may seem ! * good to you," murmured the sister, and ! with downcast eyes we stepped boldly , along the street, the children following in , couple and Lee bringing up the rear. The streets were now full of German soldiers, who marched from house to house in little bands of six or eight, under com- ! mand of non-commissioned officers who I were conducting the most rigorous search 1 of every dwelling, the French occupants' submitting with angry frightened looks. ' From time to time the soldiers turned 1 their fierce eyes upon us, but the sight' of' - the tram of children, walking to and from ' . the convent school, «-as an every day one ' I- ! n , Charleville. There was no attempt to I £-■ interfere with us, and those splendid little ; » *'^ n . 0 ,,8" L^ E betrayed no sign of anything | " a^ ut cir conductresses of th« t 1 wh S° It-bought of the risks k; good aster and the innocent 1 T''- * '? l

~ charges who obeyed her bo implicitly, but i .it was too late i to: turn back. I ■ directed ' myself«towards; the : hill "where i wot; had ; stopped .at. (lawn< of t day, - and the!; hangar which Otis ']',ee' had 'appointed* our rendez- ■ vous. •• ■--, v " , ~ /'We,were now' clear ;of j the quarter in .which the Germans. were searching J-' so vigilantly for lis, and I-- turned • to (.•the sister, at' my aide for consultation. -~ '■. \\ ~ ■•' "-It sis time that'we left i you," I said, "but I can think of no way of.doing to which' may not call attention to, the. great risk '.you'; have taken >in saving our lives. '' You .must 'conduct»the -children 110. the school," she faid, " arid there we may contrive means of smuggling you out of. tho German'territory; *Believo me," she continued steadfastly, "it has been done .before and will, bo- done 'again'.'' You >Jid your friend are bv.no means the first. ,- " Rut," I objected, "wo nave a rendezvous : here with a. companion who is. in worse. straits than we; we must keep at at all costs.'' •; -■/ : Just then Lee came, hurrying up to us pant the' Ifing lino of children. - ' " I told you," he said exultantly; "that Clarice would find the way out for us all." I followed the direction of his gaze.and saw a monoplane just rising from the hillside where we were to meet. I watched it. mount into the'sky in swift spirals, a thing.-.blurred* by the bank of fog which lay upon • tho earth. It was out of sight in a second and the roar af anti-aircraft runs at once drowned tho throbbing of its engine. ■ ' • "That's Clarice all right," cried Lee in triumph. ""It doesn't matter now; sho has got away with the goods." (To be 'continued on Saturday next.);