“my stars! it’s us they’re after, fellows!” buster was heard to gurgle, when the knocks ceased as suddenly as they had begun.
no one had to be told that, for they all knew it just as well as buster. george turned an anxious look on josh; and then, perhaps unconsciously placing their hopes on their leader, both of them wheeled to face jack.
“i knew we’d be sorry if ever we tried stopping over at one of these ratty little towns,” muttered george.
“but there they start to knocking again!” exclaimed josh. “if we don’t do something, and pretty quick at that, they’ll start to pulling this shanty down over our heads, even if it is made of stones.”
jack had to think fast. he knew josh spoke the truth, and that so far as offering resistance went they were practically helpless against the mob. he could easily imagine how in some manner suspicion had been excited against the four young strangers stopping over night at[119] the river town. one word would lead to another in these exciting times, until all sorts of extravagant surmises must result; and finally some bold spirit must have suggested that they proceed to the boathouse and drag the unknown parties out, to question, perhaps hang them.
so far as trying to escape was concerned, it seemed equally hopeless. besides the double door there was also the small one, which the proprietor had securely locked before leaving them. both led to the street.
to be sure, there were the water gates, but to leave in that way must necessitate abandoning their motorboat, something the boys would be loth to do. further than this, there was no small boat handy, even if they could manage to get it out on the river without being noticed and pursued.
as to attempting to swim off, that was impossible, since they could not make any headway with their clothes on, and leaving these behind was not to be considered for a minute.
so jack quickly decided that the only thing left for them was to throw open the double doors and trust to their customary good luck to make friends with the clamorous mob without.
“i’m going to open up, fellows,” he told the[120] others. “you keep back of me, and say nothing unless i ask you to speak. leave it all to me to manage.”
“you just bet we will, jack,” assented josh.
“i should say yes,” buster hastily added.
“it’s a risky thing to do, jack,” remarked george, “but seems that we haven’t got much of a choice. we’re between the devil and the deep sea. go ahead, then, and let’s see how our luck holds good.”
jack waited no longer. indeed, it would have been dangerous to have held the clamorous crowd in waiting much longer, for their pounding on the door had assumed a more threatening phase, several having taken it upon themselves to pick up heavy stones, with which they started to beat the woodwork furiously, while all manner of loud cries arose.
suddenly the double doors were swung wide open. the outcries ceased as if by magic. jack, looking out, saw that fully fifty people stood in the moonlit street. most of them were men and boys, though a sprinkling of women could also be seen.
they were typical hungarians, just such people as one would expect to meet in a river town along the lower danube. some were flourishing what appeared to be clubs, and the[121] whole aspect of the mob looked threatening indeed.
it required considerable nerve to calmly face this crowd, but jack actually smiled, and waved his hand in friendly greeting, while buster held his breath in very awe, and the other two trembled a little between excitement and alarm.
one burly man in the front of the mob called out harshly. jack could not for a certainty know what he said, but it was easy to guess he must be demanding who they were, where they came from, and what they were doing in this part of the country in these perilous times.
so jack, waving his hand to entreat silence, called out:
“is there any one here who can talk english!”
somehow his question created considerable surprise. evidently the crowd had suspected that they were serbians or natives of montenegro, both of which states at the time were antagonistic to austria-hungary.
several voices were heard announcing that they could understand and speak the english language. jack swept his eyes around to see who these persons were, and, discovering that one of them stood in the front rank of the[122] crowd, he pointed at the man as he went on to say:
“please push your way up here. we will tell you everything you want to know, and you can explain to your friends.”
the man did so, looking very important. perhaps that was the first time in all his life that he had been called upon to act in such a capacity as interpreter, and he felt as though placed upon a pedestal.
“now, if you will please give me a chance, all of you,” continued jack, “i will with the greatest pleasure tell everything. in the first place, we are not, as you think, english boys, but americans. of course, you know about america, for we have many thousands of good hungarians over there working with us, who send millions on millions of dollars back home every year for the old folks. tell them what i have just said, will you?”
the man had listened intently. he collected his wits, and then, turning around so as to face the rest, commenced speaking. at the same time he made good use of both hands, in the hungarian fashion, to emphasize his points.
some few of the more unruly made remarks among themselves as he proceeded, but on the whole the crowd listened intently. it was already apparent to jack that he had gone about[123] the business in the right way, and had succeeded in making a good impression.
he had read recently in a paper, whether it were true or not, that the tens of thousands of hungarians in the united states, men in the mines and working on public improvements, and girls in service, sent back home during the course of a year as much as a hundred and fifty million dollars. even if a third of that amount came across the sea it could be understood that the people of the dual monarchy must have a very tender spot in their hearts for america, where so many of their compatriots were making big wages and happy.
“keep it moving, jack,” whispered josh. “i tell you they’re already on the run. lay it on thick, and don’t spare the adjectives. they like to hear things praised up to the skies. and say something nice about old francis joseph, because, you know, they worship him.”
“cut it out, josh,” growled george; “leave jack alone to run this game, can’t you?”
the man had by now finished telling what jack had said to him. he again turned with a look of expectancy on his face, waiting for the second “installment of the story,” as josh afterwards called it.
“we are american boys,” continued jack, “who have come over here on a vacation. in[124] our own country we own three motorboats, with which we often cruise up and down the mississippi river and others. so, having heard so much about your beautiful blue danube, we made up our minds to spend a month or six weeks voyaging down it. this boat does not belong to us. we hired it from a man in a town part-way between vienna and budapest. we can show you the paper both parties signed proving how we paid a certain sum in advance for the use of it until we reached the black sea. now tell them all that, please, while i get our american passports ready to show you, as well as letters we have received from our home while in budapest.”
it took the interpreter a long time to translate all this. he struggled heroically to master every detail, though jack feared he might get mixed more or less in his endeavor to find words to express the english meaning.
the crowd listened intently.
it would have been amusing to watch their faces as seen in the bright moonlight had the danger element been lacking. as it was, the boys were still on the anxious seat, not knowing “which way the cat would jump.”
jack was the exception, it may be said. he felt that his tactics and the frank way he was taking the crowd into his confidence had already[125] made a favorable impression upon most of the men. they in turn would be apt to suppress any of the more boisterous spirits who might feel like getting out of bounds.
truth to tell, it was as much the manner of jack stormways as what he said that worked this change in the feelings of the populace. no one of intelligence could very well look upon his smiling face and believe ill of him.
by the time the man had managed to translate all that second batch of explanations to his fellows jack was ready for him again. he had meanwhile collected from the other three their passports, properly vised through the efforts of the american consul in vienna, and also several letters addressed to the general delivery at budapest, with the american stamps and postmarks to prove where they had come from.
these papers he now handed to the man who could speak and read english. each one jack opened and explained, after asking josh to fetch the lamp forward so that its light could be utilized.
meanwhile the crowd listened and pushed and gaped, some exchanging low comments; but buster was delighted to see that the threatening gestures had stopped. from this he felt[126] that stormways’ stock was rising fast and would soon bull the market.
it took a long time to go over the four passports with their seals, and then read extracts from the letters. the man spoke several times, asking questions, which proved that he meant to conduct his examination in a thorough manner. jack was in truth pleased to find that he had to deal with so intelligent a party, for the travelers had really nothing to conceal.
he even mentioned about the three hungarian officers who had overtaken them some miles below budapest, coming in a speed launch, and how they had parted the best of friends after looking the boys over.
seeing that the crowd was becoming impatient, jack cut his explanations short and asked that the interpreter make his report to his friends. he had taken the advice of shrewd josh, and managed to speak highly of the aged emperor; while this may have been done artfully as a stroke of diplomacy, jack really knew nothing but good of francis joseph, of whom he had often read, so that he did not feel that he was attempting any deception.
still holding the sheaf of passports, the man started to harangue the crowd. he seemed to improve as he gained new confidence, and jack saw that he was something of a crude born[127] orator, able to sway others by the force of his will and words.
jack believed the best part of their luck lay in having picked on this particular man. another might have bungled things and made them worse than they were originally.
it took a very long time to explain about the papers, the letters and everything else. jack even heard the man mention the emperor’s name, and from this judged that he was repeating what the boy had said in order to prove that the four strangers from america were favorable to the austrian side of the controversy.
“he’s got ’em whipped to a standstill, jack,” muttered josh in the ear of the other. “they’ll do whatever he tells ’em, you mark me. i guess i can read all the signs if i can’t understand the lingo.”
jack himself believed the same thing. he no longer felt his heart heavy within him, with the prospect of having their fine cruise broken off and themselves thrown into some prison, from which it would take all the efforts of the american ambassador to release them.
before the man who was speaking had finished there were desertions from the mob, possibly some of those more ardent spirits who had hoped to help hang a suspected serbian spy and were grievously disappointed.
[128]
when the speaker closed with what seemed to be a fervent peroration there followed a general shout and much waving of hands. jack caught the one word america, and judged that the cheers were intended for his native land, for surely many of these people had good reason to think of the haven of the oppressed as a paradise flowing with gold, milk and honey.
then the mob began to disintegrate. a number who could speak english came crowding around. they wished to shake hands with the four stout-hearted lads who were not to be deterred from continuing their hazardous voyage down the danube by the mere fact that hostilities had begun, and that there must be heavy firing between the austrian batteries and monitors and the hostile forces in belgrade, the serbian capital, situated on the southern bank of the river.
by degrees they went away, after giving this popular demonstration. somehow buster changed his mind completely after seeing how those same shouting men could turn into friends. he even remarked afterwards that he thought the hungarians were a warm-hearted race, and that he was growing to like them immensely; though when he first saw the mob he believed they were a lot of cutthroats eager for the lives of helpless american boys.
[129]
the interpreter was the last to go. jack was seen to shake hands heartily with him for the third time ere saying good-by.
“i reckon now, jack,” remarked george, as they closed the double doors once more, shutting out the bright moonlight, “you slipped a bill of some kind in that fine fellow’s hand the last time you said good-by to him?”
“never mind about that, george,” retorted the other; “if i did, that’s between the two of us, and nobody need know about it. it was worth ten times as much just to see the way he swayed that crowd. from howling at us they came to cheer us, and a good deal of the change was due to his oratory.”
“as for me,” piped up buster, with a great sigh of relief, “i never will forget this experience. there was a time at first when i thought of having my head put on a pike and carried in a procession around town, just like the mob used to do in the french revolution; or, if it wasn’t that, i expected they’d get a rope and swing us all up, wild western way. i tell you i’m shaking yet from being so anxious about you fellows.”
josh and george laughed at hearing this, and the whole of them went back to their seats.
