CHAPTER XXV

TO SEE THE WAR THROUGH--CONCLUSION

"Rap-rap-rap!"

It was just at two that afternoon, and the train from Richmond had arrived ten minutes previously. Those within had seen a station hack deposit some one at the Parmly gate.

Mrs. Parmly herself answered the summons, the colored servants having been given an unexpected but welcome holiday when they appeared for work that same morning, in order to keep them from making discoveries.

"Good afternoon, Aunt," said the smooth-tongued visitor, starting to enter without waiting for an invitation. "I learned after getting to Richmond this morning that Mr. Smedley had come out to visit you; an occurrence which makes it convenient for me."

When he entered the sitting-room he found only Jack's aunt and the lawyer there, Jack and Tom and Lieutenant Beverly being in an adjoining room, but with the connecting door ajar, so they could catch every word spoken and enjoy the dramatic situation to the utmost, being ready to step in when the crisis arrived.

Carringford proceeded to shake hands with the lawyer, after greeting Mrs.

Parmly effusively. There was a smile as of triumph on his sallow face.

"Glad to find you here in Bridgeton, Mr. Smedley," Randolph again said, his voice like oil and his manner confident and condescending. "I received the notification from you when over in France working in a secret capacity for the Government."

"Yes," remarked the lawyer, "I sent both out as required."

"Must say," continued Carringford, "I wasn't much surprised, because I always knew Uncle Joshua to be a queer old duck. Realizing that unless I got a move on me and beat Cousin Jack home I'd stand to lose out in the game I managed to get pa.s.sage on the _La Bretagne_, of the French Line.

Docked at one last night, couldn't get a train till morning; but here I am, sir, ready to convince you that, being the first on the ground, my claim is perfectly valid."

He evidently expected that his coming would have produced something akin to consternation in the Parmly family, and must have wondered how they could meet bitter disappointment with such smiling faces.

"You have made very good time in crossing, Randolph," remarked the lawyer calmly, "considering the tempestuous times, and need of caution on account of the U-boats. I should say that the French steamer surpa.s.sed her record."

"And that being the case," resumed the other, smiling still as a winner at the races might do when handed his stake ten times multiplied, "since I'm here on the ground first, and you are the lawyer in the matter, what's to hinder our completing the formalities necessary to put me in possession of my great uncle's estate, according to his last will and testament?"

"The only stumbling-block that I'm aware of, Randolph," said Mr. Smedley suavely, "is a little matter of priority."

"But I am the first to appear before you, Mr. Smedley, and there were but two contestants for the property. Isn't that true?" demanded the newcomer, frowning at the thought that some unexpected legal tangle was about to appear.

"You are perfectly right in one thing, Randolph," continued the lawyer.

"The race was to be between you and Jack. I must say you have made very good time getting over here. But in spite of your speed, Randolph, you are showing up somewhat late. In fact, the affair is all over, and I have started proceedings looking to conveying the property to the one undoubtedly presenting the prior claim."

The other was thunderstruck.

"Impossible, I tell you, Smedley!" he burst out. "With my own eyes I saw Jack Parmly over there at the front in France when I hurried to the port to embark on _La Bretagne_. He was not aboard that ship, I can take my oath, and another couldn't arrive in New York for days. So you have no other resource but to admit my claim to be just, and hand over what belongs to me. I demand it, sir."

"Not so fast, Randolph," begged the lawyer. "A little more moderation.

You have made some sort of miscalculation I fear."

With these words he stamped his foot. Recognizing the signal, Jack stepped blithely into the sitting-room, followed by Tom and Beverly. His appearance almost caused Carringford to "have a fit," as Jack afterwards described the effect of his coming on the scene.

"What does this mystery mean?" he managed to gasp.

"Only that I took a notion to come home and claim that legacy left by our eccentric Uncle Joshua," Jack told him, with a shrug of his shoulders, as though miracles were an every-day occurrence with him.

"But I certainly saw you again and again, and heard you talk at the same time just before I left for Havre to sail!" cried Randolph, nevertheless convinced that at least this was the real flesh-and-blood Jack Parmly standing before him.

"Oh! did you?" remarked Jack, mockingly. "Perhaps it was a dream. Perhaps I had an understudy over there. Perhaps a whole lot of things. But the one positive fact about which there isn't any doubt is that I'm here ahead of you, and you've lost out in your game, that's all."

"But--it's impossible, incredible!" continued the other, hardly able yet to believe his own eyes.

"Still, you must admit that I'm Jack Parmly, and quite in the flesh, which after all is enough to settle the matter," he was calmly told. "My family here have received me as their own; and Mr. Smedley had no trouble in recognizing me. So perhaps you'd better be packing your grip again, Cousin Randolph, and returning to your secret Government duties over in France!"

"But--how could you have reached here so far ahead of me?" gritted the disgusted Randolph weakly.

"Please don't forget that I'm an aviator, and we fliers are able to put over all sorts of stunts these days," laughed Jack; though his manner implied that he might be joking when saying this. At any rate, it could not enter the mind of any one to believe such a thing as flying across the Atlantic within the bounds of reason.

Carringford of course saw that his room was more desired than his company. Besides, he had not heart or desire to linger any longer, since he had received such a staggering blow.

Accordingly he took his departure, and acted quite like a "bear with a sore head," as Jack described his ugly way of slamming the door and hurrying out to the station hack that had been all this while waiting for him at the gate.

Now that the one great object which Jack had in view was accomplished, he and the other two began to consider the best way in which they could return to France without attracting too much attention.

"I have a scheme that may work admirably," said Beverly. "And it happens that the boat my good old friend is master of is due to sail from New York the day after to-morrow. We'll go on that as stowaways."

Then, seeing the look of astonishment and also bewilderment that came into the faces of his hearers, he went on to explain further.

"Of course I don't use that word in the usual sense of getting aboard unknown to any of the officers, perhaps through the complicity of a member of the crew, and hiding ourselves among the cargo. Such stowaways are a scarcity nowadays, the peril of torpedoes having given them cold feet. But I believe I can fix it with my friend the captain so that he'll allow us to remain aboard without our names appearing on the pa.s.senger list."

"Sounds good to me," a.s.serted Jack, while Tom said thoughtfully:

"I suppose we could stick to our staterooms during the day, and only go on deck late at night, when nearly everybody was asleep. Like as not, there'd be quite a number of army officers aboard, so we mightn't be noticed if any one ran against us while taking the air at night."

Accordingly this plan was settled upon; and as they were not absolutely certain about the time of sailing, with much still to be done before that event took place, once again did Tom and Jack have to bid their relatives good-bye.

"It'll not be for so very long now, let's hope," said Tom's father, as he squeezed his son's hand at parting; "for Germany is on her last legs, and unless all signs fail the war must soon come to an end."

"Besides," added Lieutenant Beverly, "none of us is likely to try to repeat the little flight we just carried through. We feel as if we can rest on our well earned laurels."

"And it'll be some time, I firmly believe," said Mr. Raymond, "before your wonderful feat is duplicated, or even approached." But then, of course, he could not foresee how even before the peace treaty had been signed a number of ambitious aviators would actually cross the Atlantic, one crew in a huge heavier-than-air machine, another in an American seaplane, and still a third aboard a mighty dirigible, making the pa.s.sages with but a day or so intervening between flights.

When a certain steamship left New York harbor one morning soon afterwards three pairs of eyes took a parting look through a porthole in their united stateroom at the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe's Island.

Of course the occupants of the stateroom were Tom and Jack and Colin.

They had managed to interest the big-hearted captain in their scheme.

He knew that he must not appear to be connected with such an escapade; but such was his admiration for their wonderful achievement, as well as his friendship for Lieutenant Beverly, that he readily consented to help them.

"And so here we are," Jack observed, after they had pa.s.sed out from Sandy Hook and were heading across toward troubled Europe, "going back to duty, before our leave of absence will have expired, and the three weeks already nearly half over. Let's only hope we can slip into the traces as if nothing unusual had happened and that mad flight was only an aviator's day dream."

"It's a pleasure, too," added Tom reflectively, with a glance at his chum, "to know that there are loyal hearts waiting to greet us again over there where the sh.e.l.ls are bursting. For of course Nellie and Bessie, not to mention Harry Leroy, will be counting the days anxiously until we show up. Little do they suspect all we've been through; and we'll have to bind them to secrecy when taking them into the game."