human
After a while two or three men who seemed to be the leaders came in. One of them, who could speak English, tried to put me through the third degree. They wanted me to tell them all that I knew about the army forces in Coblenz and the surrounding districts, how many there were, where they were located, what the plans were, and all that kind of dope. Of course I didn't know anything, and then they took it out of me in kicks. I got lots of them, and I guess I'm black and blue all over. They're a plucky lot when a man's hands are tied.
gpt
Some of them wanted to put an end to me right then and there, Tom continued,
human
I guess they were pretty near right at that,
gpt
They surely were, agreed Billy.
human
Your Uncle Samuel came along just in the nick of time.
gpt
But go ahead, Tom, urged Bart.
human
What did they do with you after that?
gpt
Just about the same, only more so, replied Tom, with a grin.
human
I was taken from one town to another until they finally settled down here. They seemed to find it a promising place to carry out their program of loot and murder. There was some pretty sharp street fighting here for a few days, and then the Spartacides got the upper hand and commenced killing some of their hostages. What you saw this morning has been going on for some time, only this was the biggest batch they have had yet. Going to make a grand wind-up as it were. They haven't spared the women, either. One of them was killed yesterday.
gpt
The hounds!
human
It was a pitiful sight, said Tom, continuing the tale of his experience while a captive.
gpt
One of the women wanted to write a message of farewell to her husband and children. They gave her paper and pencil, and one of the guards offered his back to rest the paper on while she wrote. At about every sentence, the guard let himself fall down and the woman stumbled over him. It was great fun for the rest of the gang. They laughed as if it were a show. Oh, I tell you, the Huns are great humorists!
human
The unspeakable beasts!
gpt
It would be a good thing if a plague came along and snuffed out the whole nation!
human
It might be a good thing for the rest of the world, agreed Tom.
gpt
And, by the way, speaking of plague, I don't know but what it's on the way even now. In one or two of the places I've been in there's a mysterious something that's killing off the people like sheep. I've heard the guards talking about it. Nobody seems to know what it is and the doctors themselves are all at sea. Only yesterday one of the guards was taken with it. Big husky fellow he was too, and yet in a couple of hours he was dead. Seems to work as quickly as the cholera and to be just as deadly. I hope it doesn't hit the American Army.
human
It has hit it already, replied Frank soberly.
gpt
There's quite a lot of our boys in Coblenz who have died of it, and the officers are all up in the air about it. The medical staff is at its wit's end. I tell you, it's getting to be a mighty big problem.
human
I wish we were out of the hoodooed country! exclaimed Bart savagely.
gpt
The whole land seems to rest under a curse. When on earth will that treaty be signed so that we can go back to the States?
human
The Germans say that they're not going to sign it if it proves to be as severe as is reported, remarked Tom.
gpt
I've heard that said on every side.
human
sneered Billy.
gpt
What does their 'they say' amount to? Nothing at all. They said they'd never stop fighting, and they lay down like dogs. They said we'd never step on the sacred soil of Germany, but there wasn't a peep out of them when we marched over the Rhine. They're the biggest bluffers and the quickest quitters in the world.
human
When are we going back to Coblenz?
gpt
In a hurry to get back are you? laughed Frank.
human
Well, I don't blame you, old man. Billy tells me that Alice has been crying her pretty eyes out ever since you disappeared. But I suppose we'll have to hang around here for a few days yet. There's a lot to be done in cleaning out the Spartacides and getting the town in proper condition. The lieut. won't go back till he's finished the job. But you needn't worry, for by this time he's telephoned the whole thing over to Coblenz, and the authorities there know that you're safe and sound. It's a safe bet that Alice has already learned the good news.