clouds. But better so than the armed peace that has existed so long. A storm is necessary once in so often to clear the atmosphere which has become murky.”
He thrust out his hand to Jack, who gladly seized it.
“May the best of luck follow you all the way, is the wish of myself and my comrades here,” the tall officer told them as in turn he pressed each boy’s hand, in which genial undertaking he was followed by the other pair, who, although taking no part in all the talking, had been earnest listeners.
Then the speed boat backed away, made a sweeping turn, and was soon heading up the Danube again. The boys waved their hats to the three gaily dressed Hungarian soldiers seated in the other craft, and were in turn saluted by the trio.
After that Jack again started the engine, and they began moving with the current at a lively rate.
“Well, that was a new experience, now!” exclaimed Josh; “and we are mighty lucky to have escaped being taken back to Budapest and shut up in a dungeon.”
“Yes, it was easy, after all,” grumbled George; “but who’d think Hungarian officers would know English so well?”
“And just to think of our being taken for a lot of desperate Serbian youths sworn to get the aged and benevolent Emperor Francis Joseph! Ugh! it’ll give me a shiver every time I think of it. I never dreamed before that I looked like a fellow who would take his life in his hand to do such a terrible thing.”
CHAPTER V
SIGNS OF COMING TROUBLE
All day long the powerboat kept constantly moving down the reaches of the Danube River. Many were the interesting sights the boys looked upon from time to time. Nor did they see any particular signs of overhanging trouble. War may have been declared by Austria-Hungary upon Serbia and Russia, backing up the action of her ally, Germany, but the indications of it were not immediately apparent.
It was true that in several towns which they passed on that morning’s run they could see that groups were in the streets, and there seemed to be many men in uniform hurrying this way or that. Once they also saw a field battery of glistening guns disappearing up a steep road that led to the south.
“You can see what’s in the wind, all right,” Josh remarked, as they watched a group of uniformed horsemen galloping along the river road as though bound for some distant point of mobilization. “In a few days after the call to the colors, as they say, has gone out for many classes of reserves, the whole country will be swarming with men in uniform.”
“I only wish we could hold over and see what goes on,” grumbled George. “It’s a chance in a lifetime to be a looker-on in a foreign country, with war breaking out; and I think it’s a shame that we are going to miss it.”
Jack took him to task for saying that.
“We ought to thank our lucky stars, on the other hand, George,” was the way he put it, “that we have a chance to get out of Austria before every exit is closed. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of tourists have the time of their lives escaping, because, you see, every train will be taken over by the Government for carrying soldiers, guns, ammunition, horses, stores and such army necessities.”
“Yes,” added Buster, “that’s what I say, Jack. For one I want to tell you I’m mighty thankful to be on board this old boat right now. I only hope they won’t want to commandeer it for carrying soldiers down to the Serbian border.”
“Oh, they wouldn’t want to bother with such a mosquito craft as this, I should think,” remarked Josh uneasily.
“Our little flag seems to attract a heap of attention,” Buster continued, with a vein of pride in his voice, for that small edition of Old Glory was his private possession, it may be remembered.
“Where we landed at noon to see if we could buy some eggs and milk at that farm house,” Josh observed, “those peasant girls were examining it. I rather think they must have somebody over in our country, for when I said the word ‘America’ and pointed to the flag and then myself they laughed and nodded their heads.”
“And don’t forget to mention, please, George, that we got the eggs all right,” suggested Buster; “likewise a bumper mug of fresh milk apiece, and some butter that didn’t have a bit of salt in it, which I think queer.”
“Oh, so far as that goes,” explained Jack, “there’s lots of that made and sold over here. They call it sweet butter, and most people like it. You’d get used to it in time.”
“Four dozen eggs, and whoppers at that,” Buster went on to say, gloatingly; “which I consider a splendid investment; and we didn’t have to pay half what they’d cost us in the States either. I’m going to have a couple fried for my supper, and anybody else that likes them that way can get what they want by giving the tip now.”
They continued to chatter in this manner as the afternoon wore away. It had been decided that while there was a full moon that night they had better not attempt navigating the river after the sun had set. None of them knew what they might run up against; and besides, since war had come, possibly there would be strict rules enforced prohibiting such a thing during the night. None of them felt like taking chances.
Buster, it seems, must have been thinking of some of his previous exploits in the times that were gone, for later on he was seen to be looking over some fishing tackle he produced from his pack.
“Hey! what’s in the wind now, Buster?” sang out Josh upon discovering what the fat chum was doing.
“Oh, nothing much,” replied the other easily, “only it struck me that there might be some kind of eatable fish in this same blue Danube, and I’m looking over my lines. To-night, if I can find any fat grubs or worms, I might set a line and see what happens. You know I’ve had more or less success about grabbing big fish out of fresh and salt water.”
That seemed to make the others laugh, as though certain humorous memories were refreshed. Buster joined them, for he was a jolly fellow and could even enjoy a joke when it was on himself.
“I mean to drop one of these lines over as we go along, so as to soak the snell of the hook, for if it’s too dry it might break,” Buster explained.
“Well, here’s wishing that you meet with good luck,” said Josh, “because I’d enjoy a supper of fresh fish pretty good.”
“Don’t make up your mouth for it, then,” warned George, “because you never can tell about such things. Fish are what some people would call notionate; they bite well one day and then given you the grand laugh the next one.”
“About how far do you think we’ve come since leaving Budapest, Jack?” Buster asked, not deigning to continue the discussion with George.
“I should think something like fifty to sixty miles,” was the reply.
“Whew! as much as that?” whiffed George.
“Well, this current must be all of four miles an hour, and the old boat when going with it ought to average ten. Counting for our stops and all that, we’ve certainly covered sixty miles if we have one.”
“I agree with you, Jack,” said Josh; “George is only saying that to be contrary.”
“Oh, I am, eh?” grinned George, who seemed to take especial delight in stirring Josh up.
“It’s
