THE ZEPPELIN RAID
When the Twins awoke, early the next morning, they found that Father and Mother De Smet had been stirring much earlier still, and that the "Old Woman" was already slipping quietly along among the docks of Antwerp.To their immense surprise they were being towed, not by Netteke, but by a very small and puffy steam tug.
They were further astonished to find that Netteke herself was on board the "Old Woman.""How in the world did you get the mule on to the boat! " gasped Jan, when he saw her.
"Led her right up the gangplank just like folks," answered Father De Smet."I couldn't leave her behind and I wanted to get to the Antwerp docks as soon as possible.This was the quickest way.You see," he went on, "I don't know where I shall be going next, but I know it won't be up the Dyle, so I am going to keep Netteke right where I can use her any minute."There was no time for further questions, for Father De Smet had to devote his attention to the tiller.Soon they were safely in dock and Father De Smet was unloading his potatoes and selling them to the market-men, who swarmed about the boats to buy the produce which had been brought in from the country.
"There!" he said with a sigh of relief as he delivered the last of his cargo to a purchaser late in the afternoon; "that load is safe from the Germans, anyway.""How did you find things up the Dyle?" asked the merchant who had bought the potatoes.
Father De Smet shook his head.
"Couldn't well be worse," he said."I'm not going to risk another trip.The Germans are taking everything they can lay their hands on, and are destroying what they can't seize.I nearly lost this load, and my life into the bargain.If it hadn't been that, without knowing it, we stopped so near the Belgian line of trenches that they could fire on the German foragers who tried to take our cargo, I shouldn't have been here to tell this tale.""God only knows what will become of Belgium if this state of things continues," groaned the merchant."Food must come from somewhere or the people will starve.""True enough," answered Father De Smet."I believe I'll try a trip north through the back channels of the Scheldt and see what I can pick up.""Don't give up, anyway," urged the merchant."If you fellows go back on us, I don't know what we shall do.We depend on you to bring supplies from somewhere, and if you can't get them in Belgium, you'll have to go up into Holland."Mother De Smet leaned over the boatrail and spoke to the two men who were standing on the dock.
"You'd better believe we'll not give up," she said."We don't knbw the meaning of the word.""Well," said the merchant sadly, "maybe you don't, but there are others who do.It takes a stout heart to have faith that God hasn't forgotten Belgium these days.""It's easy enough to have faith when things are going right,"said Mother De Smet, "but to have faith when things are going wrong isn't so easy." Then she remembered Granny."But a sick heart won't get you anywhere, and maybe a stout one will," she finished.
"That's a good word," said the merchant.
"It was said by as good a woman as treads shoe-leather," answered Mother De Smet.
"You are safe while you stay in Antwerp, anyway," said the merchant as he turned to say good-bye."Our forts are the strongest in the world and the Germans will never be able to take them.There's comfort in that for us." Then he spoke to his horses and turned away with his load.