But Fred only smiled and pointed first to his ears and then to his
mouth. By pantomime he pretended to be deaf and dumb. And when the
officer came up, Fred was still smiling--and silent. He knew he had
never seen this officer before.
CHAPTER XIII
THE ESCAPE
"What's the matter with him, Schmidt!" asked the officer.
Fred knew enough of German uniforms by this time to place him as a
lieutenant of the lowest grade, and was thankful that he did not have an
experienced man to deal with.
"Deaf and dumb, I think, Herr Lieutenant," said the man. "I rode up
behind him, calling to him and making a good deal of noise, but he did
not even know I was coming until I was on top of him."
"Well, he can't go this way!" said the lieutenant. "How are we to make
him understand that?"
"If I dismounted and turned him about, he might perhaps understand,"
said the soldier.
"Try it!"
Fred had hard work to conceal his amusement but he managed it. The
soldier solemnly turned him about and pushed him in the direction whence
he had come. But Fred immediately turned around, walked a couple of
paces as he had been going, and then stopped, smiling broadly.
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