[Gutenberg 42940] • The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service; or, Earning New Ratings in European Seas

CHAPTER I. BATTLESHIP BOYS TO THE RESCUE

"This is the famous Bois de Boulogne Sam."

"The what?"

"Bois de Boulogne, one of the most popular drives in Paris."

"Huh!" grunted Sam Hickey. "That sounds to me like some kind of sausage. What do they ever name their streets that way for in Paris?"

"All the names in this great, gay city mean something," answered Dan Davis. "This park here bears the same name. It was infested by desperate robbers as far back as the fourteenth century."

"Robbers!" exclaimed the red-haired boy.

"Yes."

"Are they here yet?"

"No; Napoleon cleaned them out. We shall soon be out by the Arch. The Frenchmen call it Arc de Triomphe."

"They do?"

"Yes."

"Just like that?"

"Of course."

"I'll bet there isn't a Frenchman in France who would know what you were talking about if they heard you call it by that name. I don't know anything about French, but if that is French give me plain United States. You are sure there are no robbers left in the Bologna sausage?"

"Bois de Boulogne, Sam," corrected Dan. "No; there are no robbers here. You need not be afraid."

"Afraid! What do you take me for, Dan Davis. I——"

"Hark!"

"Nothing of the sort. I'm no coward. I, a sailor in Uncle Sam's Navy, and afraid of robbers? Pooh!"

"Listen! Did you hear that, Sam?"

"Hear what? No; I didn't hear anything. But—wow! What's that?"

Hickey gave a sudden startled jump.

"It's a woman's scream," breathed Dan, listening intently. "Did you hear it?"

"I—I should say I did. Yes, and there it goes again. She's some sort of foreigner. I wonder what is going on?"

The scream was repeated. Though the lads were unable to understand what the voice was saying, it was evident that the woman, whoever or whatever she might be, was in dire distress.

"Where is it—where is it?" demanded Sam, now very much excited.

"The sound came from off yonder, where the trees are thickest."

"I see nothing."

"I do," answered Dan. "See, yonder is a carriage. Come on! There's a woman in trouble. What is it?" shouted the boy, raising his voice.

"Help! Help!" came the answer in plain English.

CONTENTS

1\. Battleship Boys to the Rescue

2\. A Serious Charge

3\. Ambassadors on Their Trail

4\. Ice Cream Comes High

5\. A Plunge Into Society

6\. Stranded in a Strange City

7\. Under the Flag Once More

8\. His First Command

9\. Rounding Up the Stragglers

10\. Outwitted by a Boy

11\. Between Sky and Sea

12\. In the Coils of a "Twister"

13\. Two Are Missing

14\. Down the Ammunition Hoist

15\. Land Ho!

16\. On Gibraltar's Peak

17\. On the Blue Mediterranean

18\. Jolly Tars in Egypt

19\. On the Ships of the Desert

20\. Calling on the Mummies

21\. Conclusion