Shelled by an Unseen Foe | Page 8

way carefully among
the men and left the room.
When Velo Kupenol had sifted sand in the engine of the automobile, he
had made his first move in a dastardly campaign. Most of his life had
been spent surrounded by the ease and luxury of the Zaidos castle. He
had had horses and automobiles to use; he had had great stretches of
park and woodland to roam through and hunt over. And best of all, he
had had the best teachers in all Greece. But these he had neglected and
defied at every possible turn. Velo Kupenol was lazy, cowardly and
deceitful. That he was not yet a criminal was due to the watchful care
and great forgiveness of the uncle who had befriended him. In the past
few years this forgiveness had been stretched to its utmost. Velo
himself was not aware of the number of disgraceful things his uncle
had had to face for his sake. But it would have mattered not at all. He
did not know the meaning of gratitude. This boy, who should have been
on his knees beside the death-bed of the truest friend of his life,
shedding the tears that are an honor to true men, had instantly, with his
uncle's last breath, bent his quick and wicked brain on the problem of
wresting the Zaidos title and estates from his cousin. The knowledge
that the kindness and forbearance of the father would be continued on
the part of the son never occurred to him. He would have laughed if it
had. It was all or nothing. He determined that the cruel chance of war
was on his side. So he dropped sand in the engine when he had sent the
chauffeur on an errand, and then had hurried to headquarters. And it
happened that while Zaidos sat on the sidewalk beside the chained door,
talking to the friendly sentry, Velo himself was at the front door of the
barracks waiting for it to be opened for visitors.
Fortunately, in telling Velo of his escape from barracks, Zaidos did not
go into details, so Velo did not know of the door through which Zaidos
had crept. He had taken it for granted that he had slipped unnoticed
through the door at which he himself was standing, and as he waited he
momentarily expected his cousin to come hurrying up. Velo smiled. He
hoped Zaidos would come. He wanted to be there when he tried to

make his lame excuses for leaving the barracks in the face of the refusal
to give him permission. Velo knew well that in the troubled times in
which Greece found herself, no excuse would be accepted. It was
desertion; and the fact of his return would not soften the offense. There
was no place or time for punishment or imprisonment. Velo shuddered,
but smiled evilly.
However, Zaidos did not appear, time passed, and finally the doors
opened. Velo, very humble and apologetic, made his simple request
that he should be allowed to speak with his cousin who was with the
soldiers in the inner room. The request was granted, and with two
soldiers he entered the room full of sleeping men. He went from cot to
cot, making an idle examination of each face. He was waiting for the
moment when he could turn to his escort and say, "He is not here."
But there he was! Velo could not believe his senses. The soldiers,
seeing that he had found his relative, turned back to the door, and Velo
noiselessly knelt beside the sleeper. He stared long and curiously at the
serene and open face. How he had returned was a mystery which
maddened him. He was foiled for the present at least; but securing the
coveted papers, he silently withdrew.
"Did you find him?" asked the young officer in charge, as Velo came
up to his desk.
"Yes, thank you," said Velo, "but he could not tell me what I wanted to
know. I wanted tidings of a cousin, the son of Count Zaidos, who died
last night."
"Zaidos?" said the officer. "That's the name of one of our recruits."
"Yes, he is my cousin," said Velo. "But not the one we want. This
fellow in here is a lazy no-account, and the army is the best place for
him, although I am sorry to say so."
"Yes, the army nowadays is a good place for lazy-bones," agreed the
officer. A queer look came over his face. "We are picking up all the
single men we can." He leaned on the desk and spoke as one man to

another. "You see we found that the army had to be doubled in short
order and the only way to do it was to insist on compulsory enlistment.
That's the reason,"