Nebraska Newspapers

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DAKOTA COUNTY HERALD, DAKOTA CITY, NEBRASKA.
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44
OUTWITTING THE HUN
By LIEUTENANT PAT O'BRIEN
Courclght. ltlS, by Pat Alva O'Brf
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CHAPTER XVI Continued.
11
From tho kitchen yon could walk
directly into the cow-barn, whore two
cows wcro kept, and this, ns I bnvo
o!ntcd out before, is tho usual con
t'tructlon of the poorer Belgian bouses.
I could not make out why tho caller
recmed to be bo antagonistic to me,
And yet I am sure ho was arguing with
the family against me. Perhaps tho
iact that I wasn't wearing weodcn
shoes I doubt whether I could bare
obtained a pair big enough for mj
bad convinced him that I was not
?eally a Belgian, becauso there was
fcothlng about me otherwlao which
jould have given him that Idea.
At that time, and I suppose ft to
true today, about 04 per cent of the
people In Belgium were wearing
wooden shoes. Among the peasants I
float believe I ever eaw any other
kind of footwear and they are more
common there than they aro in Hol
land. The Dutch wear them more on
nccount of a lack of leather. I was
told that during tho coming year prac
tically ell tho peasants and poorer
peoplo in Germany, too, will adopt
wooden shoes for farm work, as that
la one direction In which wood can bo
substituted for leather without much
Joes.
When the young man left, X left
shortly afterwards, as I was not at
nil comfortables about what Ids inten
tions were regarding me. For all I
knew ho might havo gono to notify
tho German authorities that tliero was
a strango man in the vicinity mora
perhaps to protect his friends from
suspicion of having aided mo thnn to
injure mo.
At nny rate, I was not going to take
any chances and I got out of that
neighborhood as rapidly as I could.
That night found mo right on the
frontier of Holland.
CHAPTER XVII.
Getting Through the Lines.
Waiting until it was qulto dark, I
tnado my way carefully through a
field and eventually camo to tho much
dreaded barrier.
It was all that I had heard about it
Every foot of tho bordor Una between
Belgium and Holland is protected in
precisely tho sumo manner. It is Uioro
to serve threo purposes: first, to pro
font the Bolglans from escaping Into
Holland; second to keop enemies, like
mys6If, from making their way to free
dom; and third, to prevent desertions
en tho part of Germans themselves.
One look was enough to convlnco any
one that it probably accomplished all
throo objects about as well as any con
trlvnuco could, and ono look was all I
got of It that night, for whllo I lay
on ray stomach gazing at tho forbid
ding structure I heard tho measured
stride of n German sentry advancing
towards mo and I crawled away as
fast as I possibly could, dotcrmlncd
to spend tho night somewhero in the
fields and inako another and moro
careful survey tho following night.
The vlow I had obtained, however,
,was sufficient to convlnco mo that tho
pole-vault Idea was out of tho ques
tion even if I had n polo and was a
proficient pole-vnulter. Tho three
fences covered a span of at least twelve
feet nnd to clear tho last barbed wire
fenco It would bo necessary to vault
not only nt least ten feot high, but at
least fourteen feot wide, with tho cor
teln knowledge that to touch tho elec
trically charged fenco meant instant
denth. Thero would bo no second
chnncc if you camo a cropper the first
time.
The btllt idea was also lmpractlca--bls
because of the lack of BultnW
Umber and tools with which to coi
itruct the stilts.
It seemed to mo that tho best thing
to do was travel up and down tho line
' bit in the hope that some spot might
be discovered where conditions were
more favorable, although I don't kaow
Just what I expected along those
lines.
It was nighty disheartening to real
tee that ealy a few feet away lay ccr
tela liberty and that the only things
preveatlag me frtia reaching It were
.three confounded fences. I lb "M of
ray Machine and wished tl mo
Jriad fairy would set it in fr mo
for just ono minute.
I speat the night in a clump of
ushes and kept in biding most of the
ext day, only going abroad for an
our or two la tho mlddlo of tho day
o Intercept some Belgian peasant
tnd beg for rood. Tho Belgians In this
ectlon were naturally very much
fratd ef tho Gormaus and I farod
.adly. In nearly every house German
Soldiers wero quartered and it was
Jut of tho question for mo to apply
Jer food in that direction. Tho prox
talty of tho border mado everyone
ye each other with moro or less sus
'lclon and I sopn enmo to the conclu
loa that the safest thing I could do
jras t9. live on raw vegetables which I
iHild steal from tho fields nt night as
had previously dono.
That night I made another survoy
f the barrier in that vicinity, but It
oked just as hopeless as It had the
lght before and I concluded that I
bly wasted my time there.
I spent tho night wandering north,
guided by the North Star which had
served me bo faithfully In all my trav
eling. Every mllo or two I would make
my way carefully to the barrier to see
if conditions wcro any better, but it
seemed to bo tho same all along. I felt
like a wild animal In a cngo, with
about as much chance of getting out
The section of the country in which
I was now wandering was very heavily
wooded and thero was really no very
great difficulty In keeping myself con
cealed, which I did all day long, striv
ing all the time to think of somo way
In which I could circumvent that
cursed barrUr,
Tfc Mm f tags steptadder oc
tcf to mm, tot 1 ssarcsed hour after
hour hs vain for lumber or fallen trees
out of which I could construct one. It
I could only obtain something which
would enable me to reach a point
about nine feet in the air it would be
a comparatively simple matter to
Jump from thai point over the electric
fence.
Then I thought that perhaps Z could
construct a simple ladder and lean it
against ono of tho posts upon which
tho electric wires were strung, climb to
tho top and then leap over, gottlng
over tho barbed wlro fences in tho
same way.
This seemed to bo tho most likely
plan and all night long I sat construct
ing a ladder for this purpose.
I was fortunato enough to find a
number of fallen plno trees from ten
to twenty feet long. I selected two of
them which seemed sufficiently strong
and broko off all tho branches, which
I used as rungs, tying them to tho
poles with grass and strips from my
handkerchef and shirt as best I
could.
It was not a very workmanliko
looking ladder when X finally got
through with it I leaned it against
n tree to test it and it wobbled consid
erably. It was moro like a ropo lad
d6r than a wooden one, but I strength
ened it here ami there and decided
that it would probably servo tho pur
pose
I kept tho ladder In tho woods all
day and could hardly wait until dark
to mnko tho supreme test If it proved
successful my troubles were over;
within a few hours I would be in a
neutral country out of all danger. If
I failed I dismissed tho idea sum
marily. Thero was no uso worrying
about failure; the thing to do was to
succeed.
Tho few hours that wore to pass
beforo night camo on seemed endless,'
but I utilized them to ro-enforco my
ladder, tying tho rungs moro securely
with long gra3 which X picked in the
woods.
At last night came, and with my
ladder in luind I mado for tho barrier.
In front nf it thero wns a cleared
spaco of about one hundred yards,
which had been prepared to mako the
work of tho guards easier in watch
ing it
I waited in the neighborhood until I
heard tho sentry pass tho spot where I
was in hiding nnd then I hurried
across the clearing, shoved my ladder
under ihe barbed wlro nnd endeav
ored to follow it My clothing caught
in the wire, but I wrenched myself
clear and crawled to tho electric bar
rier. My plan was to' place the ladder
against one of the posts, climb up to
tho top and then jump. There would
bo a fall of nine or ten feet and I
might possibly sprain an nnklo or
break my leg, but if that was all that
stood between me and freedom I
wasn't going to stop to consider It
I put my car to the ground to listen
for the romlng of the sentry. There
was not a sound. Eagerly but care
fully I placed the ladder against tho
post and started up. Only a few feot
separated me from liberty, nnd my
heart beat fast
I had, climbed perhaps threo rungs
of my ladder when I became aware
of am unlocked for difficulty.
The ladder was slipping.
Just as I took the next rune the
ladder slipped, came in contact with
the live wire, and the current paseed
through the wet sticks nnd into my
body. There was a blue flash, my
hold on the ladder relaxed and I fell
heavily to tho ground unconscious.
Of courso, I had not received the
full forco of tho current or I would
not now be here. I must have re
mained unconscious for a few mo
ments, but I camo to just in time to
hear tho German guard coming, and
the thought camo to mo if I didn't get
that ladder concealed nt onco he would
seo It even though, fortunately for mo,
it was nn unusually dark night
I pulled tho ladder out of his path
nnd lay down flat on tho ground not
woven feet uwuy from his feet, lie
passed so. close that I could have
pushed tho ladder out ami tripped
him up.
It occurred to mo that I could havo
climbed back under the barbed wire
fenco and waited for the Bentry to re
turn nnd then felled him with a blow
on tho head, as ho had no idea, of
course, that there was anyone In tho
vicinity. I wouldn't have hesitated
to take life, becauso my only thought
was te get Into Holland, but I thought
that as long as ho didn't bother me,
perhaps tho safest thing to do was not
to bother him, but to continuo my ef
forts during his periodic absence.
His beat at this point was apparent
ly fairly long and allowed mo more
tlmo to work than I had hoped for.
My mishap with tho ladder had con
vinced mo that my escapo in that way
was not feasible. Tho shock that I
had received had unnerved me nnd I
was afraid to risk it again, particu
larly as I realized that I had fared
more fortunately than I could hopo
to again if I met with a similar mis
hap. There was no way of making
that ladder hold and I gave up tho idea
of using it
I was now right in front of this
electric barrier and as I studied It I
saw another way of getting by. If I
couldn't get over it, what was tho
matter with getting under it?
Tho bottom wlro was only two
Inches from the ground and, of course,
I couldn't touch it, but my plan was
to dig underneath It and then crawl
through tho holo In the ground.
I had only my hands to dig with,
but I went nt it with a will and fortu
nately tho ground was not very hard.
When I had dug about six inches,
making a distanco In all of eight
inches from tho lowest electric wire.
I camo to an underground wire. I
knew enough about electricity to real
lzo that this wlro could not be charged,
as it was In contact with tho ground,
but still there was not room between
tho live wlro nnd this underground
wlro for mo to crawl through, and I
ether hud to go back or dig deep
enough under this wlro to crawl under
it or else pull It up.
This underground wlro was about
as big around as a lead pencil nnd
there was no chnnce of breaking it
Tho jack-knlfo I had bad at tho start
of my travels I had long since lost
and even if I had had something to
hammer with, the nolso would havo
mado tbo method impracticable.
I went on digging. When tho total
distance between tho live wire and tho
bottom of tho holo I had dug" was
thirty Inches, I took hold of tho ground
wlro and pulled on it with all my
strength.
It wouldn't budge. It was stretched
taut across tho narrow ditch I had
dug abou. fourteen Inches wide
J, nndjtfj4&8 tugging didn't serve to
loosen it
I was just about to t4rVe up in de
spair when n stnplo gave way In tho
nearest post. That enabled mo to pull
the wire through the ground n little
and I renewed my efforts. After a
moment or two of pulling as I had
never pulled in my llfo before, a
staple on tho next post gave way,
and my work became easier. I had
more leeway now and pulled and
pulled again until In nil eight staples
had given way.
Every Umo n staple gavo way, it
sounded In my ears like tbo report of
a gun, although I suppose It didn't
really mako very much noise. Never
theless, each tlmo I would put my ear
to tho ground to listen for'tho guard.
If I heard him I would stop working
nnd lie perfectly still In th dark till
he had gono by.
By pulling on the wire, I was now
nblo to drag it through the ground
enough to plnco It back from the
fence and go on digging.
Tho deeper I went tho harder be-
camo the work, becauso by this tlma
my finger nnlls wero broken nnd I
was nervous afraid every momont
that I would touch the charged wire.
I kept at it., however, with my mind
constantly on tho holo I was digging
nnd the liberty which was almost with
in my reach.
Finally I figured that I bad enough
spaco to crawl through and still leave
n couple of Inches between my back
and the live wire.
Before I went under that wire I no
ticed that tho laco which tho Belgian
woman had given me as a souvenir
made my pocket bulge, and lest it
might be the innocent means of elec
trocuting me by touching the live wire,
I took it out rolled It up and threw it
over the barrier first
Then I lay down on my stomach and
crawled or rather writhed under tho
wire like a snake, with my feet first
and there wasn't any question of my
hugging mother earth as closely as
possiblo because I realised that even
to touch tho wlro above me with my
back meant Instant death.
Anxious ns I was to get on the other
side, I didn't hurry this operation. I
feared that thero might be some llttlo
detail that I l.ad overlooked and I ex
ercised tho greatest possiblo care in
going under, taking nothing for
granted.
When I finally got through and
straightened up, thero wero still sev
eral feet of Belgium between mo and
liberty, represented by tho six feet
which separated tho electric barrier
from tho last barbed wire fence, but
beforo I went another step I went
down on my knoes and thanked God
for my long series of escapes and es
pecially for this last achievement,
which seemed to mo to be about all
that was necessary to bring me free
dam. Then I crawled under the barbed
wire fence and breathed the freo air of
Holland. I had no clear idea just
where I was and I didn't cno much.
I was out of tho power of tho Germans
and that was enough. I had walked
perhaps a hundred yards, when I re
membered tho laco I had thrown over
tho barrier, and dangerous as I real
ized the undertaking to bo, I deter
mined to wnlk back and get it This
necessitated my golqg back onto Bel
gian soil again, but it seemed a shamo
to leave tho lace there, nnd by exer
cising a little caro I figured I could
get it easily enough.
When) came to tho spot at which X
had mado my way under the barbed
wire, I put my ear to the ground and
listened for the sentry. I heard him
coming and lay prose on tho ground
till ho had passed. Tho fact that he
might observo tho bole In the ground
or the ladder occurred to mo as I lay
there, and it seemed llko an age be
foro ho. finally marched out of ear
shot Then I went under the barbed
wlro again, retrieved tho laco and onco
again made my way to Dutch terri
tory. It does not take long to describe the
events just referred to, but the Inci
dents themselves consumed several
hours In all. To dig the hole must
have taken me more than two hours
nnd I had to stop frequently to hide
whllo tho sentry passed. Many times,
Indeed, I thought I heard him coming
and stopped my work and then dis
covered that it was only my imagina
tion. I certainly suffered enough that
night to last mo a. lifetime. With a
German guard on ono side, death from
electrocution on the other, and starva
tion staring mo in tho face, my plight
was anything but a comfortablo one.
It was on the 10th of November,
1017, when I got through the wire. I
Heard the German Guard Coming.
had made my leap from tho train on
September 0th. Altogether, therefore,
just seventy-two days bad elapsed
Blnce I escaped from the Huns. If I
live to be as old as Methusatah, I never
expect to live through another seventy-two
days so crammed full of in
cident and hazard and lucky escape.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Experience In Holland.
But I was not quite out of
the
woods.
I now knew that I was In Holland,
but just where I had no Idea. I walked
for about thirty minutes und came to
a path leading to tho right, and I had
proceeded along it but a few hundred
yards when I saw In front of mo a
fence exactly llko tho one I had
crossed.
"This 13 funny," I said to myself. "I
didn't know tho Dutch had a fence,
too.'' I advanced to the fenco and
"xamlned it closely, nnd judge of my
astonishment when I saw beyond It a
nine-foot fenco apparently holding
live wires exactly llko tho' one which
had nearly been tho death of me I
I had very llttlo tlmo to conjecture
what it all meant, for Just then I
heard n guard coming. He wns walk
ing bo fast that I was sure It was a
Dutch sentry, as the Huns walk much
slower.
I was bo bewildered, however, that
I decided to take no chances, and as
the road was fairly good I wandered
down U and, away from that mysteri
ous fence. About half a mile down X
could seo tho light of a sentry sta
tion and I thought I would go there
and tell my story to the sentries, real
izing that as I was unarmed it was
perfectly safe for mo to announce
myself to the Dutch authorities. X
could be intoned only if I entered
Holland under arms.
As X approached tho sentry box I
noticed threo mon In gray uniforms,
the regulation Dutch color. I was on
thy verge of shouting to them when
the thought struck me that thero was
jdst a chanco X might be mistaken,
no the German uniforms were the
samo color, and I had suffered too
many privations and too mnny narrow
escapes to lose all at this time by
jumping nt conclusions.
I had Just turned off the road to go
back Into somo bushes when out of
tho darkness I hoard that dread Ger
man command:
Haiti Haiti"
Ho didn't need to holler twice. I
heard and heeded tho first time. Then
I heard nnothor man come running up,
nnd there was considerable talking,
but whether they wero Germans or
Hollanders I was still uncertain. He
evidently thought somoone was on the
other side of the fence.
Finally I heard one of them laugh
and saw him walk back to tho sentry
station where the guard was billeted,
and I crawled a little nearer to try to
make out just what it meant X had
begun to think it was all a night
marc. Between myself and tho light In tho
sentry station, I then noticed tho
stooping figure of a man bending over
as if to conceal himself and on his
head was the spiked helmet of a Ger
man soldier I
I knew then what another narrow
escnpo I had had, for I am quite sure
he would havo shot mo without cere
mony if I had foolishly mado myself
known. I would have been burled at
once and no ono would have been any
wiser, even though, technically speak
ing, I was on neutral territory and im
mune from capture or attack.
This new shock only served to be
wilder me more. I was completely
lost Thero seemed to bo frontier be
hind mo and frontier in front of me.
Evidently, however, what had hap
pened was that I had lost my sense
of direction nnd Had wandered In the
arc of a circle, returning to the samo
fenco that I had been so long in get
ting through. This solution of the
mystery came to me suddenly and I at
onco searched the landscape for some
thing In the way of a landmark to
guide me. For once my faithful
friend, the North Star, had failed me.
The sky was pitch black and there
wasn't n star In tho heavens.
In the distance, at about what ap
peared to be about threo miles away,
but which turned out to be six, I could
discern the lights of a village, and I
knew It must be a Dutch village, as
lights are not allowed In Belgium In
that indiscriminate way.
My course was now clear. I would
make a bcellne for that village. Beforo
I had gono very far I found myself In
a marsh or swamp and I turned back
a little, hoping to find a bettor path.
Finding none, I retraced my steps
and kept straight ahead, determined
to reach that village at all costs and
to swerve neither to the right or left
until I got there.
One moment I would be in water up
to my knees and the next I would clnk
in mud clear up to my waist I paid
no attention to my condition. It was
merely a repetition of what I bad gone
through many times beforo, but this
time I had a, definite goal and once I
reached it I knew my troubles would
bo over.
It took me perhaps three hours to
reach firm ground. The path I struck
led to within half a mile ef the village
I shall nover forget that path ; it was
almost as welcome to my feet as the
opposite bank of the Mease had
seemed-
The first habitation I came te was a
little workshop with a bright light
shining outside. It must have been
after midnight but the people inside
were apparently just quitting work.
There were three men and two boys
engaged In making wooden shoes.
It wasn't necessary for me to ex
plain to them that I was a refugee.
even if X had beon able to spmk their
language. I was caked with mud up
to my shoulders and I' suppose my face
must have recorded some of tho ex
periences X had gone through that
memorable night
1 want tho British consul I" I told
them.
Apparently they didn't understand,
but one of them volunteered to con
duct mo to the village. They seemed
to bo only too anxious to do nil they
could for me; evidently they realized
I was a British soldier.
It was very late when my compan
ion finally escorted me into the vil
lage, but he aroused somo people ho
knew from their beds and they
dressed and came down to feed me.
The family consisted of an old lady
and her husband and a eon, who was a
soldier In the Dutch army. The cold
shivers ran down my back while he sat
beside me, beeause every now and
again I caught a gllmpso of hla gray
uniform and it resembled very uracil
that of tho German soldiers.
Somo of the neighbors, aroused by
tho commotion, got up to see what II
was all about and came in ans
watched whllo I ato the meal those
good Dutch peoplo prepared for met
Ordinarily I suppose I would hav
been embarrassed with so many peo
plo staring at mo while I ate as
though X wcro somo strange animal
that has just been captured, but just
then I was toe famished to notice oi
care very much what other peoplo dlo
There will always be n warm plac
in my heart for the Dutch people. 1
had heard1 lots of persons say that
they wero not inclined to hlp refu
goes, but my experience did not beaj
these reports out They certainly di
more for mo than I ever expected.
I had a llttlo German money lefti
but as tho valuo of German money U
only about half in Holland, I didn't
have enough to pay tho fare to Bob
terdam, which was my next objective
It wns due to the generosity of thesi
people that I was able to reach tot
British consul as quickly as I did,
Some day X hopo to return to Holland
and repay every single soul who
played the part of the good SamarV
tan to me.
With the money thnt these peopU
gave me X was able to get a third
class ticket to Rotterdam, and I was
glad that I didn't have to travel flrst
class, for I would have looked as muck
out of place In a first-class carriage
as a Hun would appear in heaven.
That night X slept in the houso' oj
my Dutch friends, where they fixed
me up most comfortably. In the morn
lng they gave mo breakfast and then
escorted me to the station.
While I was waiting at the station
a crowd gathered round me nnd soos
It seemed as If tho whole town had
turned out to get a look at me. It waj
very embarrassing, particularly as 1
could give them no information re
garding the cause of my condition, al
though, of course, they all knew that
I wns n refugee from Belgium.
As the train pulled out of the sta
tion, the crowd gave a loud cheer and
tho tears almost came to my eyes as
X contrasted in my mind the conduct
of this crowd and the one that had
gathered at the station in Ghent when
I had departed a prisoner en route
for tho reprisal camp. I breathed a
sigh of xellef as I thought of that re
prisal camp and how fortunate I bad
really been, despite all my sufferings,
to have escaped It. Now, at any rato,
I was a free man nnd I would soon be
sending home the Joyful news that J
had made good my escape!
At Elnhoffen two Dutch officers got
Into tho compartment with me. They
looked nt me with very much disfavor,
not knowing, of course, that I was a
British officer. My clothes were still
pretty much in the condition they
were when I crossed tho border, al
though I hnd been able to scrape off
some of the mud I had collected the
night before. I bad not shaved nor
trimmed my beard for many days,
and I must havo presented a sorry
appearance. I could hardly blams
them for edging away from me.
The trip from Elnhoffen to Rotter
dam passed without special incident
At various station passengers would
get In the compartment nnd, observ
ing my unusual appearance, would
endeavor to start a conversation with
me. None of them spoke English,
however, nnd they hnd to use their
own Imagination as to my identity.
When I arrived nt Rotterdam I
asked a policeman who stood in front
of the station where I could find the
British cccsul, but X could not mako
him understand. 1 next npplled to a
taxicab driver.
"English consul British consul-
American consul French consult" 1
said, hoping that if he didn't under
stand one he might recognize an
other.
Ho eyed me with suspicion nnd mo
tioned ma to get in and drove off. X
had no idea where he was taking ma,
but after a quarter of an hour's ridab
brought up in front of the British
consul. Never before was I bo glad
to see the Union Jack I
(TO BB CONTINtllED.)
When a Prisoner Is Exchanged.
Ivan Bosslter, captured by the Ger
mans and later exchanged, says In the
Farm and Fireside : "Thon I lay down,
not to sleep but to think. I thought
oc the day when I enlisted In Canada,
of leaving home, tho training camps,
the trip overseas to England, the
training In England, going across the
channel to Flanders, the terrific fight
ing at Ypres, of tho mnny friends wh
fell on thnt bloody battlefield, how X
was wounded nnd captured, the lnhu
man treatment I received at tho hands
of tho German surgeons, who had four
husky Germans hold so ftron while
thoy cut five bones out of my wrist
nnd nmputatcd my middle finger at the
second joint when I wns wounded in
the palm of the hand, tho kicks and
tho cuffs from prison guards and the
terrible stuff the Germans called too
In the prison camps."
Enough matches to light all its con
tents are attached to a recently 1
vested dgaretto bor
i