THE 8EMI-WEEKLV TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. "Outwitting t - " 1 -' - 1 111 " w he Hun By LIEUTENANT PAT O'BRIEN (Copyright, 1918, by Va.t A1t O'Drlen) FROM A PRISON CAMP O'BRIEN WATCHES LAST FIGHT AND FATAL FALL OF HIS CHUM, PAUL RANEY. 8ynopsls. Pnt O'Brien, a resident of Momencc, III., nfter seeing service In the American Hying corps on the Mexican border In 1010, JoIdh the British Royal Flying corps In Cnnndn, nnd nfter u brief train ing period Is sent to Frnncc. Ho Is assigned to u squadron In nctlvo service on the front. Ho engages In several hot lights with Ocrmnn flyers, from which he emerges victorious. Finally, In a fight with four German flyers, O'Hrlcn Is shot down. He falls 8,000 feet und, escaping death by n miracle, nwnkes to find himself a prisoner In a German hospital, with a bullet hole In his mouth. 1 I. IJ.LLLL9XI Qj LI-I 3Llout. A.0Brlen, R.F.Q. (8lR.) Reported, mlaatna 17-8-17 CHAPTER IV Continued. When my "chummy enemy" first tnrtcd his conversation with me, the German doctor In chargo reprimanded htm for talking to me, .but ho paid no attention to the doctor, showing that some real Americanism had soaked into his system while he hud been in the U. S. A. I asked him ono day what he thought tho Gcnnan pcopo would do after the war; If ho thought they would make Germany a republic, nnd much to my surprlso ho said very bit terly, "If I had my way about it, I would make her a republic today and hang tho d- d kaiser In the bar gain." And yet ho was considered an excellent soldier. I concluded, how ever, that he must have been a Ger man socialist, though ho never told mo so. On ono occasion I nuked him for his name, but ho said that I would probably never boo him again and it didn't matter what his name was. I did not know whether ho meant that the Germans would starvo mo out, or Just what was on his ralnd, for at that time I am sure ho did not flguro on dying. The first two or thrco days I was in the hospital I thought surely bo would bo up and gono long beforo I was, but blood poisoning set in about that time, and just a few hours before I left for Courtral ho died. One of those days, while my wound was still very troublesome, I was given an apple; whether it was Just to torment mo, knowing that I could not eat It, or whether for somo other rea son, I do not know. But anyway a German flying officer thcro had several 1b his pockets und gave mo a nlco one. Of course thero was no chanco of my eating It, bo when tho officer had gono and I discovered this San Francisco fellow looking at It rather longingly, I picked It up, Intending to toss it over to him. But ho shook his head flad said, "If this was San Francisco I would take it, but I cannot tako it from you here." I was never able to understand Just why ho refused the apple, for he was usually sociable and a good fellow to talk to, but appar ently be could not forget that I was his enemy. However, thnt did not stop one of tho orderlies from eating the apple. Ono practice about tho hospital lm pressed mo particularly. Tlmt was, If- a German soldier did not stand much chance of recovering sufficiently to take his place again in tho war, the doctors did not exert themselves to eco that he got well. But If a man hud a fairly good chance of recovering and they thought he might bo of some fur ther use, everything that medical skill could possibly do was dono for hlra. I don't know whether tills was done finder orders or whother the doctors Just followed their own Inclinations la such cases. My teeth had been badly Jarred up from the shot, and I hoped that I might have a chance to have them fixed when I reached Courtral, tho prison wrhero I was to be taken. So I asked ttho doctor If It would bo possible for Me to have this work done thero, but Jho very curtly told mo that, although 4hero were several dentists at Cour Ira I. they were busy enough flxlng the locth of their own men without both ering about mine. Ho also added that X would not hnvo to worry about my eth; that I wouldn't bo gottlng bo nuch food that they would oe put out of commission by working overtime. anted to tell hlra .that from the way things looked ho would not bo wear ing his out very soon either. My condition improved during the next two days, and on tho fourth day of my captivity I was well enough to writo a brief racBsnge to my squad too, reporting that I was a prisoner of wfff nnd "feeling fine," although, as matter of fact, I was never so de pressed In my life. I realized, how over, that If tho messago reocacd my comrades It would bo relayed to my mother In Moracnce, III., oud I did not want to worry her more than was ab solutcly necessary. It was enough for her to know that I was a prisoner. She did not have to know that I was wounded. I had hopes that my messugo would be carried over the lines and dropped by one of the German (lying officers, That Is a courtesy which Is usually practiced on both sides, I recalled how patiently wo had waited In on airdrome for news of our men who had Called to return, and I could picture uy squadron speculating on my fnto That Is one of the widdcst things oaucctod with service In the It. V, J!w " ... rr.ni'b whllt hJf'Mlll tO you, but tho constant casualtlcn among your friends nro very depressing. You go out with your "flight" nnd get into a muss. You get scattered, nnd when your formation Is broken up you finally wing your way homo alone. Perhaps you are tho first to land. Soon another machine shows In tho sky, then another, nnd you patiently wait for tho rest to appear. Within an hour, perhaps, all hnvo shown up save one, and you begin to speculate and wonder what has happened to him. Has ho lost his way? lias he landed at somo other alrdromo? Did tho Huns get him? When darkness comes you realize that, at any rate, ho won't bo back that night, nnd you hope for a telcphono call from him telling of his whereabouts. If tho night passes without sign or word from him, ho is reported as miss ing and then you watch for his cas ualty to nppear in the war office lists. Ono day, perhaps a month Inter, a message is dropped over tho lino by tho German flying corps with a list of pilots captured or killed by tho Huns, and then, for tho first time, you know definitely why it was your comrade failed to return tho day ho last went over tho line with his squadron. I was still musing over this melon choly phaso of tho scout's llfo when an orderly told mo there was a beautl ful battlo going on In tho air, and ho volunteered to. help me outside the hospital that 1 might witness It, and I readily accepted his assistance. That afternoon I saw one of the gamcst fights I ever expect to witness. Thcro were six of our machines against perhaps sixteen Huns. From tho typo of the Brltsh machines I know that they might possibly be from my own aerodrome. Two of'our machines had been apparently picked out by six of tho Huns and wero bearing tho brunt of tho fight Tho contest seemed to mo to be so unequal tlmt victory for pur men was hardly to bo thought of, nnd yet at ono time they so completely outmaneuvcrcd tho Huns that I thought their superior skill might savo tho day for them, dcsplto tho fuct that they were so hopelessly outnumbered, Ono thing I was euro of: they would never glvo in. Of course, It would have been a com paratlvcly simple matter for our men, when they saw how things were going against them, to have turned their noses down, landed behind tho Ger man lines and given thcmsolvcs up ns prisoners, but that la not the way of tho It. F. O. A battle of this kind seldom lasts many minutes, although every second sccmB llko an hour to those who par- tlclputo In it, mid even onlookers suf fer more thrills In tho course of the struggle than they would ordinarily experienco in a lifetime, it is appar- nt oven to a novice that the loser's futo 1b death. Of course, tho Germans around tho hospital were all watching and rootlug for their comrades, but the English, too, had one sympathizer in that group who made no effort to stifle his admira tion for tho bravery his countrymen Were displaying. Tho end came suddenly. Four ma- chines crashed to earth almost simul taneously. It vvns an oven break two of theirs and two of burs. Tho others apparently roturncd to their respective lines. The wound In my mouth made it lm possible for me to ppuuk, but by menus of a pencil and paper I requested one of the German officers to dud out for mo who the English officers were who had beeu shot down. A little later ho returned and handed mo a photograph taken irom the body of ono of tho victims. It was n picture of Paul Rancy of Toronto, and myself, taken together 1 PoorRuneyl He was tho best friend I had und ono of the best and gamest meu who over fought In Franco. It was he, I learned long after, who, when I was reported missing, had checked over all my belongings and Bcni mem uacu 10 ungiuim wiin n signed memorandum which Is now In my possession. Poor fellow, he little realized then that but a day or two Inter ho would bo engaged In his lust heroic battle with mo a helpless on looker I The Bnme German officer who brought mo the photograph also drew u map for me of the exact spot where Unney was hurled In Flanders, I gimnuMi it cnreruny un wirmmi my Mihst iut'iit utlM'iiluro iiimI dually tiirniHl it over in ins minor ui mower when I vmIIiI lrt li Tin-. . In ii.'i Paokoa in Tronic. 3 ffulto Pyjacatt. 1 Shirt. 4 Veata. 1 Prs. Pants. 3 Pro. Combinations., . 1 Hlght Shirt. 9 Towels. 1 Pr. Shorto. 1 Pr. Putt ooo . 3 Pro. Breeches. 1 Pr. Trouoora. 1 Strap. 1 Suit civilian olothos. 1 Belt. v 1 Tunlo. 1 Arcer loan Tunlo. 1 Pr. Ankle Boots. 1 Brltloh Warm Coat. 2 Pr. Goggles. 1 San Brpwno Belt. 1 Cane. 1 Box Dentrifloe. 3 Blankets. V,: Trusts fy. y 3Lleut. &F.0. Jor, Caeiaandinz No. 66 Squadron, Royal Flying Corpa. Photograph of Official Memorandum. Giving an Inventory of the Personal Belongings of Lieutenant O'Brien, Which Were Turned Over to Lieu tenant Raney When O'Brien Was Reported Missing on August 17, 1917. form the hardest and saddest duty 1 have over been called upon to execute to confirm to them In person the tidings of poor Paul's death. Tho other British pilot who fell was Iron nnd a man 1 also from my squadron knew well Lieutenant Keith of Aus tralia, I had given him a picture of myself only a few hours beforo I start ed on my own disastrous flight Ho was ono of the star pilots of our squad ron and had been In many a desperate battlo before, but thin tlmo the odds wero too great for him. Ho put up n wonderful fight and be gave as much qs ho took. Tho next two days passed without Incident nnd I was then taken to the Intelligence department of the German flying corps, which was located about an hour from the hospital. There I was kept two days, during which time they put a thousand and one questions to me. While I was thero I turned over to them the message I had written In the hospital and asked them to have one of their flyers drop It on our side of the line. They asked me where I would llko to havo it dropped, thinking perhaps would glvo my airdrome awny, but when I smiled and shook ray head, they did not Insist upon an answer. "I'll drop It over ," declnred one of them, naming my airdrome, which revealed to mo that their flying corps Is as efficient as other branches of tho service In the matter of obtaining vulu uble Information. And right here I want to Bay that tho mora I camo to know of the enemy, tho mora keenly I realized what a difficult task we'ro going to have to lick him In all my subsequent experiences, tho fact that there Is a heap of fight left In tho nuns still was thoroughly brought homo to me. We shnll win the war eventually, If wo dou't sUw up too soon, in the mlstnkon idea that tho IIuiih aro ready to lie down. Tho flying, officers who questioned mo wero extremely anxious to find out all they could ubout tho part America is going to play In tho war, but they evidently camo to tho conclusion thnt America hadn't taken mo very deeply. Into her confidence, Judging from tho Information they got, or failed to get, from me. At any rate, they gave mo up as a bad Job, and 1 was ordered to the offi cers' prison at Courtral, Belgium. and directly Into a courtyard, on which faced all of tho prison buildings, tho windows, of course, being heavily barred. After I had given my pedigree my name, age, address, etc I was shown to a cell with bars on tlio win' dows overlooking this courtyard. I was promptly told that at night we were to occupy these rooms, but I had nlready surveyed tho surroundings, taken account of the number of guards and the locked door outside, and con cluded that my chances of getting away from somo other place could be no worso than in that particular celL As I had no hat, my helmet being the only thing I had worn over tho lines. was compelled either to go bare- CHAPTER V. The Prison Camp at Courtral. From the Intelligence department was conveyed to tho officers' prison camp nt Courtral In nn automobile. It was ubout an hour's ride. My escort was ono of the most fumous flyers In tho world, barring none. He was later killed In action, but I was to!tl by uu English airman who witnessed his Inst combat, tlmt he fought n gume buttle and died n hero's death, t Tho prison, which had evidently been a civil prison of some kind beforo tho war, was loeated right In the heart of Courtral. The first building we up proached wus large und In front of the archway, which formed tic main entrnneti, was a sentry box. lltru we were challenged by the Mntiy. who knocked on the door; the guiinl nirnwl the Key In. the lock anil I .iinTlt headed or wear tho red cap of the Bavarian whom I had shot down on that memorable day. It can be im agined how I looked attired In a Brit Ish uniform and a bright red cap, Wherever I was taken my outfit aroused considerable curiosity among tho Belgians and Germnn soldiers, When I arrived at prison that day I still wore this cap, and as I was taken Into the courtyard, my overcoat cover ing my uniform, all that the British officers, who happened to be sunning themselves in the courtyard, could see was the red cap. They afterwards told mo they wondered who tho "bug nun" was with tho bandago on his mouth This cap I managed to keep with me, but was never allowed to wear It on tho walks wo took. I either went bare headed or borrowed a cap from somo other prisoner. At certain hours each day tho prls oners wero allowed to mingle in the courtyard, and on the first occasion of this kind I found that there wero 11 officers Imprisoned thero besides my self. They had hero interpreters who could sneak all languages. One of them wus a mvo boy who had been born la Jersey City, N. J and had spent all his life In America until tho beginning of 1014. Then he moved with his folks to Gcrmnny, and when ho became of military ago the Huns forced him Into the army. I think If tho truth wero known he would much rather have been fighting for America than against her. I found that most of the prisoners remained at Courtral only two or three days. From there they were In- vnrlably taken to prisons In the Inte rior of Germany. Whether It was because I was nn American or because I was a flyer, I don't know, but this rule was &ot fol lowed In ray case. I remnlned thero two weeks. During this period Conrtrnl was con stantly bombed by our airmen. Not a slnglo day or night passed without one 1.1- T ...nnlpo ' section in the -Iny tlmo i cnt out nnd watched the machines nnJ tho shrap nel bursting nil around; but tho Ger mans did not crowd out there, for their own nntialrcraft guns were hammer ing nwny to keep our planes ns blsh In the sky ns possible, and shells wero likely to full In tho prison yard nny moment Of course I watched i'jc?o battles at my own risk. Many nights from my prison window I watched with peculiar Interest the nlr raids carried on( nnd It was a wonderful sight with tho German searchlights playing on the sky, tho "flaming on ions" fired high and tho burst of the antiaircraft guns, but rather an un comfortable sensation, when I realized that perhaps tho very next minute a bomb might be dropped on the building In which I was n prisoner. But per haps nil of this was better than no excitement at all, for prison llfo soon becumo very monotonous. One of the hardest things I had to endure throughout tho two weeks I spent thero was tho sight of the Hun machines flying over Courtral, know ing that perhaps I never would have another chanco to fly, and I used to sit by the hour watching the German ma chines maneuvering over the prison, ns they hud nn alrdromo not far nway nnd every afternoon tho students or I took them for students because their flying was very poor1 appeared over the town. One certain Hun seemed to And particular satisfaction In flying right down over the prison nightly, for my special discomfort and benefit, it seemed, ns if he knew an airman lm prisoned there was vainly longing to try his wings again over their Hues. But I used to console myself by say ing: "Never mind, old boy, thero was never a bird whose wings could not be clipped if they get him Just right, nnd your turn will come somo day." One night there was an exception ally heavy air raid going on. A num ber of German officers camo into my room, nnd they nil seemed very much frightened. I Jokingly remarked that It would be fine If our nlnncn hit the old prison the percentage would bo very satisfactory one English officer and about ten German ones. They didn't seem to appreciate tho Joke, howover, and, indeed, they were up parently too much alarmed at what was going on overhead to laugh even at their own Jokes. Although these night raids seem to tako all the starch out of the Germans wmie they are going on, the officers wero usually as brave as Hons tho next dny and spoke contemptuously of the raid of tho night before. I saw thousnnds of soldiers In Cour tral, and although they did not Im press me as having very good or abun' dant food, they were fairly well clothed. I do not mean to Imply that conditions pointed to an early end of tho war. On tho contrary, from what I was able to observe on that point. unless tho Huns have an absolute crop failure they can, in my opinion, go on for years I Tho Idea of our being able to win the wnr by starving them out strikes mo as ridiculous. This Is a war that must be won by fighting, nnd tho sooner wo realize that fact the sooner It will be over. Rising hour in tho prison wns seven o'clock. Breakfast came at eight This consisted of a cup of coffee and noth ing else. If the prisoner had the fore sight to savo some brea'd from the pre vious day, ho had bread for breakfast also, but that never happened in my case. Sometimes wo had two cups of coffee, that is, near-coffee. For lunch they gave us boiled sugar beets or some other vegetable, nnd once in a while some kind of pickled meat, but that happened very seldom Wo also received a third of a loaf of bread war brend. This war bread wus as heavy as a brick, black and sour. It was supposed to last us from noon one day to noon the next Ex cept for somo soup, this was the whole lunch menu. Dinner came at 5 :30 p. m., when wo sometimes had a little Jam made out of sugar beets, nnd a preparation called tea, which you had to shake vig orously or It settled In the bottom of tho cup, nnd then about all you had was hot water. This "tea" was a sad blow to the Englishmen. If It hadn't been called tea they wouldn't have felt so badly about It, perhaps, but It was adding insult to Injury to call that stuff "tea," which with them Is almost a national institution. Sometimes with this meal they gave us butter Instead of Jam, and once in a while we had somo kind of canned meat This comnrlm' tfr '.iuui run of eat ables lot Yiie, day I can ent moro than that for brctAfcat! In tho days that wbro to come I learned thnt I was to faro considerably worso. Wo were allowed to send out and buy n few things, but as most of the prisoners were without funds this wns but an empty privilege. Once I took ndvantngo of tho privilege to send my shoes to a Belgian shoemaker to bo half-soled. They charged me 20 marks $5 1 Ouco in a while a Belgian Ladles' Belief N?oIcr vWted the prison nnd brought us nxji'lltercblefs, American soap which sells at about $1.50 a bar In Belgium toothbrushes and other liUie articles, nil of which wero American made, but whether they were supplied by tho American re lief committee or not I don't know. At any rntc, these gifts were mighty useful nnd wero very much appre ciated. Ono dny I oSfclfcd a button off njy uniform to one of these Belgian ladles as a souvenir, but a German guard saw me and I was nover allowed to go nenr tho visitors afterwards. Tho sanitary conditions in this prison camp were excellent ns a gen eral proposition. One night howevt-r. discovered that I had been cap tured by "cooties." This wns a novel experience to m and ono' that I would havo been very willing to hnvo missed, because In tho flying corps our airdromes are a number of miles back of tho lines and we have good billets and our acquaint ance with such things ns "cooties" and other unwelcome visitors is very lim ited. When I discovered my condition, I made a holler and roused the guard, and right then I got another examplo of German efficiency. This guard seemed to be even moro perturbed about my complaint than I myself, evidently fearing that ho would bo blamed for my condition. Tho commandant was summoned nnd I could see that he was very an gry. Someone undoubtedly got a se vere reprimand for It I wns taken out of my cell by a guard with a rifle and conducted about quarter of a mile from the. prison to nn old factory building which had been converted Into an elaborate fumi gating plant There I wns given a pickle bath in some kind of solution, and while I wns absorbing it my clothes, bed clothes nnd whatever else had been In my cell was being put through another fumigating process. While I was waiting for my things to dry it took perhaps half an hour had a chanco to observe about one hundred other victims of "cooties" German soldiers who had become In fested in the trenches. We were all nude, of course, but apparently It was not difficult for them to recognize mo as a foreigner even without my uni form on, for none of them made any attempt to talk to me, although they wero very busy talking about me. I could not understand what they were saying, but I knew I was the butt of most of their Jokes nnd they made no effort to conceal the fact that I was the subject of conversation. When I got back to my cell I found that it had been thoroughly fumigated, and from that time on I hud no further trouble with "cooties" or other visi tors of tho same kind. As wo were not allowed to write anything but prison cards, writing was out of the question ; and as we had no reading matter to speak of, reading was nil. Wo had nothing to do to pass nway thoxtlme, so consequently enrds became our only diversion, for we did, fortunately, havo some of these. Thero wasn't very much money as a rule in circulation, and I think for once In my life I held most of that not duo to nny particular ability on my part Jn tho game, but I happened to have several hundred francs In my pockets when shot down. But we held a lot tery that was watched without quite such Intense Interest as that Tho drawing wns always held tho day beforo to learn who was the lucky man. Thero wns as much speculation as to who would win the prize as If It had been, the finest treasure In the world. The great prize was one-third of a loaf off bread. Through some arrangement, which I never quite figured out. It happened that among the eight or ten officers who were there with me, there was alwnys one-third of n loaf of bread over. There was Just one way of getting that bread, and that -was to draw lots. Consequently that wus what started the lottery. I believe If a man had ever been inclined to cheat he would have been sorely tempted In thla lnstnncc, but the game wns played ab solutely square, and If a man had been caught cheating the chnnces nre thnt ho would have been shunned by tho rest of the officers as long as he was In prison. I was fortunate enough to win tho prize twice. As he was traveling with oth er prisoners toward a prison camp In the heart of Germany, O'Brien conceived the idea of ieaplng through the car window In a desperate attempt to gain his liberty. There was one chance In a thousand that he would escape death or re capture. O'Brien took tho chance. Read about thla thrill ing exploit In the next Installment t.ti tliriiil;'1 or more nlr raids. In tho two weeks I was there I counted 21 of them. The town suffered a great deal of damage. Evidently our people were nware thnt the Germans hud a lot of troops con centrntcd In this town nnd besides the headquarters staff was stationed there. The kaiser himself visited Courtral while I was In the jirlson, I was told by one of yie Interpreters, but he didn't call on me,' nnd for otjvlous reasons I couldn't call .. him. The courtyard was not n very popu lar place during nlr raids.' Several Unit's ' " n,'r Inncn raided A mm Facsimile of the Check Given to Lieutenant O'Brien as a Joke by Lieutenant Dickson When They Wen Fellow Prisoners at Courtral. nii roNT' MtjETj.i