THE 8EMI WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
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TTING THE HUN"
By Lieutenant Pat O'Brien
(Copyright, 1018, by Pit Alvt O'Brien)
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DRIVEN TO DESPERATION BY HUNGER, O'BRIEN GOES
BOLDLY TO A BELGIAN HOUSE AND ASKS FOR FOOD.
L
tynbpslft Pat O'Brien, u resident of Momcnce, III., after seeing
-wrvlce la the American Flying corps on the Mexican bonier In 1010,
Joins the British Royal Flying corps In Canadu, and after a brief train
liE period Is sent to France. lie 1b assigned to a squndron In active
tfervlce on tho front. IIo engages In severnl hot fights with German
Dyers, from which he emerges victorious. Finally, In a fight with four
"German flyers, O'Brien is shot down. IIo falls 8,000 feet and, escaping
death by a miracle, awakes to ilnd himself a prisoner in u German
ospltul, with a bullet hole In his mouth. After a few days In tho
nospltal ho Is Rent to a prison camp at Courtral. After a short stay
there ho is placed upon a train bound for a prison camp in Germany.
IIo decides to tako a desperate chanco for liberty. IIo leaps through
tho open window of tho car whllo the train Is traveling 85 miles
nn hour. Ills wounds reopened by tho fall, O'Brien almost literally
crawls through Germany and Luxembourg, traveling at night and
olceplng by day, living on gnrbago and raw vegetables stolen from
Hardens.
CHAPTER IX Continued.
6
ran up tho bank of tho canal quite
m Alstanco and then swam to tho op
fftto side, ns I reasoned they would
t be looking for mo there. I found
M sheltered clump of bushes that wcro
IP a swamp near the canal and In tho
dRest part that I could find I crawled
ta and made myself as comfortable
M possible. Tho sun coino up soon
sM kept mo warm, and I plnnncd to
(aip right there, food or no food,
uxtll tho Ilun got tired of searching
ftr mc. I think I heard them once
rtr twice that day, and my heart nearly
(topped on each occasion, but evi
dently they decided to look In somo
ttfccr direction and I was not further
molested.
At tho same tlmo I figured that It
Ktfi ubsolutely noccssury for mo to
(ftnngo my course, oven at the ex
trmso of going somewhat out of my
ny. I decided to go duo west and
I icpt In that direction for four days.
As I was In a very weak condition,
I did not cover more than llvo miles n
nUfht I kept away from tho roads
sinl did all my Journeying through
fields, beet patches, woods, Bwnraps
wiywhero provided I was not likely
to bo soon and captured. Food was
&n Important consideration to me, but
b was secondary to concealment.
At last I brought up at the Meuso
rtror at a placo between Namur and
tidy, and It wus hero that I camo uear
tSt of all to giving up tho struggle.
Tho Meuso nt this point Is nbont
fudf a mllo wide as wldo as tho Hud
son Rlvor ut West Point Had I been
U normal condition I wouldn't have
kenltutcd a moment to swim across.
8u Diego bay, California, Is n mllo
tutal a half wldo, nnd I httd often swam
Across nnd buck, and tho San Jaoquln,
Wnlch Is also u mile and a half wldo.
bid never proven an obBtaclo to mo.
la the wretched shape In which
tften wua, however, the Meuso looked
two tho Atlantic ocean to me.
ledked for a boat, but could find nono.
t tried to get a piece of wood upon
wtlch I hoped to ferry across, but
n6 equally unsuccessful.
wet across I must, and I decided
ftere was nothing to do but to swim,
ft was then about 3 o'clock In tho
sftrnlng. I wndod In and was soon
fa) beyond my depth and had to swim.
After about un hour of It I was very
much exhausted, and I doubted
whether I could mako tho opposite
tank, although It was not more thun
Airly or forty feet away. I choked
1 Kept Pulllna and Crawling Up
That Infernal Bank.
ud gaspod, und my arms and legs
were complotely fagged out I sank n
IHUo and tried to touch bottom with
tay feet, but the water was still bo-
pond my depth.
There are times when ovcryono will
pray, and I was no exception,
$ayod for strength to mako those
Caw wicked yards, and then, with all
the will power I could summon, struck
ot tor dear lifo. It seemed a llfo-
mud of bottom and was able to drag
myself up to the bank, but I got there.
Tho bank wns rather high und I was
shaking so violently that when I took
hold of tho grass to pull myself up,
tho grass shook out of my hands. I
could not retain my grip. I was afraid
would faint then and thero, but I
kept pulling and crawling frantically
up that Infernal bank and Anally
mudo It
Then for tho first tlmo In my llfo I
fainted fainted from utter' exhaus
tion.
It was now about 4 o'clock In tho
morning and I wus entirely unpro
tected from observation. If anyono
hud como along I would have been
found lying thero dead to the world.
Possibly two hours passed beforo I
regained consciousness, and then, no
doubt, only because tho rain was
beating in ray fuce.
I knew thnt I hnd to get nwny, as
It was broad dnyllght. Moreover,
thero was a tow-path right thero nnd
any mlnuto n boat might como along
nnd Ilnd mo. But It wns equally
dangerous for me to attempt to truvel
very far. Fortunately I found some
Bhrubbery near by und I hid thero all
day, without food or drink.
That night I mudo a llttlo hend-
way, but when day broko I had a
dreadful fever and wns delirious. I
talked to mysolf and thereby in
creased my chances of capture In
my lucid Intervals when I realized thnt
I had been talking, tho thought sent
a chill through ma, becauso In tho
silent night oven tho slightest sound
carries far across tho Belgian country.
I began to fenr that nnothor day of
this would ubout finish me.
I have a distinct recollection of a
ridiculous conversation I carried on
with an Imaginary Pnt O'Brien a
sort of duplicate of mysolf. I argued
with him us I marched drearily along
and ho answered mo back In kind,
and when wo dlsagroed, I called upon
my ono constant friend, tho North
Star, to stand by mo.
'Thero you nro, you old North Star,"
I cried aloud. "You want mo to get
to Holland, don't you? But this Pat
O'Brien this Pat O'Breln who calls
himself a soldier no's got a yellow
streak North Star and ho says It
can't bo donol no wants mo to quit
to lie down hero for tho Huns to
And mo nnd tako mo back to Cour
tral after nil you'vo dono, North
Start I don't want to follow him I
Just want to follow you becauso you
you aro taking mo nway from tho
Iluns and this Pat O'Brien this fel
low who keeps after mo all tho tlmo
and leans on my neck and wants mo
to IIo down this yellow Pat O'Breln
wants me to go back to tho Huns I"
After n spell of foolish chatter Uko
thnt my senses would como back to
"mo for a whllo nnd I would trudgo
along without a word until the fever
camo on mo again.
I knew that I had to hnvo food be
causo I wus about on my last legs. I
waa very much tempted to Ho down
then and there nnl call It a beat
Things seemed to bo getting worso for
mo the farther I went, and all the
tlmo I had beforo me the spectre of
thnt electric barrier between Belgium
nnd Holland, even If I over reached
thero alive. What was tho uso of
further suffering when I would prob
ably bo captured la tho end any way?
Before giving up, howover, I decided
upou ono Doia move, l would ap
proach ono of tho houaca In tho vi
cinity nnd get food thero or die in
tho effort
I picked out a small house because
I figured thero would be less likeli
hood of soldiers being billeted thero.
Then I wrapped a Btono in my khaki
handkerchief as a sort of camouflaged
weapon, determined to kill the occu
pant of the house, German or Belgian,
If that Btcp was necessary In order
to got food. I tried tho well In the
yard, but It would not work, and then
I went up to Uio door uud knocked.
It wus 1 o'clock In tho morning. An
old lady camo to the window und
looked out. She could not imagine
what I was, probably, because I was
still attired In that old overcoat. She
gave a cry ami nor iiusuuuu unu a
time Wore I finally felt the welcome I boy cume to tho door.
They could not speak English nnd I
could not speak Flemish, but I pointed
to my flying coat and then to tho Bky
nnd Bald "Fleger" (flier), -which I
thought would tell them whnt I wns.
Whether they understood or wcro
intimidated by tho hard-looking ap
pearance, I don't know, but certainly
it would have to bo a brave old man
and boy who would stnrt nn nrgument
with such n villainous looking char
acter as stood before them that night 1
I had not Hhavcd for a month, my
clothes wcro wet, torn nnd dirty, my
leggings were gone I hey had gotten
so heavy I had to discard them my
hair wns matted and my checks were
flushed with fever. In my hand 1
carried tho rock In my handkerchief
and I mndo no effort to conceal its
presenco or its mission.
Anyway, they motioned mo indoors,
gave mo my first hot meal In more
than a mouth 1 True, It consisted only
of warm potatoes. They had been
previously cooked, but the old woman
warmed them up In milk In one of tho
dirtiest kettles I had ever seen. I
asked for bread, but she shook her
head, although I think it must hnvo
been for lack of It rather than be- (
cause nho begrudged It to mo. For .
If ever a man showed ho was flmlBhcd. I
I did thnt night I swallowed those
warm potatoes ravenously and I drank (
four glnsses of water, ono ufter an-1
other. It was tho best meal I had had
slnco tho "banquot" in tho prison at
Courtral.
Tho woman of the house was prob- j
nbly Boventy-flvo years old and had
evidently worn wooden shoes all her
life, for Bho had a callous spot on the
side of her foot tho size of half a dol
lar and It looked so hard that I doubt
whether you could havo driven a nail
into it with a hammer I
As I sat thero drying myself for 1
was In no hurrry to lcavo tho first
human habitation I hud cntorcd In
four weeks I reflected on my un
happy Mot nnd the unknbwn troubles
nnd dangers that lay ahead of me.
Hero, for moro than a month, I had
been leading the llfo of a hunted
animal yes, worso than a hunted
animal, for naturo clothes her less
favored creatures moro appropriate
ly for tho llfo they lead than I was
clothed for mine nnd there was not
tho slightest reason to hopo that con
ditions would grow any better.
Perhaps tho first warm food I had
eaten for ovor a month had released
unused springs of philosophy in nc,
as food sometimes does for a man.
I pointed to my torn nnd water
sonkod clothes and conveyed to them
ns best I could thnt I would be grate
ful for an old suit, but apparently
they wcro too poor to have more than
they actually needed themselves, and
I roso to go. I had aroused them out
of bed and I know I ought not to keep
them up longer than was absolutely
necessary.
As I approached tho door I got a
glanco at myself in a mirror. I was
tho awf ulest sight I had laid eyes on 1
Thu glimpse I got of myself startled
mo almost as much as If I had seen a
dreaded German helmet 1 My left eyo
was fairly well healod by this time
and I was beginning to regain sight
of it, but my face was eo haggard and
my beard so long nnd unkempt that I
looked like Santa Claus on a bat I
As, they let me out of tho door I
pointed to the opposite direction to
tho ono I Intended taking and started
off in tho direction I had Indicated.
Later I changed my course completely
to throw off nny possible pursuit
Tho next day I wus so worn out from
exposure and exhaustion that I throw
nwuy my coat, thinking that the less
weight I had to carry the better it
would bo for me, but when night enmo
I regretted my mlstnke because tho
nlglfts wero now getting colder. I
thought nt first It would be better for
mo to retrace my steps and look for
tho coat I had so thoughtlessly dis
carded, but I decided to go on with
out It
I then began to discard everything
that I hud in my pocket finally throw-
lng my wrist watch Into a canal. A
wrist-watch docs not add much
weight, but when you plod along und
hnvo not euten for a month It Anally
becomes rather heavy. The next
thing I discarded wus a pair of flying
mittens.
These mittens I hnd gotten at Camp
Borden, In Canada, and hnd become
qulto famous, us my friends termed
them "snow shoes." In fact, they
were a ridiculous pair of mittens, but
tho best pair I ever hnd and I really
felt worse when I lost those mittens
than anything else. I could not thin):
of anybody else over using them, so I
dug a hole In tho mud nnd burled
them nnd could not help but laugh
at tho thought tf my friends could sec
me burying my mittens, because they
were u standing Joke In Canada, Eng
land and Frnuce.
I hnd on two ahlrts nnd ns they wcro
nlwuya both wet and dldn' keep mo
warm, It wus useless to wear both.
One of theso was a shirt that I had
bought In Franco, tho other an Amer
ican nrmy shirt They were both
khnkl and one us apt to give me nway
u tin other, so I discarded the French
i. m The American army shirt I
brought back with mo to England and
It Ih still in my possession.
When I cscuped from tho train I still
hnd tho IJavnrlan cup of bright red In
my pocket nnd wore It for many
nights, but I took great care that no
ono saw it. It nlso had proven very
useful when swimming rivers, for I
carried ray mnp and u few other be
longings in It und I had fully made
up my mind to bring it homo us a
souvenir. But the farther I went
tho heavier my extra clothing became,
so I wns compelled to disenrd even
tho cap. I knew thnt It would be n
tell-tale mark If I simply threw It
away, so one night nftcr swimming n
river, I dug n hole in tho soft mud on
the bnnk and burled It, too, with .con
siderably less ceremony than my fly
ing mittens hnd received perhaps; so
that was the end of my Buvnrlan hat
My experience nt the Belgian's
house whetted my appetite for moro
food and I figured that what hud been
dono once could be dono again.
ill iMm$ 1
1: l
Diagram Showing How O'Brien tost
Precious Hours by Swimming a Rlv
er and Later Finding That He Was
on the Wrong Side and Had to Swim
n
Sooner or later. I realized I would
probably approach a Belgian and And
a German Instead, but in such a con
tingency I was determined to mens
ure my strength against tho Hun's if
necessary to effect my escape.
As It wob, howover, most of tho Bel
glnns to whom I applied for food gave
It to me readily enough, and if somo
of tliem refused mo it was only bo
causo they feared I might bo a Bpy
or that the Germans would shoot them
If their action wero subsequently
found out
About the fifth day after I had en
tered Belgium I was spending tho day
as usual In u clump of bushes when I
discerned in the distance what ap
peared to bo something hanging on a
line. All day long I strained ray eyes
trying to decide what it could bo nnd
arguing with myself that It might bo
something that I could add to my in
adequate wordrobe, but tho distance
wns so great that I could not Identify
It I hnd a great fear that before
night came It would probably bo ro-
moved.
As soon as darkness fell, however, I
crawled out of my hiding placo and
worked up to the Une nnd got a pair
of overalls for my Industry. The pair
of overalls wns tho first bit of civil
lan clothes I had thus far picked up
with the exception of a civilian cap
which I had found at tho prison and
concealed on my person and which I
still had. Tho overalls were rather
small and very short but when I put
them on I found that they hung down
far enough to cover my breeches.
It wns perhaps throo days later that
I planned to search another house for
further clothes. Entering Belgian
houses at night Is anything but a safe
proposition, becauso their families aro
large and sometimes as many as seven
or eight sleep In a single room. Tho
barn Is usually connected with the
house proper, and there was always
the danger of disturbing somo dumb
animal even If tho inmates of tho
houso were not aroused.
It. It had probably been an ovorcoat
fpr the Belgian who had worn it
Some days later I got a scurf from
a Belgian peasant and with this equip
ment I wns ablo to conccul my unl
form entirely.
Lntcr on, however, I decided thnt it
wns too dnngerous to keep the uniform
on nnywny nnd when night came
dug n hole and burled it.
I never realized until I hnd to part
with It Just how much I thought of
thnt uniform. It bad been with me
through hard trials nnd I felt ns If
wcro abandoning n friend when
parted with it I was tempted to keep
tho wings off the tunic, but thought
that would be a dangerous concession
to sentiment In the event that I wns
ever captured. It was the only dis
tinction I hud left, as I had given
tho Iloynl Flying Corps badges and
the stars of my rank to the German
flying officers ns souvenirs, but I felt
thnt It was safer to discard It As
it Anally turned out, through nil my
subsequent experiences, my escape
would never hnve been Jeopardized
had I kept my uniform but, of course,
I had no Idea what was in storo for
mc.
There wns ono thing which surprised
me very much ns I Journeyed througl
Belgium and thnt wns the scarcity of
dogs. Apparently most of them hnd
been taken by tho Germans und what
aro left are beasts of burden who are
too tired nt night to burk or bother
Intruders. This wns n mighty good
thing for me, for I would certainly
have stirred them up in passing
through bnok-yurds as I sometimes
did when I was making n short cut
Ono night ns I came out of n yard
It was so pitch dark that I could not
sco ten feet nhend of me and I was
right In the back of n little village,
although I did not know It I crawled
along fearing I might como to n cross
roads at which thero would In nil
probability bo a German sentry.
My precaution served mo In good
stend for hnd I come out In the main
street of tho village nnd within twenty
feet of me, sitting on some bricks
where they wero building a llttlo s'torc,
I could seo the dim outline of a Ger
man spiked helmet 1
I could not cross the street nnd the
only thing to do wns to back track.
It meant mnklng n long detour nnd
losing two hours of precious time and
effort, but there wns no help for It,
so I plodded wenrlly back, cursing
tho Huns nt every step.
The next night while crossing some
fields I camo to n road. It was one of
tho main roads of Belgium and was
paved with cobblo stones. On theso
roads you can hear a wagon or horse
nbout a mile or two nway. I listened
intently beforo I moved nhend and
hearing nothing concluded thnt the
way wns clear.
As I emerged from the field and got
my flrst glimpse of tho rond, I got the
shock of my llfo 1 In cither direction,
ns far ub I could see, the road was
lined with Germnn soldiers I What
they wero doing in that part of Bel-
glum I did not know, but you can be
mighty sure I didn't spend any time
trying to And out
Again it was necessary to change
my courso and lose a certain amount
of ground, but by this time I had be
come fairly well reconciled to theso
reverses nnd they did not depress mo
ns much as they did at first.
At this period of my adventure, If a
day or night passed without Its thrill
I began to feel nlmost dlappolnted,
but such disappointments wero
rather rare.
Ono evening ns I wns nbout to swim
a cnnnl about two hundred feet wide,
I suddenly noticed about one hundred
yards away a canal boat moored to
the side.
It was at a sort of out-of-the-way
place and I wondered what the canal
boat had stopped for. I crawled up
to see. As I nearcd the boat Ave men
wero leaving It nnd I noticed them
cross ovor Into tho flelds. At n safe
distance I followed them nnd they had
not gone very far beforo I saw what
they wero after. They were comralt-
sm" ditches. They Intercepted me
at every hnlf mile or so, sometimes
moro frequently. Tho cnnnls and tho
big rivers I could swim. Of course, i
got soaked to the skin every tlmo I
did it, but I was becoming hardened
to thnt.
These llttlo ditches, however, were
too narrow to Bwlm nnd too wldo to
Jump. They hnd perhaps two feet or ,
water in them nnd three feet of mud,
nnd It wns nlmost Invariably a case of
wading through. Some of them, no
doubt, I could have Jumped If I hnd
been In decent shape, but with a bod
ankle nnd in the weukened condition
In which I wns, It wns nlmost out of
tho question.
One night I came to a ditch nbout
eight or nine feet wide. I thought I
was strong enough to Jump it nnd It
wus worth trying ns tho discomfort I
suffered nftcr wndlng these ditchca
wns considerable. Taking a long run,
I Jumped ns hard ns I could, but I
missed It by four or Ave Inches and
landed In nbout two feet of water and
three of mud. Getting out of that
mess wns quite a Job. The water was
too dirty nnd too scanty to enable me
to wash off the mud with which I was
covered and It was too wet to scrape
off. I Just had to wait until It dried
and scrape it off then.
In many sections of Belgium through
which I had to pass I encountered
lnrge areas of swamp nnd mnrshy
ground nnd rather than wnste the
time Involved In looking for better
undcrfootlng which I might not have
found nnywny I used to pole right
through the mud. Apart from the
discomfort of tills method of travel
ing and the slow time I made, there
was an ndded danger to me In the fact
that the "squash, squash" noise which
I made might easily be overheard by
Belgians nnd Germans and give my
position nwny. Nobody would cross
a swamp or marsh In that part of tho
country unless he wns trying to get
nwny from Bomebody, and I realized
my danger but could not get nround It
It wns a common sight In Belgium
to seo a small donkey nnd n common
ordinary milch cow hitched together,
pulling n wagon. When I Arst ob
served the unusual combination, I
thought It wns n donkey nnd ox or
bull, but closer Inspection revealed to
me that cows were being used for the
purpose.
From that I wns able to observe
there must be very few horses left In
Belgium except those owned by the
Germans. Cows nnd donkeys nre now
horses nnd mules. Altogether I spent
nenrly eight weeks wandering through
Belgium, nnd In all that time I don't
believe I saw more than half a dozen
horses in the possession of tho native
population.
Ono of tho senrcest things In Ger
many, npparently, is ruDDer, lor l
noticed thut their motor trucks, or lor
ries, unlike our own, had no rubber
tires. Instend heavy Iron bands were
employed. I could hear them come
rumbling nlong the stone roads for
miles before they reached the spot
whero I happened to be in hlldlng.
When I saw these military ronds In
Belgium for the flrst time, with theli
heavy cobblestones thnt looked ns it
they would Inst for centuries, I rent
lzed at once why it wns thnt the Gen.
mans had been nble to make such i
rapid advance Into Belgium nt the
stnrt of tho war.
I noticed that tho Belgians use
dogs to n considerable extent to pull
their carts, and I thought many time
Frequently I took n chance of
searching a back yard at night In tho ting the common but heinous crime of
hope of finding food scraps, but my I stealing potntoes I
success In that direction wns so alight
thnt" I soon decided that It wasn't
worth tho risk nnd I continued to
llvo on raw vegetables that I could
pick with safety In tho fields and tho
occasional meal that I was ablo to get
from tho Belgian peasants In tho day-
time.
Nevertheless I wns determined to
get more In tho wny of clothing nnd
when night enmo I picked out n houso
that looked as though it might furnish
me with what I wanted. It wns n
moonlight night nnd If I could get in
the barn I would have a fnlr chance of
finding my way around by tho moon
light which would enter tho windows.
The barn adjoined tho main part of
tho house, but I groped around very
carefully nnd soon I touched some
thing bunging on n peg. I didn't
know what it was, but I confiscated
it and curried It out Into the flelds.
Thero In tho moonlight I cxnmlued
my booty and found thut It wus nn old
coat It was too short for nn ovcr-
coat and too long for nn ordlunry
cout but neverthelesa I mado use of
Burying His Uniform at Night
that If I could have stolen one of
those dogs It would havo been n very
good compnnlon for me and might If
the occasion nrose, help me out In a
fight. But I had no wny of feeding It
and the nnlmnl would probably have
stnrved to death. I could llvo on veg
etables, which I could always depend
upon finding In tne fields, but n dog
couldn't, and so I gnve up tho idea.
Without tho means to cook them,
potntoes didn't Interest me n bit and
I thought that the boat Itself would
probnbly yield me more than the po
tato patch. Knowing the canal-hands
would probnbly take their time In the
fields, I climbed up the stern of the
bout leisurely and without uny partic
ular plans to concenl myself. Just ns
my head appeared above the stern of
tho bont I saw Bllhouetted against
tho Bky, the dread outline of n Ger
man soldier splkeQ helmet nnd all I
A chill ran down my spina as 1
dropped to tho bank of tho cnnnl nnd
slunk nwny. Evidently tho sentry had
not seen mo or, If he had, ho had prob
nbly figured thnt I was ono of tho
foraging party, but I realized that it
wouldn't pay in future to take any
thing for granted.
CHAPTER X.
Experiences In Belgium.
I think that one of the worst things
I hnd to contend with In my Journey A new oll-bunilng apparatus heats
through Belgium was tho number of and lights the room at tho same time.
In Belgium, after weeks of
hardships and narrow escapee
from recapture, O'Brien finally
finds a man whom he believes
to be his friend. Cheered by
the prospect of final escape, he
gains courage to continue his
heartbreaking tramp through
Belgium. Don't miss the next
Installment.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)