Nebraska Newspapers

    THE SEMI W.-SKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
UTT
JL JL JL JU 11 VJ
By LIEUTENANT PAT O'BRIEN
Copyright, 1018, by Pat Alva O'Brien
nxjrxz
CHAPTER XIV Continued.
10
I decided promptly Hint Uio Bafcst
placo for mo was an far buck m pos
sible, whero I would not be In tlio lino
'of vision of others In back of me. Ac
cordingly I slouched over to n tnblo
on the plntform directly oppoolto Uio
ataffo and I took the neat against Uio
wall. Tho whole plnco wus now In
front of me. I could see everything
that was going on and overyone who
carao In, but no one, except thoso who
at at my own table, would notice mo
unless they deliberately turned nround
to look.
Tho place began to (111 up rapidly.
Every second person who came In tho
plnco seemed to mo to bo a German
soldier, but when they were Bcatcd at
Uio tables und I got a chance later Tin
to mako a rough count, I found that
In all there were not more than a hun
dred soldiers In the place and there
must have been several hundred civil
Inns.
Tho first pcoplo to sit at my table
wero a Belgian and bis wife. Tho Bel-
H Seemed Better to Parrot the Belgian.
Khui sat next to mo and his wtfo next
to him. I woo hoping that other civil
Sana would occupy tho remaining two
eats at my tnblo, bccnuBo I did not
relish tho Idea of having to sit through
tfeo sisow with Gorman soldiers within
m tew Coot of mo. That would cortalnly
havo spoiled my pleasuro for Uio evon-
tag.
Every uniform that come In Uio door
gavo mo causo to worry until I was
Roro It was not coming In my direction,
X dont suppose there was a slnglo nol
dler who came In Uio door whom 1
didn't follow to his seat with my
yos.
Just beforo Uiey loworcd tho lights,
two Qorman officers entered. They
stood at Uio door for a tnomont look
ing Uio placo over. Then thoy made n
baollno in my direction and I must
confesn my heart started to boat a
HtUo faster. I hoped that they wpuld
And unother Bent beforo thoy camo to
my vicinity, but thoy wero getting
nonrer and nearer und I renllcod with
a sickening senvatlon that they wero
headed dlrecUy for the two seats nt
my table, aud that wna Indeed tho
case,
The&o two seats were In front of tho
ttfblo facing tho Btngo und except when
tho officers would bo eating or drink
lng tlwlr backs wero toward me, und
thoro was considerable consolation In
that. From my sent I could havo
reached right over and touched ono of
them on his bald head. It would havo
been mora than a touch, I am afraid,
If I could havo gotten away with it
fsafeiy.
As Uio officers seated themselves,
a waiter camo to us with a printed
bHl-of-faro and program. Fortunately,
Uio waited on Uio oUicrs first and I
listened intently to their ordefc. Tho
officers orderod some light wine, hut
say Belgian neighbor orderod "Bock"
for himself and his wlfo, which wus
what I bad decided to order anyway,
3s that was Uio only thing I could Bay.
Heaven knows I would far rather huve
ordered something to eat, and I was
afraid to take a chanco at tho pronun
ciation of Uio dishes it set forth.
' There were a number of drinks listed
which I might safely enough have or
dered. For Instance, I noticed "Lemon
Squash, US0,M "Ginger Beer, 1. "
"Sparkling Dry Ginger Alo, 1.-
"Anpolinarls, lv and "Schweppca
Coda, 030," but it occurred to mo that
tho mcro fact that I selected some
thing that was listed In English might
attract attcnUon to mo and something
la my pronuncIuUon might glvo fur
ther cauBO for suspicion.
' It ecemed bettor to parrot Uio Bol
rtan and order "Bock" and that wus
what I decided to do.
Ono item on the bill of far tanta-
Hied me considerably. Although It was
listed among Uio "Prlxzen dcr
drankon," which I took to mean
Prlccs of drlnka,,, It soundod very
much to mo like something to eat,
rod Heaven Vnows I would rathec
havo had one honest mouthful of
food Uiun all Uie drinks In tho world.
Tho Item I refer to was "Dubbel Gcr
Btcln de FIcbcIi (Michuux)." A doublo
portion of anything would have boon
mighty welcomo to me, but I would
have bpon content with a slnglo "ger
sten" If I had only had tho courage
to ask for It.
To keep myself ns composed as pos
nlblo I devoted a lot of attention to
that blll-of-foro, and I think by the
tlmo Uio waiter came nround I almost
knew It by heart. Ono drink that al
most mado mo laugh aloud was listed
us "Lemonades gazcuscs," but I might
as well havo Introduced myself to tho
German officers by my right name and
rank ns attempt to pronounce It.
When tho waiter camo to me, there
fore, I said "Bock" as casually as I
could, and I felt somewhut relieved
that I had gotten through that part of
tho ordeal bo easily.
Whllo tho waiter was away I had a
chance to examine tho blll-of-fure and
I obsorved that a glass of beer cost SO
centimes. Tho smallest chango I had
was a two-mark paper bill.
Apparently tho German ofllccrs were
similarly fixed and when they offered
their hill to tho wulter, ho bunded It
back to them with u remnrk which I
took to mean that ho couldn't mako
change.
Itlght thero I was In n quandary. To
offer him my bill after ho had Just
told the ofllccrs ho didn't havo chango
would hnve seemed strungc, and yet I
couldn't explain to him that I was In
Uio same boat and ho would havo to
come to mo again inter. Tho only
Uilng to do, therefore, was to offer
him the bill ob Uiough I hadn't heard
or noticed what had happened with
Uio Germans, nnd I did bo. Do Bald
tho samo thing to me as ho had said
to Uie officers, porhnpa a llttlo moro
Bharply, and gavo me back tho bill.
Later or, ho returned to the table with
n handful of change und wo closed tho
transaction. I gnvo htm 20 centimes
ns a tip I had never yet been to a
place whero It was necessary to talk
to do Uiat
During my first half hour In that
theatre, to say I was on pins and
needles Is to express my feelings
mildly. Tho truth of tho mntter Is I
was novcr so uneasy in my life. Every
mlnuto seemed llko an hour, and u
dozen Umes I was on Uio point of get-
Ung up and leaving., Thero wero al
together too many soldiers In the placo
to BUit mo, and when Uio Gerrouu of
ficers' seated thcmsolvcs right at my
table I thought that was about all I
could stand. As It was, however, Uie
lights wont out shortly aftcrwardB and
In Uio dark I felt considerably eiiBlor.
After Uio first pfcturo, when tho
lights went up again, I hnd regained
my composuro considerably and I took
ndvantago of tho opportunity to study
tho various types of pcoplo in tho
placo.
From ray seat I had a splendid
chanco to sco them all. At ono tnblo
thero was a German medical corps of-
ticor with thrco lied uross nurses,
That was tho only tlmo I had over
Been a German nurse, ror wnon i was
in Uio hospital I had scon only men
orderlies. Nurses didn't work bo nenr
tho first lino trenches.
The Qorman soldiers nt tho dtfTorent
tables wero 'very nuiot and orderly,
Thoy drank bock beer and conversed
nmong themselves, but thero was no
hilarity or rOugh-houslng of any kind
As I sat thero, within arm's rcuch
of Uioso German olllccrs nnd realized
what Uiey would have given to know
whnt n chance they hnd to capture nn
oscuped British officer, I could hardly
holp smiling to myself, but when
thought of tho big risk I was taking,
moro or less unnecessarily, I began to
wonder whether I had not acted fool
Ishly in undertaking it
Nevertheless, tho evening passed oft
uneventfully and when the show was
over I mixed with tho crowd uud dis
appeared, feeling very proud of myself
and with n good deal moro confldenco
than I had enjoyed nt tho Btnrt.
I hnd passed a night which will llvo
In my life ns long as I llvo. Tho bill
of fnro nnd progrntn nnd a "throw
away" hill advertising tho nnmo of
tho nttrnctlon which was to bo pre
sented tho following week which wna
handed to mo ns I camo out, I still
havo and they nro among tho most
valued souvenirs of my adventure.
CHAPTER XV.
Observations In a Belgian City.
Ono night shortly before I left this
city, our airmen raided the place.
didn't venture out of the houso nt tho
tlmo, but tho noxt night I thought I
would go out and sou what damago
had been done.
When It becamo dark I left tho
houso accordingly and mixed with tho
crowd, which consisted largely of Ger
mans. I went from ono placo to an
other to aeo whnt our "straffing" hud
accomplished. Naturally I avoided
speaking to anyone. If a man or
woman appeared about to speak to mo,
I Just turned my head and looked or
walked away in somo other direction.
I must havo been taken for an un
social sort of individual u good many
times, nnd If I had encountered tho
samo person twice I suppose my con
duct might hnve aroused suspicion.
I hud a flrst-clnBS observation of the
dnmngo that wus really done by our
bombs. One bomb had lauded very
near tho mnln railroad station nnd If
It hnd been only thirty yards nearer
would huve completely demolished It.
As the Btutlon was undoubtedly our
alrmnn's ohjectlvo I was very much
Impressed with the accuracy of his
aim. It Is by no means nn cusy thing
to hit n building from tho nlr when
you nro going at nnywlicru from llfty
to ono hundred miles an hour und are
being shot nt from beneath from a
dozen different angles unless, of
course, you nro taking one of thoso
desperuto chances nnd flying so low
that you cannot very well miss your
mnrk nnd tho Huns can't very well
miss you either 1
I walked by tho station and mingled
with tho crowds which stood In the
entrances. Tljcy paid no moro at
tention to mo than they did to real Bel
gians, nnd the fnct that the lights
were all out In this city at night mudo
It Imposslblo anyway for anyone to
get as good a look at mo as if it had
been light.
During tho tlracUiat I wns In this
city I supposo I wandered from ono
end of it to tho other. In ono place,
where tho German staff had its head
quarters, a hugo German flag hung
from tho window, and I think I would
havo given ten years of my life to
have stolen It. Even if I could fiave
pulled It down, however, it would have
been imposslblo for mo to hnvo con
cealed It, and to have carried It away
with mo as a souvenir, thcreforo would
havo been out of Uio question.
As I went along tho street ono night
a lady standing on the corner stopped
mo nnd spoko to me. My first Impulse,
of course, wns to answer her, explain
ing that I could not understand, but I
stopped myself In time, pointed to my
cars nnd mouth and shook my head,
Indicating thnt I was deaf and dumb,
and sho nodded understanding and
walked on. Incidents of that kind wero
not unusunl, and I was always In fear
Unit tho Umo would como when soma
lnqulsltlvo and suspicious German
would encounter mo and not bo so
easily satisfied.
Thero aro many thlngB thnt I saw in
this city which, for various reasons, It
is Imposslblo for mo to relate unUl
nfter tho war is over. Somo of them,
I think, will creato moro surprise than
Uio Incidents I am freo to reveal now.
It used to amuso mo as I went along
tho streets of this town, looking In
tho shop windows with German sol
diers at my sldo looking at tho samo
things, to think how close I was to
them and they had no way of knowing.
wns qulto convinced that If I wero
discovered my fato would havo been
death becauso I not only had tho
forged passport on me, bat I had been
bo ninny days behind tho German Hues
nfter I had escaped that Uioy couldn't
8afoly let me live with Uie lnforma
Uon I possessed.
Ono night I walked boldly across a
pnrk. I heard footsteps bohlnd mo and
turning round saw two German sol
diers. I Blowcd up a trifle to let Uiem
get ahoad of me. It was rather dark
and I got a chanco to sco what a won
derful uniform tho German military
authorities huvo picked out. Tho sol
diers had not gone moro than a few
foot ahead of mo when they disap
peared In tho darkness like one of
thoso molting pictures on tho moving
plcturo screen. ,
In " S?
I .A . . .
Wrrn Dwmken
J . , Vihcythwae, Grog
. V ; .V.
Lemon ftjuash, 1.50
?Olnecrbrr . ' 1 M
brr . i
NT
ivimorale
if lOyuh in 1.25
Ortvw upt'tlfUTiOOajl,lM
Prtco List of Drink O'Brien Picked
Beer
- - . .5
Vichy lAilff. i.- Schweppes toda c 0.80 -UX.'
. KFransrlM. ..&.l.t.9K II
& J i ,fMith - i K
As I wandered through tho streets I
frequently glanced In tho cafo, win
dow ns I passed. German ofllccrs
were usually dining Uierc, but they
didn't conduct thcmsolvcB with any
thing llko tho ltght-heartcdness which
characterizes tho allied officers In
London nnd Paris. I was rather sur
prised at this becuusc In this parrof
Belgium they wero much freer thun
they would havo been In Berlin,
where, I understand, food Is compar
atively scarce and tho restrictions
arc very strict.
As I huvo suld, my own condition In
this city was in somo respects worse
than it had been when I wus making
my wny through the open country.
Whllo I hnd a pluco to sleep nnd my
clothes were no longer constnutly
soaking, my opportunities for getting
food were considerably less than they
had been. Nearly all the tlmo I wus
half famished, nnd I decided that I
would get out of there at once, since
I was entirely through with Uuyllger.
My physical condition was greatly
Improved. While tho luck of food
showed Itself on me, I had regained
somo of my- strength, my wounds
wero healed, nnd my ankle wus
stronger, nnd although my knees were
still considerably enlurgcd, I felt that
I wus in better shnpo than I hud been
at any time slnco my Icup from the
train, und I was ready to go through
whatever was In store for me.
CHAPTER XVI.
I Leave for the Frontier.
To get out of tho city, it would bo
necessary to pass two guards. This I
had learned In tho course of my walks
at night, having frequently traveled
to tho city limits with the idea of
finding out just what conditions I
would havo to meet when tho Umo
camo for mo to leuve.
A German soldier's uniform, how
over, no longer worried mo ns it had
at first I had mingled with the Huns
so much in Uio city thnt I began to
feel that I wns really a Belgian, and I
assumed tho indifference Uiat Uiey
seemed to feel.
I decided, therefore, to walk out of
tho city In Uio daytime, when Uio sen
tries would bo less apt to be on Uio
watch. It worked fine. I was not
held up n moment, the sentries evl
dently taking mo for a Belgian peas
ant on his way to work.
Traveling faster than I had ever
done beforo slnco my escape, I was
soon out in tho open country, and Uio
first Belgian I came to I approached
for food. Do gnvo mo hnlf of his
lunch nnd wo sat down on tho sldo of
Uie rood to eat it Of course, ho tried
to talk to me, but I used Uio old ruse
of pretending I was deaf and dumb
and he wus qulto convinced that It wns
so. IIo mado various efforts to talk
to mo In pantomime, but I could not
mako out what he was getting at, and
I think ho must; havo concluded that I
was not only half stnrved, deuf nnd
dumb, but "loonoy" in tho bnrgaln.
When night camo I looked around
for a placo to rest I had decided to
travel In tho daytime as well as night,
because I understood that It was only
a few miles from the frontier, and
was naturally anxious to get Uiero at
Uio earliest possible moment, although
I realized that there 'I would encounter
the most hazardous part of my wholo
ndventuro. To get through the heuvlly
guarded barbed wire and electrically
charged barrier was a problem Uiat I
hated to Uilnk of "even, although tho
hours I spent endeavoring to dovlso
,..r.,..M ... .... .,r j ,v ... .
aliwnk ch0mpagn(jif.l.5O
waters
Portcuobde
J.50 '
- v g i - J
V" SHI
.Sj-erry ."V
Up at a Free Motion Plcturo Show In
Garden.
S:8otrtlk.n OXO l?WK x-jl
ICacao . . . .rmM v Nf
"V
somo way of outwitting the Iluns
wero many.
It hnd occurred to me,-for Instance,
that It would not bo such n difficult
matter to vault over the electric fence,
which was only nine feet high. In col
lege, I knew n ten-foot vault Is consid
ered a high-school boy's accomplish
ment, but thero wero two great dif
ficulties in the way of this solution.
In tho first place It would he no eusy
mutter to get d pole of the right
length, weight nnd strength to serve
the purpose. More partlculurly, how
ever, the pole-vault Idea seemed to mo
to bo out of tho question becauso of
the fact that on either sldo of the elec
tric fence, six feet from It, wus a six
foot barbed wlro bnrrler. To vault
safely over a nine-foot electrically
charged fence was one thing, but to
comblno with It n twelve-foot broad
vault wus a feat which even a college
athlete In the pink of condition would
ho apt to flunk. Indeed, I don't be
lieve it is possible.
Another plnn that seemed half-way
reasonable was to build a pair of stilts
about twelve or fourteen feet high and
walk over the barriers one by one. As
n youngster I had acquired consider
able skill in sUlt-wnlkIng and I havo
no doubt thnt with the proper equip
ment It would have been quite feas
ible to hnve walked out of Belgium
as easily as possible In that way, but
whether, or not I wns going to hnve n
chance to construct the necessary
stilts remained to be seen.
There wero a good many bicycles in
use by the German soldiers In Belgium
nnd it hnd often occurred to mo that
if. I could have stolen ono, the tires
would havo made excellent gloves and
insulated coverings for my feet In
caso It was necessary for .me to at
tempt to climb' over the electric fence
bodily. But as I had never been able
to steal a bicycle this avenue of es
cape was closed to me.
I decided to wait until I arrived at
tho barrier and then make up my mind
how to proceed.
To find a decent place to sleep that
night, I crawled under a barbed wlro
fence, thinking It led Into some field.
As I passed under, ono of Uio barbs
caught In my coat and in trying to
pull myself from it I shook the fence
for several yards.
Instantly there came out of tho night
tho nerve-racking command: "Halt I"
Again I feared I was done for. I
crouched close down on Uie ground In
tho darkness, not knowing whether to
take to my legs and trust to the Hun's
missing mo in tho darkness if he fired,
or stay where I was. It was foggy
us well as dark, and although I knew
the sentry was only a few feet away
from mo I decided to stand, or rather
lie, pat. I think my heart made almost
us much noise ns the rattling of Uie
wlro In tho first plnce, and It was a
tenso few moments to me.
I heard Uio German say n few words
to himself, but didn't understand them,
of course, and then ho mado a sound
ns if to cull a dog, and I realized that
his theory of the nolso ho had heard
was that a dog had mado Its way
through Uio fence.
For perhaps flvo minutes I didn't
stir, and then figuring Uiat tho German
had probably continued on his beat I
crept quietly under tho wlro ugnln,
this tlmo being mighty enreful to hug
tho ground so closo Unit I wouldn't
touch the wire, nnd mado off In a dlf
ferent direction. Evidently the barbed
wlro fence had been thrown around an
ammunition depot or something of tho
kind, and It wns not n field at all thut
I hud tried to got Into.
I figured thnt other sentries wero
probably In the neighborhood and
proceeded very gingerly.
After I had got about a mile away
from this spot I camo to un humble
Bclglun houso nnd I knocked nt tho
door and applied for food In my usual
way, pointing to my mouUi to lndi
cato 1 was hungry and to my ears and
mouth to Imply that I was deaf and
dumb. The Belgian woman who lived
la the house brought mo a plcco of
bread and two cold potntocs and as I
sat thero eating them 8ho eyed mo
very keenly.
I haven't tho slightest doubt that
she realized 1 wus a fugitive. Sho lived
so near the border Uiat It was more
for that reason, I appreciated more
fully the extent of tho risk she ran, for
no doubt tho Germans wero constantly
wntchlng tho conduct of these Bel
glnns who lived near tho line.
My theory thnt she realized that I
was not a Belgian at all, but prob
by somo English fugitive, wns con
firmed a moment Inter, when, ns
mndo ready to go, sho touched mo on
tho arm and Indicated that I was to
wait a moment Sho went to n bureau
and brought out two pieces of fancy
Belgian luce which sho Insisted upon
my taking away, although nt that par
ticular moment I had ns much use for
Belglun luco as an elephant for a
safety razor, but I was touched with
her thoughtfulncss and pressed her
hnnd to Bhow my gratitude. Sho would
not accept tho money I offered her.
I carried Uio laco through my sub
sequent experiences, feeling that It
would bo a flno souvenir for my
mother, although as a matter of fact if
I hud known Uiat it wa going to de
lay my final escape for even a slnglt
moment, as It did, I am qulto sun
sho would rather I had not seen it
On ono piece of laco was tho Flem
ish word "Chnrlte" and on tho othei
the word "Esperage." At tho Umo J
took these words to mean "Charity''
and "Experience" and all I hoped wai
that I would get as much of tho oni
ns I was getting of tho other before'
llnnlly got through. I learned suhso
qucntly that what tho words really
stood for were "Charity" and "nope,"
and then I wns sure thnt my kind Bel
gian friend had indeed realized mj
plight and thnt her thoughtful sou
venir wns Intended to encournge me In
the trials sho must havo known wen
beforo me.
I didn't let the old Belgian lad)
know, because I did not want to alarm
her unnecessarily, but that night 1
slept in her backyard, leaving earlj
in the morning beforo It became light
Later in tho day I applied at an
other houso for food. It was occupied
by a father and mother and ten chll
Again I Feared I Waa Done For.
drcn. I hesitated to ask them for food
without offering to pny for it, as I re
alized what a task it must have bees
for them to supnort themselves with
out having to feed a hungry man. Ac
cordingly I gave tho man a mark and
then Indicated that I wanted some
thing to eat. Thoy wero Just about to
eat, themselves, apparently, nnd Uiey
let mo partako of their meal, which
consisted of a huge bowl of some kind
of soup which I was unable to iden
tify and which they served In ordinary
wash basins. I don't know Uiat thoy
ever used the basins to wash in as
well, but whethqr they did or not did
not worry mo very much. The soup
was good and I enjoyed it
All the Umo I was thero I could see
the father and tho eldest son, a boy
nbout seventeen, wero extremely nerv
ous. I had indicated to them tnat i
was deaf and dumb, but if they be
lieved mo it didn't seem to make them
any more comfortable.
I lingered nt tho houso for about an
hour after tho meal and during that
time a young man came to call on Uie
eldest daughter, a young woman of
perhaps eighteen. The caller eyed me
very suspiciously, although I must
have resembled anything but n British
officer. They spoko Flemish and I did
not understand a word thoy Bald, but
I think thoy wero discussing my prob-
nhlo Identity. During their conversa
tion, I hnd a chanco to look nround
tho room. There were three alto
g.tther, two fairly largo and one
somewhat smaller, about fourteen feot
long and six deep. In this smallor
room there wero two double-decked
beds, which were apparently Intended
to houso tho wholo family, alUiough
how tho wholo twclvo of them could
sleep in that one room will ever re
main a mystery to me.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Wall of a Lost Soul.
This Is not n camp story, but one
written by a lieutenant on his way
"over there." "On our first lap out
wo wero having boat drill ono day.
The bell rang nnd every one grabbed1
up life preservers and started for
their lifeboats. As I camo out on the
mnln deck to boat No. 10 ono of tho
nft guns let loose'-with n' terrific roar
at target practice. Just then a big
negro came up scrambling out of a
hatchway, yelling, 'O, Lordy, Lordy,
whero am mah llfo dcserterT I done
hcah dnt submarine a-monnln' for mah
soul 1' "
Free From Conceit
"I am glad to seo you aro freo from
that conceit which prompts profes
sional Jealousy," said tho mnn who as
sumes a patronizing and paternal
manner. "Well," said tho young ac
tor, languidly, "to tell you tho truth,
I haven't seen any actors whose work
suggested any reason whatever for my
being Jealous." '