(Copyright, 1918, by Pat Alva O'Brien) DRIVEN TO DESPERATION BY HUNGER, O'BRIEN GOES BOLDLY TO A BELGIAN HOUSE AND ASKS FOR FOOD. Synopsis.—I’at O'Brien, a resident of Momence, Ill, after seeing service iu the American Flying corps on the Mexican border in 1916, joins the British Royal Flying corps in Canada, brief ing period is sent to France. He Is assigned to a squadron in service on the front, Ke engages in several hot fights with Germag flyers, from which he emerg Finally, in a fight with four German flyers, O'Brien is shot down. He falls 8,000 feet by a miracle, awakes find himself a hospital, with a bullet in his mouth. hospital he is sent to a prison camp at Courtral. there he is placed upon a train bound for a prison © He decides to desperate chance for liberty. He leaps through open window the while the train is traveling 35 hour. His by the fall, O'Brien through and Luxembourg, traveling at day, garbage train- active and after a es victorious, and, escaping death to prisoner After a days in After a np German the stay Germany. in n hole few short in take a of car miles wounds reopened almost 1terally and viegetables stolen fr ISRAEL Germany night living on and raw CHAPTER IX—Continued. a the bank of the o: and side, as 1 for me lump of 18 able to drag k, but I got high and | that I took Bhd wi up to the bank a us there, I ran up listance hen swam so violently when reasoned the there, bushes that near the that I could f myseil canal The ln con and me for along wi while thout a would trudge word until the fevel He on me agnin. I knew that I hs cause I was ahout food be on as very much tempted to then and there and Things scemed to be getting worse for me the farther 1 went, and all the I had before me the spectre of electric barrier between Belgium and Holland, even if I ever reached there alive What was the use of further when 1 ould prob ably be captured ie the end anyway? I decided would ap the vi in my down beat lie call it a time that suffering Defore giving up, however, upon bold proach one of cinify and get the effort, 1 picked out I figured there of Then I wrap handkerchief as a determined of th that get one move. 1 the houses in food there or dle foux likell hood soldiers being billeted there. wed a stone in my khaki sort camouflaged to kill the occu house, German or Belgian, SOD Was need in order food, 1 tried ft well in the but it would not work, and tha I went up to the door and knocked { It was 1 o'clock in the morning. An old lady cue to the window nnd looked out. She could not Imagine what I was, probably, beenuse 1 was the will power 1 could suninmon, attired in that old reoat, She ant for lita, It seemed a life-| gave an ery and her husband and a thog bofaie | finally fell the wel me | Loy ene to the door / “l] Kept Pulling and Crawling Up That Infernal Bank. of Ww eapon, pant if to yard and gasped, and and were completely I sank a Jiltle and bott my feet, ns yond my depth. There are times pay, dal i prayed ‘or arms logs sary with | bes touch the water v * ¢ tried to but om he when ever: WHS no ex strength ike widked yards, and then, with all ception, to 1 those few struck | stil OV deur They could not speak English and 1 could not speak Flemish, but 1 pointed to my flying coat and then to the sky and sald “Fleger” (flier), which I thought would tell them what I was, Whether they understood or were intimidated by the hard-looking ap- pearance, 1 don't know, but certainly It would have to brave old man and boy who would start an argument with such a villainous looking char- acter as stood before them that night! I had month, clothes and dirty, my were gone—they had gotten <0 heavy I had to discard them-—-my hair was matted and my hed with fever. In carried the in my and I made no effort presence or lis they ioned indoors, my first hot meal in more True, it consisted only They had been 1) the old woman fined them up in milk st Kettles I ha «d for tithough 1 be a for an torn shaved were wet, not my leggings cheeks were my hand 1 handkerchief to eonceal fon. flus rock its miss Anyway, mot me gave me than a month! warm potatoes, prey cooked, but in one of ver bread t she shook 3] « seen, t day 1 WHS exh 20 worn nation that my coat, thinking tha st 1 had carry the id be for me, but when nig! I regretted my mistake nights were now getting thought at first it would bx to retrace my steps look coat 1 had thoughtiessly dis but I decided to £0 on wi to wou because colder, better and ne 80 carded, out it. I then began to disc that I had in my pocket ing my ard everything wrist watch into a canal. A wristi-watch does not add much weight, but when yeu plod along and not eaten for a month it finally hecomes rather vy. The nex thing 1 discarded was a pair of flying mittens, have nea These mittens 1 had gotten at Camp orden, in Canada, and had guite famous, as my friends termed . shoes.” in fact, they ridiculous pair of mittens, but the best pair 1 ever had and J really felt worse when 1 lost those than anything else, 1 anybody else ever hole in the and could not the thought if my me burying my wore a standing land and France, I had on two shirts all become Hem were n Know mitten could not think of and buried but nugh could see they Eng mud help friends mittens, because ke In Canada, dug a thom nt and as they were ¥8 both wet und didn't keep me warm, It wis useless to wear both One of these was a shirt that I ha bought in France, the other an Amer lena army shirt. They were both khak! and on apt to give me away as the other, ao | discara sd the French shire. The American aruyy ue brought back with me to England and it is still in my possession. When 1 escaped from the train I still | had the Bavarian cap of bright red my pocket and wore it for many | nights, but I took great care that no | one saw it. It also had proven very | useful when swimming rivers, for 1 carried my mup and a few other be longings in it and I had fully made up my mind to bring It home souvenir, jut the farther 1 the heavier my extra clothing became, so 1 discard the would be a threw it imming a mud on with my y- i perhaps ; fis A; went | was cap. compelled to I knew that it tell-tale mark If I away, one night after sw river, I dug a hole in the soft the bank and buried it, siderably less ceremony tl ing mittens had received that was the end of my I My at the house wh my apps food I figured that wl done could even simply HO too, con ian experience tied for hat ha done {ite be he 2 nn a oe creabora io haat As A Diagram 8 How Q’Brien Lost Precious Hours by Swimming a Riv. er ard Later Finding That He Was on thes Wrong Side and Hac Back. nowing to Swim that they hu wer my breeches, for | I planned to search another house further Entering lelgian | any but a safe | thelr families are As Mmuny thing ometimes #8 seven room. The with the was always dumb | of the | or eight steed in a single usually connected proper, and there danger of disturbing s« ven if not Frequently I took a searching a back yard food direc is houae ne me the inmates house were aroused. chance of at night in the scraps, but my tion was so slight that it wasn't and I continued to ables that I could in the flelds and the il that able to get 3 Belgian peasants in the day- finding success in that soon decided the risk live on raw veget with safety worth ie I was asional from the time, Nevertheless | determined to the of clothing and when night came I picked out a house that looked ns though it might furnish me with what 1 wanted. It was a moonlight night and if I could get in the barn I would have a fair chance of finding my way —— by the moon- light which would enter the windows, The barn adjoined the main part of the he use, but 1 groped around very soon I touched some- n a peg. 1 didn’t Know but 1 confisented it and carried it out into the elds. There In moonlight 1 examined my booty and found that it was an old cont. It was too short for an over long for an ordinary vevertheless 1 made use of wns get more way was, tl Lae coat gnd too it. It had probably been an overcoat for the who had worn it Some days later 1 got a searf fron jelgian ment | able form entirely, Later on, however, 1 decided was too dangerous to keep the uniform on anyway and when night came 1 dug a and buried it. I never tlized until I had with it just how h 1 thou that uniform. It been wit through hard trials and I felt { were aban ing a friend wns to conceal my uni that 1 hole mu had dot parted with it. I was tempte« the wings off the tur but that a. be a dangerous to sentiment ln the eve ever captured. It w dnction 1 had left, the Royal Flying irs of 1 rank gouvenirs, to ny officers as safer to dis was the-wav the on crawled dered d for i hot five noticed beat had to sew, stop As I neared the leaving it and 1 over into the field nee 1 followed far after wore Cross dixta before 1 saw what were They were com the common but 10f gone yeory mit- stealing potatoes Without potatoes I thought the boat yield me more probably 3 tato patch. Knowing the would probably take fields, 1 climbed up boat leisurely and without ular plans to concenl my head appeared the boat 1 the sky, the man soldier—apiked helmet and al A chill ran down my spine as 1 dropped to the bank of the canal and siunk away. Evidently the sentry had not seen me or, if he had, he had prob- | ably figured that I was one of the foraging party, bul 1 realized that it wouldn't pay in future to take any- | thing for granted, | to me cook a bit itself he didn’t that means interest and their time stern in the of the any partie- | Just as stern of against outline of a myself the saw silhouetted dread nhove ror i CHAPTER X, Experiences in Belgium, I think that one of the worst things ! I had to contend with In my journey small ditchés, They intercepted me at every half mile or so, sometimes more frequently. The canals and the big rivers [ could swim. Of course, | got sonked to the skin every time I did it, but I hardened to that, These little too narrow and Jump. They had perhaps two water in them and three feet and It was almost Invariably a wading through Some of doubt, I been In decent WH oming ditches, however, were in feet of of mud, to swim too wi then He could have jumped if I had shape, but with a bad ankle and in the weakened condition in which I was, 18 almost gut of the {on n. One nigl I ques came about ught 1 and it nfort I [ f nine feet was strong enough t jump it worth trying suffer after Wis ed it wonld anion for ion Ar SO, live on veg could depend tue fields, but & dog the idea. d to death, which 1 in and so I gave up always In Belgium, after weeks of hardships and narrow escapes 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 instaliment. a (TO BE CONTINUED.) 5S SA A new oll boraing apparatus hoats
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