CHAPTER XIllL
wT
Five Days in an Empty House.
The five days I spent in that house
seemed to me like five years. During
all that time I had very little to eat—
less in fact than I had been getting in
the fields.
longer exposed to the other privations
which before had combined to make
my condition so wretched. I now had a
good place to sleep, at any rate, and I
did not wake every half hour or sO as
I had been to in the
accustomed do
aggravated by the
had
hunger was
physical
necessary
not
exertions which
before.
more time now to think of the hunger-
pains which were gnawing at me all
the time, I don't believe I was ever 80
miserable as I was at that period of
my adventure. I felt so mean towards
the world I would have
murder, I think, with very little prov-
ocation,
German soldiers were passing the
20ouse et all hours the day. I
watched them hour after hour from the
keyhole of the to
myself at the was out
question beca in
I was concealed was supposed to be
committed
of
shown
of the
which
door have
Ww indow
use the house
ntenanted.
Because of the
able to
man I «
although
was un-
hat
} Ger-
speak eit "lemish or
11d not anid
Oui not aug
the
buy food,
money
which
things nn il i » h thought
rewithal in my
i and
ing it without en-
and life.
At night, however, after it was dark,
V id st
to see what I could pick up in the way
4. By that time, of t
course, t
were closed, but I
liberty
eal iy out of the house
quiet
¥
il ue
the
ays for
scoured
aps of food
10}
igi
[¢& eT
wh
ag
ints in
and tOg«
quite api
I was
soul
wmirent to me,
how-
VOSS ff in the cit)
i 1
q
hat Huy-
to do noih-
her for
I was not at the keyhole
I spent most of
me,
When of the
door
floor
street
my day on the top
in a room which looked
By
out on the
iy keeping well away from the
window I could much of what was
goin without fe
In w sness, 1 used to walk back
and forth in that room and I kept it up
go constantly that I believe 1 must have
worn a path the floor. It
steps from one wall to the other, and
as I had little else to amuse me I fig
ured day after I had been
pacing up and down for several hours
just how much distance 1 would have
on my way to Holland if my
footsteps had been taken in that diree-
tion instead of just up and down that
old rooms. I was very wuch surprised
to find that in three hours I
the room no less than 5,000 times and
the distance covered was between nine
and ten miles, It was not very grati-
fying to realize that after walking all
that distance 1 wasn't 4 step nearer my
goal than when I started, but I had to
do something while waiting for Huy-
liger to help me, and pacing up and
down was a natural outlet for my
jestlessness,
While looking out of the top floor
( see
y being seen mysel
v restlies
in was nine
one
out
covered
crossed
wifidow Jedge of the house across the
house and I used it to amuse myself
for an hour at a time shining it in the
At first
the animal was annoyed by the reflec-
tion and would away, only
cot back few moments later. By
and by, however, it to get
used to the glare and wouldn't budge
no matter how strong the
cat's eyes across the street,
move to
ne a
seemed
sunlight was,
Playing with the cat in this way got
me the habit of watching her
and goings and indl-
rectly the means of my getting food a
day or two later—at a when 1
hed that I was ready to
anything to my
into
comings wis
time
was so fa
do almost
hunger,
It was about 7 o'clock in the even-
ing. I was expecting
but I hadn't the slightest hope that he
would bring me food, as he had told
that he wouldn't take the risk of
having food in his sion when
calling on me. I was standing at the
in such a that I could
wns going in the street
appease
me
posses
window way
what
S80 on
passed by, when I noticed my friend,
the eat, coming
Opp
mouth.
I ran, 1
wn
and pou
get away with its supper, for that, as
I had imagined, was I had seen
in its mouth. It turned out to be a
» of stewed rabbit, which I confls-
back
down the steps of the
house with iz in his
Ww considering the risks
opened the front door, ran
and aLross street
site someth
ithout
the
need on that cat before it could
the steps
what
igerly and took with me
house,
but 1
about eating
had
I's
to
certal
the a
nima
no qualms
dinner. 1
upon
hungry dwell
niceties, and a plece bbit
of stewed rabbit
inly too good for a cat to ent
ng. I ate and
ident suggested
I might possibly
en
n was stary
and
in which
i
the
ine
Ww
WwW
again
ry impris-
iid see, for In-
on the other
ouses down
long German sol-
» passing in front of the
noticed that
of them wou
¥
* Window OOK
practically
top in front
k In. Oc
uty bent would
urry past, but I think ¢ out of ten
of them interested to
spend
hem three or four minutes gazing at
ited in that
ticed that It
iv a soldle
were
at least a minute, and some of
then
whatever was being exhib
although 1 «
t the Bel .
onsiderable streak of curl
and I couldn't help won-
it could be in that window
108t without exception
seemed to Interest German soldiers but
failed to hold the Iginns, and after
conturing my braifls for a while on the
problem I came to the conclusion that
the shop must have been a hook-ghop
i the window
magazines, which,
be of the
the Germang but of none to the
gians,
At any rate I resolved that as soon as
night came I would go out and in-
vestigate the window, When I got the
answer I laughed so loud that I was
afraid for the moment I must have at-
tracted the attention of the neighbors,
but I couldn't help it. The window
Ww filled with huge quantities of
I The store was a butcher
shop and one of the principal things
they sold apparentiy was sausage. The
display they made, although it con-
alt
3¢
contained German
naturally enough,
greatest Interest to
Jel-
anti
wonld
as
gausage
window, certainly had plenty of “pull-
ing” power. It “pulled” nine
ing so interested in that window dis-
dow for two, three or four minutes at
a time, however, certainly seemed
and found just as much Interest as
before in watching the Germans stop
in thelr tracks when they reached the
what the attraction was,
One of my chief occupations during
these days was catching flies. I would
catch a fiy, put him in a spider's web
Copyright, 1918, by
(there were plenty of them in the old
house), and sit down for the spider to |
come down and get him, But always I
pletured myself in the same predica- |
ment and rescued the fly just the |
spider was about tg grab him. Several
when dull I was |
tempted to see the tragedy through, |
but perhaps the same Providence that
rulded through all perils
vas guarding, too, the destiny of those |
lies, for I always weakened and the |
flies never did suffer from my lust for |
amusement,
ns
times things were
me safely
The house was well supplied with |
books—in fact, one of the choicest 1i-|
braries I think I ever saw-—but they |
were all written either in Flemish or |
French. I could read no Flemish and |
very little French, I might have made |
with the latter, but |
the books all seemed too deep for me |
and I gave It up. There was one thing |
though that I did read and reread
from beginning to end; that was al
New York Herald which must have ar- |
rived just
or
about the time war was de- |
Several things in this In-|
terested me, and particularly the base-
ball which 1 studied with as |
much care as a real fan possibly could
I couldn't refrain |
g when I came to an ac-|
the Cubs) |
some spat with the
it afforded me just as
three years after it had
perhaps than some |
of world-wide Interest |
time. |
1
the house many times
om cellar to garret in my search for |
n the ha of
d made any suc-
line impossible. I was
BCOTES, ns
from Jnug
count of Z
and
much interest
more
item
that
current
hind at
I rummaged
in the ocean in a boat
with water everywhere but
I was tempted while in the city to
nday, but my better
ent told me it would be
Tn
fudgm a useless
wone would
ild make m
the man they
idea of hiding In the
led to me
there must
I was were |
wine |
as the
most |
i
been
kegs
onceal
have
As A Nn
ve
that any such contingency
marching soldiers came nearer,
i
Id hear them at the next house,
In a moment I them
the keyhole through which I was look-
would see pass
ing.
“Halt I"
At the word of command shouted by
a junior officer the squad came to at-
tention right in front of the house!
I waited no longer. Running down the
I flew into the wine cellar and
although it pitch dark
the only light coming from a grating
which led to the backyard—I
found a satisfactory hiding place In
the extreme rear of the cellar. 1 had
had the presence of mind to leave the
door of the wine cellar ajar, figuring
that if the soldiers found a closed door
they would be more apt to searc h for
a fugitive behind it than if the door |
were open,
My decision to get away from that |
front door had been made and carried |
out none too soon, for I had only just |
located myself between two big wine
eases when I heard the tramp of sol
diers’ feet marching up the front stoop,
a crash at the front door, a few hasty
words of command which I did not un-
derstand, and then the noise of scur-
rying feet from room to room and such
a banging and hammering and smash-
stairs
wns almost
BOON
out what was going on.
If Huyliger had revealed my hiding
place to the Huns, ns I was now con-
fident he had, I felt that there was lit-
They would search thé house from top
the search. To escape from the house
through the backyard through the iron
grating, which I had no doubt I could |
to do, but the chances were that the
Huns had thrown a cordon around the
entire block before the squad was sent
to the house, The Germans do these
things In an efficient manner always.
Pat Alva O'Brien
AR
Hb 0 0.0
LA Aa 4
My one chance seemed to be to stand
pat in the hope that the officer In
had
late—that
clusion that he
house too
flown,
at the
had
arrived
the bird
My position in that wine cellar was
Rats
the
crashing
mice
and
were
the
scurrying
and
Across
smashing
goldiers
ng in
though
promising. Evidently those
the for it sounded as
walls,
the picture molding and, In fact,
Before very long they would finish
to the basement.
do when they
I had no idea,
themselves
What they
discovered the
Perhaps they
on it and
bottle of
could put
would
loose
With
wine In each hand 1 figured
ing more and more ac-
d begin to dis
and there, where
the pitchy dark-
f would be
of the cellar, as
as bats in the sun,
Perhaps it was twenty minutes be-
I heard what sounded
11 to me; the i
the cellar = i} 1
bottle in ea
soldiers were
down
wine
Ten ry 1
3 0
ramg In a
be In the a
st hear my heart
» scurried across the
Tramn! '
Tramp :
ment they
mo-
would
de
atures
the scendlr
the
stood between
where I
but 1
bigger
ore
in
mace,
vould
upstal
Not hearing a
it they had ind given uj
for 1
wot
re.
I began to
the hun
that a German
th
did not
“} Figured | Could Put Up a Good
Fight”
officer would be so considerate of his
men as to try to trap me rather than
carry the cellar by force If they had
the slightest idea that I was there.
I took off my shoes and crept softly
and slowly to the cellar steps and then
step by step, placing my weight down
gradually so as to prevent the steps
from creaking, I climbed to the top. |
The sight that met my eyes as Xi
glanced into the kitchen told me the |
whole story. The water faucets had
been ripped from the sinks, the water
pipes haveing been torn off, and
gas fixtures, cooking utensils and
everything else which contained even |
SAA dL as ns abs bb 8 8
PrP rTPTYITTYYYTTYYY
the Germans so badly needed had been
taken from the kitchen, I walked up-
stairs now with more confidence, feel-
ing tolerably assured that the soldiers
hadn't been after me at all, but had
been merely metal
other they exp
an el house
one in which I was concealed to y
Later 1
}
1
collecting
which
laborate dwelling
materials
lke
ta i
copper and
hands on in Belgium,
out of pianos has
the serious di z
valuable property by the removal of
only an insignificant proportion
metal never being taken into consid-
eration. I learned, too, that all dogs
over fourteen high had been
shed
lots of speculation among the Belgians
as to what t
ting the an
sion ap I
were being used for
This, however, much less
ely to me than that they were being
fn itch dogs In the
the same as we use them on
of
en
been ruthlessly
moved, re done
to
of
inches
se Germans were put-
the im-
mrently being that they |
food! |
seemed
1 the
{mals
nals to, general
lik
employed
trenches,
our They might pos-
sibly kill the ¢ and use
for leather and their cs
8 disp
the line,
their skins
asses for tal-
at the
re
it ney hav i
Indeed, 1 want to repeat
tioned before; |
» Huns, he hasn’
wow well provi
in
de
that respect.
os 1 had ge
lige
or he
alment in the house
the
to
ven when Ger-
Through
very
the
i
ous sorties into
and I was begit
fortable
soldiers
keyhole 1 had
the gait the Be
oop that characterized most
the
closely of igians,
slovenly dr
of them, and their general
and I felt t
shaven
as n
AS A
was agains wa
several yeh taller ths
tallest Bel; I had often
that red hai mid ge good
with my nam now, of course, 1
was mighty gl it I was not so
endowed, for ired Belgians are
about as rare as German charity.
There are many, no doubt, who will
wonder why 1 did not get more help
than 1 did at this time, It is easily
answered. When a man is in hourly
fear of his life and the country is full
of spies, as Belgium certainly was, he
is not going to help just anyone that
comes nlong seeking aid. One of the
German's most successrnl ways of trap-
lelgians has heen to pose as
an English or French prisoner who has
escaped, appeal to them for ald, impli-
cate as many as possible, and then
turn the whole German police force
loose on them, As I look back on
those days I think it remarkable that
I received as much help as I did, but |
when people are starving under the |
conditions now forced upon those un-
fortunate people, it is a great ten pta- |
tion to surrender these escaped pris
oners to German authorities and re- |
colve the handsome rewards offered |
for them-—or for alien spies, as 1 was |
classed at that time,
The passport which I had described |
me as a Spanish sailor, but I was
very dubious about its value, If 1]
could have spoken Spanish fluently it
might have been worth something to |
me, but the few words I knew of the |!
language would not have carried me
very far if 1 had been confronted with |
a Spanish interpreter. I decided to!
use the passport only as a last resort,
have
ne
AL AL 8 8 8 80 as 88 88888888
PTY TPT TT TTYTYTIT TTT TTY YT YY
d dum!
would
Befo
a remarkabl
ir
it
i
r left the house I had
sy experience which I shall
ng as I live,
CHAPTER XIV.
Night of Dissipation.
first two
A
inj days 1 spent
ad first arrived
| me, among
cture show
ght have a
ANCE
“It is
to
free
see
week
days,” he
you
othered by
ome to take
to drink.
patrons
eat or drink while en-
tha
you are inside
or two later, while walking
night in search for food,
this place and was very
and spend a
would
tempted to go
ugh 1 was
going to
up
;e¢ the chance I ran full
nan officer who was just
i Ae
3 InBGeE
aks
night. “Where
friend,” 1 figured,
I guess
”
like you!
itis a ight for walking.
The next d wowever, in recalling
it
n rather
ha yor wef Cire
the ing before,
than
confi
fron.
$F ¢)
even
my
as possible
which I
vhile my ap-
OTR
tainly I was going
cipline than pleas : wind made
up my mind that 1 was going there to
gee it thro
The entry
garden, for it was as much one as the
e side of the bullding
of an alley
eh
ugn.
ince to th
the theatre or beer
other, was on th
and was reached by 3
which ran alongside. Near the door
a ller's booth, but as this
was one ofthe free nights there was
no one in the booth.
I marched slowly down the alley
imitating as best I could the indiffer-
ent gait of the Belgians, and when I
entered the theater endeavored to act
as though I had been there many times
before. A hasty survey of the layout
of the place was sufficient to enabla
me to select my seat. It was early and
there were not more than half a dozen
people in the place at that time, 0
that I had my choice.
There was a raised platform, pers
haps two feet high, »ll around the
walls of the place except at the end
where the stage was located, On this
platform tables were arranged and
there were tables on the floor proper
ns well,
(TO BE CONTINUED)
way
was ticket -s¢
A —————
Showing It
“That De Jones must be a wonder-
fully brave man." .
“What makes you think so?
“Because in the course of a single
day he defied the cook, flatly disobeyed
his wife and bullied the lee man”