THE FULTOti COUNTY NEWS, McCONNELLSBURG, PA.
"Outwitting the Hun
By LIEUTENANT PAT O'BRIEN
Copyright. 1018. by Pit AJy O'Brien
1t
" .... A I - - I. . . I ...III, 4 I . I I . lnla Mnencut flAWItV
CHAPTER XII.
The Forged Passport.
rnr obvious reasons, I cannot de
rll,e tlio man to whom I applied for
IT. passport nor the house In which
h. lived. While. In view of what sub-
neatly happened
I would not be
...... ,.nnninaf lr nn poi 1IUIJ
Lble for liuvlng denlt with mc. I
" .. . i. Iinnlulilna lift llllll m
realize " "" i ,
Led In common with the other In
hsbltnnts of that conquered city may
oosslbly have distorted his Idea of
risht and Justice, and I shall not de
liberately bring further disaster on
him by revealing his Identity.
This man we will call 1dm Huy
,lcr because that Is os unlike his
name as It Is mine-was very kind to
pe on that memorable night when I
aroused him from his sleep and la a
feW words of explunutlon told him of
ny plight-
Ho Invited me Inside, prepared somo
food for me and, putting on a dress
ing gwn cnI" ond Sttt by mo w,'"e 1
,le, listening with the greatest Intor-
ent'to the short uccouut of my adven
tures. He could speak English fluently, ond
k Interrupted me several times to ex
press his sympathy for the sufferings
I hud endured.
"O'lirlen," he snld, ofter I had con
cluded my story, "I am going to help
jou. It mny take several uuys per
haps as long as two weeks but event'
tally we will provide the meuns to en'
hie vou to get to Holland."
I thanked him a thousand times and
told him that I didn't kuow how
tould possibly repay him.
"Don't think of that." he replied;
the satisfaction of knowing that
have aided in placing one more victim
of the Huns beyond their power to
hnnn will more thun repay me for all
the risk I shall run In helping you.
You'd better turn In now, O Prion, and
In the morning I'll tell you whut I plan
to do."
As 1 removed my clothes nnd noticed
that my knees were still swollen to
mice their normal size, that my left
ankle was black nnd blue from tho
wrench I hud given It when I Jumped
from the train und that my ribs showed
tlirmij;li my skin, I realized what n lot
I hud been through. As n matter of
fact, I could not have weighed more
limn one hundred and fifty pounds at
that time, whereas I had tipped the
wulcs at one hundred und ninety when
I was with my squadron In France
I lost no time In getting Into bed
and siill less In getting to Sleep,
don't know what I dreamed of that
night, but I had plenty of time to go
through the experiences of my whole
life, for when I was aroused by
knock on the door nnd Huyllger en
bred In response to my Invitation to
enter, be told me that It was netirly
mmn! I hud slept for almost twelve
hours.
I cannot snv that the thought did
not run through my head that per
hups lifter all I was living In a fool's
paradise, and that when Huyllger re
ippeiired It would be with a couple of
(linniin soldiers behind him, but I dlS'
mls.cl Mieb misgivings summarily, re'
tilling that I was doing Huyllger nn
Injustice to let such tilings enter my
head even for nn Instant. I had no
right to doubt his sincerity and It
would do me no good to entertain such
suspicions. If he was going to prov
treacherous to me, I was powerless
nj way to cope with him.
In n few moments my host reap
penred with a tray containing my
brenkfnst. I don't suppose I shall ever
fcrget t tin t meal. It consisted of n
up of coffee real coffee, not the kind
I tod bnil nt Courtrul several slices of
lirenil, Nome hot potatoes and a dish
of scrambled eggs.
Kvery mouthful of that meal tasted
like nngel-foud to me and Huyllger
"it on the edge of the bed and watched
me enjoying It, ut Hie same time out
lining ti,o panH ho bud iiiiule for my
escnpn,
lo brief, the scheme was to conceal
"'e In o convent until conditions were
flpe for me to muke my way to the
border. In the meanwhile I was to be
dressed in the garb of a priest, und
Mice the time came for me to leave
"ie city I was to pretend that I was a
Slmiilsh sullor, because I could speak a
"'Ho Spanish, which I had picked
"I n the coast. To attempt to play
'he purt of a Belgian would become In
creasingly funiculi, he pointed out, and
"oulil bring Inevitable disaster in the
v,'iit that I was called upon to speak.
Huyllger suld I would be given-suf'
nclent money to bribe the German
fiord nt the Dutch frontier, and he
ssuroil me that everything would work
out in-cording to schedule.
"Vouis Is not the first cuse, O'Brien,
e have lumillcd successfully," be de
clared. "Only throe weeks 111:0 I heard
'"'"in nn Hngllsli merchant who had
'scaped from a German detention camp
"ml enme to me for assistance und
hotn i had been able to get through
lie lines. His message telling me of
Ids safe arrival In Itottertlam anno to
In nn Indirect way, of course, but
"e fuct that the plans we had made
fun-led through without mishap makes
hll fful that we ought to be able to do
much for you."
I told Huyllger I wm ready to follow
ils Instructions and would do any
mlng he suggested.
'I want to rejoin my squadron as
'" s I possibly can," I told him,
'"it I realize that It will take u cer
In leugtii ...f tinii for you to make the
iii-cissiiry nr.-iiiinements, und 1 will be
luillcnt as I eun."
The llrst thing to do. IIiiili:or told
"'. was to pi'i'imrc n passport. He had
"lank one ami It was a comparatively
'"'I'le matter to nil In the spaces, us-
" " genuine passport which Huyllger
l'"-n's.sid as a sample of the hand
' ' the nusxpoi-t Klerk. My oc-
utmtlon was entered as that of n
sailor. My birthplace we gavo as
Spuin, and we put my age at thirty.
As a matter of fuct, at that time I
could easily huve passed for thirty
five, but wo figured tbut with proper
food and a decent place to sleep at
night, I could soon regain my normal
appearance, and tho passport would
have to serve me, perhaps, for several
weeks to come.
Filling In the blank spaces on the
passport was, as I have said, a com
paratively eusy matter, but that did
not bogln to fill the bill. Kvery genu
ine passport bore an official rubber
stnmp, something like an elaborate
postmark, and I was at a loss to know
how to get over that dldlculty.
Fortunately, however, Huyllger had
half of a rubber stamp which had evi
dently been thrown away by tho Oer-
mnns, and he planned to construct the
other half out of tho cork from a wlno
bottle, He was very skillful with a
penknife, nnd although ho spoilt a
score or more of corks before he suc
ceeded In getting anything like tho
result ho wus ofter, tho finished nrtlcle
wns fur belter than our most sanguine
expectations. Indeed, after wo had
pared It over here ond there, nnd re
moved whatever Imperfections our re
peated test disclosed, we had a stamp
which made an Impression so closely
resembling the original that without a
magnifying glnss, we wore sure, It
would have been Impossible to tell
that It was a counterfeit.
Huyllger procured a camera and
took a photograph of mo to paste on
tho passport In the place provided for
that purpose, and we then had a pass
port which was entirely satisfactory
to both of us und would, wo hoped,
prove equally so to our friends tho
Huns.
It had tnken two days to fix up the
passport. In the meanwhile Huyllger
Informed me Hint he had changed his
plans about tho convent und that In
stead he would take me to nn empty
house, where I could renin In In safety
until he told me It wns advisable for
me to proceed to the frontier.
This was quite agreeable to me, as I
had had misgivings as to the kind
of a priest I would make nnd It seemed
lo mo to be safer to remain aloof from
everyone In a deserted house than to
hnve to mingle with people or come In
contact with them, even with the best
of disguises.
That night I accompanied Huyllger
to a fashionable section of the city,
where Hie house In which I wus to be
concealed wus located.
This house turned out to be n four
story structure of brick. Huyllger told
me that It had been occupied by n
wealthy Belgian before the war, but
since 1014 It bad been uninhabited save
for the occasional habitation of some
refugee whom Huyllger wns befriend
lug.
Huyllger had a key nnd let mo In,
but ho did not enter the house with
me, stating that ho would visit me In
the morning.
I explored the ploca from top to bot
tom ns well as I could without lights,
The house was elaborately furnished,
but, of course, the dust lay a quarter
of an Inch thick everywhere. It was a
large house, containing some twenty
rooms. There were two rooms In the
basement four on the first floor, four
itiji
Outlining the Plans He Had Made for
My Escape.
on the second Ave on the third and Ave
on the top. In the days that were to
come I was to havo plenty of oppor
tunity to familiarize myself with the
contents of that house but at that time
I did not know It and I was curious
enough to want to know Just what tho
house contained.
Down in the basement there wns a
huge pantry but It was absolutely bare,
excent of dust ond dirt. A door which
evidently led to a sub-basement at
tracted my attention nnd I thought It
might be a good Idea to know Just
where It led to In case it beenmo neces
sury for m'e to elude searchers.
In that cellar I found cuse after case
of. choice wine Huyllger subsequently
told me that there were 1,WH) bottles of
It I 1 was so happy at the turn my
affairs had taken und In tho rosy pros
pects which I now entertained Hint I
was half Inclined to Indulge In n little
celebration then and there. On second
thought, however, I remembered tho
old warning of the folly of shouting
before you are well of it of tho woods,
nnd I decided that It would lie Just us
well to postpone the festivities for a
while and go to bed Instead.
In such an elaborately furnished
house I had naturally conjured up
Idcus of u wonderfully lurge boa
with thick hair mattress, downy
quilts and big soft pillows. Indeed, I
debated for a whllo which particular
bedroom I should honor with my pres
ence that night. Judgo of my disap
pointment, therefore, when after vis
iting bedroom uftcr bedroom, I discov
ered Hint there wasn't a bed In any
one of them that was In a condition to
sleep In. All the mattresses had been
removed and tho rooms were abso
lutely bare of everything In the way
of. wool, silk or cotton fabrics. Tho
Germans had apparently swept the
houso clean.
There was nothing to do, therefore,
but to make myself as comfortable as
I could on tho floor, but as I had grown
accustomed by this time to sleeping
under fur less comfortable conditions,
I swallowed my disappointment as
cheerfully as I could and lay down
for the night
In tho morning Huyllger oppearcd
and brought me some breakfast, and
after I hud eaten It he asked me whut
connections I hnd In Frunce or Kng
land from whom I could obtuln
money.
I told him Hint I banked at Cox &
Co., London, nnd that If ho needed
any Money I would do anything I could
to get It for lilm, ulthough I did not
know Just how such things could be ar
ranged.
"Don't worry about that, O'Brien."
ho replied. "We'll find a way of get
ting It all right. What I wunt to know
Is how fur you are prepared to go to
compensate mo for the risks I am
rendering you!"
The change In the man's attitude
stunned me. I could hardly believe my
ears.
"Of course I shall pay you as well as
I can for what you have done, Huyll
ger." I replied, trying to conceal as fur
as possible the disappointment his de
mand hnd occasioned me, "but don t
you think that this Is hardly the proper
time or occasion to talk of enmpensn
Hon7 All I have on me, ns you know,
Is a few hundred francs, and that, of
course, you ore welcome to, nnd when
I get back, If I ever do, I shall not
easily forget that kindness you have
shown me. I am sure you need have
no concern about my showing my
gratitude In a substantial way."
That's oil right, O'Brien," ho In
sisted, looking at mc In a knowing sort
of way: "you mny take cure of me
nfterwords, and then again you may
not. I'm not satisfied to wait. I wunt
to be taken care of now!"
"Well, what do you want mo to do?
How much do you expect In tho way
of compensation? How can. I arrange
to get It to you? I am willing to uo
anything that Is reasonable.
"I want pounds," lie replied,
nnd he named a figure that staggered
me. If I hnd been Lord Kitchener In
stead of Just an ordinary lieutenant
In Hie 11. F. C, he would hurdly have
asked a luriror sum. I'erhups he
thought I wns.
"Well, jny dear man," I said smiling
ly, thinking that perhaps ho wus Jok
ing, "you don't reully mean Hint, do
you?'
"I certainly do, O'Brien, nnd whnt Is
more," he threatened. "I Intend to get
every cent I have asked, and you are
eoing to help me get It.
He pulled out nn order enlllng for
tho payment to him of tho amount ho
had mentioned and demanded tfiut
sign It.
I waved It aside.
"Huyllger." I sold, "you have helped
me out so far nnd perhaps you huve
the power to help mo further. I appro-
cluto what you havo dgno for me, ni
though now, I think, I see what your
motive was, but I certainly don t In
tend lo be blackmailed nnd I tell you
light now that I won't stand for It."
"Very well," lie said, "It Is Just ns
you say. but before you iiiako up your
mind so obstinately I would advise
vou to think It over. I'll bo back this
evening."
My llrst Impulse, after the man had
left, was to get out of that house Just
ns soon ns I could. I had the passport
ho had prepared for me, nnd I figured
that even without further help I could
now get to the border without very
much diniculty, und when I got there
I would have to use my own Ingenuity
to get through
It wns evident, however, Hint Huy
llger still hud an Idea that I might
change my mind with regard to tho
iiiiyment ho had demanded, and I de
cided thut It would be foolish to do
iinvthlnir until he mild mo a second
visit. '
, At tho beginning of my dealings with
HiiyliVr I hnd turned over to htm
some pictures, pnpers, nnd other things
that I hod on me when I entered ins
house. Including my Identlflcntlon disk
und I wus rather afraid that he might
refuse to return them to me,
All day long I remained In tho house
without a particle of food other than
the brcakfust Huyllger bad brought to
mo. From the windows I could see
plenty to interest mo nnd help puss tho
time away, but of my experiences
whllo In that house I shall tell In de
tail later on, confining my attention
now to a nurrutlve of my dealing with
Huyllger.
That night ho nppeufld as he had
promised,
"Well, O'Brien," he asked, as ho on
tered the room where I wus awaiting
him, "whnt do you soy? Will you sign
tho order or not?
It hud occurred to me during the
day that the amount demanded wns so
fabulous that I might have signed tho
order without any danger of Its ever
being paid, but tho Idea of this man,
who had claimed to bo befriending me,
endeavoring to make capital out of my
plight galled mo so that I was deter
mined not to glvo it to him whether I
could do so in safety or not. .
"No, Huyllger." I replied, "I have
decided to get along ns best I con with
out uuy further usslsUiuce from you.
I shnll see that you are reasonably
paid for what you hove dono, but I
will not accept any further assistance
from you nt any price, nnd whut is
more I want you to return to mo at
onco all the photographs and otlior
pnpers and belongings of mine which
I turned over to you a duy or two
ago I"
"I'm sorry about that, O'Brien," he
retorted, with a show of apparent sin
cerity, "but thut Is something I cannot
do."
"If you don't give me back those
papers at once," I replied hotly. "I will
take steps to get them, and d d
quick too!"
"I don't know Just whnt you could
do, O'Brien," he declared coolly, "but
as a matter of fuct the papers and
pictures you refer to ore out of tho
country. I could not get them buck
to you If I wanted to."
Something told mo tho man was
lying.
"Seo here, Huyllger!" I threatened,
advancing towards him, putting my
bund on his shoulder nnd looking him
straight In tho eye, "I want those
papers and I want them here before
midnight to-night. If I don't get them
shnll sleep In this place Just once
more and then, at 8 o'clock to-morrow
morning, I shall go to tho German au
thorities, give myself up, show uicm
tho pnssport that you fixed for mc,
tell them how I got It, and explain
vcrythlng."
Huyllger paled. We bad no lights
In the house, but we were standing
near a binding ut the time and the
moonlight was streaming through a
stnlned-glnss window.
The Belgian turned on his heel and
started to go down tho stairs,
"Mind you," I culled after him, "I
shall wult for you till the city clock
strikes twelve, and If you don't show
up with those pnpers by that time, the
next time you will see me Is when you
confront me before the German au
thorities. I nm a desperate man, Huy
llger, nnd I menn every word I soy."
Ho let himself out of tho door and I
sat on tho top stair and wondered Just
what he would do. Would he try to
steal a march on me nnd get In a first
word to the authorities so that my
story would be discredited when
put It to them? i
Of course, my threat to glvo myself
tip to tho Huns wus a pure bluff. While
hud no deslro to lose the .papers
which Huyllger had and which In
tuited tho map and tho last resting
ploco of my poor chum Iluney, 1 cer
tainly had no Intention of cutting off
my nose to spite my fuco by surren
dering to tho (ioniums. I would huve
been shot, us sure as fate, for lifter all
I had been able to observe behind tho
German lines I would be regarded us
a spy and treated ns such.
At tho same tlmo I thought I de
tected a yellow streak In Huyllger, nnd
I figured Hint be would not want to
take tho risk of my carrying out my
threat even though he believed there
wns but a small chance of my doing so.
If I did, ho would undoubtedly share
my fate, and the pictures and pnpers
he had of mine were really of no use
to him, nnd I hnve never been able to
ascertain why It was he wished to re
tain then unless they contained some
thing some Information about mc
which accounted for his complete
chnngo of attitude towards me In the
first place, nnd he wanted the papers
as evldenco to account to his supe
riors for his conduct townrds me,
When he llrst told mo that the plan
of placing me In n convent disguised
as a priest hod been abandoned ho ex
plained It by snylng that the cardinal
had Issued orders to the priests to
help no more fugitives, and I have
since wondered whether there wns
anything In my pnpers which had
turned Mm ngnlnst me and led him to
forsake mo after ull ho hud promised
to do for mo.
For perhaps two hours I sot on thot
staircase musing about the peculiar
turn In my affairs, when the front door
onened und Huyllger ascended tho
stairs.
"I hnve brought you such of your bc
longings as I still hud, O'Brien," ho
suld softly. "Tho rest, ns I told you, I
cannot glvo you. They are no longer
In my possession."
I looked through tho little bunch ho
banded me. It Included my Identifi
cation disk, most of the papers I val
ued, and perhaps half of the photo
graphs.
"I don't know whnt your object Is In
retaining the rest of my pictures, Huy
llger," I replied, "but as a matter of
fact, the ones that are missing were
only of sentimental value to mo and
you nre welcome to them. We'll cull It
a beat,
I don't know whether ho understood
the Idiom, but ho sat down on the
stairs Just below me and cogltuted for
a few moments,
"O'Brien," ho stnrtcd finally, "I'm
sorry things have gone the way they
have. I feel sorry for you ond I would
really like to help you. I don't sup
nose vou will believe me, but the
matter of the order which which
nsked you to sign wns not of my doing,
However, we won't go Into Hint. Tho
nronosltlon wns made to you and you
turned It down, nnd that's the end of
It. At the snme time, I hnto to leovo
you to your own resources and I nm
going to make one more suggestion
to vou for your own good, l nave nn
other plnn to get you Into Holland
nnd If you will go with mo to another
house. I will Introduce you to a mnn
who 1 think will bo In a position to
heln you."
"How many millions of pounds will
he want for his trouble " I answered
sarcastically.
"You can arrange that when you see
him. Will you go?"
I suspected there was something
fishy about the proposition, but I felt
that I could tako care of myself nnd
decided to seo the thing through
knew Huyllger would not dure to de
liver mo to Hie authorities because of
tho fact thot I hnd the tell-tale pass
port, which would be his deathknell ns
well ns my own
Accordingly I said I would bo quite
willing to go with him whenever he
wns rendv. and ho suggested that we
go tho next evening.
I tmlnted out to him that I was en
tlrely without food and nsked him
whether ho could not rrrnnge to bring
tr send me soiuctliliui to cat while I
remained In the house.
"I'm sorry, O'Brleu," he replied, "but
as best you can. When I brought yon
your breakfast this morning I took
a desperate chance. If I had been dis
covered by ono of the Germnn soldiers
entering this house with food In my
possession, I would not only hnve paid
tho pennlty myself, but you would have
been discovered, too. It is too danger
ous a proposition. Why don't you go
out by yourself and buy your rood at
the stores? Thnt would give you con
fidence and you'll need plenty of it
when you continue your Journey to the
border."
There wns a good deal of truth In
what he said and I really could not
blame him for not wanting to take any
chances to help me In view of the rela
tions between us.
"Very well," I suld ; "I've gono with
out food for many hours at a time be
fore and I suppose I shall bo able to
do so again. I sliull look for you to
morrow evening."
The next evening he camo nnd I ac
companied him to another house not
very fnr from tho one In which I hnd
been staying and not unlike it In np-
pcaronce. It, too, was a substantial
dwelling house which hud been unten
anted since the beginning save perhaps
for such occasional visits as Huyllger
and his associates made to It.
Huyllger let himself. In and con
ducted mo to a room on tho second
floor, where he Introduced me to two
men. One, I could readily seo by the
resemblance, wns his own brother,
The other was a stranger.
Very briefly they explained to me
that they had procured another pnss
port for me a genuine out which
"Your Lives Won't Be Worth a Damn."
would jirove far more effective In help
ing to get mo to the frontier than the
counterfeit ono they had manufac
tured for me.
I think I saw through their game
right at the start, but I listened pa
tiently to what they had to say.
"Of course, you will huve to return
to us the passport we gave you before
we can glvo you the real one," suld
Huyllger's brother.
"I haven't tho slightest objection, 1
replied, "If the new passport Is all you
claim for it. Will you let me see It?"
There was considerable hesitation on
the part of Huyllger's brother und the
other limp nt tills.
"Why, I don't think Hint's necessary
at all, Mr. O'Brien." suld the former.
"You glvo us the old passport nnd we
will be very glad to give you the new
ono for It. Isn't that fair enough?"
'It may be fair enough, my friends,
I retorted, seeing that It was useless to
conceal further tho fuct that I wus
fully aware of their whole plan and
why I liiid been brought to this house.
It may be fair enough, my friends, I
said, "but you will get the passport
that I have here," nutting my side ami
Indicating my Inside breast pocket,
"only off my dead body!"
I suppose the three of them could
hnve mode short work of mo then and
thero If they had wanted to go the
limit, nnd no one would ever have
been Hie wiser, but I had gone through
ONLY MADE MATTERS WORSE
Small Girl's Efforts to "Fudge" on Un-
fortunate Remark Could Not Be
Called Successful.
a minder of women were discussing
Liberty bonds ono afternoon In a neigh
bor's house. Almost unnoticed a little
neighbor girl hnd entered, ai uu
point In tho discussion she exclulmed:
'Well, my aunt says she might Just
ns well buy u Liberty bond us to be
taxed!" . ,
Her remark caused a good bit or
comment. One guest, who tins a son in
tho service, became very lndlgnunt,
and exclaimed:
The Ideal Buying a bond to es
eapo taxation t That's patriotism for
you! That makes me tired anybody
as able as she Is to buy bonds, or any
thing." . , .
With Hint Inst remark tho speaker
"flew" out of the house.
Tho little girl, UhoMIng tho strife
nnd bad feeling she had stirred up.
tried to "fudge" on her remark, ex
plaining that It wasn't her aunt who
iniido the reninrk, but some other wom
an The neighbor women held her to
her first remark, and were making It
pretty "worm" for the little girl, when
she llnnlly burst out with:
"Well, you don't know how much It
costs m.v aunt to live; and how much
its costs her to tuko that trip to Nl
ugara Fulls 1"
The laugh with which the women
fiwtort this Innocent remark was suf-
n.li.nt to send the loyal and Innocent
girl running from tho room. Truly, her
"lines had not raiien in pieusnm
pioccs" that afternoon.
so much and I was feeling so mean to
wards the whole world Just at that
moment that I was determined to sell
my life as dearly as possible.
"I have that passport here, I re
plied, "and am going to keep It. If
you gentlemen think you can take It
from me you are welcome to try I"
To toll the truth, I was spoiling for
a fight, and I half wished they would
start something. The man who bad
lived In the house had evidently been
a collector of ancient pottery, for thai
walls were lined with great pieces of
earthenware which had every earmark
of possessing grent value. They car
tninly possessed great weight. I fig
ured that If the worst came to the
worst that pottery would come in
mighty handy. A single blow with one
of those big vases would put a man
out as neatly as posslblo ond as there
wns lots of pottery nnd only three men,
I believed I had an excellent chance of
holding my own In the combat which I
had Invited.
I hud already picked out In my mind
what I was going to use, nnd I got up,
stood with my back to tho wall and
told them thnt If they ever figured on
getting the pnssport, then would bt
their best chance.
Apparently they realized that I
meant business nnd they Immediately
begun to expostulate ut the uttltude 1
wus taking.
Ono of the men spoke excellent
English. In fact, ho told me' thnt he
could speak five languages, and If he
could lie In tho others as well as I
knew he did In my own tongue, he win
not only nn accomplished linguist, but
a most versatile' Uor into the bargain.
"My dear fellow," snld the linguist,
"It Is not that we want to deprive you of
the passport. Good heavens! If It will
aid you In getting out of tho country,
I wish you could have six Just like It.
But for our own protection, you owe
It to us to proceed on your Journey
as best you can without It because as
long ns you have It In your possession
you Jeopardize our lives, too. Don't
you think It Is fnlrer that you should
risk your own safety rather than pluee
tho lives of threo innocent men In
danger?"
"That mny bo ns It Is, my friends."
I retorted, "nnd I nm glud you realize
your danger. Keep It In mind, for In
enso nny of you should happen to feel
Inclined to notify the German authori
ties thot I am In this part of the coun
try, think It over before you do so,
Itenieniber nhv.iys that If the Germans
get me, they get the passport, too, and
If they get tho passport your llvej
won't bo worth n damn! When I tell
the history of that clever little plec
of pasteboard, I will Implicate nil three
of you, und whoever Is working with
you, and as I am nn otllcor I rnthet
think my word will be taken before
yours. Good night!"
The bluff evidently worked, becnuse
I was able to get out of the city with
out molestation from the Germans.
I have never seen these men slnea
I hope I never shall, becnuse I oiu
nfruld I might be tempted to do some
thing for which I might otherwise be
sorry.
I do not mean to Imply that all Bel
glims are like this. I bod evidently
fallen Into the bunds of n gang who
were endeavoring to make capital out
of the misfortunes of those who were
referred to them for help. In nil conn
tries there are bod as well as good,
and In a country which has suffered so
much ns poor Belgium It Is no wonder
If some of the survivors hnve lost thelt
senso of moral perspective.
I know thnt the average poor pens
ant In Belgium would divide his scanty
rations with a needy fugitive sooner
thnn a wealthy Belgian would dole
out a morsel from bis comparatively
well-stocked larder. I'erhups the poor
have less to lose than the rich If their
generosity or chorlty Is discovered by
the Huns.
There huve been ninny Belgians shot
for helping escaped prisoners nnd other
fugitives, nnd It is not to be wondered
at Hint they ore willing to toko os few
chances ns possible. A man with a
family, especially, does not feel Jus
tified In helping n stranger when he
knows that he and his whole family
may be shot or sent to prison for their
pains.
Although I suffered much from the
attitude of Huyllger and his associates,
I suppose I ought to hold no grudge
against them In view of the unenviable
predicament In which they nre In
themselves.
(TO DE CONTINUED.)
HAS HELPING HAND FOR ALL
AMERICAN FLYER'S
STORY OF ESGAPE
Took
French Leave of
German Guard.
His
WALKED A HUNDRED MILES
Unusual Experience Of Lieut. Thomas
Hitchcock, Jr., Of The Lafayette
Flying Corps Treatment In
German Hospital.
Red Cross Most Appropriately Deslg
nated as the "Greatest Mother
In the World."
Stretching forth her hnnds to nil In
need; to Jew or Gentile, bluck of
white, knowing no favorite, yet favor
ing all.
Iteady and eager to comfort nt
time when comfort Is most needed j
helping the little homo that's crushed
benenth an Iron hand by showing
mercy In a healthy, human way; re
building it, In fact, with stone on
stone; replenishing empty bins and
empty cupboards; bringing warmth to
hearts and hearths too long neglected.
.Seeing nil things with n mother'i
sixth senso thnt's blind to jealousy and
meanness; seeing men In their true
light, ns nnughty children snatching,
biting, biter but with a hidden side
thnt's quickest touched by mercy.
Benching out her hnnds across the sen
to No Man's Lnnd; to cheer wltb
wnrnier comforts thousands who must
stand nnd wait In stenched and crawl
Ing holes nnd water-soaked entrench
mcnts where cold nnd wet bite deeper,
so they write, than Boche steel or lend,
She's warming thousands, feeding,
henllng thousands from her store; the
grentest mother In the woild the Bed
Cross. Wurren Anderson In "I'ncfc
oges."
Paris. Lieut. Thos. Hitchcock, Jr.,
or Westbury, N. Y., the youthful mem
ber of the Lafayitte Klylng Corps,
who was captured by the Germans
some time ago, but esoaped ani
reached Switzerland, August 28, de
scribed Ws experience while a captive
and his flight to neutral territory,
which was accomplished through
cvaflJng his guard on a train. 'l!ie
guard was taking a nap at the time.
Hitchcock was forced to walk n;on
than a hundred miles. This be did
In eight consecutive nights, hld!nn
during the day time. He lived on thn
food he had saved from his meager
rations In the prison camp. He was
entirely Ignorant of the country
through which he passed, but guldtd
himself by a small pocket compass.
On the eighth day of his tramp he
found himself In a smnll village. He
inquired of a small girl whether he
was In Switzerland and, being told
that he was, he made- his way direct
to Berne, where he arrived August 30
and called at the American Legation.
Hitchcock was captured March 6,
when he was forced to land after an
aerial combat with three German ma
chines. He was wounded ,ln the thigh
and his machine became disabled at an
altitude of a thousand meters, but he
managed to land safely Inside the
German line. He was Immediately
seized by several Germans and taken
to a dressing station. From there he
was sent to a hospital at St. Arnold.
Later he wus transferred to Suar
brucken. It took two months for the wound
In Hitchcock's leg to heal. He cald
ho was not maltreated by the Ger
mans, but that there wns plenty of
suffering anion; the p:ioni-rs, who
were barely existing. Ho said lie had
been saved by the arrival of packages
containing food from France.
"After landing Inside the German
lines," said Hitchcock. "I fainted
twice. The second time I did not
come to my si-nses until I had reached
the dirming station. In the luii-pltai
I received fair treatment only. There
was one doctor for the ISO patient
nnd the food was not very good.
"I escaped while being transported
with two other Americans from Laeh
feld to Knstadt. There was one Ger
man guard for the three of u.
"While the train -stopped at a sta
tion near I'lm tiie guard fell Into a
dose. I snatched the railway map
which was near hi in and also my
money. We were not allowed to
handle our money.
"Presently the gusrd awoke and
missed the monev. Picking up my
package of food which had been saved
from my rations, but leaving the map
bfhlnd, I rushed out of the doo- '
poslte, nnd ran as fast as possible
away from the railroad track, 'llio
guard ye'.led after me, but I knew he
could not follow because of the two
other prisoners he had in rharx!
"I then slowcJ down and besan lo
walk toward the frontier. During the
day time I always hid in the woods
and at night I evaded towns and vil
lages, walking around them. I was
always on a close watch for tho Ger
mans, for I was In t!ie uniform of a
French aviator. Most of the territory
I traversed was forming land, with
the people working durlns the day.
When they left the field in the even
ing I would bel'i my tramp.
"I made excellent progress, except
now and thro when I encountered
marHhes, fences und hedges. 1 slept
during the day time, after having
made sure of the safety of my sleep
ing place.
"Arriving nt whnt I thought was
the Swiss frontier. I watched for
traps such as electrically charged
wires nnd automatic signals. Appar
ently, I evaded all such things.
"One morning I fe'.t sure that I was
In Switzerland, but before Inquiring
I added a few extra miles to my
tamp nnd found mvself In a little
vl'.lnge. There I nsked a girl who
spoke French, whe-e I wns. She snld
I was In Switzerland, nnd then I knew
I was safe."
Culinary Camouflage.
Our first recollection of tho art of
camouflage Is tho way they used to
put a nice brown meringue on top of
the brenil pudding, making It look like
I'm afraid you will huve to got uloug ( goiuothlug good. Ohio Stute Journal.'!
Russian Sturgeon Fisheries.
Sturgeon of various species nre cspe
clnlly abundant In Russia, where the
sturgeon fisheries nre of grent value.
The flesh Is eaten when fresh, but Is
chiefly used In the preserved form, ci
ther smoked or stilted. More thnn 10,
0O0 fish nre sometimes caught at a
slnglo fishing station during the up
stream migration, which Insts for a
fortnight. The eggs nre removed In
qnnntlty from the ovaries and sepa
rately prepared as "cuvuuV
YANKS NEEDN'T SKIMP ON GAS.
Plenty Of Mas's Blnq Sent Them For
Protection.
Washln-ton. Production of e.ia pnd
of rns mnsks In the Fnlted States has
reached the point where shipments In
great quantlt'eg are being mnde at reg
lilar Intervnls, Major-General Slbert.'
chief of the Chemical Division, an
nounced. Enough masks nre being pro
vlded to supplv all the needs of the
American forces. In the last year larce
quantities of gas masks and other pro
tective supplies for Amerlenn troops
were obtained from the British.
Improvement lt the protective equip
ment of the Allies has resulted In a
niaykcd deerensf In pus casualties, It
wns stated officiary.
JAMES' SUCCESSOR NAMED.
Governor Stanley Appoints G. B. Mar.
tin To Late Senator's Place.
Frankfurt, Ky. Gov. A. O. Stanley
announced his decision to appoint Geo.
Drown Muitln. an attorney of Catletts
burg, to fill the unexpired tern! of the
lute United 'Stutes Senator Ollle M.
James ending March 4 next. Gov
ejrnor Stanley himself lr the party
nominee for the full term to which
Senator James ui nominated at tiie
Stae-wlde prlutary lret rrouth.