The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1915-03-26
INTERESTING WAR STORY
Continued from last week

France and then to England, but we
would then have to come back to Hol-
land. We were assured that it was the
safest way and were warned repeatedly
not to attempt to go into Germany. AS
the time for sailing drew nearer we
were almost desperate but one day l
overheard remark about special
train for Americans from Lucerne to
Rotterdam and l held on to that clue
until landed in a meeting held to dis
cuss the matter and had just about de-
cided to risk it when we heard from
papa's friend in Berlin. He was on
his way to get us. Our ticket on the
Rotterdam included himself and daugh-
ter, so there was method in his mad
ness. He was four days and nights in
getting from Berlin to Lucerne, riding
night and day on military trains with
out any conveniences whatever and
finally located us, as he had not known
of our move from Weighs.
The next morning after his arrival
we were ready to begin our journey in
dependent of the American Consul or
special trains which beat us to Rotter-
dam about six hours, having left the
same day that we did, and arrived
few hours earlier. We brought our
trunks, one apiece, beside all hand lug
gage, checked at every change Of cars,
just as in peace times, while hundreds
of tourists left all baggage behind. But
it was a long and wearying journey,
five days and five nights with no
sleepers and only two good meals,
sometimes waiting only few minutes,
at other times an hour or two between
change of trains.
When we had time we would snatch
an hour or two of rest at a nearby
hotel either day or night. We could
not buy through ticket as the r. R.
authorities could not be certain which
road would be open to travel or what
line might be suddenly closed to traffic
to the next, sometimes travelling an
hour or two at time, and as the train
lseldom exceeded II miles an hour you
may be sure it was tiresome enough
One good feature was the absence OF
danger and only few times were we
in the least frightened, once when
crossing the magnificent stone bridge
across the Rhine at Cologne. We were
about half way across when the train
stopped and there we stayed for more
than twenty minutes. Upon leaving
the city we had obeyed the rules posted
up in every carriage ordering the clos
ing of all windows to avoid the posi-
bility of some one from inside throwing
a bomb out of the windows to destroy
the bridges and depots through which
we might pass While we were stand
ing still on the bridge, which by the
way was well fortified with cannons
and sold ers in the main portion near
the town, a young man opened the door
or our compartment and crowded into
a seat near the window altho it already
had the allotted number. He seemed
very nervous and kept one hand in his
coat pocket which looked rather sus-
picious in those scary times and finally
he drew a small package out of his
pocket and held it in his lap while we
all held our Deaths sure that he meant
to throw bomb from the window,
which to make it worse, he had raised
about six inches, contrary to printed
instructions. However, our fears prov
ed to be groundless, for the train soon
moved on and he replaced the package
in his pocket after a while and got OIL
the train at the next stop. Maybe he
lost his nerve at the last moment, or
maybe he carried his lunch with him.
At any rate, we were just a little
frightened at the time. And then again
when we had only few moments IN
which to change cars at a town called
Cleve, near the Holland border, we saw
the train we were to take standing
hundred feet or more down the track
and although there were several bag
| gage uleu dDOuI Tic pihIiOihi, nv SHS
paid any attention to the transfer OF
our trunks and we could not go on
without them after having brought
them with us so far. So our German
friend spoke to one of the officials who
replied in German that he did not see
why they should be in any hurry TO
| wait on those d English When
assured that we were all Americans
they fell over one another trying to
help us to catch the train and the
official ran ahead and held the train un-
til we were aboard and our trunks load
ed into the baggage. car Not one or
these men could speak English and had
it not been for our German friends we
might have been arrested for spies as