The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-05


 express an opinion. There is no way of knowing when unfriendly ears are near and life, to those who are doing things their German masters think wrong, is enc lorg suspense
 The care Of the wounded was even more difficult 1t needed a large number of courageous, trusty men, who, knowing that death would be tho penalty. would nevertheless undertake the task. Money, too, was essential. The system simply grew up. The leaders, feeling their way every inch, selecting assistants with the greatest care. knowing mat a weak link somewhere would mean disaster. went ahead. They worked slowly and quietly, beyond doubt. The final result was a pretty comprehensive organization which covered the whole country.
 When, from some thicket or hedge, British or French soldier made him.
 self known to some passing peasant,
 worker in the field or a peddler with
 pack on his back, the news was carried
 to the nearest commune. Sometimes
 capture resulted If the information
 reached the wrong quarter. More fre-
 quently the result was that in the mid-
 dle of the night the hiding soldier
 would be found and taken to some out of the way spot where he would be
 given food and given a chance to sleep. Then would begin the journey across
 the country. Usually at night the fugi- tive would be taken from one place to another with guides who knew the by paths and who could skirt German camps and outposts.
 Right into Brussels were many Of these soldiers taken and housed in the enemy's camp. This was most tick fish, for every other man Tn Brussels is said to be a German spy. The place is infested with them. In Brussels there auidanftv beDdnflartarS of some kind, places to which the refugees now clad of course, in civilian attire, might go A thrill went through the whole system a few months ago when certain British soldiers, With great daring, walked from their hiding places into
 the streets of Brussels to see the sights. They were lucky not to have been captured and by their foolhardiness to have caused an exposure. From Brus- sells northward the system was the same. Getting across the border was I one of the most difficult things Of all. The barbed entanglement and the sentries formed an almost impossible barrier But there were ways. Along the border there were guides who, TOT pay, would undertake to guide man through unknown and hidden passages to Holland and safety. It was risky
 work and they earned their money
 It is rumored that in certain places
 long tunnels have been dug under the
 entanglement, starting many yards
 from the line in Belgium and ending well
 within Holland, both entrance and exit being well concealed from the sentries. At another place, 1t is stated, there is A collapsible sort of bridge which can | be laid over the entanglement. Another system Is the use of a barrel-like affair which Is pushed through the wire and through which fugitives crawl. It is pos sible that bribery and corruption of Ger
 man frontier people may have proved helpful.
 | It was apparently this system In which Miss Cavell was interested. Somewhere there was a weak link. Somebody told, or the German secret service found out something about the organization and finally the scheme was disclosed. Miss Cavell was not the only one involved, many other arrests were made and the Germans hope that they have stamped out the system. Those who know Bel gium and the Belgians who are still there, however, do not believe they have. Others will take the place of those who have been discoverd. There Is not, how ever, so much work to do now as most | of the British and French soldiers, as well as probably a majority of the Bel gians of military age, have already gotten away.
 | When the war is over the whole story of this thrilling feature of the war will be known,