The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-27
FRENCH PRISONERS BURY
 COMRAOE ALIVE TO HELP / ~ HIM ESCAPE FROM CAMP
Taken at Guise Makes Unsuccessful Attempts to Get Freedom, Third Turns Trck-Eneniy Walks Grave Where Fugitive Is Hiding.

exhaustion we \ arrived at Ahams toward midnight, close to the iron tier town of Breden. Again liberty was within a few hundred yards of us when we had the misfortune to run straight into German frontier cus- tom house. In our flight I stumbled
 over a stone at the very instant a. customs officer fired at my back. I lay motionless, and the officer, think ing I had been hit, joined his com rades in the pursuit of Brousset. As soon as the officers had disappeared
 l got up and went to hide in bushes nearby. At that moment I was on Dutch territory, but unfortunately I did not suspect it. I thought I was safe though until a half hour later I heard the steps of a patrol then the rays of a strong electric lamp search ed the bushes. The Germans, re- ! membering where I had fallen, had come back to look for me. Suddenly the rays of the electric lamp struck me full in the face and almost blind ed me. Surrender, or we'll fire on you!'L cried one of the suha1tern off, cers.r rose and advanced towards him, and had only made about four yarSd between my bush and the patrol when the Germans began to snicker. It is unfortunate for you, but you have just come out of HoIland' The only thing that conso1ed me was that Brousset had not been taken. He was now in safety. =
 Again returned to the camp at Sennelager and again brought before the court martial, was sentenced to 20 days of close confinement in an un- lighted cell and afterwards sent to the prison of ReckEnghausen where the Germans. thought would find no further opportunity to escape There met Adjutant Bienvenu of the 119th infantry, Messrs. Major Durupt de Be1aine, and two civilian prisoners, Messrs. Van Calster and Yves Le- guen- We all of us decided to attempt an escape at the first opportunity and we fixed Christmas as the most favor able time. We succeeded in breaking out of the barracks from the second floor cell occupied by Van Calster, and with the aid of a barrel got over the courtyard wall, not unperceived, however. for immediately we were outside there came the cry Halt Wer ~Da? Some boys had seen us and given the alarm. In instant all the sentinels| were at our heels At top speed we went through a street, a gar den, and another street, and how we got over the icy soil so much better than our pursuers I am unable to ex- plain After we had distanced the sentinelsC score of boys gave us chase, but soCn left them in the rear and at nightfa11 had rid ourselves of all pursuers. and -had-t the ertiren ight to put distance between them and ourselves. It was 3 7 o'clock in the morning of December 24 that we ar rived at barrier of innumerable lines of barbed wire that proved to us that we were on the Dutch frontier We left the most of our trousers among those wires, but we were finally safe. 1 A farmer near the frontier took us in, freshened up the fire in our honor, opened the cupboards and gave us good cheer, and on Christmas 1 Eve we had the joy Aof listening to the Marsei1laise played by a musical society of the little Holland post of Winterswijk in our honor