The Pulaskian., 1918-10-18

1 it. 1t had probably been an overcoat for the Belgian who had worn it.
 Some days later I got scarf from Belgian peasant and with this equip ment l was able to conceal my uni form entirely.
 Later on, however, I decided that it was too dangerous to keep the uniform on anyway and when night came I dug hole and buried it.
 l never realized until had to part with it just how much I thought of that uniform. It had been with me through hard trials and I felt as if were abandoning a friend when I parted with it. I was tempted to keep the wings off the tunic, but thought that would be dangerous concession to sentiment in the event that I was ever captured. It was the only dis tinction had left, as I had given the Royal Flying Corps badges and the stars of my rank to the German flying officers as souvenirs, but I felt that it was safer to discard it. As it finally turned out, through all my subsequent experiences, my escape would never have been jeopardized had kept my uniform but, of course, I had no idea what was in store for me.
 There was one thing which surprised me very much as journeyed through Belgium and that was the scarcity of dogs. Apparently most of them had been taken by the Germans and what are left are beasts of burden who are too tired at night to bark or bother intruders. This was a mighty good thing for me, for I would certainly have stirred them up in passing through back-yards as I sometimes did when I was making short cut.
 One night as I came out of q yard it was so pitch dark that I could not see ten feet ahead of me and I was right in the back of a little village, although I did not know it. I crawled along fearing I might come to cross roads at which there would in all probability be a German sentry.
 My preeaution served me in good stead for had come out in the main street of the village and within twenty feet of me, sitting on some bricks where they were building a little store, l could see the dim outline of a Ger man spiked helmet!
 could not cross the street and the only thing to do was to back track. It meant making a long detour and losing two hours of precious time and effort, but there was no help for it, so plodded wearily back, cursing the Huns at every step.
 The next night while crossing some fields I came to a road. It was one of | the main roads of Belgium and was paved with cobble stones. On these roads you can hear wagon or horse about mile or two away. I listened intently before I moved ahead and hearing nothing concluded that the way was clear.
 As l emerged from the field and got my first glimpse of the road, I got the shock of my life! In either direction, as far as l could see, the road was lined with German soldiers What they were doing in that part of Bel gium did not know, but you can be mighty sure didn't spend any time trying to find out.
 Again it was necessary to change my course and lose a certain amount l of ground, but by this time I had be- come fairly well reconciled to these reverses and they did not depress me as much as they did at first. At this period of my adventure, if day or night passed without it's thrill began to feel almost diappointed, but such disappointments were rather rare.
 One evening as was about to swim canal about two hundred feet wide, l suddenly noticed about one hundred yards away a canal boat moored to the side
 1t was at a sort of out-of-the-way place and wondered what the canal boat had stopped for. I crawled up to see. As neared the boat five men were leaving it and I noticed them cross over into the fields At a safe distance followed them and they had not gone very far before I saw what they were after They were commit ting the common but heinous crime of stealing potatoesi
 Without the means to cook them, potatoes didn't interest me bit and I thought that the boat itself would probably yield me more than the po- tato patch. Knowing the canal-hands would probably take their time in the fields, climbed up the stern of the boat leisurely and without any partic- ular plans to conceal myself. Just as my head appeared above the stern of the boat I saw silhouetted against the sky, the dread outline of a Ger man soldier-spiked helmet and all A chill ran down my spine as dropped to the bank of the canal and slunk away. Evidently the sentry had