The evening world., 1918-02-21

m sssAz=r- is impossible also for me to give their names. as
the German does not hesitate TO visit vengeance on a mans dependents
II he cannot get hold of the man himself -
Two Of the men, before their escape. had been sentenced to death.
one OF them for striking a German soldier who had deliberately gone
out of his way to annoy and taunt him. lie lost his temper and before h
he had realized what he had done he had struck the German. was
arrested and thrown into prison. The prison was an old mill. and
here he was tied by the hands to another prisoner in the SAM I'M !
and they wrgEed and turned to try and find some way of escape. w
The hefty fisherman saw in one of the corners a large ploughinEA
machine and told the other fellow that II they brought their hands
sharply down on one Of the blades they could free themselves in this +
way. 1t was a dangerous experiment, both knew It, but nevertheless
they preferred to make a desperate bid for liberty and lifting their
shackled hands brought them down on the gllstening blade. They
severed the cords, but one man lost his hand. The fisherman did hts
best to stop tho bleeding and bound the shattered stump a S well as he'll
could. The arm started to swell and the man became sick through 4
the loss of blood and the pain. He couldn't move and begged the other 3
man to leave him or the Germans would find him in the morning and
his sacrifice would have been In vain. i
Reluctantly. the fisherman was forced to leave him. Three weeks :
It took him to get back to his home, for he had to hide and sleep N The
open fields. Luckily, he added. he knew every blade OF grass in the
district, otherwise he would have been certainly caught again. When he X
arrived home his wife hid him away in a little cellar under some
bricks and planks.
ZYTHILE he was there, news came to him that another man, who
w had been hidden away for two months ON ton Of a large raner
in a house. was going to try and escape by sea with the aid of fisher
man and a very leaky boat. The boat they had hidden amid the piles
of the Old wooden pier. in a kind of alcove. Here. with cement which
was brought by the fisherman who was forced to do rveung work for
the Germans at ostend, they managed, in a primitive fashion, to mend
the old tub. "
They chose for their escape a dark, foggy night. They creptA
down to the pier; here among the wooden piles, and crossing from
ono beam to another, they risked death at every step; covering and
clinginE to the slippery, green seawecd stakes, as the sentry paced up
and down overhead with hearts beating and trembling limbs. theSy
got at last to the place where the boat was hidden. In dragging it out
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The game was up, they thought and they jumped wildly into the
boat, not caring how much noise they made. while the sentry fired
at them bindly and spread the alarm, The fog was their ally and
they managed to draw away in II. They could hear the alarms going.
and were going splendIdly. when the cement gave way and they had
to set to and bail for all they were worth.
CUDDENLY they heard the hum OF The motor boats which were search
- ing for them. seeking to penetrate the dense fog by means Of
scarchlights. They heard the motor boats zgzagging in their course.
passing 30 ncar that It seemed they could touch them. Fate again
served them unkindly, for a sudden swirl made them loose one OF
their oars and now they had to propel the boat by means OF one oar
at the stern and use It in much the same way a a fish does his tail.
They seemed to he making fair progress. when they bumped on
top OF a submarine and they slid off again n a hurry. Meanwhile, the
Germans err making strenuous efforts to find them. and had sent
out aeroplanes in search Of them. One aeropane pilot found them.
and, swooping down, attempted to use his machine gun. But he was
travelling fast. passed them and by the time he had turned round 70
pick them up again they were once more swallowed up In the fog.
Pressing steadily ahead, before they know where they we're they were
drawn into a whirlpool near Zcebrugge Harbor Round and round
they spun, dlzlly caught n a vortex from which 1t seemed impossible
to get out.
One Of the men completely lost his nerve. and cried, shrieked aud
prayed in the bottom Of the boat, The hofy fisherman sworc and
cursed. working away like a malman 10 try and get the cockleshell
clear, while the other fisherman haNod away steadily. The German'
could hear them and were afraid TO approach for fear OF being drawn
in as well, but they sprnkod them often with machine gun fire, Not
a shot touched them, though their boat was rddlcd with more holes
and they had to bail harder than over. For an hour they struggled
in thi, whirlpool, with the Germans listening And then, just as "
they had been a cork, they were tossed out Of tho sNirhng waters into
the calm, with the fog getting thicker and thicker.
In the carly hours OF the morning they found themselves in the
open sea, with not a ghost Of an idea as to where they we're and not
a shin in sight. They amblcd along with one oar, and toward midday
they sighted a shin. They did not know what 10 do; they were
afraid the boat might be German. Finally they decided TO signal TO-
il and II necessary to fight for their lives. Luckily, It turned out to
be a Dutch ship, The JOY and the merry making on board was like the
reunion of old rrends. The fisherman said that the greater part OF.
their luck in getting away was due TO the fact that neither OF Them
was a good pilot "