The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1918-10-10


sing Is to have two Of his comrades
assigned to 60 through his belongings,
check them over. destroy anything
that Il might not be to his interest to
preserve, and send the whole busi-
ness to his banker or his home, as the
case may be. Every letter is read
through, but their contents Is never
afterwards discussed or revealed In
any way. II the pilot Is finally re-
ported dead, his effects are forwarded
to his next Of kin, but while he is Of
flcially only missing" or is known to
be n prisoner Of war; they are kept
either ut the squadron headquarters
or sent to his bankers.
In my case as soon as II was learned
that / had fallen from the sky. 1t was
assumed that l had been killed and
my chum, Paul Raney, and another
officer detailed to check over my ef-
fects. The list they made and to
which they affixed their signatures.
rs l have previously mentioned. is
now In my possession and is one Of
the most treasured souvenirs Of my
adventure.
My trunk was sent to Cox & Co. In
due course, and now that was In
London / thought would 90 and claim
1t.
When l arrived at the bank I up
piled to the proper window for my
mail and trunk.
"Who are your" was asked rather
sharply.
swell. guess no one has any
greater right to Pat O'Brlen's effects
than I have" l replied, "and would
be obliged to you If you would look
them up for me-"
THAT may be all right, my friend"
replied the clerk, 'but according to
our records Lieutenant O'Brlen Is n
prisoner of war In Germany, and we
can't very well turn over his effects
to anyone else unless either you pre-
sent proof that he Is dead and that
you are his lawful representative, or
else deliver to us n properly authenti-
ticated order from him to give them
to you"
He was very positive about It all.
but quite polite, and l thought I
would kid him no more.
"Well," l said, II can't very well
present proofs to you that Pat O'Brlen
Is dead, but will do the best can to
prove to you that he is alive, and II
you haven't quite forgotten his Sig
nature l guess l can write you out
an order that will answer all your re-
qulrements and enable you to give me
Pat O'Brien's belongings without run
ming any risks" and / scribbed my
signature on scrap of paper and
handed 1t to him.
He looked at me carefully through
the lattlced window, then jumped
down from the high chair and came
outside to clasp me by the hand.
"Good heavens, leftenant" he ex-
claimed. as he pumped my hand up
and down, show did you ever get
awayT and I had to sit right down
and tell him and half dozen other
people In the bank all about my ex-
perIences.
l had been in England about five
days when I received telegram
which, Mt first, occasloned me almost
as much concern rs the unexpected
sight Of n German spiked helmet had
caused me In Belgium. 1t read as
follows:
"Lleut. p. A. O'Brlen, Royal Flying
Corps, Regents Palace Hotel, Lon
don:
"The king Is very glad to hear Of
your escape from Germany. II you
are to be In London on Friday next.
December 7th, His majesty will re-
ceive you at Buckingham palace at
10 80 n. IN. Please acknowledge.
"CROMER."
OF course, there was only one
thing to do and that was to obey ord
ers. was IN officer In the army and
, the king was my commander In chief,
l had to go, and so sat down and
sent Off the following answer:
earl Cromer. Buckingham Palace,
London:
II will attend Buckingham palace
as directed. Friday, December 7th, at
10 80.
LIEUT.. PAT O'BRIEN."
In the interval that elapsed, l must
confess, the ordeal Of calling on the
king of England loomed up more
dreadfully every day, and l really
believed I would rather have spent an
other day In the empty house In the
big city In Belgium or, shy. two more
days ut Courtrai, than to go through
whit I believed to be In store for me.
Orders were orders, however, and
there was no way Of getting out of II.
As It turned out. II wasn't half as bad
as / had feared-on the contrary. II
was one of the most agreeable expe-
rlences of my life.
CHAPTER XIX.