Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-08-20

Joined the Royal Flying Corps never
expected to see the inside of Bucklng-
ham Palace, much less Oeing received
by the King.
CHAPTER Xxx
Home Again!
That same day, in the evening,
was rendered a banquet at the Ho-
tel Savoy by a fellow officer who
had bet three other friends of mine
that 1 would be home by Christmas.
This wager had been made at the time
he heard that / was a prisoner OF war
and the dinner was the stake.
The first intimation he had of my
safe return from Germany and the fact
that he had won his bet was telegram
sent him reading as follows:
Lieutenant Louis Grand:
War bread bad, so l came home.
PAT"
He said he would not part with that
message for thousand dollars.
Other banquets followed in fast sue
cessIon. After 1 had survived nine of
them L figured that 1 was now in as
much danger of Succumbing to a surfeit
of rich food as 1 had previously been
of dying from starvation, and for my
own protection l decided to leave Lon
don.
Moreover, my thoughts, and my heart
we're turning back to the land of my
birth, where 1 knew there was a low
ing old mother who was longing for
more substantial evidence of my safe
escape than the cables and letters she
had received.
Meets Old Friend
strangely enough, on the boat which
carried me across the Atlantic. l saw
an r. F. c. mGn-Lieutenant Lascelles.
l walked over to him, held out my
hand and said Hello
He looked at me steadily for at least
minute.
My friend. you certainly look like
Pat OBrien," he declared, but l can't
believe my eyes. Who are your"
quickly convinced him that his eyes
were still to be relied upon, and then
ne stared at me for another> minute or
two. shaking his head obviously.
His mystificat;on was quite eXplic-
able. The last time he had seen me
/ was going down to earth with bull
let in my face and my machine doing a
spinning nose dive. He was one of my
comrades in the flying corps and was
in the fight which resulted in my cap-
ture. He said he had read the report
that / was a prisoner Of war, but he
had never believed it, as he did not
think it possible for me TO survive that
fall.
Happiest on Reaching Homo
He was one of the few men living out
Of eighteen who were originally in my
squadron do not mean the eighteen
with whom l sailed from Canada last
May, but the squadron l Joined i'll
France. He rchearsed for me the fate
Of all my old friends in the squadron,
and it was mighty sad story. Nearly
all of them had been killed except one
or two, who were in dry docks for re-
pairs He himself was on his way to
Australia to recuperate and get his
nerves back into shape again. He had
been in many desperate Combats.
AS we sat on the deck exchanging
experiences, l would frequently notice
him gazing intently in my face as f
he were not quite sure that the whole
proposition vas not a hoax and that
was not an imposter.
Outside of this unexpected meeting,
my trip across was uneventful.
I arrived in st. John, New Brunswick
and eventually in the little town OF Mo-
mence, Ill, on the Kankakee river
l have said that l was never so happy
to arrive in a country as 1 was when
first set foot on Dutch soil. Now, I'm
afraid I shall have to take that state
ment back Not until l finally landed
in Momence and realized that l was
again in the town Of my childhood days
did 1 enjoy that feeling of absolute
security which one never really appre-
ciates until after a visit to foreign
parts
Now that 1 am back, the whole adj
venture constantly recurs to me as
dream, and I'm never quite sure that
l won't wake up and find it so.
THE END.