Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-08-23

soldiers. Apparently 1 looked IKE
Belgian peasant, and if could only
work things so that l would never
have to answer questions and thus
give away my nationality, l figured
would be tolerably safe.
As 1 marched along felt so happy
1 couldn't help humming an air Of one
of the new patriotic songs that we
used to sing at the airdrome back in
Ypres. I
In this happy frame of mind l COW
cred the next three miles in about an
hour and then came to another little
village. My usual course would have
been to go around it-through fields,
back yards, woods or whatever else
lay in my way-but l had gained so
much time by going through the last
village instead of detouring around
it and my appearance seemed to be so
unsuspicious that I decided to try the
same stunt again.
1 stopped humming and kept very
much on the alert, but apart from
that, 1 walked boldly through the
main street without any feeling Of
alarm.
1 had proceeded perhaps a mile
along the main street when 1 noticed
ahead Of me three German soldiers
standing at the curb.
Again my heart started to beat fast,
I must confess, but I was not nearly
so scared as 1 had been an hour or
SO before.
walked ahead, determined to fol-
low my previous procedure in every
particular.
1 had got to about fifteen feet away
from the soldiers when one of them
stepped onto the sidewalk and
shouted:
"Haltr'
My heart stopped beating fast-for
a moment, I believe, it stopped beating
altogether! 1 can't attempt to de-
scribe my feelings. 1 thought that
the jig was up-that all had gone
through and all 1 had escaped would
now avail me nothing, mingled with
the feeling of disgust with N.Y.
self because of the foolish risk /
had taken in going through the vii
lage, combined to take all the starch
out of me, and 1 could feel myself
whiting as the soldier advanced to the
spot where l stood rooted in my
tracks.
had bottle of water in one pocket
and piece of bread in the other, and
as the Hun advanced to search The l
held the bottle up in one hand and
the piece of bread in the other so that
he could see that was all l had.
1t occurred to me that he would
'frisk" me-that is, feel me over for
arms or other weapons, then place
me under arrest and march me off to
the guardhOuse. l had not the slight
est idea but that / was captured and
there didn't seem to be much use in
resisting unarmed as I was and with
two other German soldiers within a
few feet of US.
Like a flash it suddenly dawned on
me, however, that for all this soldier
could have known l was only a Bel
gian peasant and that his object in
searching me, which he proceeded to
do, was to ascertain whether 1 had
committed the common 'crime" Of
smuggling potatoes.
The Belgians were allowed only
certain amount of potatoes, and it is
against the laws laid down by the
Huns to deal in vegetables of any
kind except under the rigid supervi-
sion of the authorities. Nevertheless,
it was one of the principal vocations
of the average poor Belgian to buy
potatoes out in the country from
peasants and then smuggle them into
the large cities and sell them clan
destinely at a high price.
To stop this traffic in potatoes, the
German soldiers were in the habit of
subjecting the Belgians to frequent
search, and 1 was being held up by
this soldier for no other reason than
that he thought / might be potato
smuggler
He felt of my outside clothes and
pockets, and finding no potatoes
seemed to be quite satisfied. Had he
but known who 1 was he could have
earned an iron cross Or, perhaps, in
view of the fact that I had heavy
water bottle in my uplifted hand, it
might have turned out to be wooden
cross!
He said something in German,
which, of course, did not understand,
and then some Belgian peasants came
along and seemed to distract his atten-
ton. Perhaps he had said: "It's all
right; you may go on" or he may
have been talking to the others in
Flemish, but at any rate, observing
that he was more interested in the
others than he was in me at the mo-
ment, 1 put the bottle in my pocket
and walked on.
After 1 walked few steps, took
furtiYe glance backward and noticed