Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1918-10-30
CHAPTER XII.
The Forced Passport.

~ ,;ro5 While, in view of what sub
:. .-ortIv bappened, 1 would not be
WV much concerned if he got into
. ~. for having dealt with me,
. - that the hardships he had en-
...o9 IN common with the other In
s.tItants of that conquered city may
s,,,ibIv have distorted his idea Of
I s-st and Justice, and l shall not de-
rSarotqIy bring further disaster on
Aim bv revealing his identity.
This man-we will call him Huy-
r,,, because that is as unlike his
,saa rs if is mine-was very kind to
No m that memorable night when 1
,.orssd him from his sleep and in q
tsu words Of explanation told him of
ny plight
Ha invited me inside, prepared some
toj for me and, putting on a dress
inc gown. came and sat by me while l
ate. listening with the greatest inter-
ss- 10 the short account of my adven-
lures.
lie could speak English fluently, and
h Interrupted me several times to ex-
press his sympathy for the sufferings
I had endured.
"0Brien," he said, after had con-
Guided my story, Il am going to help
uu, II may take several days-per-
hars as long as two weeks-but event
Uauy We will provide the means to en-
able you to get to Holland"
thanked him a thousand times and
told him that I didn't know how I
could possibly repay him.
Don't think of that" he replied;
'the satisfaction of knowing that l
have aided in placing one more victim
q the Huns beyond their power to
harm will more than repay me for all
the risk I shall run in helping you.
You'd better turn in now, O'Brien, and
In the morning I'll tell you what 1 plan
70 d."
As IremOved my clothes and noticed
that my knees were still swollen to
twice their normal size, that my left
ankle was black and blue from the
wrench had given it when 1 jumped
nom the train and that my ribs showed
through my skin, I realized what a lot.
bad been through. AS q matter of
nct l could not have weighed more
uan one hundred and fifty pounds at
mat time, whereas 1 had tipped the
scales at one hundred and ninety when
Twas with my squadron in France.
lost no time in getting into bed
ana still less in getting to sleep. I
cont know what I dreamed of that
LshI but l had plenty of time to go
through the experiences of my whole
NE Tor when I was aroused by a
aAOeA on the door and Huyliger en-
'Ied IN response to my invitation to
Ger' he told me that it was nearly
ICON! had slept for almost twelve
hours.
cannot say that the thought did
w run through my head that per-
--tS after all l was living In a FOOLS
pAaulSe' and that when Huyliger re-
Srteafed 1t would be with a couple of
U5'iuan soldiers behind him, but dis
MISE. ~ such misgivings summarily, re-
S ing mat 1 was doing Huyliger an
,,y1suee to let such things enter my
Su even for an instant. I had no
,sI, 10 doubt his sincerity and it
s Sllu 10 NE no good to entertain such
~ p,['OnS. If he was going to prove
~ ,uerOus to me, I was powerless
way TO cope with him.
-, rev moments my host reap
S Slee with a tray containing nv
s..at don't suppose 1 shall ever
as ss, mat meal. 1t consisted of a
Is.s " cCuee-Teal coffee, not the kind
-1a mad at Courtrai-several slices of
80 some hot potatoes and a dish
V Scrambled eggs. VISA
n Every mouthful Of that meal tasted
~ ansel-toOd to me and Huyliger
IA - u'e edge Of the bed and watched
Toying it. at the same time out.
sape "0 H"u maze 1or my
H. ~ ',leI' the scheme was to conceal
N. : =. d convent until conditions were
t5,sa aO' NE to make my way to the
t,sxs,s N Ihe meanwhile l was TO be
Ny Ssu IN the garb of a priest and
H. a lne time came for me TO leave
soa1i,S; l was to pretend that I was q
trIs g Sollor' because 1 could speak a
q IN t ~ which I had picked
lie ra. ne coast. To attempt to play
oessirs, u d gian would become in
soTl5 ny difficult. he pointed ont end
WeDt INN S.lng inevitable disaster in the
Brr,, '' l was called upon to speak.
tds5tt lssr said I would be given suf.
ns,5s money L. to Rribe the German
sssVre5 - ~ ,ae Dutch frontier, and he
ct aceo - mat everything would work
wording to schedule.
sbsv rs Is Is not the nrst case, oBrien.
taoed. a CanaIed successfully" he de-
hu an q my three weeks ago 1 heard
Aapsd f,on nslish merchant who had
0 a German detention camp