The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1918-11-07
CHAPTER XVI.
D leave for the Frontier.

8t AiSnts hnfihS Ifrtuthhy tfufeicu
90 the city limits with the idea OF
finding out just what conditions !
worid have to meet when the time
came for me to leave.
A German soldiers uniform. how
ever. no longer worried me Ms 1t had
at frA. had mingled with the Huns
20 much in the city that began to
feel that was really Belgian. and
assumed the Indifference that they
seemed to feel.
decided. therefore. to walk out of
% city In the daytime. when the sen
tries would be less apt to be on the
watch. IL worked line ! WIS not
held up moment. the scnfries evt-
IDENTIFY taking me for Belgian peas
ant ON his way TO work.
Travelling faster than I had ever
done before since my escape. was
soon out 10 the open country. and the
first Belgian ! came TO I approached
for food. He gave me half of his
lunch and we sat down ON the side Of
She road to eat IL. OF course. he tried
10 talk 10 me. bur used the old ruse
of pretending ] was deaf and dumb
and he was quite convinced that II was
70. He made various efforts 10 talk
20 me In pantoInitnc. but / could not
mike out what he wns getting Mt. and
! think he must have. concluded that I
was not only half stnrved. deaf and
dumb. but '.iooney" In the bargain
When night came looked around
for n place 10 rest. I had decided TO
travel IN the daytime as well as night.
because understood that II was only
few miles from the frontier. and I
was naturally anxious to get there At
-sfhe earliest possible moment. although
! realized that there would encounter
the most hazardous part Of my whole
adventure. To get through the heavily
guarded barhed wire and electrically
-rnzrSed barrier wss = problem that
hated 10 think Of even. although the
hours I spent endeavoring to devise
some way Of cutwitting the Huns
were many.
II Ind occurred TO me. for Instance.
that II would not he such dfffcuIt
matter 20 vault over the electric fence.
which was only nine feet high In col.
lego. knew n frn-foot vault IL consfd-
cred = hlgh-schooi boys accomplish
rncnr. but there were two great dif-
bcultics In the way OF this solution.
In the FIRST place II would be no essy
matter to get pole OF the right
length. weight and strength TO serve
the purpose. More particularly. how
ever. the pcIe-vnult idea seemed 10 me
to be out Of the question because of
the fact that on either side OF the cleo
rric fence. SIX feet from if. was n SIX
foot barbcd wire barrier. To vault
safely over q nine-foot electrically
charged fence was one thing. but to
combine with II twelvc-foot broad
vault was feat which even n college
athlete In the pink of condition would
he apt TO iunk. Indeed. I don't be-
IIeve II is possible.
Another plan that seemed halfway
reasonable WIS to build a pair of stiits
about twelve or fourteen feet high and
walk over the barriers one by one. Al
younrster I had acquired consider
able skin in stiit-walking and I have
no doubt that with the proper equip
ment II would have been quite fcns-
ibie to have walked out OF Belgium
m easily ms possible In that why. but
whether or not was going to have
chance 10 construct the necessary
sttIts remained TO be seen.
There were a good many bicycles In
use by the German soldiers In Belgium
and II had often occurred 10 me that
II l could have stolen one, the tires
would have made excellent gloves and
: insulated coverings for my feet In
cnse Il was necessary for me to at
tempt to climb over the electric fence
bodily. but AS l had never been able
10 steal bicycle this avenue OF es-
cape WAS closed to me.
decided 70 walt until I arrived at
the bnrrier and then make up my mind
how 10 proceed.
To find n decent place to slecp that
night. crawicd under barbed wire
fence, thinking Il he'd into some ficid.
A. l passed under. one Of the bnrbs
caught In my coat nnd In trying TO
pull myself from Il shook the fence
s~D -~~~~-s --~r-
Instantly tfisfs came out Of the night
the nerve'racking command: 'Hau r.
Again feared ! was done for. l.
crouched clone down on the ground In
the darkness. rot knowing whether to
take 70 ms legs and trust to the Huns
mlssing me in the aprkness u he Nred,
Or stay where Wnn. X wae fokry
- wen d dark. and although knew
The sentry WIN only Z rev feet away
I from No decided 10 stand, or fnther
~, pat. thlnk nv heert made alnsoet'
- much notae - The tlttlthG u ~