The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-10-31

neorO Vnot the n0O tuT0ots
ened to shoot Americans serving In
the British army Il they captured
them. chasing them 40 m~urderers,
because America was q neutral coun-
try and Americans had no right Ia
mix in the a Did you and that to
be the casef"
I told him that I had heard similar
reports. but that I did not notice amy
appreciable difference In my treat
ment from that accorded Britishers.
The king declared that he believed
my escape was due to my pluck and
will power and that II was one of the
most remarkable escapes he had cver
heard of. which I thought was quite
n compliment. coming as It did from
the king Of England.
ri hope that all the Americans will
give as good an account Of themselves
as you have, leftenant," he said, land
I feel quite sure they will. I fully
appreciate all the service rendered N
by Americans before the States
tered the war;"
At this moment I asked him II I
was taking too much time.
"Not at all, l~eftenant. not at all I"
he replied. most cordially. II was
extremely interested In the brief re-
port that came to me Of your wonder
full escape and I sent for you because
I wanted to hear the whole story nrst-
hand. and I I'M very glad you were
able to come"
1 had not expected to remain more
than a few minutes, ~ I understood
| that four minutes Ii considered = long
audience with the king. Fifty-two
minutes elapsed before l finally left
therel
During all this time I had done most
of the talking. In response to the
kings request to tell my story. Occa-
~slonally he interrupted to ask q ques-
tlon about a point he wanted me to
make clear. but for the most part he
was content to play the part Of a lis
tener.
He seemed to be very keen on every
thing and when I described some Of
the tight holes l got into during my
escape he evinced his sympathy. DC
c~asionally l introduced some Of the
few humorous Incidents Of my adven-
ture and In every instance he laughed
heartily.
Altogether the impression I got Of
him was that he II q very genial,
gracious and alert sovereign. know
have felt more III at ease when talk.
Ing to a major than when speaking
to the king-but perhaps I had more
cause to.
During the whole interview we
were left entirely alone, which i'm
pressed mi as significant Of the dem
ocratic manner Of the present king
Of England. and I certainly came
away with the utmost respect for him
In all my conversation. I recalled
afterwards, I never addressed the
king as "Your Majesty" but used the
military "sir." As ! was q British Of
icer and he was the head Of the army
he probably appreciated this manner
|, Of address more than II I had uset
kthe usual 'Your Majesty" Perhaps
Fhe attributed II TO the fact that
was an American. At any rate. h
didn't evince any ~displeasure at my
departure from what I understand Il
the usual form Of address.
|, Before I left he asked me what m,
plans for the future were.
III "Why. cir. I hope to rejoin m!
%sQuadr0n at the earliest possible mo
mentI" l replied.
!, mo, Leftenant." he rejoined, "tha
Is out Of the question. We can't risl
losing you for good by sending yol
back to a part Of the front Opposes
by Germans. because II you were IN
' fortunate enough to be captures
again they would undoubtedly shoe
|, you"
9 "Weu, II l can't serve In france
: sir" ! suggested. wouldn't It be feai
Q ible for me to fly In Italy or SAILOR
v lea"
NO." he replied. shat would b
almost as bad. The only thing tina
o l can suggest for you to do u eithe
to take up Instructions very vall
nble form of service-or perhaps
might be safe enough for you
serve In Egypt. but just at presen
~leftenant. / think you have don
enough anyway"
Then he rose and shook hands wit
= me and wished me the best Of lucl
n and wsfboth said "Good-by."
II In the adjoining room ] met Eal
Cromer again. and as he accompanie
me to the door seemed to be surprise
ut the length Of my visit.
, As / left the palace q policema
le and a sentry outside came smartly
d attention. Perhaps they figured I ha
le been made a general.
As i ~ riding back to the hot
|. In a tau ! reflected IN the remarl
able course of events which In u
short space Of nine months had take
It me through 10 much and ended q
like the finish Of q book, with my b
q ing received ~ his majesty, Il
. kinsi When ! FIRST Joined the Roy
~ Il Uu.a.. $500 ----a >-nuA A. =.