Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-05-21
4" Outwittin9
the Hun"
THE WARS GREATEST STORY
CcOu4anued from Last Issus)
81 LIEUT.. PAT o'BRIEN

Asitwas I was nearly out OF Luxem-
bourE before I came face 20 face with
any one II was about o'clock IN the
morning and I was travelling atoms :
regular path. Just as 1 approached .
cross path I heard footsteps coming
down it I stopped short, stopped over
and pretended to be adjusting my shoe-
lace. figuring that IL the stranger turn
ed into my path he would probably pass
right by me AS luck would have II, ne
continued on his way and never noticed
me at all
After that I frequently noticed groups
of DezSauts in the distance. but 1 usu-
aIIv saw them first and managed to
avoid them.
on the eighteenth day after my leap
. from the train crossed into Belgium
IT had taken me just nine days TO ger
through Luxembourg-a distance which
a man could ordinarily cover In two,
but. considering the handicap unoeF
which 1 labored, was very wen saIis-
ned with my progress
rre-e and Their small artificial bitches
had been dug. which at a dry season
might have Graded a weary fugltNe'
but now they, too, were TILED Win
water. Once I singled out big tree
and large branches and thought might
climb into IL and so TO sleep. but the
II
that IL would require more energy than
I had in my present weak and exhaust
. ed condition, so didn't attempt that /
Finally I chose a spot that looked a
bit drfer than the rest, concluded 10
take a chance on being discovered and
threw myself down for nap. was
extremely nervous. though, throughout
that whole day. and would scarcely ses
settled into a comfortable position and
doze OF for a few minutes when start
led by some sound in the WOODS l
would suddenly awake.
Altar what seemed like a year or
more. night finally came, and with
dull" sky, low-hanging clouds and sim
more rain There was not star IN
the sky. OF course. and that made II
very bad, because without the aid OF
the stars 1 had absolutely no way OF
knowing what direction 1 was going
II was Just a case of taking a chance.
I probably would have been better on
81 1 had simply picked out a place
and stayed there until the weather i'm
proved but naturally 1 was impatient
10 he on nv way each day, without
food only Iessened my strength and my
ultimate chances OF reaching the 'front.'
Ter
So left the woods and struck on In
the direction which I thought was north
] hadn't been at all sure OF my bearings
the sun failed entirely to help me out,
but I was almost sure I had the right
direction and trusted TO luck
That night I found more rivers,
canals and swamps than I ever found
in my life before. but had the good
fortune to stumble on to some celery
and after my diet OF beets ii surely
was a treat Perhaps it's unnecessary
10 add that I took on good supply
OF celery and for days I went along
chewing celery like a cow would
cud-
Z COULD not cross the street, and
the only thing TO do was 70 back
u track. It meant making long de-
tour and losing two hours OF precious
time and effort. but there was no help
for il, so I pIodded YEARLY back, ours
ing the Huns at every step
The next night while crossing some
fields I came to a road 1t was one OF
the main roads Of Belgium and was
paved with cobblestones- On these roads
you can hear a gawon far away. lis
tened intently before I moved ahead,
and hearing nothing, concluded that the
way was clear
As I emerged from the field and got
nay first glimpse Of the road, got the
shock OF my life, In either direction,
as far as could see the road was lined
with German SOldierS. NnAI lneE were
doing in that part of Belgium did not
know. but you can be mighty sure L
didn't. lose any time trying to find out
Again il was necessary TO change my
course and lose a certain amount OF
ground, but by this time had become
fairly well reconciled to these reverses,
and they did not depress me as much
as they did at first
At this period OF my adventure, IL a
day or night passed without its thrill
began TO feel almost disappointed, but
such disappointments were rather rare.
One evening as I was about to swim
q canal about two hundred feet wide
! suddenly noticed about one hundred
yards away a canal boat moored to the
side.
Another Marrow Escape
It was at a sort of an Out-of-the-way
place and I wondered what the canal
boat had stopped for. 1 crawled up TO
Zee As I neared the boat five men
were leaving il. and I noticed them
cross over into the fields. At a safe dis
lance I followed them, and they had
not gone very far before I saw what
they were after. They were commit
ting the common but heinous crime OF
stealing potatoes.
Without the means to cook them,
potatoes didn't interest me a bit and
1 thought that the boat itself would
probably yield me more than the potato