Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-08-16


day.
The North Star was shining brightly
that night and there vas absolutely
nothing to prevent my steering an abb
solutely direct course for Holland and
liberty, but my path seemed to lie
through arid pastures. Far to the
east or to the west / could hear
family the striking of village bells,
and 1 knew that if 1 changed my
course 1 would undoubtedly strike
farms and vegetables, but the North
Star seemed to plead with me to fol-
low it and I would not turn aside.
When daylight came. the ons
Quence was 1 was empty handed and ]
had to find a hiding place for the day.
1 thought 1 would approach the first
peasant / came to and ask for food,
but that day 1 had misgivings-a
hunch-that 1 would get into trouble
If I did, and / decided to go without
food altogether for that day.
1t was a foolish thing to do, 1 found.
because l no only suffered greatly
from hunger all that day, but it inter-
fered with my sleep. 1 would drop of
to sleep for half an hour. perhaps,
and during that time I would dream
that 1 was free, back home, living a
life of comparative ease, and then l
would wake up with a start and catch
q glimpse of the bushes surrounding
me, feel the hard ground beneath me
and the hunger pangs gnawing at my
| sides, and her / would realize how
far from home + really was, and /
would lie there and wonder whether
1 would ever really see my home
again. Then I would fall asleep again
and dream this time, perhaps Of the
days 1 spent in Courtrai, or my leap
from the train window, of the Bava-
rian pilot whom I sent to eternity In
my last air fight, Of my tracer bullets
getting closer and closer to his head,
and then I would wake up again with
a start and thank the Lord that l was
only dreaming 1t all again instead Of
living through It'll
That night I got an early start be-
cause 1 knew 1 had to have food, and
1 decided that rather than look for
vegetables l would take a chance and
apply to the first Belgian peasant
whom I came to.
It was about 8 o'clock when / came
to a small house. 1 had picked up a
heavy stone and had bound it in my
handkerchief and 1 was resolved to use
1t as a weapon if 1t became necessary.
After all I had gone through, I was
resolved to win my liberty eventually
at whatever cost.
AS it happened, I found that night
the first real friend I had encountered
in all my travelling. When 1 knocked
timidly on the door, it was opened by
a Belgian peasant, about fifty sears of
G He asked me in Flemish what l
wanted, but l shook my head and
pointing to my ears and mouth init
mated that 1 was deaf and dumb, and
then 1 opened and closed my mouth
several times to show him that /
wanted food.
He showed me Inside and sat me at
the table. He apparently lived alone,
for his ill-furnished room had but n
chair, and the plate and knife and
fork he put before me seemed to be all
he had. He brought me some cold
potatoes and several slices Of stale
bread, and he warmed me some milk
on a small oil stove.
I ate ravenously and all the time I
was engaged 1 knew that he was eye
ing me closely.
Before I was half through he came
over to me, touching me on the Shout
der, and STOPPING over so that his lips
almost touched my ear, he said in
broken English. "You are an Eng
lishman-I know it-and you can hear
and talk If you wish-am 1 not right?"
There was a smile on his face and
a friendly attitude about him that told
me instinctively that he could be
trusted, and 1 replied: "You have
guessed right-only I am an Ameri-
can, not an Englishman."
He looked at me pityingly and filed
my cup again with warm milk.
His kindness and apparent willing
ness to help me almost overcame me,
liz L IClI Inv Wd1AlA6 I'LL VI IL
consequences he would suffer if the
Huns discovered he had b%efriended
me. / had heard that twenty Belgians
had been shot for helping Belgians
to escape into Holland. and I hated
to think what might happen to this
good old Samaritan if the Huns ever
knew that he had helped an escaped
American prisoner.
After my meal was finished, I told
him in as simple language as I could
command of. some of the experiences
I had gone through and I outlined my
future plans.
"You will never be able to get to
Holland" he declared, without a
passport. The nearer you get to the
frontier the more German soldiers
you will encounter, and without a
passport you will be a marked man."
asked him t0 Sre ppSt n waV by