The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1912-1921, 1918-07-02

blame him for not wanting to take any
chances to help me in view of the rela-
tons between us.
Every WELL" / said; "Tve gone with
out food for many hours at time be-
fore and l suppose l shall be able to
do so again. / shall look for you to-
morrow evening"
The next evening he came and 1 ac-
companied him to another house not
very far from the one in which had
been staying and not unlike it in APP
pearance. 1t, too. was substantial
dwelling house which had been unten-
anted since the beginning save perhaps
for such occasional visits as Huyliger
and his associates made to it.
Huyiger let himself in and con-
Quoted me TO room ON the second
floor, where he introduced me to two
men. One, l could readily see by the
resemblance, was his own brother
The other was stranger.
Very briefly they explained to me
that they had procured another pass
port for me-a genuine one-which
would prove far more effective in help
ing to get me to the frontier than the
counterfeit one they had manufac-
tured for me.
think l saw through their game
right at the start, but | listened pa
tiently to what they had to say.
'0f course, you will have 10 return
To no Inf,
we can give you the real one" said
Huyliger's brother.
Il haven't the slightest objection" |
replied, IF the new passport IS all you
claim for it. VIII you let me see III"
There was considerable hesitation on
the part of nuyllger's brother and the
other chap at this.
''Why, l don't think that's necessary
Mt all, Dir. O'Brien," said the former.
you give us the old passport and we
will be very glad to give you the new
one for it. Isn't that fair enough2
1T may be fair enough, my friends
retorted, seeing that il WAS useless to
conceal further the fact that / was
fully aware of their whole plan and
why l had been brought to this house.
1T may be fair enough, my friends" I
said "but you Will get the passport
that have here" patting my side and
indicating my inside breast pocket,
'only off my dead body!
/ suppose the three of them could
have made short work of me then and
there If they had wanted to go the
! limit, and no one would ever have
been the wiser, but ! had gone through
| so much and l was feeling so mean To-
wards the whole world Just at that
| moment that | was determined to sell
my life as dearly as possible
u have that passport here l re-
1 piled, "and am going to keep it. II
| you gentlemen think you can take It
from me you are welcome to try
i To tell the truth, ] was spelling for
a fight, and l half wished they would
start something The man who had
! lived in the house had evidently been
a collector of ancient pottery, for the
walls were lined with great pieces of
| earthebware which had every earmark
of possessing great value. They car
tainly possessed great weight. i fig
ured that il the worst came to the
worst that pottery would come In
mighty handy. A single blow with one
of those big vases would put IA man
out as neatly as possible and as there
was lots of pottery and only three men,
| | believed had an excellent chance of
| holding my own in the combat which /
! had invited.
had already picked out in my mind
| what was going to use, and got up,
stood with my back to the wall and
| told them that if they ever figured on
! getting the passport, then would be
! their best chance.
Apparently they realized that /
meant business and they Immediately
began to expostulate at the attitude l
was taking.
One of the men spoke excellent
English. In fact, he told me that he
could speak five languages, and If he
could lie in the others as well as
knew he did in my own tongue, ne was
not only an accomplished Iinguist, but
most versatile liar into the bargain.
"My dear fellow" said the linguist.
''it is not that we want to deprive you of
| the passport Good heavens if it will
aid you in getting out of the country,
/ wish you could have six just like it.
But for our own protection, you owe
1t to us to proceed on your journey
as best you can without it because as
long as you have it in your possession
you jeopardize our lives. too. Don't
you think it is fairer that you should
risk your own safety rather than place
the lives of three innocent men in
! danger?"
"That may be as it is, my friends"
/ retorted, "and / am glad you realize
your. danger. Keep it in mind, for in
case any Of you should happen to feel
inclined to notify the German authori-
ties that | am in fhis part of the coun-
! try, think it over before you do so.
| Remember always that if the Germans
get me, they get the passport. too, and
| if they get the DaSSDOrt yoIir lives