Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-08-06
Continued from Last Issue)

1t wasn't necessary for me to eX-
plain to them that | was a refugee,
even if | had been able to speak
their language. l was caked with
mud to my shoulders and / suppose
my face must have recorded some
of the experiences l had gone
through that memorable night.
Il want the British consult" l
told them. And l want him mighty
bad
Apparently they didn't understand,
but one of them volunteered to con-
duct me to the village. They seemed
to be only too anxious to do all they
could for me; evidently they realized
was British soldier.
1t was very late when my compan-
ion finally escorted me into the III
lage, but he aroused some people he
knew from their beds and they
dressed and came down to feed me.
The family consisted of an old lady
and her husband and a son, who was
soldier in the Dutch army. The
cold shivers ran down my back while
he sat beside me because every now
and again l caught a glimpse of his
gray uniform and it resembled very
much that of the German soldier.
Some of the neighbors, aroused by
the commotion, got up to see what
it was all about, and came in and
watched while | ate the meal those
good Dutch people prepared for me.
Ordinarily l supposed I would have
been embarrassed with so many peo-
pie staring at me while l ate as
though / were some strange animal
that had just been captured, but just
then l was too famished to notice or
care very much what other people
did.
There will always be a warm place
in my heart for the Dutch people. l
had heard lots of persons say that
they were not inclined to help refu-
gees, but my experience did not bear
these reports out. They certainly did
much more for me than l ever ex-
pected.
L had little German money left,
but as the value of German money
is only about half in Holland l didn't
have enough to pay the fare to Rot
terdam, which was my next objective.
1t was due to the generosity of these
people that l was able to reach the
British consul as quickly as / did.
Some day l hope to return to Holland
and repay every single soul who
played the part of the Good Samari-
tan to me.
With the money that these people
gave me l was able to get a third
class ticket to Rotterdam, and l was
glad that l didn't have enough to
travel flrst-claSS, for / would have
looked as much out of place in a
flrst-class carriage as a Hun would
appear in heaven.
That night l slept in the house of
my Dutch friends, where they fixed
me up most comfortably. In the
morning they gave me breakfast and
then escorted me to the station.
Cheered as He Boards Train
While l was waiting on the station
a crowd gathered round me and soon
it seemed as if the whole town had
turned out to get a look at me. 1t
was very embarrassing, particularly
as l could give them no information
regarding the cause of my condition,
although, of course, they all knew
that l was a refugee from Belgium.
AS the train pulled out of the sta
tion,. the crowd gave a loud cheer,
and the tears almost came to my
eyes as contrasted in my mind the
conduct of this crowd and the one
that had gathered at the station in
Client when / departed a prisoner en-
route for the reprisal camp.
breathed a sigh of relief as l thought
of that reprisal camp and how for
tunate l had really been, despite all
my suffering, to have escaped it.
Now, at any rate, l was a free man
and | would soon be sending home
the joyful news that 1 had made
good my escape.
At Einhoffen two Dutch officers
got into the compartment with me.
They looked at me with very much
disfavor, not knowing, of course,
that I was a British officer. My
clothes were still very much in tie
condition they were when l crossed
the border, although l had been able
to scrape off some of the mud l had
collected the night before. l had
not shaved nor trimmed my beard
for many days, and / must have pre-
sented a sorry appearance. / could
hardly blame them for edging away
from me