Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-09-27
CHAPTER XII.
The FORCED Passport.

scribe the man to whom applied for
the passport nor the house in which
he lived. While, In view of what sub
seQuently happened, l would not be
very much concerned IL he got into
trouble for having dealt with me, l
realize that the. hardships he had en-
dured in common with the other in
habitnnts of that conquered city may
possibly have distorted his idea of
right and justice, and l shall not de-
llberately bring further disaster on
him by revealing his identity.
This man-we will call him Huy-
Tiger because that Is as unlike his
name as it is mlne-was very kind to
me on that memorable night when
aroused him from his sleep and in a
few words Of explanation told him of
my plight.
He invited me inside, prepared some
food for me and. putting on a dress
Ing gown, came and sat by me while
ate, listening with the greatest inter-
est to the short account Of my adven-
lures.
He could speak English fluently, and
he interrupted me several times to .ex-
press his sympathy for the sufferings
had endured
"O'Brien," he said, after l had con-
cluded my story. II am going to help
you. II may take several days-per-
haps as long as two weeks-but event
ually we will provide the means to en-
nhl tr 60 HNII
thanked him thousand times and
told him that didn't know how
could possibly repay him.
Don't think of that" he replied ;
''the satisfaction of knowing that
have aided in placing one more victim
Of the Huns beyond their power to
harm will more than repay me for all
the risk / shall run in helping you.
You'd better turn in now, O'Brien, and
d In the morning I'll tell you what plan
to do"
AS removed my clothes and noticed
that my knees were still swollen to
twice their normal size, that my left
ankle was black and blue from the
wrench had given it when l jumped
from the train and that my ribs showed
through my skin, / realized what lot
had been through. AS n matter of
fact, could not have weighed more
than one hundred and fifty pounds at
that time, whereas 1 had tipped the
scales at one hundred and ninety when
was with my squadron in France.
lost no time In getting into bed
end still less in getting to sleep.
don't know what l dreamed of that
night, but 1 had plenty of time to &C
through the experiences of my whole
life, for when l was aroused by q
knock on the door and Huyliger en-
tered in response to my invitation tC
enter. he told me that it was nearly
noon I had slept for almost twelve
hours.
1 cannot say that the thought die
not run through my head that per
haps after all was living in fool:
paradise, and that when Huyliger re
appeared 1t would be with n couple ot
German soldiers behind him, but dis
missed such mlsgivings summarily. re
allzing that was doing Huyllger aI
injustice to let such things enter m!
head even for an instant. 1 had NJ
right to doubt his sincerity and
would do me no good to entertain sucl
suspicious. If he was going to prov
treacherous0 to me, was powerles
any way to cope with him. t-r
In a few moments my host rear
peared with a tray containing m,
breakfast. 1 don't suppose shall eve
forget that meal. 1t consisted of
cup Of coffee-real coffee, not the kin
I had had at Courtrai--several slices o
bread. some hot potatoes and a dis
Uf scrambled eggs.
Every mouthful of that meal taste
like angel-food to me and Huylige
sat on the edge Of the bed and watche
me enjoying it, at the same time ou
lining the plans he had made for m
escape.
In brief, the scheme was to conce,
me in convent until conditions wer
ripe for me to make my way to tn
border. In the meanwhile was to b
dressed In the garb of priest, an
when the time came for me to leay
the city was to pretend that l was
Spanish sailor, because l could speak
little Spanish, which 1 had picke
up on the coast. To attempt to pla
the part Of Belgian would become ii
creaslngly difficult, he pointed out, ar
would bring inevitable disaster in Il
event that / was called upon to spea
Huyliger said would be given su
hcisnt money to bribe the Germf
guards at the Dutch frontier. and !
assured me that everything would wo
out according to schedule.
"Yours is not the first case, O'Brie
we have handled successfully he d
clared. "Only three weeks ago hea,
from an English merchant who n;
escaped from a German detention can
and came to me for assistance al
whom / had been able to get throui
the lines. His message telling me
his snfe arrival in Rotterdam came
me in an indirect way, of course, b
the fact that the plans we had ma
carried through without mlshap max
me feel that we ought to be able to
as much for you"
told Huyliger was ready to follC
his Instructions and would do ar
thing he suggested.
II want to rejoin my squadron
soon as / possibly can," / told hi
''but 1 realize that 1t will take a c.
tin length Of time for you to make {
necessary arrangements, and will
as patient as | can"
The first thing to do, Huyliger L
me, was to prepare passport. He h
blank one and 1t was comparativ,
simple matter to fill in the spaces,
Ing a genuine passport which Huyli,
possessed as sample OF the ha
writing of the passport clerk. My
cupation was entered as that of
sailor. My birthplace we gave
Spain, and we put my age at thir
As n matter of fact, at that tim,
could easily have passed for thir
five, but we figured that with pro-
food and a decent place to sleep
night, could soon regain my norr