Baxter Springs news., 1918-10-18

duynEerB DrOtnT.
II haven't the slightest objection" !
replied. "lf the new passport IL all you
claim for 1t. WIN you let me see itr
There was considerable hesitation on
the part of IIuyllger's brother and the
other chap at this.
"why. don't think that's necessary
at all, SIr. oBrlen," 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 enoughr
1T mny he fair enough. my friends"
/ retorted. seeing that 1t was useless to
conceal further the fact that ! was
fully aware of their whole plan and
Why had been brought TO this house.
lit may be fair enough, my friends" I
sald. but you will get the passport
that have here" patting my side and
indicating my inside breast pocket.
"Only of my dead body"
suppose the three Of them could
have made short work Of me then and
there II they had wanted TO 60 the
llmlt. and no one would ever have
been the wiser. but I had gone through
so much and I was feeling 30 mean to-
wards the whole world just ut that
moment that l was determined to sell
my life as dearly as possible.
II have that passport here" / re-
piled. "and am going to keep It. II
You gentlemen. think you can take It
from me you are welcome to try!"
To tell the truth, ] was spelling for
q fight, and l half wished they would
start something. The man who had
lived In the house had evidently been
O collector of ancient pottery, for the
walls were lined with great pieces Of
earthenware which had every earmark
Of possessing great value. They car
tniniy possessed great weight. ! fig.
u-ed that II the worst came to the
worst that pottery would come In
mighty handy. A single blow with one
of those big vases would put a 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 II 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 I
was taking.
One of the men spoke excellent
English. In fnct. he told me that he
could speak five languages, and II he
could lie in the others us well as /
knew he did In my own tongue. he was
not only an accomplished linguist, but
q most versatile liar into the bargain.
"AIy dear fellow" said the linguist,
ut Is not that we want to deprive you OF
the passport. Good heavens! II 1t will
aid you In getting out Of the country,
/ wish you could have six just Ike 1t.
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 1t in your possession
you jeopardlze our lives, too. Don't
you think 1t is fairer that you should
risk your own safety rather than place
the lives Of three innocent men In
danger?"
"Thnt may be rs It is, my friends"
/ retorted, "and I 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 this part Of the coun-
try, think 1t over before you do so.
Remember always that II the Germans
get me, they get the passport, too. and
If they get the passport your lives
won't be worth q damn! When ] tell
the history of that clever little piece
of pasteboard, / will implicate oil three
Of you, and whoever Is working with
you, and as am an officer rather
think my word will be taken before
yours. Good night!"
The bluff evidently worked, because
/ was able to get out Of the city with
out mOlestation from the Germans.
/ have never seen these men since.
I hope / never shall. because ! am
afraid I might be tempted to do some
thing for which / might otherwise be
sorry.
I do not mean to imply that all Bel
CLANS are like this. / had evidently
fallen into the hands Of gang who
were endcavOring to make capital out
Of the mIsfOrtunes of those who were
referred to them for help. In oil coun-
tries there are bad as well as good.
and In a country which has suffered so
much as poor Belgium 1t Is no wonder
II some Of the survivors have lost their
sense Of moral perspective.
know that the average poor peas
ant In Belgium would divide his scanty
ratiOns with a needy fugitive sooner
than a wealthy Belgian would dole
out a morsel from his comparatively
well-stocked larder. Perhaps the poor
have less to lose than the rich II their
generosity or charity is discovered by
the Huns.
There have been many Belgians shot
for helping escaped prisoners and other
fugitlves, and It ls not to be wondered
ut that they are willing to take as few
chances as possible. A man with a