The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1918-10-03
CHAPTER XVII.
Getting Through the Lines.

Waiting until 1t was quite dark, l
made my way carefully through a
field and eventually came to the much
dreaded barrier.
1t was all that / had heard about 1t.
Every foot of the border line between
Belgium and Holland Is protected in
precisely the same manner. 1t Is there
to serve three purposes: first, to pre-
vent the Belgians from escaping into
Holland; second to keep enemies, like
myself, from making their way to free
dom; and third, to prevent desertions
on the part of Germans themselves.
One look was enough to convince any
one that it probably accomplished all
three objects about as well as any con-
trivance could, and one look was all l
got Of It that night, for while | lay
on my stomach gazing at the forbid
ding structure l heard the measured
stride of German sentry advancing
towards me and / crawled away as
fast as possibly could, determined
to spend the night somewhere In the
fields and make another and more
careful survey the following night.
The view l had obtpined, however,
was sufficient to convince me that the
pOe.yault idea was out Of the ques-
ton even If l had pole and was
proficient poe-vauter. The three
fences covered span Of at least twelve
feet and to clear the last barbed wire
fence ii would be necessary to vault
not only at least ten feet high, but at
least fourteen feet wide, with the GER
t0in knowledge that to touch the cleo
trlcally charged fence meant instant
death. There would be no second
chance If you came cropper the first
time.
The silt idea was also impractical
bic because of the lack of suitable
timber and tools with which to con-
Struct the stills.
II seemed to me that the best thing
TO do was travel up and down the line
bit in the hope that some spot might
be discovered where conditions were
more favorable, although | don't know
Just what / expected along those
lines.
IT was mighty d,sheartenlng to real
l2e that only few feet away lay GER
tain liberty and that the only things
preventing me from reaching 1t were
Three confounded fences. l thought Of
my machine and wished that some
Kind fairy would set 1t In front Of me
Tor Just one minute.
spent the night in n clump Of
pushes and kept In hiding most of the
next day, only going abroad for an
hour or two In the middle of the day
10 Intercept some Belgian peasant
ana beg for food. The Belglans in this
section were naturally very much
AFRAID Of the Germans and Jared
oodly. In nearly every house German
soldiers were quartered and II was
out of the question for me to apply
lor food In that direction. The prox-
unity of the border made everyone
eye each other with more or less sus-
plci0n and | soon came to the conclu-
sion That the safest thing | could do
was to live on raw vegetables which l
could steal from the fields ut night as
had previously done.
mat night | made another survey
OF the barrier in that vicinity, but it
iooRed just as hopeless as 1t had the
"ght before and l concluded that
ohiy wasted my time there.
spent the night wandering north,
GUIDED by the North Star which had
Sv.Ved me so faithfully in all my trav-
elhg, Every mile or two l would make
my way carefully to the barrier to see
conditions were any better, but II
ovelhed to be the same all along. felt
'iNe wild animal In cage, with
"pout MS much chance of getting out.
me section of the country in which
was now wandering was very heavily
wooded ana there was really no very
e''at difficulty in keeping myself con-
e"'ed, Which did nll day long, strlv-
,ns all the time to think of some way
" which | could circmvent that
Y'rScd barrier.