Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-09-20
CHAPTER XII.
Encounter German Soldiers.

the need of Il passport gave me fresh
cause for worry. Suppose l should
run into a German sentry before 1
succeeded in getting one?
l decided that until / reached the
big city which the Belgian had men,
Homeland which L cannot name for
fear of identifying some of the people
there who befriended mel would
proceed with the utmost precautiOn.
Since l had discarded my uniform
and had obtained civilian clothes, l
had not been quite as careful as l was
at first. While 1 had done my trav-
cling at night. / had not gone into
hiding so early in the morning as
before and L had sometimes started
again before it was quite dark, rely
ing upon the fact that 1 would prob
ably be mistaken for a Belgian on his
way to or from work, as the case
might be. From now on, resolved,
however, l would take no more
chances.
That evening 1 came to river per-
haps seventy-five yards wide and 1
thought 1 would walk a little way to
find, if possible, better place to get
TO the river from the bank. L had not
walked more than a few hundred
yards when 1 saw boat. 1t was the
first time had seen a boat in all my
experiences.
1t was firmly chained, but as the
stakes were sunk in the soft bank it
was not much of a job to pull them
out. / got in, drank to my hearts
content, showed over to the other side,
got out, drove a stake into the ground
and moored the boat. 1t would have
been a simple matter to have drifted
down the river, but the river was not
shown on the map and 1 had no idea
where it might lead me. Very reluc-
tantly, therefore, 1 had to abandon
the boat and proceed on foot.
1 made several miles that night and
before daylight found a safe place i'll
which to hide for the day. From my
! hiding place l could see through the
bushes a heavy thick wood only a
/ short distance away. l decided that
! l would start earlier than usual, hurry
over to the wood and perhaps, in that
way, could cover two or three miles
in the daytime and gain just so much
time. Travelling through the wood
would be comparatively safe There
was a railroad going through the
wood, but l did not figure that that
would make it any the less safe.
About three o'clock that afternoon,
therefore, / emerged from my hiding
| place and hurried into the wood.
After proceeding for half a mile or
so / came to the railroad. / took n
sharp look in both directions and see
| ing no signs of trains or soldiers, l
walked boldly over the tracks and
continued on my way.
soon came upon a clearing and
knew that someone must be living in
the vicinity. AS / turned a group of
trees l saw a small house and in the
distance an old man working in a
garden. / decided to enter the house
and ask for food, figuring the woman
would probably be old and would be
no match for me even if she proved
hostile. The old woman who came
to the door in response to my knock
was older than 1 expected. If she
wasn't close TO a hundred, l miss my
guess very much.
She could not speak English and ]
could not speak Flemish, of course
but nevertheless / made her under
stand that l wanted something to eat
She came out of the door and hol.
lOed for her husband in a shrill voice
that would have done credit to a girl
of eighteen. The old man came in
from the garden and between the two
of them they managed to get the idea
that l was hungry and they gave me
piece of bread-a very small piece
which was quite treat.
The house they lived in consisted OF
just two roOms-the kitchen and 3
bedroom. The kitchen was perhaps
fourteen feet square. eight feet OF
one side being taken up by an enor
nous fireplace. What was in the bed
room / had no way of telling, as
did not dare TO be too inquisitive.
1 made the old couple understand
that would like to stay in their hous'
all night, but the old man shook hi
head. 1 bade them good-by and dis
, appeared into the woods, leaving then
to speculate as to the strange for
: eigner they had entertained.
From the great density of the popu
| LOT IN,
was now passing 1 realized that
must be in the outskirts of the bi
city which the Belgian had mentione,
and where l was to procure a pass
l port.
, Village after village intercepted me
! and although 1 tried to skirt ther
: wherever possible 1 realized that
!, would never make much progress
l continued that course. To gain
= mile l would sometimes have to max
: a detOur of two or three. / decide
a that l would try my luck in goin
: straight through the next village
came to.
AS l approached it, l passed nun
:, bers of peasants who We're amblin
: along the road. 1 was afraid to ming
9 with them because it was impossibl
for one to talk to them and it wa
! dangerous to arouse suspicion eve
n among the Belgians. For all kney
n one of them might be treacheroU
n enough to deliver me to the German
in return for the reward he might
>, sure of receiving.
n About 9 o'clock that evening
70 came to point where ahead of me {
10 the right was Belgian police static
e. i knew it from it's red lights-ar
" on the other side of the street we
j. two German soldiers in unifor
leaning against a bicycle.
s. Here was a problem which callt
lie for instant decision; if 1 turned baC
r the suspicion of the soldiers wou
II. be instantly aroused and if l cross,
~ tho rOa6 Sn nc nat IN pocc co oIoco