Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-03-22
9ahhhhm n n - n u M
. ON A TREADMILL.
BY ALAN HINsDALE.
.nH Ra H n m m @l

l am one of the Americans of the
first exp%editionary force that went to
France to fight the central powers toI
be captured. 1t was a night reconnoi-l
tering force of Germans who killed.
several young fellows and took a fewl
as prisoners. We were marched away
to the rear and put under a temporary
guard. !
Being Americans, the officer In COM
mand did not know what to do with
us. Whether we would be treated moreF
vigorously than troops of other nation-
alities I didn't know, but I believed
we would. So l made up my mind toi
escape before we were taken to Ger
many, or to get shot trying to do So.
Having been recently captured, we
were not as strictly watched as doubt
less would be later on. But what
helped me was the bursting of a shell
from the American lines very near
US and our guards. Several of the
guards were killed and two of our
fellows were wounded. I took advan-
tage of the confusion to walk away to-
the rear.
I had not gone 80 yards before I
came to the dead body of a German. ]
dropped beside him, and under cover
of the darkness-there were only such
lights as appear at night in war-I
appropriated his helmet and by dint
of hard labor managed to get off his
coat. As soon as l had put Oh both.
l got up and walked slowly ~rearward,
Hundreds of shells were falling all
about me, and for other reasons per-
| hapS l was not noticed. My trousers
were very dirty and might have be-
longed to a soldier of any nationality.
The German coat and helmet I wore
were all the disguise I needed. / pick
ed up a rifle lying on the ground and
now and again turned and fred a
shot in the direction of the American
lines. I was once stopped by an Off
Ger, but before he could question me.
he saw something or someone else that
drew his attention from me, and ]
gave him the slip.
I made my way rearwards where
the troops were not so thick as at the
front, and though / worked my way
without knowing where the reserve
lay, I had the good luck to get into a
region where there were no troops.
came presently to a little stream IN
which was a mill. / heard the tramp
of men coming. I would have gone
into the mill to hide, but 1t was lock-
ed. SO instead I got onto the mill
wheel and my weight let me down to
the bottom of a walled space wherein
the wheel revolved.
In a few minutes I heard a column
of men marching by and the word OF
command by the officers. / was where
they would not see me; nevertheless Z
hid under the wheel. After they had
passed and the thud of their shoes
was dying away in the distance / con-
cluded to move on, seeking for some
French family which had not been
turned out of house and home, who
would hide me until I could get back
to my command. Naturally l took hold
of the wheel and was about to step on
one of the buckets, when it occurred
to me that it would turn and let me
down as far as | assembled. A glance
about showed me that I was impris-l
oned. I could not escape by the wheel,
and I could not climb a perpendicular
wall.
What there was to grind I knew not /:
perhaps the miller was obliged to work
for the Germans; at any rate just be-
fore day came I heard sounds above,
something shifted, and down came the
water. It had been turned into the
fume, and pouring IN the wheel, began
to rotate it. When the water rose to
my waist 1 began to do a tread-mill act
on the wheel. I climbed as the wheel
turned to avoid being drowned.
1 said to myself that between drown
ing and going to a concentration camp
I'd rather drown. 1 kept on with my
endless climb, feeling pretty well dis
codraged at the poor prospect ahead
of me. l believed that the mill was
used by the Germans, and if this were
so, l might better cease to tread and
fall back into a watery grave. When
death is far away we don't dread 1t ;
when it is right before US, or behind,
as 1t was with me, we shrink from it.
l was about to take my chances by
calling to the miller, when looking up
1 saw the sweet face Of a little girl
looking down upon me.
"Mon Dieul" 1 heard her exclaim,
and she disappeared. In a few min
utes I heard a shifting above, and the
water eeaslng to flow, the wheel stop
ped turning. Then came a wom-
an and the girl 1 had seen; I climb
ed out; when I said "Amerleaine'
they hurried me into the house near
the mill where they hid me.
They had secured a little grain and
were grinding 1t for their own use be-