Cleveland County herald. (Rison, Ark.) 1888-current, 1918-08-08


ton and 1 thought 1 would go there
and tell my story to the sentries, real
izing that as / was unarmed it was
perfectly safe for me to announce
myself to the Dutch authorities.
could be interned only if l entered
Holland under arms.
AS l approached the sentry box
noticed three men in gray uniforms,
the regulation Dutch color. / was on
the verge of shouting to them when
the thought struck me that there was
| just chance / might be mistaken,
as the German uniforms were the
same color, and I had suffered too
| many priyations and too many narrow
escapes to lose all at this time by
| jumping at conclusions.
[ had just turned off the road to go
back into some bushes when out of
the darkness I heard that dread Ger
| man command:
"Haltl Halt %
He didn't need to holler twice. !
heard and needed the first time Then
I heard another man come running up,
and there was considerable talking,
but whether they were Germans or
Hollanders l was still uncertain. He
evidently thought someone was on the
other side of the fence.
Finally / heard one of them laugh
and saw him walk back to the sentry
station where the guard was billeted,
and l crawled little nearer to try to
| make out just what it meant | had
begun to think it was all a night
mare.
Between myself and the light in the
sentry station, l then noticed the
STOPPING figure of man bending over
as if to conceal himself and on his
head was the spiked helmet of Ger
man soldier!
| knew then what another narrow
escape [ had had, for l am quite sure
he would have shot me without cere-
mony if l had foolishly made myself
! known. l would have been buried at
once and no one would have been any
WISER even though, technically speak
ing, l was on neutral territory and i'm
mune from capture or attack.
This new shock only served to be-
wilder me more. l was completely
lost. There seemed to be frontier be-
hind me and frontier in front of me.
Evidently, however, what had hap
pened was that I had lost my sense
of direction and had wandered in the
arc of a circle, returning to the same
fence that I had been so long in get
ting through. This solution of the
mystery came to me suddenly and l at
once searched the landscape for some
thing in the way of landmark to
guide me. For once my faithful
friend, the North Star, had failed me-
The sky was pitch black and there
wasn't a star in the heavens.
In the distance, at about what ap-
peared to be about three miles away,
discern the lights of a village, and |
| knew it must be Dutch village. as
lights are not allowed in Belgium in
that indiscriminate way.
My course was now clear. I would
make Decline for that village. Before
q marsh or swamp and / turned back
a little, hoping to find better path.
Finding none / retraced my steps
and kept straight ahead, determined
to reach that village at all costs and
to swerve neither to the right or left
until l got there.
One moment 1 would be in water up
| to my knees and the next / would sink
in mud clear up to my waist. I paid
no attention to my condition. 1t was
merely repetition of what I had gone
| through many times before, but this
time l had a definite goal and once ]
| reached it knew my troubles would
| be over.
1t took me perhaps three hours to
reach firm ground. The path l struck
led to within half mile of the village.
l shall never forget that path it was
almost as welcome to my feet as the
opposite bank of the Mouse had
| seemed.
The first habitation came to was a
| little workshop with bright light
shining outside. 1t must have been
| after midnight, but the people inside
were apparently just quitting work.
| There We're three men and two boys
engaged in making wooden shoes.
1t wasn't necessary for me to ex-
plain to them that I was a refugee,
even if / had been able to speak their
language. was caked with mud up
to my shoulders and 1 suppose my face
must have recorded some of the ex-
periences I had gone through that
memorable night.
81 want the British consult" told
them.
Apparently they didn't understand,
but one of them volunteered to con-
duct me to the village. They seemed
to be only too anxious to do all they
could for me; evidently they realized
was a British soldier.
1t was very late when my compan-
ion finally escorted me into the vii
Iage, but he aroused some people he
knew from their beds and they
] dressed and came down to feed me.
| ic+a Of old Ixy