Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-09-06

OF them were sumc1enuy Interested TO
spend at least a minute, and some of
them three or four minutes gazing at
whatever was being exhibited in that
window, although 1 noticed that 1t
failed to attract the Belgians.
l have a considerable streak Of curl
osity in me, and I couldn't help won
dering what it could be in that window
which almost without exception
seemed to interest German soldiers but
failed to hold the Belgians, and after
conjuring my brains for a while on the
problem 1 came to the conclusion that
the shop must have been a book-shop
and the window contained German
magazines, which, naturally enough,
would be of the greatest interest to
the Germans but of none to the Bel
gians.
At any rate / resolved that as soon as
night came I would go out and in
vestigate the window. When l got the
answer 1 laughed so loud that 1 was
afraid for the moment l must have at
tracted the attention of the neighbors,
but 1 couldn't help it. The window
was filed with huge quantities of
sausage! The store was a butcher
shop and one of the principal things
they sold apparently was sausage. The
display they made, although it con-
sisted merely Of sausages piled in the
window, certainly had plenty of 'pull-
fnoys @orvo. To GEnVIIo1O nfnn Cor
mans out Of ten out of their curse and
indirectly pulled" me right across the
street, The idea of those Germans be-
ing so interested in that window dis
play as to stand in front of the win
dow for two, three or four minutes at
a time, however, certainly seemed
funny to me, and when 1 got back to
the house / sat at the keyhole again
and found just as much interest as
before in watching the Germans stop
In their tracks when they reached the
window, wen though l was now aware
what The attraction was.
One of my chief occupations during
these days was catching flies. I would
catch a fly, put him in a spiders web
(there were plenty of them in the old
house,, and sit down for the spider to
come down and get him. But always l
pictured myself in the same predica-
ment and rescued the fly just as the
spider vas about to grab him. Several
times when things were dull l was
tempted to see the tragedy through,
but perhaps the same Providence that
guided me safely through all perilS
was guarding, too, the destiny of those
flies, for 1 always weakened and the
flies never did suffer from my lust for
amusement.
The house was well supplied with
books-in fact, one of the choicest Ii
braries 1 think I ever saw-but they
were all written either in Flemish or
French. 1 could read no Flemish and
very little French. 1 might have made
a little Roadway with the latter, but
the books all seemed too deep for me
and l gave it up. There was one thing
though that / did read and reread
from beginning to end; that was a
New York Herald which must have ar
rived just about the time war was de-
clared. Several things in this in
terested me, and particularly the base
ball scores, which I studied with as
much car as a real fan possibly could
an up-to-date score. / couldn't refrain
from laughing when / came to an ac-
count of Zimmerman (of the Cubs)
being benched for some spat with the
umpire, and 1t afforded me just as
much interest three years after it had
happened-perhaps more-than some
current item of worldwide interest
had at that time.
1 rummaged the house many times
from cellar to garnet in my search for
something to eat, but the harvest of
three years of war had made any sue
cess along that line impossible. I was
like the man out in the ocean in a boat
and thirsty with water everywhere but
not a drop to drink.
1 was tempted while in the city to
go to church n Sunday, but my better
judgment told me it would be a useless
risk. OF course, someone would surely
say something to me and 1 didn't
know how many Germans would be
there or what migt. happen, so 1 gave
up that idea.
During all the time I was concealed
in this house l saw but one automobile
and that was a German staff officers.
That same afternoon 1 had n of the
frights of my young life.
1 had been gazing out of the keyhole
as usual when 1 heard coming down
the street the measured tread of Ger
man soldiers. 1t didn't sound like very
many, but there was no doubt in my
mind that German soldiers were
marching down the street. 1 went up
stairs and peeked through the window
and sure enough a squad of German in
fantry was coming down the street
accompanied by a military motor
truck. | hadn't the slightest idea that