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

myself at the window was out OF the
question because the house in which
1 was concealed was supposed to be
untenanted.
Because of the fact that I was I'M
able to speak either Flemish or Ger
man 1 could not go out and buy food,
although 1 still had the money with
which to do it. That was one of the
things that CALLED one-the thought
that l had the wherewithal in my
jeans to buy all the food 1 needed and
yet no way of getting 1t without en-
dangering my liberty and life.
At night, however, after it vas dark,
1 would steal quietly out of the house
to see what 1 could pick up in the way
of food. By that time, of course, the
stores were closed, but 1 secured the
streets, the alleys and the byways for
scraps of food and occasionally got up
courage enough to appeal to Belgian
peasants whom l met on the streets,
and in that way 1 managed to keep
body and soul together.
1t was quite apparent to me, how
ever, that 1 was worse off in the city
than I had been in the fields, and /
decided to get out of that house just
as soon as 1 knew definitely that Huy-
Tiger had made up his mind to do moth
ing further for me.
When l was not at the keyhole of the
door 1 spent most of my day on the top
floor in a room which looked out Oh the
street. BY keeping well away from the
window 1 could see much of what was
going on without being seen myself.
In my restlessneSs, I used to walk back
and forth in that room and 1 kept it up
so constantly that l believe 1 must have
worn a path in the floor. 1t was nine
steps from one wall to the other, and
as l had little else to amuse me / fig
ured out one day after l had been
pacing up and down for several hours
just how much distance I would have
covered IN my way to Holland if my
footsteps had been taken in that direc-
ton instead of just up and down that
old room. l was very much surprised
to find that in three hours ] crossed
the room no less than 5000 times and
the distance covered was between nine
and ten miles. 1t was not very graft
flying to realize that after walking all
that distance l wasn't a step neare my
goal than when 1 started, but / had to
do something while waiting for Huy-
Tiger to help me, and pacing up and
down was a natural outlet for my
restlessness.
While looking out of the top floor
window one day, 1 noticed a cat on a
window ledge of the house across the
street. 1 had a nice piece of a broken
mirror which I had picked up in the
house and l used it to anluse myself
for an hour at a time shining it in the
cats eyes across the street. At first
the animal was annoyed by the reflec-
ton and would owe away, only to
come back a few moments later. By
and by, however, it seemed to get
used to the glare and wouldn't bulge
no matter how strong the sunlight was.
Playing with the cat in this way got
me into the habit of watching her
comings and goings and was indi-
rectly the meal of my getting food a
day or two later-at q time when /
was so famished that 1 was ready to
do almost anything to appease my
hunger.
1t was about Z o'clock in the even
ing. I was expecting Huyliger at 8,
but I hadn't the slightest hope that he
would bring me food, as he had told
me that he wouldn't take the risk of
having food in his possession when
calling on me. I was standing at the
window in such a way that 1 could
see what was going on in the street
without being observed by those who
passed by, when 1 noticed my friend,
the cat, coming down the steps of the
opposite house with something in his
mouth. Without considering the risks
I ran, 1 opened the front door, ran
down the steps and across the street,
and bounced on that cat before it could
get away with its supper, for that, as
/ had imagined, was what l had seen
in its mouth. 1t turned out to be a
piece of stewed rabbit, which 1 confis-
Gated eagerly and took back with me
to the house.
Perhaps l felt q little sorry for the
cat, but 1 certainly had no qualms
about eating the animals dinner. l
was much too hungry to dwell upon
~niceties, and a piece of stewed rabbit
was certainly too good for a cat to eat
when a man was starving. 1 ate and
enjoyed it and the incident suggested
to me a way in which I might possibly
obtain food again when all other ave-
nues failed.
From my place of concealment 1 fire.
gently saw huge carts being pushed
through the streets gathering potato
Feelings, refuse of cabbage and similar
food remnants, which, in America, are
considered garbage and destroyed. In
Belgium they We're using this 'gar-
bage" to make their bread out of, and
while the idea may sound revolving to