Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-07-26
-" Outwittin3
The Hun"
The Wars Greatest Story
Continued from Last Issue)
BY Lieut.. Pat O'Brien

was now wandering was veIy
= heavily wooded and there was
really no very great difficulty in keep
ing myself concealed, which 1 did all
day long, striving all the time to think
of some way in which l could circum-
vent that cursed barrier.
The idea of a huge step-ladder oc-
currred to me, but searched hour after
hour in vain for lumber or fallen trees
out of which / could construct one. II
could only obtain something which
would enable me to reach point about
nine feet in the air it would be COM
paratively simple matter to jump from
that point over the electric fence.
Then l thought that perhaps l could
construct a simple ladder and lean 1t
against one of the posts upon which the
electric wires were strung, climb to the
top and leap over, getting over the
barbed wire fences in the same way.
Makes Ladder
This seemed to be the most likely
plan, and all night long l sat construct
ing a ladder for this purpose.
l was fortunate enough to find num-
Der of fallen pine trees from ten to
twenty feet long. 1 selected two of
them which seemed sufficiently strong
and broke off the branches, which L
used as rungs, tying them to the poles
Win grass ana SITlpS rum
kerchief and shirt IS bes, could.
1t was not "a very workmanlike look
ing ladder when l finally got through
with it. 1 leaned it against tree to
test it and it wobbled considerably. 1t
was more like a rope ladder than
wooden one. but l strengthened 1t here
and there and decided that it would
probably serve the purpose.
1 kept the ladder in the woods all
day and could hardly wait until dark
to make the supreme test. If it proved
successful my troubles were over; with
in a few hours 1 would be in a neutral
country out of all danger. If it failed
i dismissed the idea Summarily. There
was no use worrying about failure; the
thing to do was to succeed.
The few hours that were to pass be-
fore night came on seemed endless, but
l utilized them to reinforce my ladder,
tying the rungs more securely with long
grass which 1 plucked in the woods.
At last night came. and with my lad
der in hand 1 made for the barrier. In
front of it there was a cleared space
of about 100 yards, which had been
prepared to make the work of the
guards easier in watching it.
Almost Fatally Shocked
1 heard the sentry pass the spot
where / was in hiding and then 1 hur-
ried across the clearinf, showed my
ladder under the barbed wire and en-
tieavored to follow it. My clothing
caught in the wire, but L wrenchea my
self clear and crawled to the electric
barrier.
My plan was to place the ladder
against one of the posts, climb up to
the top and then jump. There would be
a fall of nine or ten feet, and l might
possibly sprain my ankle or break my
leg, but if that was all that stood be-
tween me and freedom 1 wasn't going
to stop to consider it.
1 put my ear to the ground to listen
for the coming of the sentry. There
was not sound. Eagerly but carefully
! placed the ladder against the post and
started up. Only few feet separated me
from liberty, and my hear tbeat fast.
1 had climbed perhaps three rungs of
my ladder when 1 became aware of an
unlooked-for difficulty.
The ladder was slipping.
Just as 1 took the next rung, the lad
der slipped, came in contact with the
live wire, and the current passed.
through the wet sticks and into my
body. There was a blue flash, my hold
on the ladder relaxed and 1 fell heavily
to the ground unconscious.
Of course, had not received the full
force of the current or 1 would not
now be here. / must have remained I'M
conscious for few moments, but I
came to just in time to hear the Ger
man guard coming, and the thought
came to me that if 1 didn't get that
ladder concealed at once he would see
it, even though, fortunately for me, it
was an unusually dark night
Could Have Tripped Sentry
1 pulled the ladder out of his path
and lay down fiat on the ground not
seven feet away from his feet. He
passed so close that 1 could have push
ed the ladder out and tripped him up.
1t occurred to me that L could have
climbed back under the barbed wire
fence and waited for the sentry to re-
turn and then felled him with a blow
on the head, as he had no idea, OF
course, that there was any one in the
vicinity 1 wouldn't have hesitated to
take life, because my only thought was
to get into Holland, but l thought that
as long as he didn't bother me perhaps
the safest thing to do was not to both
er him, but to continue my efforts dur
ing his periodic absences.
His beat at this point was apparently
fairly long and allowed me more time
to work that I had hoped for.
NV mishap with the ladder had con-