The sun., 1919-10-19

Government will pardon you and you
can return home without trouble.
know of a man who can assist you,
provided you have the money to pay
for such assistance
This man so played on my fears
that 1 could picture myself facing a
firing squad and my poor mother be-
ing told that 1 had been false to her
trust in me and had been shot as a de-
serter. In desperation 1 agreed to al
low him to assist me; so turned over
to him all the money that had. which
amounted to over 800 francs, a gold
watch and small diamond ring. This
man impressed upon me the need of
secrecy and told me that If either he
or his friend were caught helping a
soldier to desert they would be shot
they were only doing 1t to help me out
of serious trouble.
II was taken to house near rail-
road yard and was there introduced to
another man and told that they would
hide me until the chance came to send
me into Spain. While / was here the
other two men were brought in; and
shortly after their arrival we were
taken in the night and put aboard a
train for Tours. We were placed in
the baggage car and told that the bag
gage man would take care of us; we
were also told that at st. Pierre de
Corps we were to leave the train and
would there meet a Frenchman who
would take care of us-this man was
to pass us on to the next guide. When
the train arrived at st. Pierre we were
met by a man who took US to house
near by and secreted us there. Here
we remained for two days; and then,
on the next night, we were put aboard
train for Bordeaux in charge of the
conductor, who was to turn us over to
an American negro at Bassens-this
man was to see us onl the last lap of
the journey. We fell asleep, and when
we awoke we saw the colored NJ. p. at
the station, so thought we had ar
rived at Bassens. You know the rest"
This story did not seem possible;
but the other two men also confessed.
and their stories were identical. Fur
Their questioning brought out the fact.
that not one of them could pick out
any of the places where they had been
secreted. So we decided to pick up
the trail at Paris.
Two Weeks of Vain Effort.
With six of my men we went to
Paris to follow the story through.
Three of the detectives were put in
uniforms and placed on the streets
while the other three, in civilian
clothes, we detailed to shadow. them.
This part of the work was heart break
oil OH he
streets for over two weeks. we could
not get nibble with our bait. AS
last resort I shifted the men and put
a new force out.
On the third night after the change
one or our men was picked up by
Frenchman whose description tailed
with that given by the men whom we
had arrested at Bassens. This French
man told our detective that he was
| the head of n committee formed for
, the entertainment of the American
soldiers in Paris and that he would
| be glad TO entertain him to make his
| leave in Paris pleasant. He took our
detective into a cheap cafe and after
buying him several drinks asked him
If he had a pass allowing him to be
| in Paris
| Our man admitted that ne had not,
and said:
| u am not going back to the front
for a long time if l can help it, and
/ if they try to send me there before
have had my fun here | shall try to
get into Switzerland. l have been over
here for a long time ana intend to
| have some fun as well as fighting all
the time"
To this the Frenchman replied:
Don't try to get to Switzerland. You
will be caught before you can do it, II
you really want TO get away from all
this fighting be sure and go to Spain
the road is open that way. If you
want to I can arrange it for you to
get there without trouble"
Our man agreed to go that way, and
said, II want to go now. Can you
| fix it. for me?"
Yes" replied the Frenchrnan. 'if
you have any money to pay for such
help"
| So our man paid this Frenchman
500 francs to get into Spain The two
then went away together-with our
plain clothes man shadowing them.
They were traced to a house near the
p. l.. and NJ. Railroad yards; and then
one of our men hurried back ana
reported.
Another Detective Picked In,
Other men We're detailed to watch
| this house; and one of our men
dressed as a French laborer succeeded
in hiring room across the street.
Here, night and day. a watch was kept
on their rendezvous.
Our detective who had been picked
up was cautioned about showing HIM
self. so remained inside during the
day only going out at night for a
| short walk for exerclse-and one of
| the gang was always with him, He
was told that as soon as others were
ready a party would be formed and all
would be sent forward. The details of
the system were explained to him and
certain instructions issued as to what
he should say and do on the trip A
few days later three other soldiers
were brought in; and we were fortu-
nate again, for among the three was
another one Of our men. Two days
after the leader of the gang an
/ nounced that on that night the first
step of the journey would begin. They
were forced so he said. to await the
time when a certain member of the
gang-the baggage master-made his
usual trip on the Paris Bordeaux