The Dermott news., 1919-01-23
CHAPTER XXI.
4 Visit From Mir. Gerard.

men. Westphalia. We were rousted out of the carriages. mustered on the platform. counted then drilled through the streets. In spite of the lateness. the streets were pretty well filled with people, and they zis-zagged us through All the streets they could. so that all the people would have q chance to see the crazy men. as they called us. Most of the people were women, and as soon as they saw US coming. they began singing the Watch on the Rhine or some other German song. and it was funny to see windows opening and fat fraus. with night-caps on, sticking their heads out of the windows. They would give us quick onCe-over and pipe up like a boatswain: "Schwein ud-Naterland-Wac am Rhein" all kinds of things and all mixed up.
 So we gave them "Tippcrary" and Pack Up Your Troubles" and showed them how to sing. Our guards had no eur for music and tried to stop us. but though they knocked several men down. we did not stop until We had finished the song. Then. after We had admitted to each other that we were not downhearted We shut up.
 We would have done so. anyway. be- cause by thls time we were on the out skirts of the town, and We needed all he breath We had. The road we were on was just one long sheet of ice, and We could hardly walk more than four steps without slipping and falling. My shoes had wooden Solcs. and II was just one bang after another. with the lee and myself trying to see which could hit the hardest. Every time We fell-smash came rifle over the back.
 l was getting pretty tired. so l said to some of the fellows that l was go- ing to sit down and rest. and they said they would also. So we dropped out and WAited until the guards behind had just about caught UP With Us, and then we would go on. We did this several times until they got on 10 Us. and We could not do il any more.
 Up the road piece fell again, and thls time did not care what hap pcued, so l just sat there in the middle of the road until Fritz came up. Instead of giving me the hayonet. he made me take of my shoeS-that is. he took them off of me with knife through the StrinEs-and had to walk the rest of the way in my bare feet. It was about four miles altogether from the station to the camp.
 When We got near the camp, all the boys came out of the barracks and lined up along the burbed wire. and yelled us . welcome. We asked them if they were downhearted. and they said no, and we said We were not eith- CT. We could hardly see them, but they began yelling again when We got nearer, and asked us. "ls there anyone there from Queenstown? and then Hull. and Portsmouth. and Dover. and Toronto and lot of other places.
 did not pay much attention until l heard. Any Americans there7" and l yelled back. "Yes. where are you?"
 "Bnrracks 6-B. Gruppc 3,"
 "Wherc from?" yelled.
 "Boston. Whcrerc you from?"
 "The |. s. A. and Atlantic ports See you later"
 Sc. the next morning. l went over to his barracks and asked for the lank They pointed him out to me where he was lying on the floor. went over and laid down with him. and We had quite talk. I will not give his name here for certain reasons.
 He had received several wounds nt the time he was taken prisoner. He had been in the Canadian service for two years. We used Co talk about New York and Boston and the differ ent places we knew in both towns, and we also talked q lot about the rotten treatment We were receiving, and tried 10 cook up some plan of escape. But every one we could think of hud been used by some one else. and either had failed. or the Huns had fixed 1t so the plan could not he tried again. We doped out some pretty wild schemes at that. Altogether, we became great pals. and were together as much ns possible at Dulmen. The day l left the camp. he gave me a ring made from shell. and told me Co get it safely back to the States. but some one stole 1t at Hrnndenburg.
 One day while was fin his barracks m Englishman stepped out of the door for some reason or other, and though he did not say word to Fritz. in two minutes he was dead. in cold blood. We never knew why they killed him.
 At Swinemunde and Neustrelitz. l must admit thnt the Germans had us pretty badly buraloed but at pulmen he prisoners were entirely different pulmen was the receiving camp for he whole western front, and the prls. ancrs there got to be pretty tough 'sEs, as far as Fritz was concerned. lefore they had been in camp many