The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-06-06
THE AMAZING CODE
 THAT BAFFLED ALL

eay over the border line. from whence ste was rescued by a mounted Swi=s %soilceman, and the remainder were recaptured.
 Securing Compasses and Maps.
 In one of the work lagers attach ed to the Munster Commando were three chums, who decided upon es- capinE. There had been q number of escapes from this particular wording party. and they had all come to grief because the men had got away in twos and threes and had failed so separate. IL was agreed that when the next party escaped they should lmm edIateiy scatter.
 After a very considerable time one of their number who had a job which took him into a small town managed toaEet friendly with a Ger man youth, who agreed for a con alteration to secure them three com passes and three maps. He who did the negotiating and who found the money. which had been supplied from this country. arranged that the three men. should get away the same night. and should meet the German, who would have the compasses and rlaps waiting for them. These would then be distributed and each of the men should make his way as best he could to the frontier.
 It was agreed amongst the three that in the event of only one getting away the other two compasses should be cached at the northern corner of q wall surrounding a farmhouse. that they might seize another oppor- tunity and have the wherewithal 10 get away.
 The night of the attempt came. Propping up the wire which sur. rounded the camp by pieces of wood which had been specially cut for the purpose, they dragged themselves esear, and set forth on the main road to the rendezvous where the young German was waiting, the man had made the purchases going on ahead in order that the German should not be alarmed.
 As luck would have 1t. a military motorcar came along the road, and in the lights of the head-lamp tho two men who were in the rear were dis covered. One bo1ted. but the other was held up by an officer with q revolver. and taken back to the camp. Immediately the alarm WIS sounded. and four civilians who act ed as policemen went out on their bicycles.
 The man who was captured was the leader. who accepted his un happy situation philosophically, real | izinv also that the well-laid scheme | of hiding the maps and compasses ! would come to nought. since the ne | gotiator would have to make a de- ] tour and cross the road to reach | the place agreed upon.
 This suspicion was confirmed the | next morning. when the second-of i the men was brought in. He was not ! allowed to communicate with his ! compa nion in misfortune, but shouted as he passed the cell door-"He ; oidn't get to the wall"
 Tllc MCssagc in tho Shortbread.
 The third man had reached the | German without detection, had ss- cured the maps and compasses, but knew that any attempt to reach the rendezvous would be fatal. He there fore hid them at the first likely spot, and went on his way. and eventually reached the Dutch frontier and got to London.
 He was terribly distressed that he could net help his friends or in any way communicate to them where the stuff was hidden. In course of time his story came to a member of the Committee, but who eventually be- came one of it's most earnest work CTS.
 It was a situation after the heart of the Committee. and they immedi- ately set about devising means whereby the two men in the camp, if they still remained there. could be notified as to where the compasses were buried. All sorts of means wer- su uEgested, but they had to remember that if any cipher they sent was de- cided the mems chance of escape was gone for .ver. since they would be betraying the hiding place of their means of liberation.
 The imprisoned organizer. whom we will call Menzies, had already re- ceived indirectly the assistance Of the The money had been forwarded to him concealed in a cake, but that had hap pened months before. when the Ger mans were less suspicious and less ingenious. and the man who had es- caped told them that such means of | would be of no avail, since all cakes then received at the camp were cut into small pieces.
 Nor was it likely that a coded let ter would be of use to him even had | there been an agreed-upon code. For one thing. letter took too long In those days parcels especially those foodstuffs. were delivered | much quicker than letters. and after some cogitaton a small cardboard | box containing six slabs of short bread was sent forward.
 The shortbread was opened in the | presence of the prisoner. broken into | pieces to discover whether any kind | of contraband was concealed. and | finally passed over to Menzies. He | carried the contents of his parcel in | n towel to his sleeping hut. and look | cd rueful1y upon the wreckage.
 Somebody said, That's queer | way to send shortbread. Menzies-In | sia bs. Who made it?" |
 T don't know who made 1t. but the | Huns unmade it." growled Menzies.
 Its got to be broken before it's | eaten" said the other. and at a piece, | pronouncing it excellent. |
 Then one of the men said jokingiy. | "It must be Indian shortbread," and | he pointed to two curious borders | which had, the appearance of being | meanin gIess designs. |
 Menzies picked ursa portion of the |