The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-04-25
Special Correspondence to Tho
 Times F7RrTTleg,)

 1914! A nasty, bleak afternoon at the end of November. The Marne had been fought and won. The rush to the north and the coast had fol- lowed. Dixmude. la Maison du Passeur, the Yser, and Npres, of course, were the names on all lips. I was riding along a road south of Poperinghe. Oh. the mud and the screeching of shells! At a short distance, as I reached a bend in the so-called road. I saw four mounted gendarmes, and so I spurred my mare, and amidst gorgeous and noisy eruptIons of slush, overlook them. A German officer was walk ing between the four horses
 Aha! A prisoner. COngratula- tions!"
 "Oui, Mon Lieutenant. But we didn't catch him." said the leading gendarme.
 ''where did you get him and how?"
 Mustn't say, mon lieutenant"
 q don't call it luck"
 An instructive chat. laughed. What a typical gendurue. this briga- dier. eve call a mounted corporal brigadier in the French Army.) But then, all gendarmes are typical gen darmes. Still. this one was paTticu- larly the right article-big, bluff featured, with @ narrow, obstinate forehead, a large mOustache, a harsh voice, and the famous accent, of course.
 1 gave him a drink from my flask and we talked about the mud.
 The prisoner was typical, too-a typical Boche. Supercilious to a de- gree. It jared. The brigadier real tzed my feelings, eyed the prisoner, and whispered two words which can only be translated into decent Eng fish by Dirty Dog!"
 Batteries of British guns were coming up the road towards us lab oriously. I jumped the ditch to my left to make way. The four gen darmes and their prisoner did the same to the right, and I didn't see them again.
 Not till six weeks later.
 had been sent to a certain place near La Bassee, and it was a pleas ant surprise to come across my brigadier friend and his men. My car had failed me once more and I was Dacing lne road whilst old Wal lis, my driver, did the necessary re- pairs, when I saw the gendarmes. And they had a prisoner with them again. Not the same one of course.
 The brigadier saluted.
 Against the Regulations.
 Well" l said, you seem to be al- ways in Iuck's way"
 q don't call it luck. mon Heuten- ant I'd rather examine passes at some cross road"
 Never mind. You move about lot, and see the country Your pris- oner looks worse than the Poper- inghe one. An! And this time I shant ask you where he was bagged, or where you're. going with him!
 The big fellow and the other three gendarmes burst into fit of stentorian laughter as though I had said something amazingly witty. GSendarmes are big, naive children, l tell you. I suddenly noticed that notwithstanding their mtrth, they looked worn, pale, almost played out.
 You've been hard at it, briga- dier?''
 "Oui, mon lieutenant. We've had some tough jobs little sleep and moving always about on special duty we've sometimes difficulties with our rations."
 I called Wallis. We gave the good fellows all we had in the car in the way of food.
 The prisoner looked up, and cast 9 hungry look on the tins, the bis cults and the chocolate. But when saw had noticed it he at once as sunaed an indifferent attitude. I ad- dressed him in German, but all he replied to my questions was a mon otonous ''Ich habe nichts gu sagen.'' q have nothing to sayD
 Those Four GendaFnes.
 'What does he talk about?'' the brigadier asked.
 'sae has nothing to say.'
 "A good thing, too. But mon lieutenant, it is against the regu1a- tlons to talk to prisoners on the road like this-''
 He looks hungry I said, chang ing the subject
 ''What if he does, the brute? I'd rather choke. mon lieutenant. than give the wretch a morseI of this food you gave us. German prisoners, es- water, ct patati ct patata- By the way. can I do anything for you, mon Heutenant?"
 ''Yes; my only man was blown in- to shreds this morning. Can you suggest another and better road to Bethune? This one I came by has been badly shelled and damaged, some time after had passed. So was told at the place where I come from"
 Quite so. I have seen that bit of road since the smelling. A car could not get through but I II tell you an- other way"
 And he did, the kind brigadier, and wished me good luck
 ''NiSe fellows, those four gend- armea sir" said Wallis. as we drove away, "but they don't look half bad. Poor beggarsi I wonder. sir, what Vzs'u all look like if the war lasts -A&nosher three months, as they say.
 And this was in January 1915!
 AS Wallis negotiated a nasty turn ing in Two feet of mire, l saw the brigadie3 saluting from afar, and heard him shout a final ''Merci!"
 Now you're wondering where the story comes in, and when your i'm agination is going to be stirred A little patience!
 As I trust you'll realize. the de- tails I gave you about these four haua thaif. ir1nOrt-