The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-09
Astonishing Work Of Allied
 Secret Society In Belgium
How Thousands of British Prisoners Were Freed By Women and Children Who Lived In
 Occupied Districts

partly hidden by the slag and waste that had been deposited there.
 t4 Miles Underground.
 The total distance travelled under ground by this road was about four
 teen miles, and 1t was not a very
 pleasant Journey, for part of 1t had
 to be made on hands and knees.
 There was also great risk from
 ga+s with which the Germans sys-
 tematically filled part of the work
 ings after their first use of poison
 gas in the Flanders fighting. I have
 known men shrink from making
 this journey underground, and de-
 clare that they preferred to take
 their chances of breaking through the German lines above ground. I recall one case that of a young
 officer, who had proved himself a
 hero in some of the most terrible
 fighting of the war, heroism that was rewarded by the V. c. and other decorations. This officer had been captured by the enemy in Flanders in the early part of 1917, and made his escape in May of that year. I
 undertook to see him back to the British lines, and We started to go through the mine galleries. We had not gone very far when my com panion protested.
 "I cannot stand this," he said
 ''Burrowing through the earth like this is not a mans job. It is a | woman's- I am going up to take my chance. would rather break through the German line than go on like this.' He went up to take his chance, as
 he called it, and alas! it proved to be very poor chance, for he was shot dead when trying to evade German post Later I heard from l some Belgian peasants that this of fcer had been carried to their cot
 tage, but had been dead on arrival, and was buried behind the cottages in a field with some German dead. Friendly Foes.
 In the early summer of last year the -existance of this underground
 road to safety must have become known to men of the German army, for one morning when we entered at the Lille end we were surprised to hear mems voices. was accom- panied by two Belgians and a party of British soldiers, numbering four teen.
 We were on the point of retracing our steps when a party of Germans l came forward, and made it impos- sible for us to get away unseen. One of the Germans burss out laughing at the sight of the British soldiers, ! and called to them in passab1e Eng fish, There is nothing to fear. We | are sick of this business, and want | to get away. We will not betray you | because if we did so it would mean l betraying ourselves
 Other Germans joined the first l they appeared to use a:' living 1 room There were 43 of them alto gether. They said they had taken ' part in the fighting of the last three to us- 'I will risk it-''
 months, but could stand it no longer, and had agreed to desert-
 was satisfied from the bearing of the men that they were speaking the truth, and I told them that I knew a way by which they could reach the British lines and give themselves
 without fear. At first they demurred to this suggestion, saying that they had heard that prisoners were starv- ed in Great Britain. One of the Brit l ish soldiers, however, said that he
 had been home on leave lately, and 1 he had got the impression that the ! ed recess in the workings, which i group, coming from a deep1y-hollow- ! said som ething to them which I did l the German who had first spoken l That is what I would expect,' said 1 He turned to his companion, and l German prisoners were having a good time.
 l not catch, but the result was that i the whole party went with us.
 We took about 10 hours covering the distance, but reached the British
 end of the workings safely. The
 Germans were astonished to find the
 existence of this passage. and thought
 it would be a fine thing to use 1t fo1
 enabling their comrades to desert
 They asked permission of the Brit
 ish commander at Lens to go bacl
 and bring more of their comrades
 with whom they had been in commu
 nfcation before they had met us.
 This permission was naturally re
 fused, but l promised the German
 that I would look out for any OF unei
 comrades on my return. Sure enougl
 I found another party of Is, an
 these were sent through to Lens
 where they arrived safely.
 GIaastty Sight.
 My next Journey brought me
 g71astly reminder of the danger at
 tending the use of these galleries When I parsed through the narroy : gallery connecting with the. mai : workings I became conscious o heaviness in the atmosphere, and
 was not long until I had satisfie : myself that there was gas about Tn ' further I went the more oppresiv , did tt seem, and when reached tn . . recess that had been used by tn | first party of Germans I came on sight that almost froze the blood f
 my vein.
 Stretched on the ground 1ifeles . were a number of men in German un : forms. Some had r peaceful loo T on their faces. as though they ha gone in their sleep, or might eve be sleeping still. Others had u, Look of horror that is often seen 0 3 Sf1e face of the gassed men, and 5 knew that these poor devils had bee gassed.
 } It appeared flat two days prev iously the Germans had given tn workings their periodic gas delugt ? probably because they suspected tha } deserters were in hiding somewher. 3 but also because it was part of thsl | policy to render the mines or the oc cupfed region dangerous by releasin gas through them. so that they couI