Evening star., 1927-11-27

yoluminous folds of his parachute.
The tool he threw into the stream.
There was a wood to his left. He
reached it, bored in some little dis
tance. and flung himself into thicket
of ferns.
The wood, like the field he had
landed in, was unfamiliar to him.
| There had been no wind-they had
made sure of that before starting
and consequently he had dropped al
most perpendicularly Therefore, Col
| bridge, for all his sense of locality.
must have erred.
| Trucks and supply trains were go
| ing up 10 the guns, not more than a
quarter of a mile away. If that road
was fringed by poparS, it would be
the Saint Quentin-Vervins Highway,
and he'd be five kilometers too far TO
the south.
The thing TO do was to reach the
road, and burst of maChine-Sun fire
to his right hurried the decision. He
branched off to the left until the dark
lifted directly ahead of him. From
where he stood, he could see a pale
thread winding westward and north.
1t was lined with broken stumps, tall
and spectral. Once they had been
leafy poplars. Now they merely testi-
fed to the accuracy of the allies big
guns.
LIE crossed the road and, making
= = use of every bit of cover, went
north, bearing a little to the east,
whenever he could conveniently do SO.
Once he passed close to a group of
French cottages. He could see into
one Of the rooms. Some artillery Off
GERS were standing by piano, singing
Justify in high tenor voices.
Luck was with him. He got his ex-
act location by the distant outlines of
the Nonancourt Chateau, and-favor-
ing his wretched appearance-it con
tinued to rain.
Toward 6 in the morning a filthy
bedraggled peasant trudged into
Guise. The oranSe-and green posters
headed by II Est Strictement Defundu
were peelng from the walls to which
they had been pasted. Wet German
flags hung from the windows The
word kommandantur seemed every
where.
Favieres was trembling with cold.
Crossing the railway line. he was
halted by two members of the German
police. He showed his passport and
identity card. but shook his head when
they questioned him about his pres
ence outside at an hour when, as he
knew. all inhabitants of occupied terri
tory were supposed to be indoors. He
was arrested. thrust into the civil
prison in the town hall.
At IL o'clock he was brought before
the kommandant. Maj. Kumpfe,
whose reddish hair. above a pair of
pale blue eyes, bristled with eXtraor-
dinary rigidity.
Favieres spoke in excellent German.
Maj. Kumpfe." he said, you see be-
fore you man who needs a hot bath.
a change of raiment, and-if you have
such a thing-a glass of brandy"
Maj. kumpfe's monocle fell to the
length of it's black silk ribbon. Dis
missing the corporal, he leaned for
ward.
''Leutnant Won Kedor?" he inquired
Il am" admitted the prisoner. and
he recounted his adventures, emitting
no detail. The fool landed me south
of the Saint Quentin road-outside
Ribemont, as near as / could judge.
That patrol Of yours acted like
frightened geese. What's the use of
firing at shadows? Waste of good bull
let's, Herr Major. Besides, there
ought to be less hysteria in the army
/ might have been shot"
Wed almost given you up. Gen.
Won Rogge expected you to come
the lines north of Ypres."
This was the better way"
"Well?"
Won kedor grinned. "Ja-every-
thing went the way we expected. I've
got information that will enable us
to smash the Americans. They fell
for Jules Favieres-hook. line. and
sinker. Why. what do you think?
They even expect me to return"
Kumpfe's appreciation of this was a
series of grunts-his particular form
Of laughter. with more of our
maps?" he winked.
Exactly. But come. Herr Major
I'm hungry. And it is important
reach Brussels before night"