Crook County journal., August 29, 1918, Page Page 6, Image 6

AI'Ul'HT Bl lOt
race
CROOK COVNTY JOVBNAIj
tQ -V2
OUTWIMING
THE HUN
n
LIEUTENANT
FAT O'BRIEN
uhiiiHi una, r ni ura v unw
stein d rieseh (Mlcfcaux)."' 1 double
portloa of anything would have been
mighty welcome to me, but I would
have been content with a tingle "gee
steo" If I had only bad the courage
to ask for It
' To keep myself as composed as pos
sible I devoted lot of attention to
that blU-of-fare, and I think by the
time the waiter came around I almost
knew It by heart One drink that al
most made me laugh aloud was listed 1
aa "Lemonades gaseuses," but I might
aa well have Introduced myself to the
German officers by my right name and
rank as attempt to pronounce It
When the waiter came to me, there
fore, I said "Bock" as casually as I
could, and I felt somewhat relieved
that I bad gotten through that part of
the orlMl so easily.
While the waiter was away I had a
chance to examine the bill-of-fare and
I observed that a class of bear cost 80
centimes. The smallest change I had
was a two-mark paper bill.
Apparently the German officers were
similarly fixed and when they offered
their bill to the waiter, be handed It
back to them with a remark which I
took to mean that he couldn't make
change.
Right there I was In a quandary. To
offer him my bill after be bad Just
told the officers he didn't have change
would have seemed strange, and yet I
couldn't explain to him that I was In
the same boat and he would have to
come to me again later. The only
thing to do, therefore, was to offer
him the bUl as though I hadn't heard
or noticed what bad happened with
the Germans, and I did so. He said
the same thing to me as he had said
to the officers, perhaps a little more
sharply, and gave me back the bllL
Later on, be returned to the table with
a handful of change and we closed the
transaction. I gave him 25 centimes
as a tip I had never yet been to a
place where It was necessary to talk
to do that
During my first half hour In that
theatre, to say I was on pins and
needles is to express my feelings
mildly. The truth of the matter is I
was never so nneasy in my life. Every
minute seemed like an hour, and a
dozen times I was on the point of get
ting up and leaving. There were al
together too many soldiers In the place
to suit me, and when the German of
ficers seated themselves right at my
table I thought that was about all I
could stand. As it was, however, the
lights went out shortly afterwards and
In the dark I felt considerably easier.
After the first picture, when the
lights went up again, I bad regained
my composure considerably and I took
advantage of the opportunity to study
the various types of people In the
place.
From my seat I had a splendid
chance to see them all. At one table
there was a German medical corps of
ficer with three Red Cross nurses.
That was the only time I had ever
Been a German nurse, for when I was
In the hospital I had seen only men
orderlies. Nurses didn't work so near
the first line trenches.
The German soldiers at the different
tables were very qnlet and orderly.
They drank bock beer and conversed
among themselves, but there was no
hilarity or rough-housing of any kind.
' As I sat there, within arm's reach
Of those German officers and realized
what they would have given to know
what a chance they had to capture an
escaped British officer, I could hardly
help smiling to myself, but when I
thought of the big risk I was taking,
more or less unnecessarily, I began to
wonder whether I had not acted fool
ishly in undertaking it
Nevertheless, the evening passed off
uneventfully and when the show was
over I mixed with the crowd and dis
appeared, feeling very proud of myself
and with a good deal more confidence
than I had enjoyed at the start
I had passed a night which will live
in my life as long as I live. The bill
of fare and program and a "throw
away" bill advertising the name of
the attraction which was to be pre
sented the following week which was
banded to me as I came out, I still
have and they are among the most
valued souvenirs of my adventure.
CHAPTER XV.
Observations In a Belgian City.
One night shortly before I left this
Wty, our airmen raided the place. I
illdn't venture out of the house at the
time, but the next night I thought I
would go out and see what damage
bad been done.
When It became dark I left the
house accordingly and mixed with the
crowd, which consisted largely of Ger
mans. I went from one place to an
other to see whnt our "straffing" had
accomplished. Naturally I avoided
speaking to anyone. If a man or
Woman appeared ubout to speak to me,
X. Just turned my head and looked or
wulkcu away in some other direction.
I must have been taken for an un- (
social sort ot individual a gooa many
times, and If I bad encountered the
same person twice I suppose my con
duct might have aroused suspicion.
I had a first-class observation of the
damage that was really doue by our
bombs. One bomb had lunded very
near the main railroad station and If
It had been only thirty yards nearer
would have completely demolished it
As the station was undoubtedly our
airman's objective I was very much
Impressed with the accuracy of his
aim. It Is by no means an easy thing
to hit a building from the air when
you are going at anywhere from fifty
to one hundred miles an hour and are
being shot at from beneath from a
doien different angles unless, of
course, you are taking one of those
desperate chances and flying so low
that you cannot very well miss your
mark and the Huns cant very well
miss you either I
I walked by the station and mingled
with the crowds which stood In the
entrances. They paid no more at
tention to me than they did to real Bel
gians, and the fact that the lights
were all out In this city at night made
it Impossible anyway for anyone to
get as good a look at me as if It bad
been light
During the ttmetbat I was In this
city I suppose I wandered from one
end of It to the other. In one place,
where the German staff had its head
quarters, a huge German flag hung
from the window, and I think I would
have given ten years of my life to
have stolen it Even If I could have
pulled It down, however, It would have
been Impossible for me to have con
cealed it and to have carried It away
with me as a souvenir, therefore would
have been out of the question.
As I went along the street one night
a lady standing on the corner 8tuped
me and spoke to me. My first Impulse,
of course, was to answer her, explain
ing that I could not understand, but I
stopped myself In time, pointed to my
ears and mouth and shook my head.
Indicating that I was deaf and dumb,
and she nodded understnndingly and
walked on. Incidents of that kind were
not unusual, and I was always In fear
that the time would come when some
Inquisitive and suspicious German
would encounter me and not be so
easily satisfied.
There are many things that I saw In
this city which, for various reasons. It
Is impossible for me to relate until
after the war is over. Some of them,
I think, will create more surprise than
the incidents I am free to reveal now.
It used to amuse me as I went along
the streets of this town, looking in
the shop windows with German sol
diers at my side looking at the same
things, to think how close I was to
them and they had no way of knowing.
I was quite convinced that If I were
discovered my fate would have been
death because I not only bad the
forged passport on me, but I bad been
so many days behind the German lines
after I bad escaped that they couldn't
safely let me live with the Informal
tlon I possessed.
One night I walked boldly across a
park. I beard footsteps behind me and
turning round saw two German sol
diers. I slowed up a trifle to let them
get ahead of me. It was rather dark
and I got a chance to see what a won
derful uniform the German military
authorities have picked out The sol
diers had not gone more than a few
feet ahead of me when they disap
peared In the darkness like one of
those melting pictures on the moving
picture screen.
As I wandered through the streets I
frequently glanced in the cafe win
dow as I passed. German officers
were usually dining there, but they
didn't conduct themselves with any
thing like the llght-heartedness which
characterizes the allied officers In
London and Paris. I was rather sur
prised at this because In this part of
Belgium they were 'much freer thaa
they would have been In Berlin,
where, I understand, food Is compar
atively scarce and the restrictions
are very strict
As I have said, my own condition In
this city was in some respects worse
than It had been when I was making
my way through the open country.
While I had a place to sleep and my
clothes were no longer constantly
soaking, my opportunities for getting
food were considerably less than they
had been. Nearly all the time I was
half famished, and I decided that I
would get out of there at once, since
I was entirely through with Huyllger.
My physical condition was greatly
Improved. While the lack of food
showed itself on me, I bad regained
some of my strength, my wounds
were healed, and my ankle was
stronger, and although my knees were
still considerably enlarged, I felt that
I was In better shape than I had been
at any time since my leap from the
train, and I was ready to go through
whatever was in store for me.
CHAPTER XVI.
I Leave for the Frontier.
To get out of the city, It would be
necessury to puss two guards. This I
had learned in the course of my walks
at night, having frequently traveled
to the city limits with the Idea ot
finding out Just what conditions I
would have to meet when the time
came lor me to leave.
A German soldier's uniform, how
ever, no longer worried me as It had
at first.. I had mingled with the Huns
so much in the city that I began to
feel that I was really a Belgian, and I
assumed the Indifference that they
seemed to feeL
I decided, therefore, to walk out of
the city in the daytime, when the sen
tries would be less apt to be on the
watch. It worked fine. 1 was not
held un a moment, the sentries evl
dently taking me for a Bclgtun peas
ant on his way to work. I
Traveling faster than I had ever
done before siuee my escape, 1 was
soon out lu the open country, and the
first Belgian I cum to I approached
for food. He gave me half of hi
lunch and we aut down on the side ot
the road to eat It Of course, he tried
to talk to me, but 1 used the old ruse
of pretending I was deaf and dumb
and he was quite convinced that It waa
so. He made various efforts to talk ,
to me lu pantomime, but I could not
make out whut he was getting at and
I think he must have coucluded that I i
was not only half stifrved. deaf and j
dumb, but "looney" In the bargain.
When night came I looked arouud ;
for a place to rest I had decided to
travel in the daytime as well as night,!
because I understood that It was only
lew nines iroin ne irouiier, anu
was naturally anxious to get there at
the earliest possible niomeut although
I realized that there 1 would encounter
the most hasnrdous part of my whole
adventure. To get through the heavily
guarded barbed wire and electrically
charged barrier was a problem that I
hated to think of even, although the
hours I spent endeavoring to devise
gome wuy of outwitting the Huns
were many.
It had occurred to me, for Instance,
that It would not be such a difficult
matter to vault over the electric feuce,
which was only nine feet Itlch. In col
lege, I knew a ten-foot vault Is consid
ered a high-school boy's accomplish
ment but there were two great dif
ficulties In the way of this solution.
In the first place It would be no easy
matter to get a pole of the right
length, weight and strength to serve
the purpose. More particularly, how
ever, the pole-vault Idea seemed to me
to be out of the question because of .
the fact that on either side of the elec
tric fence, six feet from It, was a six
foot barbed wire barrier. To vault
safely over a nine-foot electrically
charged fence was one thing, but to
combine with It a twelve-foot broad
vault was a feat which even a college
athlete In the pink of condition would
be apt to flunk. Indeed, I don't be
lieve it Is possible.
Another plan thnt seemed half-way
reasonable was to build a pair of stilts
about twelve or fourteen feet high and
walk over the barriers one by one. As
a youngster I had acquired consider
able skill In stllt-walklng and I huve
no doubt that with the proper equip
ment It would have been quite feas
ible to have walked out of Belgium
as easily as possible In that way, but
whether or not I was going to have a
chance to construct the necessary
stilts remained to be seen.
There were a good many bicycles in
nse by the German soldiers In Belgium
and It had ofteu occurred to me that
If I could have stolen one, the tires
would have made excellent gloves and
Insulated coverings for my feet In
case It was necessary for me to at
tempt to climb over the electric fence
bodily. But as I had never been able
to steal a bicycle this avenue of es
cape was closed to me.
I decided to wait until I arrived at
the barrier and then make up my mind
bow to proceed.
To find a decent place to sleep that
night, I crawled under a barbed wire
fence, thinking It led into some field.
As I passed under, one of the barbs
caught in my coat and In trying to
pull myself from It I shook the fence
for several yards.
Instantly there came out of the night
the nerve-racking command: "Haiti"
Again I feared I was done for. I
crouched close down on the ground in
the darkness, not knowing whether to
take to my legs and trust to the Hun's
missing me In the darkness If he fired,
or stay where I was. It was foggy
as well as dark, and although I knew
the sentry was only a few feet away
from me I decided to stand, or rather
He, pat I think my heart made almost
as much noise as the rattling of the
wire in the first place, and It was a
tense few moments to me.
I beard the German say a few words
to himself, but didn't understand them,
of course, and then be made a sound
as if to call a dog, and I realized that
his theory of the noise he had heard
was that a dog bad made its way
through the fence.
For perhaps five minutes I didn't
stir, and then figuring that the German
had probably continued on his beat I
crept quietly under the wire again,
this time being mighty careful to hug
the ground so close that I wouldn't
touch the wire, and made off In a dif
ferent direction. Evidently the barbed
wire fence had been thrown around an
ammunition depot or something of the
kind, and It was not a field at all that
I bad tried to get Into.
I figured that other sentries were
probably In the neighborhood and I
proceeded very gingerly.
After I bad got about a mile away
from this spot I came to an humble
Belgian house and I knocked at the
door and applied for food In my usual
way, pointing to my mouth to indi
cate I was hungry and to my ears and
mouth to imply that I was deaf and
dumb. The Belgian woman who lived
In the bouse brought me a piece of
bread and two cold potatoes and as I
sat there eating them she eyed me
very keenly.
I haven't the slightest doubt that
she realized I was a fugitive. She lived
so near the border that it was more
for that reason, I appreciated more
fully the extent of the risk she ran, for
no doubt the Germans were constantly
watching the conduct of these Bel
gians who lived near the line.
My theory that she realized that I
was not a Belgian at all, but prob
aby some English fugitive, was con
firmed a moment later, when, as I
made ready to go, she. touched me. on
the arm and Initialled that 1 was to
wait a moment. She went to a bureau
and brought out two pieces of fancy
Ilelglnn lace which she Insisted upon .
my taking away, although at that par-'
tlcular moment I hnrf as much use for
Belgian luce as an elephant for a
safety raior. but I was touched with ,
her thoughtfulnes and pressed her '
hand to show uiy gratitude. She would ,
not accept the money I offered her.
I carried the lace through my sub-!
sequent experiences, feeling that It
would be a fine souvenir for my '
mother, although as a matter of fact If '
I had known that It was going to de j
lay my Dual escape (or even a single
moment, as It did, I am quite sure
she would rather I had not seen It
. On one piece of lace waa the Flem
ish word "Charlte" aud on the other
the word "Ksperage." At the time I
took these words to meau "Charity"
and "Kxerieuce" and all I hoped was
that I would get as much of the one
as I was getting of tlio other before I
finally got through. I learned subse
quently that what the words really
stood for were "Charity" and "Hope."
and then I was sure that my kind Bel
gian friend had Indeed realised my
plight and that her thoughtful sou
venir was intended to encourage me In
the trials she must have known were
before me.
I didn't let the old Belgian lady
know, because I did not want to alarm
her unnecessarily, but that night I
slept In her backyard, leaving early
In the morning before It became light.
Later In the day I applied at an
other house for food. It was occupied
by a father and mother and ten chil
dren. I hesitated to ask them for food
without offering to pay for It, as I re
alized what a tusk It must have been
for them to support themselves with
out having to feed a hungry man. Ac
conlliicly I gave the man a mark and
then Indleuted that I wanted some
thing to eat. They were Just about to
eat, themselves, apparently, and they
let me partake of their meul, which
consisted of a huge bowl of some kind
of soup which I was unable to Iden
tify and which they served In ordinary
wash basins., I don't know that they
ever used the basins to wash In as
well, but whether they did or not did
not worry me very much. The soup
was good and I enjoyed It
All the time I was there I could see
the father and the eldest son, a boy
Again I Feared I fVas Done For.
about seventeen, were extremely nerv
ous. I had indicated to them that I
was deaf and dumb, but If they be
lieved me it didn't seem to make them
any more comfortable.
I lingered at the house for about an I
hour after the meal and during that
time a young man came to call on the
eldest daughter, a young woman of
perhaps eighteen. The caller eyed me
very suspiciously, although 1 must
have resembled anything but a British
not understand a word they said, but
I think they were discussing my prob-
able Identity. During their conversa-
tlon, I bad a chance to look around
the room. There were three alto
gether, two fairly large and one
somewhat smaller, about fourteen feet
long and six deep. In this smaller
room there were two double-decked
beds, which were apparently intended
to bouse the whole family, although
how the whole twelve of them could
sleep In that one room will ever re
main a mystery to me.
From the kitchen you could walk
.directly Into the cow-burn, where two
cows were kept, and this, as I have
pointed out before, Is the usuul con
struction of the poorer Belgian houses.
I could not make out why the caller
seemed to be so antagonistic to me,
and yet I am sure he was arguing with
the family against me. Perhaps the
fact that I wasn't wearing wooden
shoes I doubt whether I could have
obtulned a pair big enough for me
had convinced him thut I was not
really a Belgian, because there was
nothing about me otherwise which
could have given him that idea.
At that time, and I suppose It Is
true today, about 94 per cent of the
people in Belgium were wearing
wooden shoes. Among the peasants I
don't believe I ever saw any other
kind of footwear and they are more
common there than they are In Hol
land. The Dutch wear them more on
account of a lock of leather. I was
told that during the coming year prac
tically all the peasants and poorer
people In Germany, too, will adopt
wooden shoes for furm worlc, as that
, Is one direction In which wood can be
'W'' ''Xik
YA x, y'y
substituted rnr tPKihcr without much
loss.
When the young man left I left
shortly afterwards, as I was not at I
all comfortable about what his Inten
tions were regarding me. For all I I
knew he might have gone to notify
the German authorities that there wss
a strange niau In the vicinity more
perhaps to protect hi friends from
suspicion of having aided me than to
Injure me.
At any rate, I was not going to take
any chances aud I got out of that
neighborhood as rapidly aa I could.
That night found me right on the
frontier of llollund.
CHAPTIR XVII.
Getting Through the Lines.
Waiting until It was quite dark, 1
made my way carefully through a
field and eveutuully caiue to the much
dreaded barrier.
It waa all that I had heard about It
Every foot of the bonier line between
Belgium and llollund Is protected In
precisely the same manner. It I there
to serve three purposes: first, to pre
vent the Belgians from escaping into
Holland ; second to keep enemies, like .
myself, from making their way to free
dom ; and third, to prevent desertions
on the part of Germans themselves.
One look was enough to convince any
one that It probably accomplished nil
three objects about as well aa any con
trivance could, and one look was all I
got of It that night, for while I lay
on my stomach gnlng at the forbid
ding structure I beard the measured
stride of a German sentry advancing
towards me and 1 crawled away as
fast us 1 possibly could, determined
to spend the night somewhere in the
fields and make another and more
fan-fill survey the following night.
The view I bad obtained, Imwtver,
was sufficient to convince me Unit the
pole-vault idea was out of the ques
tion even if I hud a pole aud whs a
proficient pole-vaulter. The three
fences covered a span of at least twelve
feet and to clear the last barbed wire
fence It would be necessary to vault
not only at least ten feet high, but at
least fourteen feet wide, with the cer
tain knowledge that to touch the elec
trically churged fence meant Instant
death. There would be no second
chance If you came a cropper the first
time.
The stilt Idea was also Impractica
ble because of the luck of suitable
Umber and tools with which to con
struct the stilts.
It seemed to me thut the best thing
to do was travel up and down the line
a bit In the hope that some spot might
be discovered where conditions were
more favorable, although I don't know
Just what I expected along those
lines.
It was mighty disheartening to real
ize thnt only a few feet away lay cer
tain liberty and that the only things
preventing me from reaching It were
three confounded fences. I thought of
my machine and wished that some
kind fairy would set It In front of nie
for Just one minute.
I spent the night In a clump (f
bushes aud kept In hiding most of l! "
next duy, only going abroad for tin
hour or two In the middle of the duy
to Intercept some Ilclgiun peasant
and beg for food. The Ilelgians In this
section were naturally very much
afraid of the Germans and 1 fared
badly. In nearly every house German
soldiers were quartered and It was
out of the question for me to apply
for food in that direction. The prox
imity of the border made everyone
eye each other with more or less sus
picion and I soon came to the conclu
sion that the safest thing I could do
was to live on raw vegetables which I
could steal from the fields at night as
I bad previously done.
That night I made another survey
of the barrier In thut vicinity, but it
looked Just as hopeless as It had the
night before and I concluded thut I
only wusted my time there.
I spent the night wandering north,
guided by the North Star which hud
served me so faithfully In all my trav
eling. Every mile or two I would make
my way carefully to the barrier to see
If conditions were any better, but It
j seemed to be the same all along. I felt
like u wild animal In a cage, with
about as much chance of getting out
The section of the country In which
I was now wandering was very heavily
wooded and there was really no very
great difficulty In keeping myself con
cealed, which I did nil day long, striv
ing all the time to think of some way
In which I could circumvent thut
cursed barrier.
The Idea of a huge stepladder oc
curred to me, but I searched hour after
hour In vuln for lumber or fallen trees
out of which I could construct one. If
I could only obtain something which
would enable me to reach a point
about nine feet In the air It would be
a comparatively simple matter to
Jump from that point over the electric
fence.
Then I thought that perhaps I could
construct a simple ladder and lean It
against one of the posts upon which
the electric wires were strung, climb to
the top and then leap over, getting
over the burbed wire fences In the
same way.
This seemed to be the most likely
plan and all night long I sat construct
ing a ladder for this purpose.
I was fortunate enough to find a
number of fallen pine trees from ten
to twenty feet long. I selected two of
them which seemed sufficiently strong
and broke off ull the branches, which
I used as rungs, tying them to the
poles with grass and strips from my
handkerchef and shirt as best I
could.
It was not a very workmanlike
looking ladder when I finally got
through with It. I leaned It against
' a tree to lest It and I t wobbled consld.-
ernblv. It was more like a rope lad
der tli a a a wooden uiie, but 1 strength
ened It hi-ra and there and decided
that It would probably serve the pur
pose.
I kept the ladder In the woods all
day and could hardly wait until dark
to make the supreme test. If It proved
successful my troubles were overj
within a few hours 1 would he In
neutral country nut of all danger. If
I failed I dismissed the Idea sum
marily. There was no use worryluf
about failure; the thing to do was ti
succeed.
The few hours Hint were to pasa
before night caiue ou seemed riidlcsa,
but I utilised them to 're-enforce my
ladder, tying the rungs more securely
with long grass which I picked lu the
woods.
At last night came, and with my
ladilcr lu baud 1 made for the barrier.
In front of It there was a cleared
spa.ee of about one hundred yards,
which had been prepared to make the
work of the guards easier In watch
ing It
I waited In the neighborhood until I
heard the sentry paaa the spot wbera I
wss In hiding and then I hurried
across the clearing, shoved my ladder
nmler the barbed wire and endeav
ored to follow It. My clothing caught
In the wire, but 1 wrenched myself
clear aud crawled to the electric bar
rier. My plan was to plnce the ladder
against one of the posts, climb up to
the top and then Jump. There would
be a fall of .iiliui or ten feet, and I
might possibly sprain an ankle or
bifiik hiy leg, but If that was aM that
stood between me and freedom I
wasn't going to atop to consider It.
I put my ear to the ground to listen
for the coming of the sentry. There
was not a sound. Kngcrly but rare
fully I placed the bidder against the
post and started up. Only a few fet
separated me from liberty, and luy
heart beut fast,
I had climbed perhaps three rung
of my ladder when I became aware
of an unloosed for difficulty.
The ladder was slipping.
Just as I took the next rung, the
ladder slipped, came In rontuct with
the live wire, and the current passed
through the wet sticks aud Into my
body. There was a blue flush, my
hold on the ladder relaxed and 1 fell
heavily to the ground unconscious.
Of course, I bud not received th
full force of the current or I would
not now be here. 1 must have re
mained unconscious for a few mo
ments, but I came to Just In time to
hear the German guard coming, and
the thought came to me If 1 didn't get
thut ladder concealed at once he would
see It even though, fortunately for me,
It was an unusually dark night.
I pulled the ladder out of bis path
and lay down flat on the ground not
seven feet away from bis feet Ho
passed so close that I could have
pushed the ladder out aud tripped
biro up.
It occurred to me that I could have
' !nck under the barbed wlro
Iciae and waited for the sentry to re
turn and then felled htm with a blow
'i the In-ul, as he hud no Idea, of
'": t' t there wus anyone In the
vicinity. I wouldn't huve hesitated
to take life, becuiise ray only thought
was to get Into llollund, but I thought
that as long as be didn't bother me
perhaps the safest thing to do was not
to bother blm, but to continue my ef
forts during his periodic absence.
His beat at this point was apparent
ly fairly long and allowed me more
time to work than I bad hoped for.
My mishap with the ladder bad con
vinced me thnt my escape In that way
was not feasible. The shuck that I
hnd received had unnerved me and I
was afraid to risk It aguln, particu
larly as I realized that I had fared
more fortunately than I could hop
to aguln If I met with a similar mis
hap. There was no way of making
thut bidder hold and I gave up the Idea
of using It
I was now right In front of this
electric barrier and as I studied It I
saw another way of getting by. If I
couldn't get over It, what was the
mutter with getting under It?
The bottom wire was only two
Inches from the ground and, of course,
I couldn't touch It, but my plan waa
to dig underneath it and then crawl
through the hole In the ground.
I had only my hands to dig with,
but I went at It with a will and fortu
nately the ground was not very hard.
When I bud dug about six Inches,
making a distance In ull of eight
Inches from the lowest electric wire,
I came to un underground wire. I
knew enough about electricity to real
ize that this wire could not be churged,
as It was In contact with the ground,
but still there wus not room between
the live wire and this underground
wire for me to crawl through, and I
ether had to go buck or dig deep
enough under this wire to crawl under
It or else pull It up.
This underground wire was about
as big around as a leud pencil and
there was no chance of breaking It
The Jack-knife I hud had at the start
of my travels 1 had long since lost
and even If I hud hud something to
hummer with, the noise would have
made the method Impracticable.
I went on digging. When the total
distance between the live wire and the)
bottom of the hole I had dug waa
thirty Inches, I took hold ot the ground
wire and pulled on It with all my
strength.
It wouldn't budge. It was stretched
taut across the nurrow ditch I had
dug ubout fourteen Inches wide
and all the tugging didn't servo to
loosen it,
s ' (To be continued)
w. a. s.
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