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LIEUTENANT 4
PAT O’BRIEN \i
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Copyright, IWS, by r*t Alva o llrlen
SYNOPSIS.
CHAPTER 1 -Introductory. Pat O’Brien
tells of his purpose in writing the blory
of his adventures.
CHAPTER II Tells ..f his enlistment in
the Royal Flying imps, his training in
Cunuda and his transit ! to Franco fur a<
live duty.
CHAPTER III —Describes fights in which
he brought down two German Uirplanes
and his linai fight in whlcii he was
brought down wounded within the Ger
man lines and was made a prisoner of
war.
CHAPTER IV—Discovers that German
hospital sta/T bifrbarousiy neglected li*e
fatally wounded and devoted their ener
gies to restoring those who might bo
returned to the firing lines. Witnesses
death in fight of lus best chum, Ueut.
l’aul Rainey.
CHAPTER V-rlle is taken to the of
ficers’ prison camp at Courtial. There lie
began plunmng his escape. By great sa<
riflee he manages to save uuu hide away
two dully rations of bread.
CHAPTER VI He confiscates a map of
Germany and just half an hour later is
nut on a train bound for a prison camp
In Germany. lie haps through a window
while the train is traveling at a ra»e of kJ
miles an hour.
CHAPTER VII For nine days he
crawls through Germany, hiding during
the; day, traveling at night, guldt d by the
stars and subsisting on raw vegetables.
He covers To miles before reaching Lux
emburg.
uiAiTidt Vin—bor nine days more he
struggles on In a weakened condition
through Luxemburg in the direction of
Belgium.
CHAPTER IX.
I Enter Belgium.
I have sunl it whs about the
eighteenth day after my escape that
I entered Belgium, hut that is mere
or less guess work. I was possibly
well Into that country la-fore 1 real
ized that 1 had crossed the line.
About the third day after 1 figured
I was In Belgium I started to swim
a canal just before daylight. I was
then heading due north in the direc
tion of the (lermuu lines. 1 was just
ubout the wadi- into the canal when
I heard a (lerman yelling violently,
and for the first time I knew I was
being followed.
I ran up the bunk of the canal guilt
a distance and then swum to the op
posite side, as I reasoned they would
not be looking for me there. I found
a sheltered clump of bushes that were
in a swamp near the canal and in the
driest part Hint 1 Could lind I crawled
In and made myself as comfortable
as possible. The sun come up soon
and kept me warm, and I planned lo
camp right there, food or no food,
until the llun got tired of searching
for me. I think I heard them otiee
or twice that day, and my heart nearly
stopped on each occasion, hut evi
dently they decided to look in some
other direction and 1 was nut further
molested.
At the same time T figured that It
was absolutely necessary for me to
change my course, even at the ex
pense of going somewhat out of my
way. I decided to go due west and
I kept In that directum for four days.
As 1 was In a very weak condition,
1 did not cover more than live miles a
night. I kept away from the roads
and did all my journeying through
fields, beet patches, woods, swamps—
anywhere provided I was not likely
to he seen and captured. Food was
an important consideration to me, hut
it was secondary to concealment
Map Showing the Progress O'Brien
Made in Passing Out of Luxembourg
Into Belgium. The Heavy Dotted
Line Shows the Course of That Part
of His Journey Toward Holland.
At Inst 1 brougnt up at tin* Meuse
river at a place between Namur and
liny, and it was here that 1 came near
I est of all to giving up the struggle.
The Meuse at this point is about
half a mile wide as wide as the Hud
son River at West Point. Had I been
in normal condition 1 wouldn’t have
hesitated a moment to swim across.
San Diego bay, California, is a mile
and a half wide, and I had often swam
across and back, and the San Jaoquin,
which is also a mile nod v half wide,
had never proven an obstacle to me.
In the wretched shape in which I
then was, however, the M* use looked
| like tin* Atlantic ocean to me. I
looked for a bout, hut could find none.
I tried to get a piece of wood upon
which I Imped to ferry across, but I
« was equally unsuccessful.
(let across I must, and I decided
there was nothing to do but to swim.
It was then about II o’clock in the
morning. 1 waded in and was soon
In beyond my depth and had to swim.
After about an hour of it I was very
much exhausted, and I doubted
i whether I could make tin* opposite
bank, although it was not more than
thirty or forty feet away. I choked
and gasped, and my arms and legs
were completely fagged out. I sunk a
little and tried to touch bottom with
my feet, but the water was still be
yond my depth.
There are times when everyone will
pray, and I was no exception. I
prayed for strength to make those
few wicked yards, and then, with all
the will power I could summon, struck
out for dear life, li seemed a life
time before I finally felt the welcome
mud of bottom and was able to drag
Tile Imnk was rather high ami 1 was
shaking si> violently that when 1 took
hold of the grass to pull myself up,
the grass shook out of my hands. 1
eould not retain my grip. 1 was afraid
1 would faint then and there, hut 1
kept pulling and crawling frantically
up that infernal hank and finally
j made It.
Then for the first time in my life 1
‘ fainted—fainted from utter exhaus
tion.
It was now about S o'clock in tin
morning and I was entirely unpro
tected from observation. If anyone
I had come along I would have been
I found lying there dead to the world.
l’ossibly two hours passed before 1
regained consciousness, and then, no
doubt, only because the rain wu
heating in my face.
1 knew that I lmd to get away, an
it was broad daylight. Moreover,
there was a tow-path right there and
any minute a bout might come along
and find me. Hut It was equally
dangerous for me to attempt to travel
very far. Fortunately 1 found some
shrubbery near by and I hid there all
day, without food or drink.
That night 1 made a little head
way, hut when day broke 1 had »
dreadful fever and was delirious. I
talked to myself and thereby In
creased my ehanees of capture. In
my lucid Intervals when I realized that
I had been talking, the thought sent
a chill through me, because In the
silent night even the sliel.i.wi sound
curries far across the lb-lgian country.
I began to fear that another day of
this would about finish me.
I have a distinct recollection of a
ridiculous conversation I carried on
with an imaginary Pat O'ltricn—a
sort of duplicate of myself. I argued
with him as I marched drearily along
and he answered me back in kind,
and when we disagn ••«!, I called upon
s
my one constant friend, the North
Star, to stand by me.
“There you uro, you old North Star,"
I cried aloud. "You want me to get
to Holland, don't you? Hut this Hat
O'Hrlen—this I’at O’Hrein who calls
himself a soldier—he's got a yellow
streak—North Star—und he says It
can't tie done! He wants me to quit
—to lie down here for the Huns to
find me und take me hark to Cour
trai—after all you've done. North
Star? I don’t want to follow him—I
just want to follow you—because you
—you are taking me away from the
Huns and this l’at O’Hrlen—this fel
low who keeps after me all the time
and leans mi my neck and wants me
to lie down—this yellow Hat O'Hreln
wants me to go bark to the Huns!"
After a spell of foolish chatter like
that my senses would come buck to
me for a while and I would trudge
along without a word until the fever
came on me again.
1 knew that I hud to have food be
cause 1 was about on my lust legs. I
was very much tempted to lie down
then and there and call it a beat.
Things seemed to he getting worse for
"I Kept Pulling and Crawling Up
That Infernal Bank.
me the farther I went, and all the
time I had before me the spectre of
that electrie barrier between Belgium
and Holland, even if I ever reached
there alive. What was the use of
further suffering when 1 would prob
ably he captured in the end anyway?
Before giving up, however, T decided
upon one hold move. I would ap
proach one of the houses In the vi
cinity and get food there or die In
the effort.
1 picked out a small house because
I figured there would lie less likeli
hood of soldiers being billeted there.
Then I wrapped a stone in my khaki
handkerchief as a sort of camouflaged
weapon, determined to kill the occu
pant of the house, German nr Belgian,
If that step was necessary In order
to get food. I tried the well In the
yard, hut it would not work, and then
I went up to the door and knocked.
It was I o’clock In the morning. An
old Indy came to the window and
looked out. Slit* could not imagine
what I was, probably, because 1 was
still attired in that old overcoat. She
gave a cry and her husband and u
hoy ennic to the door.
They could not speak liiigllsli and I
could not speak Flemish, hut I pointed
to my flying coat and then to the sky
and said "Fleger” filler), •which I
thought would tell them what 1 was.
Whether they understood or were
intimidated by the hard-looking ap
pearance, I don't know, hut certainly
It would have to In* a liruve old man
and hoy who would start an argument
with such a villainous looking char
acter as stood before them that night!
I had not shaved for a month, my
clothes were wet, torn and dirty, my
leggings were gone—they had gotten
so heavy I had to discard them—m.v
hair was matted and my cheeks were
flushed with fever. In my hand I
carried the rock In my handkerchief ,
and I made no effort to conceal Its
presence or Its mission.
Anyway, they motioned me Indoors,
gave uie my tirst hot meal In more
than n month! True, It consisted only
of wurtn potatoes. They had been
previously cooked, but the old woman
warmed them up tn milk In one of the :
dirtiest kettles I hud ever seen. I
asked for bread, hut she shook her
head, although I think It must have
been for lack of It ruther than be
cause she begrudged It to me. For
If ever a man showed he was fluilshed,
I did that night. 1 swallowed those
warm potatoes ravenously and I drank
four glasses of water, one ufter an- J
other. It was the best meal I had had
since the “banquet” In the prison ut
Court rat.
The woman of the house was prole
ably seveuty-five yearN old and had
evidently worn wooden shoes all her ^
life, for she had a cullous spot on the
side of her foot the size of half a dol
lar and it looked so hard thut 1 doubt
whether you could have driven a null
Into It with a hammer!
As J sat there drying myself—for I
was In no hurrrv to l*v>'*‘ the brut
human habitation I had entered in
four weeks—1 reflected on my un
happy lot n:*d the unknown troubles
and dangers that lay ahead of me.
Here, for more than a month, 1 hud
been leading the life of a hunted
animal—yes, worse than a hunted
animal, for nature clothes her less
favored creatures more appropriate
ly for the life they lead than I v is
clothed for mine—and there was not
the slightest reason to hope that con
ditions would grow any better.
Perhaps the lirst warm food I }., 1
eaten for over a month had released
unused springs of philosophy in me,
as food sometimes does for a man.
I pointed to my torn and water
soaked clothes and conveyed to them
as best I could that I would he grate
ful for an old suit, hut apparently
they wen* too poor to have more than
they actually needed thems»lve-, and
I rose to go. I laid aroused them ovt
of bed and I knew I ought not to keep
them up longer than was absolute b
necessary.
As I approadnd the door I got a
glance at myself in a mirror. I was
the awfulest sight 1 had laid eyes on!
The glimpse I got of myself startled
me almost as mud as if I lmd seen a
dreaded Herman helmet ! My left eye
was fairly well healed by this time
and 1 was beginning to regain sight
of it, but my face was so haggard and
rny heard so long and unkempt that I
looked like Santa Claus on a bat!
As they let im* «»ut of the door 1
pointed to the opposite direction t->
the one I Intended taking and started
off in tin* direction I had indicated.
Later I changed my course completely
to throw off any possible pursuit.
The next day I was so worn out from
exposure ami exhaustion thut I threw
away my coat, thinking that the less
weight I had to carry tin* better it
would be for me, but when night came
I regretted my mistake because the
nights were now getting colder. I
thought at lirst It would be better for
me to retrace my steps and look for
the coat 1 had so thoughtlessly dis
carded, but I decided to go on with
out it.
I then began to discard everything
that I had in my pocket finally throw
ing my wrist watch into a canal. A
wrist-watch does not add much
weight, but when you plod along and
have not eaten for a month it linally
becomes rather heavy. The next
thing i discarded was a pair of thing
mittens.
These mittens I had gotten at Camp
Lord'll, in Canada, and bad become
Unite famous, as my friend.- tenia d
them “snow shoes.” in fact, they
were a ridiculous pair of mittens, but
the best pair I ever bad and 1 really
felt worse when 1 lost those mittens
than anything else. I could not think
of anybody else ever using them, so I
dug ii hole ill tin ii.t. ! and biiri.il
them pud could not help hut laugh
at the-thought If my friends could see
me burying my mittens, because they
were a standing joke In Cumulu, Kng
land and France.
I had on two shirts and as they were
always both wet and didn't keep me
warm, it was useless to wear both.
One of these was a shirt that 1 had
bought In France, the oilier an Amer
ican army shirt. They were belli
khaki and one as apt to give me away
as the other, so I discarded the French
shirt. The American army shirt 1
brought hack with me to Knglnml and
It Is still In my possession.
When I escaped from the trull) 1 still
had (he liavarian cap of bright red m
my pocket and wore it for many
nights, hut 1 took great care that no
one saw It. It also had proven very
useful when swimming rivers, for 1
carried my map and a few oilier In
longiugs in it and 1 had fully math
u)i my mind to bring it home a- a
souvenir. Bill the farther I went
the heavier my o\lra clothing became,
so I Was compelled lo dlaeurd even
the cap. I knew dial il would he a
tell-tale mark If 1 simply threw il
away, .mi one night after swimming a
river. I dug a hole la the soft mud on
the I tank and hulled It. too. with eon
sldernbly less ceremony than my liv
ing milieus had received perhaps; so
that was the end of my Bavarian lull.
My experience at the Belgian's
house whei led my appetite for more
food and 1 figured that what had been
done once eouhl he done again.
Sooner or later. 1 realized I would
probably approach a Belgian and lind
a German Instead, hut in such a con
tingency I was determined to meas
ure my strength against the Hun's if
necessary to effect my cSbape.
As It was, however, most of the Bel
gians to whom 1 applied for food gave
it to me readily enough, and If some
of them refused me It was only be
cause they feared 1 might be a spy
or that the Germans would shoot them
if their action were subsequently
found out.
About the fifth day after 1 laid en
tered Belgium I was spending the day j
as usual In a clump of bushes when 1 ]
discerned in the distance what up j
peared to be something bunging on a l
line. All day long 1 strained my eyes
trying to decide what It could be and
urgulug with myself tliut it might be
something that I could add to my In
adequate wordrobe, hut the distance j
was so greut that I could not Identify ;
it. I had a greut feur that before
night came It would probably be re
moved.
As soon as darkness fell, however, 1
crawled on* of mv hiding tiluee and
worked up to the line and got a pair
of overalls for my industry. The pair
of overalls wus the first bit of civil
ian clothes I had thus fur picked up
with the exception of a civilian cup
which I had found at the prison and
concealed on my person und which I
still had. The overalls were rather
small and very short, bo* when I nut
i
mem on i iocnu mat they hung down
far enough to cover rny breeches.
It was perhaps three days later that
I planned to search another house for
. uriher clothes. Entering Belgian
'leases at night is anything but a safe
proposition, because their families are
large and sometimes as many as seven
or eight sleep in a single room. The
barn Is usually connected with the
house proper, and there was always
me danger of disturbing some dumb
animal even If the Inmates of tin
house were not arouse 1.
. * (juently I took a chance 11
‘-••arching a back yard at night in the
hope of finding food scraps, but my
success in that direeilon was so slight
Mint I soon decided that it wasn't
worth the risk and I continued to
live on raw vegetables tiiat 1 euiild
i•. .v vvi;h safety In the fields and the
o' < Msinnnl meal that I was able to get
-mi the Be' <m peasants in the duy
, 'mc.
• 'Tthcless I was determined to
get more in the wav of clothing and
non night c»me I fucked out a house
that looked as though It might furnish
me with what I wanted. It was a
rni">n?ight night and if 1 could get in
the barn I would have a fair chance of
'hiding my way around by the moon
light whi' h would enter the windows.
'I he barn adjoined the main part of
ihe house, but I groped around very
carefully and soon I touched some
‘ ’ g hanging on a peg. I didn't
know what it was, but I confiscated
it and carried it out into the Helds.
There in the moonlight I examined
my booty and found that It was an old
coat. It was too short for an over
coat and too long for an ordinary
coat, hut nevertheless I made use of
it. It had probably been an overcoat
for the Belgian who bad worn it.
Some days later I got a scarf from
a Belgian peasant and with this equip
ment I was able to conceal my uni
form entirely.
Later on, however, I decided that It
was too dangerous t«> keep tin* uniform
on anyway and when night came I
dug a hole and burled it.
1 never realized until I bad to part
with It just how much I thought «>f
that uniform. It had been with me
through hard trials and I felt as if I
were abandoning a friend when I
parted with It. I was tempted '«* k"ep
th'- v.;n_ <»ff t!. tunic, but fhmiL'ht
that w.nild be a dangerous com i.»n
to sentim at In the event that I was
ever captured. It was the mily ML
tinetimi I had left, as I had given
the Koynl Flying Korps badges and
tie* stars of my rank to the Kerman
Hying i»tllcers as souvenirs, but l felt
that it was safer to discard it. As
it finally turned out, through all m>
Silt I SI -4 1 I 11 ■ M t IfiV I'vV'lln
would never have been Jeopardized
bad I kept inv uniform but. of course,
I bud bo idea what was in store for
me.
There was one thing which surprised
me very much ns I Journeyed through
Belgium and that was the scarcity of
flogs. Apparently most of them had
been taken by the Hermans and what
are left are beasts of burden who are
too tired at night to hark or bother
intruders. Tills was a mighty good
thing for me, for I would certainly
have stirred them up in passing
through back-yards as I sometimes
did when I was making a short cut.
I To he Continued I
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