OUTWITTING
^CTNE NUN"
/ __ ) u
f - --,
Whe'never we passed a Belgian
tillin'* nr otln r buliilillK whirl' Irnil '
|,i'i-u wri'i kod tiy bombs by our ulriiion
our guards made us stop a moment
or two while they passed sneering
remarks among themselves.
One of the most interesting souse
nlrs I have of my imprisonment at
Oourtrai is a photograph of a group
of us taken in the prison courtyard.
The picture was made by one of tin
guards, who sold copies of it to thosi
of us who were aide to pay his
price—one mark apiece.
As we faced the camera I suppose
we all tried to look our happiest, hut
the majority of us. I am afraid, were
too sick at heart to raise a smile,
even for this occasion. One of our
Hun guards is shown in the picture
seated at the table. I am standing
directly behind him. attired in my Hy
ing tunic, which they allowed me to
wear all the time I was in prison, as
is the usual custom with prisoners of
war. Three of the British officers
shown in the picture, in the fore
ground, are clad in “shorts.”
Through all my subsequent adven
tures I was able to retain a print of
this Interesting picture, and although
when I gaze at it now It only serves
to increase my gratification at my ulti
mate escape, it tills me with regret to
think that my fellow prisoners were
not so fortunate. All of them by this
time are undoubtedly eating their
hearts up in the prison camp* of in
terior Hermany. I'oor fellows!
Despite the scanty fare and the re
strictions we were under in this prison,
we did manage on one occasion to sir
range a regular banquet. The plan
ning which was necessary helped to
pass the time.
At this time there were eight of us.
We decided that the principal thing
we needed to make the affair si suc
cess was potatoes, and 1 conceived si
plan to get them. K very other after
noon they took us for a walk In the
country, and it occurred to me that
B would he a comparatively simple
matter for us to pretend to he tired
and sit down when we came to the
first potato patch.
It worked out nicely. When we
came to the tirst potato patch that
afternoon, we told our guards that we
wanted to rest a hit and we wen*
allowed to sit down. In the course
of the next five minutes each of us
managed to get a potato or two. Be
ing Irish. I get six.
When we got hack to tin* prison, 1
managed to steal a handkerchief full
of sugar, which, with some apples tluit
we were allowed to purchase, we eas
ily converted into a sort of Jam.
We now had potatoes and Jam, hut
no bread. It happened that the Hun
who had charge of the potatoes was
a great musician. It was not very
difficult to prevail upon him to pluy
us some music, and while he went out
to get his zither I went into the bread
nantrv and stole a louf of bread
.’.yni m us mid saved some r.(iiwi‘
from the day before, and we used it
to fry our potatoes. By bribing one
of the guards, lie bought some eggs for
us. They cost ’Jo cents apiece, !mt we
were determined to make this banquet
n sun ess, no matter what it eost.
The cooking was done by the prison
cook, whom, of course, we had to
bribe.
When the meal was ready to serve
It consisted of scrambled eggs, fried
potatoes, bread and jam, and a pitcher
of beer which we were allowed to huv.
That was tile 2Pth of Aul: 1st. Had
I known that it was to be the last
real meal that I was to eat for many
weeks, I might have enjoyed it even
more than I did, but it was certainty
very good.
We bad cooked enough f«»r eight, but
while we wore still eating, another
Joined us. He was an Knglish oilircr
who had just been brought in on a
stretcher. For seven tin) >. In* told us.
he had lain in a shell hob*, wounded,
and be was almost furnished, and we
were mighty glad t«» share our ban
quet with him.
We culled on each man for a speech,
and one might have thought that we
were at a first-class club meeting. A
few days after that our party was
broken up and some of the men, I sup
pose, I shall never see again.
One of tin* souvenirs of my udveti
ture is a check given me during this
"banquet" by I.Vuf. .lames Henry
Dickson of tin* Tenth Royal Irish hi
sileers. a fellow prisoner. It was for
jo francs and was made payable to
the order of "Mr. Fat O’Brien. 2nd
Lieut." Four dim forgot to scratch
out the "London" and substitute
"Oourtrai" on the date line, but its
value as a souvenir is just as great.
When he gave it to me he had no idea
that I would have an opportunity so
soon afterward to cash it in person,
although I am quite sure that what
ever financial reverses 1 may he des
tined to meet, my want will never be
great enough to induce me to realize
on that check.
There was one subject that was
talked about in this prison whenever
conversation lugged, and I suppose It
Is the same in other prisons too. What
were the chances of escape
Fvery man seemed to have a differ
ent idea and one way, 1 suppose, was
' about as impracticable as another.
None of us ever expected to get a
chance to put our Ideas into execution,
hut it was interesting speculation, and
anyway one can never tell what op
portunities might present themselves.
One suggestion was that we disguise
ourselves as women. "O’Brien would
stand a better chance dtaguised as a
horse!" declared another, referring to
the fact that my height (I am six feet
two inches) would make me more con
spicuous as a woman than as a man.
Another suggested that we steal a
Herman Hotha—a type of airplane
used for long-distance bombing. It is
these machines which are used for
bombing Houriou. They are mubneo
by three men, one sitting in front with
a machine gut*, the pilot sitting behind
him and an observer sitting in the rear
with another machine gun. We fig
ured that, at a pinch, perhaps, seven
or eight of us could make our escape .
in a single machine. They have two
motors of very high horse power, fly
very high and make wonderful speed.
But we had no chance to put this idea
to the test.
1 worked out another plan by which
i thought I might have a chance if 1
could ever get Into one of the Herman
airdromes. I would conceal m.vself in
one of the hangars, wait until one of
the Herman machines started out. and
as he taxied along the ground I would
rush out. shout sit the top of my voice
and point excitedly at his wheels. This
1 figured, would cause the pilot to stop
and get out to see what was wrong.
By that time I would be up to him, and
as he stooped over to Inspect the ma
chine, I could knock him senseless,
jump into the machine and lie over the
lines before the Huns could make up
their minds just vvliat had happened.
Ir was a line dream, but my
chance was not to come that way.
There were dozens of other way
which we considered, (hie man would
be for endeavoring to make his way
right through the lines. Another
thought the safes! plan would be to
swim some river that crossed the lines.
The idea of making one’s way to
Holland, a neutral counlrv. on-urred
to everyone, hill the one great obstacle
in (hat direction, we all realized, was
the great barrier of barbed and elec
trically charged wire which guards ev
ery feot of the frontier between Bel
gium and Holland, and which is closely
watched by the Herman sentries.
This barrier was a three-fold affair.
It consisted first of a barbed wire wall
six feet high. Six feet beyond that
w:s a nil.e-foot wall of wire power
fully charged with electricity. To
tomb it meant electrocution. Beyond
that, at a distance of six feet, was
another wall of barbed wire six feet ,
high.
Beyond the barrier lay Holland and
liberty, but bow to g< t there was a !
problem which none of us could solve
mid few of us ever expected to have
a chance to try.
Mine came sooner than 1 expected.
CHAPTER VI.
A Leap for Liberty
I hail hern In prison at I'ouriral
nearly throe weeks when, on the morn
ing of Septeinhor tali, 1 anil six other
officers were tolil that we were to he
transferred In a prison eatap in tier
many.
One of the guards told me during the
day tiiat wo were destined for a re
prisal camp In .strasshurg. They were
sending us there to keep our airmen
from homhing the place.
He explained that the English car
ried German officers on hospital ships
for a similar purpose and he excused
the German practice of torpedoing
these vessels im tin* score tiiat they
also carried munitions! When I
pointed out to him llmt France would
hardly he sending munitions to Eng
land, he lost interest in the argument.
Some days before, 1 had made up my
mind that it would lie a very good
tiling to get hold of a map of Germany,
which I knew was In the possession of
one of I lie German Interpreters, be
cause I realized tiiat If ever the op
portunity came to make my escape,
stu li a map might ho of the greatest
assistance to me.
With ttie Idea of stenllng this map,
accordingly, a lieutomirtt anil 1 got In
front of this interpreter's window one
day and engaged in a very hot argu
ment as to win tlier Heidelberg wuis on
tile Rhine nr not, and we argued hack
and forth so vigorously tiiat the Ger
man came out of his room, map in
hand, to settle It. After the matter
was entirely settled to our satlsfac
, i n l
I Confiscated the Map.
tlon, he went buck Into Ills room and
I watched where he put the map.
When, therefore, 1 learned tliut 1 was
on my way to Germany, I realised tliut
It was more Important than ever for
me to get that map, and with the help
of my friend, we got the Interpreter
out of his room on some pretest or
another, and while he was gone I con
liaeuted the map from the book In
which he kept It and concealed It In
! my suck underneath my legging. As
1 bad anticipated. It luter proved of
the utmost value to me.
1 got It none too noon, for half an
I hour lutt*r we were on imr wnv to
Ghent. < »ur party consisted of live
British officers and one French officer.
At Ghent, where we had to wait for
several hours for another train to take
ns direct to the prison camp in Ger
many, two other prisoners were added
to our party.
In the interval we were locked In a
room nt a hotel, a guard sitting at the
door with a rifle "i> his kne. . It would
have done my heart good for the rest
of my litv if I could have gotten away
then and fooled that Hun—he was so
cocksure.
Later we were marched to the train
that was to convey us to Germany. It
consisted of some twelve couches,
eleven of these containing troops going
home on leave, and the twelfth re
served for us. We were peed in a
fourth-class compartment with oM.
hard, iyooden seats, a filthy floor and
no llgihs save a candle pine, d there
by u gtA, r*+. There were eight of us
prisoners and four guards.
As we sat In the coach we were an
object of curiosity to the crowd who
gathered at the station.
“Hope you have a nice trip!” one of
them shouted sarcastically.
“I>rop me a line when you get to
Berlin, will you?’ shouted another in
broken Knglish.
“When shall we see you again?”
asked a third.
“Remember me to vour friends, will
you? You'll find plenty where you're
going!” shouted another.
The German officers made no etliorl
to repress the crowd, In fact, they
Joined In the general laughter which
followed every sally.
I called to a German officer who was
passing our window.
“You're un officer, aren't you?” I
asked, respectfully enough.
“Yes. what of it?” he rejoined.
“Well, in Knglutid.” I said, “we let
your <.dicers who are prisoners ride
first class. Can’t you fix it so that w»
can he similarly treated, or least he
transferred to second-class compart
rnent?”
“If I had my way.” he replied, “you'd
rifle with the hogs!"
Then he turned to the crowd and
told them of my request and how he
had am " e- d me, and they all laughed
hil:*rioti>iy.
This got me pretty hot.
"Tlmt would he a d- sight
better than riding with the Germans!"
I yelled after him, hut if he cousid
ered that a good joke, he didn’t pass
It on to the crowd.
Some months later when 1 had the
honor of telling my story to King
George, he thought this incident was
one of tlte best Jokes he had ever
heard, i don't believe he ever laughed
harder In his life.
Before our train pulled out, our
guards laid to present their arms for
inspeetion and their Titles were loaded
In our presence to let us know that
they meant business.
From the moment the train started
on Its way to Germany, the thought
kept coming to my head that unless 1
could make my escape before we
reached that reprisal rump 1 might us
well make up my mind, as far as 1
was concerned, the war was over.
It occurred to me that If the eight
of us In that car could Jump at a given
signal and seize those four llun guards
by surprise, we'd have a splendid
chance of besting them and Jumping
oft the train when it first slowed down,
hut when 1 passed the Idea on to ray
comrades they turned It down. Kven
If the plan worked out as gloriously
us 1 had pictured, they pointed out.
the fact that no many of us hud e»
(To be Continued)
-*
Tour eyes fitted Compound and
Btigmatlc lenses replaced^' See Ob
borae.
From a Photograph Taken in the Courtyard of the Officers' Prison at Courtrai,
Which Lieutenant O’Brien Preserved Throughout His Perilous Journey.
O'Brien Is Shown Standing Behind the German Guard, Who Sits at the
Table in the Center of the Group.
Copper River
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Tin* above schedule subject to change without
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Freight received and delivered at Cordova
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CALEB CORSER W. E. BROWN
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Fine Job Printing: At The Times Office
_ - —.- —.. -■
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VHO V
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Sell At A Bargain !
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