Show outwitting THE HUN by lieutenant PAT copyright 1918 by pat alva obrien CHAPTER hlll 9 five day in an empty house the five days I 1 spent la that house seemed to me like five years during all that time I 1 had very little to eat less la fact than I 1 had been getting in the fields I 1 did not feel it so bad perhaps because of the fact that I 1 was no longer exposed to the other privations which before had combined to make my condition so wretched I 1 now bad a good place to sleep at any rate and I 1 did not wake every halt hour or so as I 1 had been accustomed to do in the fields and woods and of course my hunger was not aggravated by the physical exertions which had been necessary before nevertheless perhaps because I 1 had more time now to think of the hunger pains which were gnawing at me all the time I 1 dont believe I 1 was ever so miserable as I 1 was at that period of my adventure afelt so mean towards the world I 1 would have committed murder I 1 think with very provocation german soldiers were passing the house at all hours of the day I 1 watched them hour after hour from the keyhole of the door to have shown myself at the window was out of the question because the bouse in which I 1 was concealed was supposed fo be untenanted because of the tact that I 1 was unable to speak either flemish or german I 1 could not go out and buy food although I 1 still bad the money with I 1 rummaged the house many times which to do it that was one of the things that galled one the thought that I 1 bad the wherewithal in my jeans to buy all the food I 1 needed and yet no way of getting it without endangering dan gering my liberty and life at night however after it waff dark I 1 would steal quietly out of the bouse to see what I 1 could pick up in the way of food by that time of course the stores were closed but I 1 scoured the streets the alleys and the byways for scraps of food and occasionally got up courage enough to appeal to belgian peasants whom I 1 met on the streets und in that way I 1 managed to keep body and soul together it was quite apparent to me however that I 1 was worse off in the city than I 1 bad been in the fields and I 1 decided to get out of that bouse just as soon as I 1 knew definitely that huy alger bad made up his mind to do nothing further for me when I 1 was not at the keyhole of the door I 1 spent most of my day on the top floor in a room which looked out on the street by keeping well away from the window I 1 could see much of what waa going on without being seen myself in my restlessness I 1 used to walk back and forth in that room and I 1 kept it up BO constantly that I 1 believe I 1 must have worn a path in the floor it was nine steps from one wall to the other and as I 1 bad little else to amuse me I 1 fig ared out one day after I 1 had been pacing up and down tor several hours just bow much distance I 1 would have covered on my way to holland if my footsteps bad been taken in that direction instead of just up and down that old room I 1 was very much surprised to find that in alve hours I 1 crossed the room no less than times and the distance covered was between nine and ten miles it was not very gratifying to realize that aner walking all that distance I 1 a step nearer my goal than when I 1 started but I 1 had to do something while waiting tor huy uger to help me and pacing up and down was a natural outlet for my restlessness while looking out of the top floor one day I 1 noticed a cat on a window ledge of the house across the I 1 ha a nice piece of a broken 1 S mirror which I 1 had picked ap to the house and I 1 used it to amuse myself for an hour at a time shining it in the cats eyes across the street at first the animal was annoyed by the reflection and would move away only to coma back a few moments later by and by however it seemed to get used to the glare and budge no matter how strong the sunlight was playing with the cat in this way got me into the habit of watching her comings and goings and was indirectly the means of my getting food a day or two later at a time when I 1 was so famished that I 1 was ready to do almost anything to appease my hunger it was about 1 in the evening I 1 was expecting at 8 but I 1 the slightest hope that he would bring me food as he had told me that be take the risk of having food in his possession when calling on me I 1 was standing at the window in such a way that 1 could see what was going on in the street without being observed by those who passed by when I 1 noticed my friend the cat coming down the steps of the opposite house with something in his mouth without considering the risks I 1 ran I 1 opened the front door ran down the steps and across the street and pounced on that cat before it could get away with its supper for that as I 1 had imagined was what I 1 bad seen in ltv mouth it turned out to be a piece of stewed rabbit which I 1 confiscated eagerly and took back with me to the house perhaps I 1 felt a little sorry for the cat but I 1 certainly had no qualms about eating the animals dinner I 1 was much too hungry to dwell upon and a piece of stewed rabbit was certainly too good tor a cat to eat when a man was starving I 1 ate and enjoyed it and the incident suggested to me a way in which I 1 might possibly obtain food again when all other ave failed from my place of concealment I 1 fre bently saw huge carts being pushed through the streets gathering potato pe elings refuse of cabbage and similar food remnants which in america are considered garbage and destroyed in belgium they were using this garbage to make their bread out of and while the idea may sound revolting to us the tact Is that the germans have brought these things down to such a science that the bread they make this way Is really very good to eat I 1 know it would have been like cake to me when I 1 was in need of food indeed I 1 would have eaten the garbage direct let alone the bread although as I 1 have said I 1 suffered greatly from hunger while occupying this bouse there were one or two things I 1 observed through the keyhole or from the windows which made me laugh and some of the incidents that occurred during my voluntary imprisonment were really funny from the keyhole I 1 could see for instance a shop window on the other side of the street several houses down the block all day long german soldiers would be passing in front of the house and I 1 noticed that practically every one of them would stop in front of athla store window and look in occasionally casio nally a soldier on duty bent would hurry past but I 1 think nine out of ten of them were sufficiently interested to spend at least a minute and some of them three or four gazing at whatever was being exhibited in that window although I 1 noticed that it failed to attract the belgians I 1 have a considerable streak of curiosity in me and I 1 coulden couldn t help wondering what it could be in that window which almost without exception seemed to interest german soldiers but failed to bold the belgians and after for a while on the problem I 1 came to the conclusion that the shop must have been a book shop and the window contained german magazines which naturally enough would be of the greatest interest to the germans but of none to the belgians at any rate I 1 resolved that as soon as night came I 1 would go out and investigate vesti gate the window when I 1 answer I 1 laughed so loud that I 1 was afraid for the moment I 1 must have attracted the attention of the neighbors but I 1 help it the window was filled with huge quantities of sausage I 1 the store was a butcher shop and one of the principal things they sold apparently way sausage the display they made although it consisted merely of sausages piled in the window certainly had plenty of pulling power it pulled nine germans out of ten out of their course and indirectly pulled me right across the street 1 the idea of being GO u mat wimer play as to stand in aroni or me wm dow for two three or four minutes at a time however certainly seemed funny to me and when I 1 got back to the house I 1 eat at the keyhole again and found just aa much interest as before in watching the germans stop in their tracks when they reached the window even though I 1 was now aware what the attraction was one of my chief occupations during these days was catching flies I 1 would a fly put um in a spiders web t i vi ial ft fives there were plenty of them in the old house and sit down for the spider to come down and get him but always I 1 pictured myself in the same predicament and rescued the fly just as the spider was about to grab him several times when things were dull I 1 was tempted to see the tragedy through but perhaps the same providence that guided me safely through all perils was guarding too the destiny of those flies tor I 1 always weakened and the flies never did suffer from my lust for amusement the house was well supplied with books in fact one of the choicest libraries I 1 think I 1 ever saw but they were all written either in flemish or french I 1 could read no flemish and very little french I 1 might have made a little headway with the latter but the books all seemed too deep for me and I 1 gave it up there was one thing though that I 1 did read and reread from beginning to end that was a new tork herald which must have arrived just about the time war was declared several things in this interested te me and particularly the baseball saves which I 1 studied with as much care as a real fan possibly could an up to date score I 1 refrain from laughing when I 1 came to an account of of the cubs being benched for some spat with the umpire and it afforded me just as much interest three years after it had happened perhaps more than some current item of world wide interest had at that time I 1 rummaged the house many times from cellar to garret in my search for something to oat but the harvest of three years of war had made any success that line impossible I 1 was like the man out in the ocean in a boat and thirsty with water everywhere but not a drop to drink I 1 was tempted while in the city to go to church one sunday but my better judgment told mo it would be a useless risk of course someone would surely say something to me and I 1 know how many germans would be there or what might hachen so I 1 gave up that idea during all the time I 1 was concealed in this house I 1 saw but one automobile and that was a german staff officers that same afternoon I 1 had one of the brights frights of my young life I 1 had been gazing out of the keyhole as usual when I 1 beard coming down the street abo measured tread of german soldiers it sound like very many but there was no doubt in my mind that german soldiers were marching down the street I 1 went upstairs and peeked through the window and sure enough a squad of german infantry was coming down the street accompanied by a military motor truck I 1 the slightest idea that they were coming after me but still the possibilities of the situation gave me more or less alarm and I 1 considered bow I 1 could make my escape if by chance I 1 was the man they were after the idea of hiding in the wine cellar appealed to me as the most practical there must have been plenty of places among the wine kegs and cases where a man could conceal himself but as a matter of fact I 1 did not believe that any such contingency would arise the marching soldiers came nearer I 1 could hear them at the next bouse in a moment I 1 would see them pass the keyhole through which I 1 was looking haiti at the word of command shouted by a junior officer the squad came to at right in front of the house I 1 I 1 waited no longer running down the stairs I 1 flew into the wine cellar and although it was almost pitch dark the only light coming from a grating which led to the backyard I 1 soon found a satisfactory biding place in the extreme rear of the cellar I 1 had bad the presence of mind to leave the door of the wine cellar ajar figuring that it the soldiers found a closed door they would be more apt to search tor a fugitive behind it than if the door were open my decision to get away from that front door bad been made and carried out none too soon for I 1 had only just located myself between two big wine cases when I 1 heard the tramp of soldiers feet marching up the front stoop a crash at the front door a few hasty byrds of command which I 1 did not understand der stand and then the noise of scurrying feet from room to room and such a banging and hammering and smashing and crashing that I 1 could not make out what was going on it had revealed my biding place to the huns as I 1 was now con fluent he had I 1 felt that enera was its aspect at their overlooking me they would search the house from top to bottom and if necessary raze it to the ground before they would give up the search to escape from the house through the backyard through the iron grating which I 1 had no doubt I 1 could force seemed to be the logical thing to do but the chances were that the huns bad thrown a cordon around the entire block before the squad was sent to the house the germans do things in an efficient manner always they take for cr anteL rii alb ati my ona chance seemed to be to stand pat in the hope that the officer in charge might possibly come to the conclusion that be bad arrived at the house too late that the bird had flown my position la that wine cellar was anything but a comfortable one kats and mice were scurrying across the floor and the smashing and crashing going on overhead was anything but promising evidently those soldiers imagined that I 1 ought to be biding in the walls for it sounded as though they were tearing off the the picture molding and in fact everything that they could tear or pull apart before very long they would finish their search upstairs and would come down to the basement what they would do when they discovered the wine I 1 bad no idea perhaps they would let themselves loose on it and give me my chance with a bottle of wine in each hand I 1 figured I 1 could put up a good fight an fn the dark especially as I 1 was becoming more and more accustomed cus tomed to it and could begin to distinguish things here and there whereas when they entered the pitchy darkness of the cellar they would be as blind as bats in the sun perhaps it was twenty minutes before I 1 heard what sounded like my death knell to me the soldiers were coming down the cellar steps 1 I 1 clutched a wine bottle in each hand and waited with bated breath tramp 1 tramp I 1 tramp I 1 in a moment they would be in the cellar proper I 1 could almost hear my heart beating the mice scurried across the floor by he scores frightened no doubt by the vibration and noise made by the descending soldiers some of the creatures ran across me where I 1 stood between two wine cases but I 1 was too much interested in bigger game to pay any attention to mice tramp I 1 tramp halt I 1 again an order was given in german and although I 1 did not understand it I 1 am willing to bless every word of it because it resulted in the soldiers turning right about face marching up the stairs again through the hall and out of the front door and away I 1 I 1 could hardly believe my ears it seemed almost too good to be true that they could have given up the search just as they were about to come upon their quarry but unless my ears deceived me that was what they had done the possibility that the whole thing might be a german ruse did not escape me and I 1 remained in the cellar for nearly an hour after they had apparently departed before I 1 ventured to move listening intently in the meanwhile for the slightest sound which would reveal the presence of a sentry upstairs not hearing a sound I 1 began to feel that they had indeed given up the bunt for I 1 did not believe that a german 1 figured I 1 could put up a good officer would be so considerate of hs men as fo try to trap me rather than carry the cellar by force it the had the |