Show 1 2 V outwitting THE HUN by lieutenant PAT copyright 1918 by pat alva obrien 44 M M e CHAPTER hlll 9 J five days in an empty house the 0 five days I 1 spent in that bouse seamed to me like five years during all that time I 1 had very little to cat less in fact than I 1 had been getting in the fields 1 I 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 had a good place to sleep at any rate and I 1 did not wake every half hour or so as I 1 had bad been accustomed to do in the fields and woods and of course my lumber hunger was not aggravated by the physical exertions which had b been een necessary before nevertheless perhaps because I 1 had more time now to think of the hunger bains 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 I 1 felt so mean towards the world I 1 would have committed murder I 1 think with very little provocation oca tion german soldiers were passing the at all hours of the day I 1 watched them hour after hour from the f keyhole of the door to have shown myself at the windol was out of the question because the house in which I 1 was concealed was supposed to be untenanted cd because of the fact that I 1 was unable to speak either flemish or german I 1 could not go out and buy food although I 1 still had the money with I 1 rummaged the house many times which to do it that was one of the j i things that galled one the thought that I 1 had 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 was dark I 1 would steal quietly out of the house to see what I 1 could pick up in the way of food by that time 0 of course the stores were closed but I 1 scoured the streets the alloys alleys and the byways for scraps of food and occasionally got up I 1 courage enough to appeal to belgian peasants whom I 1 met on the streets and in that way I 1 managed to keep tody body and soul together it was quite apparent to me however that I 1 was worse off of in the city than I 1 had been in the fields and I 1 decided to get out of that house just as soon as I 1 knew definitely that huy tiger had 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 was going on without being seen myself in ill my restlessness I 1 used to walk back find and forth in that room and I 1 kept it up so 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 I 1 as I 1 had little else to amuse me I 1 figured out one day after I 1 had been pacing up and down for several hours just how much distance I 1 would have covered on my way to holland it if my footsteps fOOtstep had shad been taken in that direction instead of just up and down that I 1 old room I 1 was very much surprised I 1 to find that in three hours I 1 crossed the room no less than times and the distance covered was nas between nine and nd ten miles it was not very gratl dying to realize that utter after walking all that distance I 1 a step nearer my goal than when I 1 started but I 1 had to do 40 something while waiting for huyer tiger to help me and pacing up and down was a natural outlet for my restlessness WWI C looking out of the top floor iville one day I 1 noticed a cat on a badow ledge of the house across the IV W I 1 wd a nice piece of a broken mirror which I 1 had picked up in the house and I 1 used it to amuse myself for an hour at a time shining it in the cats S eyes across the street at first the animal was annoyed by the reflection and would move away only to come back a few moments later by and by however it seemed to get used to the glare and budge no matter how bow strong the sunlight was playing with the cat in this way got me into tile habit of watching her comings comin ggs 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 ost anything to appease my hunger hun it was about 7 in the even ing ng I 1 was expecting Huy hulliger liger at 8 but I 1 the slightest hope that he would bring me food as he had told rue me that lie he take the risk of having food in his possession when calling on me I 1 was standing at the Ivin window dow in such a way that I 1 could see what aliat 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 had seen in its 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 niceties and a piece of stewed rabbit was certainly too good for a pat cat to cat 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 avenues 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 fact is that the germans have brought these things down to such a science that the bread they make this anva way y Is really very good to eat cat 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 tills this house 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 wore 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 this store window and look in occasionally casio caslo 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 minutes 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 a k of curiosity in me and I 1 help wondering what it could be in that window which almost without exception seemed to interest german soldiers but failed to hold the belgians an and d affer conjuring my brains for a while on the problem I 1 came to the conclusion that the shop must have been a bookshop 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 got the answer I 1 laughed so loud that I 1 was afraid for the mom moment ent I 1 must have attracted the attention of the ole neighbors but I 1 help it the window was filled with huge quantities of sau sausage sausages sagel the store was a butcher shop and one of the principal things they sold apparently was sausage the display they made although it consisted merely of sa sausages piled in the window certainly had plenty of pulling power it pulled nine germans out of ten out of their cou course arso and indirectly pulled nie me right across aar oss the street the idea of those germans being so interested in that window display as to stand in front of the window for two three or tour four minutes ata time bo however wever certainly seemed funny to me and when I 1 got back to the house I 1 sat at the keyhole again and found just as much interest as before in watching the germans germa ns 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 flies files I 1 would catching these days was catch a fly put him in a spiders web there were plenty of them in the old house and sit down for the spider to come down and get him in 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 for I 1 always weakened and the flies never did suffer from my lust for far 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 york herald which must have arrived just about the time war was declared c I 1 di r e d several things in this interested te me and particularly the baseball scores 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 edme to an ac count of zimmerman of the cubs being benched for some spat with the umpire and it afforded afford edme me just as much interest three years after it had happened perhaps more than some current item of worldwide world wide interest had at that time I 1 rummaged the house many times from cellar to garret in my search for something to eat but the harvest of three years of war had made any success along 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 me 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 happen 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 frights brights of my young life I 1 had been gazing out of the keyhole as usual when I 1 heard coming down the street the 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 gae gac me more or less alarm and I 1 considered how 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 ifould hear them at the next nest house in a moment I 1 would see them pass the keyhole through which I 1 was looking halt at the word of command shouted by a junior arjunior officer the squad came to attention right in front of the housel house I 1 I 1 waited no longer running down the stairs I 1 flow 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 0 satisfactory hiding place in the extreme rear of the cellar I 1 had had the presence of mind to leave the door of the wine cellar ajar figuring that if the soldiers found a closed door they would he be more apt to search for a fugitive behind it than if the door were open my decision to get away from that front door had been made and carried out none too soon for I 1 bad only just located myself between two big wine cases when I 1 heard the tramp of soldiers feet marching up the front stoop a rash crash c at the front door a few hasty words wor ds 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 him mering and smashing and crashing that I 1 could not make out what was going on if had revealed my hiding to the huns as I 1 was now cou con ideria lie he had I 1 felt that there was uttie prospect of their overlooking me they would search the house from top to bottom and it 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 bo be the logical thing to do but the chances were unit that tho the nuns had thrown a cordon around tho the entire block before the squad was sent to the house the germans do thele things in an efficient mantle manner r always they take tor for vr granted crant anted cd my one chance seemed to be to stand pat in the alie hope that the officer in char charge ge might possibly come to the conclusion that he had arrived at the house bouse too late that the bird had flown my position in that wine cellar was anything but a comfortable one rats bats 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 hiding in the walls for it sounded as though they were tearing off the wain the picture molding and in fact everything that they could tear or pull apart before very long iong they would finish their search upstairs and would come down to the basement what t they would do when they discovered the wine I 1 had no idea perhaps they would let themselves loose on it and give me my chance with a bottle of wine in each liand land I 1 figured r could put up a good fight in 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 ilke my death knell to me the soldiers were coming coining down the cellar steps I 1 clutched a wine bottle in each hand and waited with bated breath tramp tramp I 1 tramp 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 the 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 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 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 |