Show f outwitting T TT N G THE H HUN by lieutenant pat obrien copyright 1018 1918 by pt pat alva obrien CHAPTER continued 12 I 1 beckoned to the chauffeur to go with me up to the office as I 1 had no i money with which to pay him and when he go 90 to the consulate I 1 told them that if they would pay the taxi fare I 1 would tell them who I 1 was vas and how I 1 happened to be there they knew at once that I 1 was an escaped prisoner and they readily paid the chauffeur and invited me to give rive some account of myself they treated me most cordially and f were intensely interested in the brief account I 1 gave them of my adventures word was sent to the consul beneral and he be immediately sent for me when I 1 went in he shook hands with me greeting me very heartily and offering me a chair he then sat down screwed a monocle on his eye and viewed me from top lop to toe I 1 could see that only good breeding hept him from laughing at the spectacle ceacle I 1 presented I 1 could see he be wanted to laugh in the worst way go ahead and laugh I 1 I 1 said you cant offend me the way I 1 feel this blessed day and he needed no nd second invitation incidentally it gave me a i chance to laugh at him for I 1 was about as much amused as he was after he be had bad laughed himself about sick he be got up and slapped me on the back and invited me to tell him my story lieutenant tenant he said when I 1 had concluded you can have anything you want I 1 think your experience Ba titles you to it well consul I 1 replied 1 I would like a bath a shave a haircut and some civilized clothes about as badly as a man ever needed them I 1 suppose but before that I 1 would like ilke to get a cable off to america to my mother telling her that I 1 am safe and on my way to england I 1 the consul gave me the necessary information and I 1 had the satisfaction of knowing before I 1 left the office that the cable with its good tidings was on its way to america then he sent for one of 0 the naval men who had been interned there since the beginning of the war and who was able to speak dutch and told him to take good care of me after I 1 had bad been bathed and shaved and had a haircut I 1 bought some new clothes and had something to eat and I 1 1 felt like a new man As I 1 walked through the streets of rotterdam breathing the air of freedom again and realizing that there was no longer any danger of being captured and taken back to prison it was a wonderful sensation I 1 dont believe there will ever be a country that will appear in my eyes quite as good as holland did then I 1 had to be somewhat careful however because holland was full of german spies and I 1 knew they would be leon keen to learn leam all they possibly could about my any escape and my adventures so that the authorities in belgium could mete out punishment to everyone who was in any respect to blame for it As I 1 was in rotterdam only one day they have very much opportunity to learn anything from me the naval officer who accompanied me and acted as interpreter for me introduced me to many other soldiers and sallo sailors s who had escaped from belgium when the germans took antwerp and as they had arrived in holland in uniform and under arms the laws of neutrality compelled their internment tern ment and they had been there ever since the life of a man who is interned in a neutral county I 1 learned is anything but satisfactory he gets one month a year to visit his home it if he be lives in england that is not so bad lut but if he happens to live farther away the time he has to spend with his aus folks Is very short as the months leave does not take lake into consideration the time consumed in traveling to and irom from holland the possibility of escape from holland is always there but the british authorities have an agreement with the dutch government to send refugees back immediately in this re eject therefore the position of a man who is interned is worse than that of ef a prisoner who if he does succeed in making his escape Is naturally received with open arms in his native land apart from this restraint how ever internment with all its drawbacks is a thousand times yes a million times better than being a prisoner of war in germany it seems to me that when the war Is over and the men he bo have been imprisoned in germany return home they should be given a bigger and greater reception than the most victorious army that ever marched into a city for they will have suffered and gone through more than the world will ever be able to understand no doubt you will find in the german prison camps one or two fainthearted individuals with a pronounced yellow streak who voluntarily gave up the struggle and gave up their liberty rather than risk their lives or these sad cases however are 1 I 1 am sure extremely few nine hundred and ninety nine out of a thousand 0 of the mera men fighting tigh ting in tho the allied lines would rather bo la in the front trenches fighting every day with nil all the horrors and all the risks than be a prisoner of war in germany for the men in prance france have a very keen realization of what that means but to return to my day in rotterdam after I 1 was fixed up I 1 returned to the consulate and arrangements were made for my transportation to england at once fortunately there was a boat leaving that very night and I 1 was allowed to take passage on it IL just as we were leaving rotterdam the boat I 1 was on rammed our own convoy one of the destroyers and injured it so badly that it had to put back to port it would have been a strange climax to my adventure if the disaster had resulted in the sinking of my bodt boat and I 1 had bad lost ruy my life while on my way to england after having successfully outwitted the huns but my luck was with me to the last and while the accident resulted in some delay our boat was not seriously damaged and made the trip over in schedule time and without further accident another destroyer having been assigned to escort us through the danger zone in place of the one which had bad been put out of commission when I 1 arrived in london the reaction from the strain I 1 had been under for nearly three months immediately became apparent my were in such a state that it was absolutely impossible for me to cross the street without being in deadly fear of being run over or trampled I 1 stood at the curb like an old woman from the country on her first visit to the city and I 1 would not venture across until some knowing policeman recognizing my condition came to my assistance si and convoyed me across indeed there was a great number of english officers at home at all times getting back their nerves after a long spell of active service at the front so that my condition was wag anything but novel to the london bobbles it was not many days however before I 1 regained control of myself and felt in first class shape although the british authorities in holland had wired my mother from holland that I 1 was safe and on my way to england the first thing I 1 did when we landed was to send her a cable myself the cable read as follows mrs IL J obrien momence Mo mence III DL U S A just escaped from germany letter follows As I 1 delivered it to the cable dispatcher I 1 could just imagine the exultation ul tation with which my mother would receive it and the pride she would f feel eel as she exhibited it among her neighbors and friends I 1 could hear the volley of 1 I told you sos gos that greeted her good tidings it would take more than the kaiser to keep pat in germany I 1 could hear bear one of them saying knew hed be back for christmas anyway I 1 could hear another remark 1 I had bad an idea that pat and his comrades might spend christmas in berlin I 1 could hear another admitting but I 1 did not think any other part of germany would appeal to him very much mrs obrien did pat write you how many german prison prisoners he brought back with him I 1 coald bear still another credulous fried inquiring it was all very amusing and gratifying to me and I 1 must confess I 1 felt quite cocky as I 1 walked into the war department to report for the next five days I 1 was kept very busy answering questions put to me by the military authorities regarding in what I 1 had observed as to conditions conditi ti ons in germany and behind the lines what I 1 reported was taker down by a stenographer and made part of the official records but I 1 did not give them my story in narrative form the information I 1 was able to give was naturally of interest to various branches of the service and experts in every line of government work took it in turns to question me ono one morning would be devoted for instance to answering questions of a military nature german methods behind the front line trenches tactics morale of troops and similar matters then the aviation experts would take a whack at me and discuss with me all I 1 had observed of german flying corps methods and equipment then again the food experts would interrogate me as to what I 1 had learned of food conditions in germany luxembourg and belgium and as I 1 had lived pretty close to the ground for the best part of seventy two days I 1 was able to give them some fairly accurate reports as to actual agricultural conditions many odthe of the things I 1 told them probably having more significance to them than they had to me I 1 there were many things I 1 had observed which I 1 have not referred to in these pages because their value to us might be diminished it if the germans knew we were aware of them but they key were all reported to the authorities and it was very gratifying to me to hear bear that the experts considered some of them of the greatest value one of the most amusing incidents of my return occurred when I 1 called at my bankers in london to get my personal effects the practice in the royal flying corps when a pilot Is reported missing Is to have two of his comrades assigned to go through his belongings check them over destroy anything that it might not be to his interest to preserve and send the whole business to his bis banker or his home as the case may be every letter Is read through but their contents la Is never afterwards discussed or revealed in any way if the pilot Is finally reported dead his effects are forwarded to his next of kin but while he Is officially fici ally only missing or Is known to be a prisoner of war they are kept either at the squadron headquarters or sent to his bankers in my case as soon as it was learned that I 1 had fallen from the sky it was assumed that I 1 had been killed billed and my chum paul raney and another officer detailed to check over my effects the list they made and to which they affixed their signatures as I 1 have previously mentioned Is now in my possession and Is one of the most treasured souvenirs of my adventure my trunk was sent to cox co in due course and now that I 1 was in london I 1 thought I 1 would go and claim it when I 1 arrived at the bank I 1 applied to the proper window tor for my mall mail and trunk who are you youl I 1 was asked rather sharply well I 1 guess no one has any greater right to pat OB effects than I 1 have I 1 replied and I 1 would be obliged to you if you would look them up for me that may be all right my friend replied the clerk but according to our records lieutenant obrien Is a prisoner of war in germany and we cant very well turn over his bis effects to anyone else unless either you present proof that he Is dead and that you are his lawful representative or else deliver to us a properly authentic order from him to give them to you ile he was very positive about it all but quite polite and I 1 thought I 1 would kid him no more well I 1 said 1 I cant very well proofs to you that pat obrien Is dead but I 1 will do the best I 1 can to prove to you that he Is alive and it if you quite forgotten his signature I 1 guess I 1 can write you out an order that will answer all your requirements quire ments and enable you to give me pat OB belongings without running any risks and I 1 scribbled my signature on a scrap of paper and handed it to him ho he looked at mo me carefully through the latticed window then jumped down from the high chair a and n d came outside to clasp me by the haud baud good heavens letten antl he exclaimed as he pumped my hand up and down how bow did you ever get away and I 1 had to sit right down and tell him and halt half a dozen other people in the bank all about my experiences per perien lences ces I 1 had been in england about five days when I 1 received a telegram which at first occasioned me almost cyb M AT P A POST OFFICE telegraphs PHS V d aeo J 10 4 td P A r 4 for postage stamps tf r 14 A 11 I tf 0 fa jv bax fr ot bixl ixl esq last c ja 10 1 1 AA ma ta ut 4 U te jwj t I 1 li aki aub at C jbf ft alt lu am 3 r J air CJ J hraf te I 1 tm ac ji TO ia acae JC ae 12 oed 3 iffy 0 lei U betm e acs climati ica ba tw 6 D t 94 A FROM Q 1 ff WT TB r ft r r t naj lieutenant OB answer to summons of king te teil tei fc LA AA lad d a SST as much concern as the unexpected sight of a german spik d helmet had caused me in belgium it read as follows P A obrien len royal flying corps regents palace hotel london the king la Is very glad to hear of your escape from germany if you are to be in london on friday next nest december ath his majesty will receive you at buckingham palace at 1030 a m please acknowledge CROMER of course there was only one thing to do and that was to obey orders I 1 was an officer in the army and the king was my commander in chief I 1 had to go and so I 1 sat down and sent off the following answer earl cromer buckingham palace london 1 I will attend buckingham palace as directed friday Decel december tiber ath at 1030 PAT OBRIEN in the interval that elapsed I 1 must confess the ordeal of calling on the king icing of england loomed up more dreadfully every day and I 1 really believed I 1 would rather have spent another day in the empty house in the big city in belgium or say two more days than to go through what I 1 believed to be in store for me orders were orders however and there was no way of getting out of it IL As aa it turned out it half as bad as I 1 had feared on the contrary it was one of the most agreeable experiences of my life CHAPTER I 1 am presented to the king when the dreaded ath of december arrived I 1 halted a taxicab and in as matter of fact tone of voice as I 1 could command directed the chauffeur to drive me to buckingham palace ns as though I 1 was paying my regular mom ing call on the king my friends friend version of this incident I 1 have since heard is that I 1 seated myself in the taxi and leaning through the window said buckingham palace acel I 1 whereupon the taxi driver got down opened the door and exclaimed threateningly if you dont get out quietly and chuck your drunken talk ill III jolly quick call a bobby all me tt it I 1 E wont but I 1 can only give my word that nothing of the kind occurred when I 1 arrived at the palace gate the sentry on guard asked me who I 1 was and then let me pass at once up to the front entrance of the palace there I 1 was met by an elaborately uniformed and equally elaborately decorated personage who judging by the long row of medals he wore must have seen long and distinguished service for the king I 1 was rell relieved eved of my overcoat hat and stick and conducted up a long stairway where I 1 was turned over to another functionary who led me to the reception room of earl cromer the kings secretary there I 1 was waa introduced to another earl and a duke whose name I 1 do not remember I 1 was becoming so bewildered in fact that it Is a wonder that I 1 remember as much as I 1 do of this eventful day I 1 had heard many times that before being presented to the king icing a man is coached carefully as to just how he is to act and what he Is to say and do and all this time I 1 was wondering when this drilling would commence I 1 certainly had no idea |