Show FAMOUS HEADLINE HUNTE R A ii tin flight in the dark by FLOYD GIBBONS OHN F MEEHAN of white plains N Y tells story the tale of five men who planned an escape from a german prison camp john went to france early in 1914 with the british forces the late winter of 1917 found him in the german concentration camp near cassel and in december of that same year he was sent with twenty other prisoners to a work camp near bebra a few miles away john found himself cutting wood in a gang with three canadians and a frenchman named emil and those five men planned an escape it took them from december to march to get ready most blost of the food sent them from home they gave away to bribe their guards to get them things they needed a compass and a map of the territory the rest of the food they hoarded by the sixth of march they had their plans perfected and were ready to make the break they had hidden their food supply in canvas bags in the woods and they judged that in twelve days of night travel they could cover the hundred and thirty kilometers that lay between them and the dutch border only three could attempt the flight according to their plan only three of them could escape that afternoon they drew lots to see who would remain behind in the meantime emil the frenchman had received a letter from home saying that his wife was very ill he begged to be allowed to go and the others consented when the lots were drawn john meehan emil and jack burman one of the canadians were the ones chosen to make the attempt each night the prisoners were locked in their huts leaving their shoes outside the door regularly at eight a guard of two soldiers made the rounds on this night as they opened the door to check the occupants of the hut john lived in a fight started between two of the canadians one guard stepped inside to stop it someone tripped him ile he went down yelling for the other guard As the other guard came in the door there was a crash of broken crockery in an instant both guards and both canadians were rolling together on the floor and in the midst of the confusion john emil and jack burman dashed out of the door snatched up a pair of shoes each and were dashing across the hundred yard wide clearing toward the woods on the other side had to leave their wounded comrade more guards came running up says john they took pot shots at us as we went we were almost to the edge of the woods when they the pursuers stopped when they found jack got jack in the leg I 1 stopped to pick him up but he told me he go on we left him there and ran for the woods our pursuers stopped when they found jack we stumbled on for another hundred yards in our stocking feet and by the time we got to the place where we had hidden our rations my toes were all bleeding we dropped some pepper just in case they put bloodhounds on us put on our shoes and traveled all night they had started on monday night march 6 they traveled until friday crossing ploughed sloughed hed fields sliding down gullies scrambling over rocks and climbing hills moving always by night hiding in the woods by day by that thai time says john our feet were very sore and because of our short rations we were ravenously hungry emil was beginning to worry to say that if his wife died he hoped he would d die i e himself before he knew it by sunday night we were ready to drop and to make matters worse we come across a drop of water by morning my tongue was like leather the biscuits we carried were so dry we could hardly swallow them no water for forty eight hours monday night and still no water they had a drop in forty eight hours and they were weakening fast they lay in the woods tuesday hardly speaking a word all day but once emil said 1 I have a feeling that I 1 will soon see my wife what he meant by that he say tuesday night they stumbled into a herd of wild pigs we made for a tree climbed into it and stayed there says john for we had heard of prisoners being severely bitten by these animals the pigs had us treed tor for ili two 0 hours when they left it was almost daylight s so 0 we decided to remain where we were when the sun came up there close to the edge of the woods was a stream we made a rush for it emil stumbled fell in and got wet after we drank and filled our bottles we went back to the woods again but emil was wet and chilled through we dared not light a fire so emil wrung his clothes out and made the best of it by that time he was as getting desperate and I 1 had a job to keep him from wandering through villages instead of going around them gave up to try to save sick pal saturday was our twelfth day emil was raving about his wife and staggering like a drunken man but according to our figures we were only about five kilometers from the border we threw away everything ery thing we had for we would have to crawl past the patrols along the boundary but they only traveled a mile or two that night on sunday emu emil was out of his head laughing one minute and crying the next 1 I used our water to bathe hi his shead head says john it was like a furnace he asked me to leave hin him i and to quiet him I 1 said all right I 1 shook har hands id s said goodby good by walked out to the road and gave myself up to a bicycle patrol 1 I took them back to get emil and he was unconscious when we got there they got him out to a hospital where he died the next morning the officer ot 04 the patrol told me we were just two kilos from the border but I 1 felt more sorrow for the loss of my buddy emil than I 1 did for my freedom john tells me he came out of the war with four medals and I 1 wonder on der if he got one for the most heroic thing he ever did in his life passing up that short two kilometer stretch to freedom to stick by a sick pal 0 Str vice |