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[Page 35]
place too. The German papers, which were obtained with an
amount of bribing, were very cocksure about the ultimate end of ^the war finishing in Germany's favor, and our sentries were of the opinion that Alsace Lorraine would never be voluntarily given up and that Germany would fight to the bitter end.
Things were looking none too rosy at this stage,for the Germans were just about to make the peace treaty with the Russians, and having the extra armies in trance they considered they had " all but" won the war.
Being watched so closely we determined on making "our break" Jjust on tea time - knowing that at the most we would only have I twenty minutes start.
Through the Corporal in charge discovering the map our friends had procured for us in the room where two of the escapees slept, and they (the two) being told that they were under arrest land to hold themselves in readiness for moving back to camp funder escort, where a sentence of fourteen days solitary I confinement awaited them, we were compelled to attempt out second escape on the night of December 12th, with the prospect of being out in the Continental Winter, in mud, water and snow, with a limited supply of foodstuffs and no cigarettes.
The bars of the windows from which we were to lower ourselves some fifteen or twenty feet to the roof of a shed and from there a drop of some ten feet into the street, were ten inches 4 apart. Six of us were making the attempt, the three of us that had made one attempt each taking a "new hand" in tow.
My pal, an Englishman, who was somewhat thick in the fit vicinity of the belt, had great trouble in working himself through I the ten inch bars, but after several "gymnastic contortions" and a good shove by one of those "who stayed at home" he got
* through and joined me on the roof. Choate and Pitts, who had got through an adjoining window, shook hands with me on the roof and reached the street first, making in their descent what seemed I to me a terrific amount of noise. Giving my pal the office to hurry up we reached the street the other two were not very far I behind us and Pitt & Choate out of sight.
The railway station was reached in good time, and in under ninety minutes we were in the train and making our way across the Rhine.
On this occassion, rather than risk the chance of being carried out of our course, we left the train at the first station across the Rhine - namely Neuss.
Making our way through the town amongst civilians and
soldiers, passing several policemen, we were soon leaving the town 1 well behind and were amongst the scattered villages. As the fields were all frozen and having a compass in our possession we took to the open country and walked until about 4o'clock in the