d back
to their bunks, and went to sleep. Next morning there was a big row
made, and the guards tried to make the prisoners tell what ones were
planning to escape, but no one squealed; and they were all stood "at
attention" for two hours. Then a civilian was brought in with a pail
of plaster, and he fixed up the hole that the prisoners had made, and
with two of the officers he made the round of all the huts looking for
more loose bricks. Finally he came to the prison, and one of the
officers pushed the little stick he carried through the first hole I
had made. This started them swearing at us, calling us English
Schweinhunds and everything else they could think of. We lay there
trying to keep from laughing, but at last Blackie exploded; and gee!
they did rave. Finally they found the second hole, but I held my hand
over it so the stick didn't come through--they could feel something
soft, but had no idea what it was. Just then the officers were called
away and the old civilian stopped up the top hole and moved on--no
doubt the lower one is there still.

They took us out on Monday morning and we were almost too weak to walk.
The boys had a meal prepared for us, and we rested all that day. Next
day they put us to work again, but instead of putting us all on the
same shift they separated us. I was given night duty and the other
boys were on day shift. I was feeling pretty blue the first day I went
off to work alone, but was surprised and delighted to find an old pal
of mine was on the same shift. This man was Macdonald, who had already
made three attempts to escape, and when I met him he said, "Well, Jack,
are you ready to try it again?" I said "Sure," and he said, "Well, I
have everything ready and we will try and get away tonight." He had a
good map and compass, so I told another prisoner to give mine to Sammie
in case I got away. We knew the number of sentries and had them all
located except one. It was very necessary that we should find out
where he was.

Neither Mac nor I were allowed off the platform, so I asked another
prisoner to let his hat blow off and then look round for a guard while
he was down after it. He did this, but owing to the darkness under the
platform he couldn't see anything, and he was just coming up when the
gleam of a bayonet caught his eye; and here was our missing-link--with
his back up against a pillar at the very spot where we had intended
going over. That night at lunch hour