nd as we crawled through the flat pastures of Holland my time was
taken up answering Peter's questions. He had never been in Europe
before, and formed a high opinion of the farming. He said he reckoned
that such land would carry four sheep a morgen. We were thick in talk
when we reached the frontier station and jolted over a canal bridge
into Germany.

I had expected a big barricade with barbed wire and entrenchments. But
there was nothing to see on the German side but half a dozen sentries
in the field-grey I had hunted at Loos. An under-officer, with the
black-and-gold button of the Landsturm, hoicked us out of the train,
and we were all shepherded into a big bare waiting-room where a large
stove burned. They took us two at a time into an inner room for
examination. I had explained to Peter all about this formality, but I
was glad we went in together, for they made us strip to the skin, and I
had to curse him pretty seriously to make him keep quiet. The men who
did the job were fairly civil, but they were mighty thorough. They
took down a list of all we had in our pockets and bags, and all the
details from the passports the Rotterdam agent had given us.

We were dressing when a man in a lieutenant's uniform came in with a
paper in his hand. He was a fresh-faced lad of about twenty, with
short-sighted spectacled eyes.

'Herr Brandt,' he called out.

I nodded.

'And this is Herr Pienaar?' he asked in Dutch.

He saluted. 'Gentlemen, I apologize. I am late because of the
slowness of the Herr Commandant's motor-car. Had I been in time you
would not have been required to go through this ceremony. We have been
advised of your coming, and I am instructed to attend you on your
journey. The train for Berlin leaves in half an hour. Pray do me the
honour to join me in a bock.'

With a feeling of distinction we stalked out of the ordinary ruck of
passengers and followed the lieutenant to the station restaurant. He
plunged at once into conversation, talking the Dutch of Holland, which
Peter, who had forgotten his school-days, found a bit hard to follow.
He was unfit for active service, because of his eyes and a weak heart,
but he was a desperate fire-eater in that stuffy restaurant. By his
way of it Germany could gobble up the French and the Russians whenever
she cared, but she was aiming at getting all the Middle East in her
hands first, so that she could come out conqueror with the practical
control of half