brought in to supply the
demands of the division stationed there.

They did not stay full long. The German officers were notoriously
heavy drinkers, and there were days when there were great drayloads of
empty hogsheads ready to be taken away to be refilled.

Tom developed a great interest in these hogsheads. The work of loading
them on the drays was performed by prisoners, and he managed to be in
the vicinity as often as possible to help. He was stronger than most
of the prisoners and he worked with such good will at loading the bulky
hogsheads that little by little it became a habit with the guards to
assign him to this work whenever it was to be done.

A day came when the rain poured down in torrents. Tom had waited and
prayed for just such a day. The air was full of fog and a cloud of
steam rose from the horses' backs. Everything in the prison yard was
dim and gray and spectral. The guards were enveloped in heavy
raincoats and the flaps of oilskin on their caps fell halfway over
their faces.

Tom had managed to get on one of the trucks and was tugging at one of
the hogsheads to make room for others further back. Other prisoners
were lifting on the last hogsheads. Tom leaned over one of the
hogsheads and suddenly let himself go into it headfirst. It was all
over in a flash.

There was an awful moment of suspense. Had anyone seen him? He
listened intently. No shout was raised. Nothing happened out of the
usual.

The driver climbed up to his seat and the horses started. There was a
momentary delay as the gates were opened to let him pass. Then the
horses started on a jog trot and the truck was bumping its way over an
uneven country road. A thrill of exultation shot through Tom,
crouching at the bottom of the hogshead. He had made the first step on
the road to freedom.

He was still in the most imminent danger. At any moment he might hear
the clattering of horsemen in pursuit. And he knew the kind of
treatment he would get if he were recaptured.

How to get out of the hogshead without detection was another problem.
But this worried him least of all. He felt sure that the driver would
stop at the first tavern he came across to refresh himself. Then he
would make his break.

His faith was justified, for before long the truck came to a halt and
the driver got down. The weather had driven all the tavern idlers
indoors and the streets of the little hamlet were deserted. Like an
eel, Tom s