e body on the outraged nerves and muscles
of those members.

Lacking a gun limber, the Germans used a post with a cross-bar for
this man's case. After that, this was a recognized mode of punishment
for many petty offences in this camp.

It is true that this form of punishment is a part of the so-called
discipline of our army. But it was not meted out for offences of the
nature of this man's and if it had been, the obvious thing for the
sergeant-major to have done would have been to have lied like a man;
instead of which he piled horror on horror for his own countrymen. I
have the facts and names of these cases.

There will be many strange tales to come from these camps in the
fulness of time. No doubt some will go against us, but the truth must
be told at all costs, else the evil goes on and on.

We were sent out one day to dig potato trenches on the moors in a
terrible rain. We stuck our spades in the ground and refused. The
guards had French rifles of the vintage of 1870 which carried
cartridges with bullets that were really slugs of lead. They began to
load. A little _unteroffizier_ tugged excitedly at his holster for the
revolver.

A big Canadian stepped up: "Wait a minute, mate." He reached down to
the little man's waist and drew the gun.

He offered it to its owner, butt forward, "Now go ahead and shoot, and
we'll chop your damned heads off."

The rest of us confirmed our leader's statement by gathering around
threateningly and making gruesome and suggestive motions with our
spades. There were two hundred of us and only forty guards. We meant
business and they knew it. They took us back to the laager and locked
us up.

The following night, that of January 22nd, our guards were reinforced
by thirty more.

CHAPTER XIV

AWAY AGAIN

Why the Prisoners Walked--Cold Feet Again--The Man Who Turned and
Fled--Brumley's Precious Legs--The Wait in the Wood--The Cunning
of the Hunted--Bad Days in the Swamps--Within Four Miles of
Freedom--The Kaiser's Birthday--Another Trip to Holland.

Simmons and Brumley, together with my companion of the first escape,
had determined to make a break for it with me. And although we were
not quite ready at this time the addition to the guards forced our
decision. We had a scanty supply of biscuits saved up and I had
wheedled a file from a friendly Russian; Simmons got a bit of a map
from a Frenchman; and we secured a watch from a Belgian. With this
internationa