y over to the door. Besides Simmons,
there were seven Frenchmen and an Englishman, all of whom were still
at table and none of them aware of our plans. I carelessly opened the
door and stood on the sill a moment. Still pouring. "Come here,
Simmons, and see this. We're going to get wet before we get back."
Simmons shoved his chair back and joined me. We both stepped outside
and gently shut the door.

Once more we were on our way! We found ourselves at the edge of the
village in which the farmers hereabouts had their homes. We worked our
way carefully round the outskirts and made for a bit of a wood a mile
and a half away. We were only half way to our objective when the
village bells began to ring. Once more the hue and cry was on!

When the deep baying of the dogs joined in we said "Ataboy!" cast
aside all concealment and began to run for it. We reached the wood
safely enough, but it turned out to be only a thin fringe of trees,
offering no concealment whatever. We dashed through them. On the other
side a village opened up. Back to the wedge of wood we went. A
good-sized ditch with a foot or so of water in it ran along the edge
of the wood. Its sides were covered with heather, which drooped far
down into the water. We flung ourselves into it, after first shoving
the tin box containing our precious matches into the heather above.
Pitch darkness would not come until ten o'clock. During the
intervening two hours we lay on our backs in the water with only the
smallest possible portion of our faces projecting. Once the guard
jumped over the ditch less than four yards away. We suffered
intensely, for, although it was late August, the water was very cold.

When things had become quiet and daylight had passed we withdrew
ourselves from the muck, and after rubbing our numbed bodies to
restore the circulation, struck out across the country, intent on
shoving as much distance as possible between ourselves and the camp
before another day rolled round. We knew that the alarm would be out
and the whole country roused, with every man's hand against us. We
were getting used to that. I, for one, had determined not to be taken
alive this time. But I certainly did not want to be put to the test.
So we plowed our way through oat and rye fields and over and through
ditches--many of them. Once we stripped our soggy clothes off to swim
a river that faced us. In no place did the water come above our knees;
but what it lacked in depth, it mad