ldays
as to pick barley heads and deliberately put them a little way up my
coat-sleeves, the barbs downwards, expressly for the pleasure of
feeling them crawling up my arms. Most of us do curious things in our
youth!

Suffice it to say that, in spite of all convictions to the contrary, I
was still in the heap, unmolested, when the afternoon resolved itself
into evening and the labourers left for their homes. A little before
nine o'clock, after a short but drenching shower, I could stand it no
longer, so crawled out, damp and cold, but still almost glad to be
alive. Looking towards the west in the fading light, I saw a large
shape moving slowly from left to right through the country, roughly a
couple of miles away. It could only be a sail. With a sinking feeling
I realised that in front lay at least one more canal which must be
crossed. (This canal, I afterwards discovered, was actually in
Holland.) Although I did not feel desperately hungry, I somehow felt
that I was getting near the end of my tether; my food, also, was
dwindling and could not last more than two days at the outside, for I
was already half-way through my emergency ration, a tin of Quaker
oats. Strange to say, porridge is nothing like as nice eaten raw.

As soon as it was dark I started out, resolved not only to be
extremely cautious, but, at the same time, to get as far as possible
before the next day overtook me, time now threatening to form one of
my most formidable adversaries. Travelling across country, I soon came
upon a long road bordered by trees, so hid in the edge of some beans
to make sure that all was clear before venturing across it. Almost
immediately I heard voices not far distant, and presently a man on a
bicycle rode past. When everything was quiet again I managed to step
across the road unobserved, feeling sure that another danger point was
past. The night being cold it may be imagined that I was scarcely
overjoyed at finding it necessary to wade or swim through another
short series of dykes; this was, however, the case. Drawing near to
the dreaded canal, I noticed that on either flank, some distance away,
were clusters of rather brilliant lights. Presumably this pointed to
the fact that these lights were placed at points of special
importance, such as strongly guarded bridges, in which case it seemed
probable that the canal might form part of the boundary line. In order
to avoid the slightest rustle which might attract attention, I ro