The Project Gutenberg EBook of Three Times and Out, by Nellie L. McClung

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Title: Three Times and Out

Author: Nellie L. McClung

Release Date: July 11, 2004 [EBook #12880]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE TIMES AND OUT ***

Thanks to A Celebration of Women Writers
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/
for providing the source text.

THREE TIMES AND OUT

TOLD BY

PRIVATE SIMMONS

WRITTEN BY

NELLIE L. MCCLUNG

Author of SOWING SEEDS IN DANNY, IN TIMES LIKE THESE,
and THE NEXT OF KIN

With Illustrations

TORONTO

THOMAS ALLEN

BOSTON AND NEW YORK

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

1918

To the companion who failed
through no fault of his and
no lack of courage
TOM BROMLEY
loyal friend and best of com-
rades, this book is dedicated.

PREFACE

When a young man whom I had not seen until that day came to see me
in Edmonton, and told me he had a story which he thought was worth
writing, and which he wanted me to write for him, I told him I could
not undertake to do it for I was writing a story of my own, but that
I could no doubt find some one who would do it for him.

Then he mentioned that he was a returned soldier, and had been for
sixteen months a prisoner in Germany, and had made his escape--

That changed everything!

I asked him to come right in and tell me all about it--for like every
one else I have friends in the prison-camps of Germany, boys whom I
remember as little chaps in knickers playing with my children, boys
I taught in country schools in Manitoba, boys whose parents are my
friends. There are many of these whom we know to be prisoners, and
there are some who have been listed as "missing," who we are still
hoping against long odds may be prisoners!

I asked him many questions. How were they treated? Did they get
enough to eat? Did they get their parcels? Were they very lonely?
Did he by any chance know a boy from Vancouver called Wallen Gordon,
who had been "Missing" since the 2d of June, 1916? Or Reg Black from
Manitou? or Garnet Stewart from Winnipeg?

Unfortunately, he did not.

Then he began his story. Be