The Hollis Post-Herald. (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 15, 1918 Page: 7 of 8
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THE HOLLIS POST-HERALD
Jt
OUTWITTING
LIEUTENANT
PAT O'BRIEN-
C,/**,?/*xjum <xo*tar
CHAPTER XII.
The Forged Passport.
For obvious reasons, I cannot de-
scribe the man to wbom I applied for
the passport nor the honse In which
He lived. While, In view of what sub-
sequently happened, I would not be
very much concerned If he cot Into
trouble for having dealt with me, I
realize that the hardships he had en-
dured In common with the other In-
habitants of that conquered city may
possibly have distorted his idea of
right and Justice, and I shall not de-
liberately bring further disaster on
Mm by revealing his Identity.
This man—we will call him Huy-
llger because that Is as unlike his
name as It is mine—was very kind to
me on that memorable night when
aroused him from his sleep and in a
few words of explanation told him of
my plight
He Invited me inside, prepared some
food for me and, putting on a dreas-
lng gown, came and sat by me while I
ate, listening with the greatest lnt«-
ost to the short account of my adven-
tures.
He could speak English fluently, and
lip Interrupted me several times to ex-
press bis sympathy for. the sufferings
1 had endured.
"O'Brien," he said, after I had con-
cluded my story, "I am going to help
you. It may take several days—per-
haps as long as two weeks—but event-
ually we will provide the means to en-
Able you to get to Holland."
I thanked him a thousand times and
told him that I didn't know how I
could possibly repay him.
Don't th'ik of that," he replied;
"the satisfaction of knowing that I
have aided in placing one more victim
of the Huns beyond their power to
harm will more than repay me for all
the risk I ahaU run In helping you.
Tou'd better turn In now, O'Brien, and
In the morning I'll tell you what I plan
to do."
As I removed my clothes and noticed
that my knees were still swollen to
twice their normal slse, that my left
«nH« was black and blue from the
wrench I had given It when I jumped
from the train and that my ribs showed
through my skin, I realised what a lot
I had been through. As a matter of
fact, I could not have weighed more
one hundred and fifty pounds at
that time, whereas I had tipped the
scales at one hundred and ninety when
I was with my squadron in France.
I lost no time in getting into bed
and still less in getting to sleep. I
don't know what I dreamed of that
night, but I had plenty of time to go
through the experiences of my whole
life, for when I was aroused by a
knock on the door and HuyUger en-
tered in response to my Invitation to
enter, he told me that it was nearly
noon! I had slept for almost twelve
hours.
I cannot say that the thought did
not run through my head that per-
haps after all I was living In a fool's
paradise, and that when HuyUger re-
appeared it would be with a couple of
German soldiers behind him, but I dis-
missed such misgivings summarily, re-
alising that I was doing HuyUger an
Injustice to let such things enter my
head even for an Instant. I had no
•right to doubt his sincerity and
■would do me no good to entertain such
suspicions. If he waa going to prove
treacherous to me, I waa powerlesa
any way to cope with him.
In a few momenta my host reap-
peared with a tray containing my
breakfast. I don't suppose I shaU ever
forget that meaL It consisted of a
cap of coffee—real coffee, not the kind
I had had at Courtral—several sUces of
bread, some hot potatoes and a dish
of scrambled eggs.
Every mouthful of that meal tasted
like angel-food to me and Huyllger
sat on the edge of the bed and watched
me enjoying It, at the same time out-
lining the plana he had made for my
ctcipt
In brief, the scheme waa to conceal
me in a convent until conditions were
ripe for me to make my way to the
border. In the meanwhile I was to be
blessed In the garb of a priest, and
when the time came for me to leave
the city I was to pretend that I waa a
Bfffiniah Bailor, because I could speak a
little which 1 had picked
™«*ocoMt To attempt to play
the part of a Belgian would become In-
creasingly difficult, he pointed out, and
woald bring Inevitable disaster In the
ovent that I waa caUed upon to apeak.
HuyUger aald I would be given suf-
ficient money to bribe the German
guards at the Dutch frontier, and he
amurud me that everything would work
out according to schedule.
-Tours la not the first case, O'Brien,
we have handled suuissftilly.- bsd*
dared. -Only three weeks agelbsard
from an English merchant whs bad
and came to me for assistance and
whom I had been able to get through
the lines. His message telUng me of
his safe arrival In Rotterdam came to
me In an Indirect way, of course, but
the fsct that the plana we had made
carried through without mishap makes
me feel that we ought to be able to do
as much for you."
I told Huyllger I was ready to follow
his instructions and would do any-
thing he suggested.
"I want to rejoin my squadron as
soon as I possibly can," I told him,
"but I realise that It will take a cer-
tin length of time for you to make the
necessary arrangements, and I will be
as patient aa I can."
The first thing to do, HuyUger told
me, was to prepare a passport He had
a blank one and It waa a comparatively
simple matter to fill In the spaces, us-
ing a genuine passport which HuyUger
possessed aa a sample of the hand-
writing of the passport clerk. My oc-
cupation waa entered as that of a
sailor. My birthplace we gave as
Spain, and we put my age at thirty.
As a matter of fact, at that time I
couM easily have passed for thirty-
five, but we figured that with proper
food and a decent place to sleep at
night, I could soon regain my normal
appearance, and the passport would
have to serve me, perhaps, for several
weeks to come.
Filling In the blank spscea on the
passport waa, as I have said, a com-
paratively easy matter, but that did
not begin to fill the blU. Every genu-
ine passport bore an official rubber
stamp, something Uke an elaborate
postmark, and I waa nt a loss to know
how to get over that difficulty.
Fortunately, however, HuyUger had
half of a rubber stamp which had evi-
dently been thrown away by the Ger-
mans, and he planned to construct the
other half out of the cork from a wine
bottle, He was very skillful with
penknife, and although he spoilt a
score or more of corks before he suc-
ceeded in getting anything like ths
result he was after, the finished article
was far better than our most sanguine
Indeed, after we had
told me that there were 1£00 bottles of
ltt I was so happy at ths turn my
affairs had taken and In the rosy pros-
pscts which I now entertained that I
was half Inclined to Indulge in a little
celebration then and there. On second
thought however, I remembered the
old warning of the folly of shouting
before you are well out of the woods,
and I decided that It would be just aa
well to postpone the festivities for n
while and go to bed instead.
In such an elaborately furnished
houae I had naturally conjured up
Ideas of a wonderfully large bed,
with thick hair mattress, downy
quilts and big soft pillows. Indeed. I
debated for a while which particular
bedroom I should honor with my pres-
ence that night Judge of my disap-
pointment therefore, when sfter vis-
iting bedroom after bedromn, I discov-
ered that there wasn't a bed In any
one of them that was In a condition to
sleep In.' All the mattresses had been
removed and the rooms were abso-
lutely bare of everything In the way
of wool, allk or cotton fabrics. The
Germans had apparently swept the
house dean.
There was nothing to do, therefore,
but to make myself as comfortable aa
I could on the floor, but as I had grown
accustomed by this time to sleeping
under fsr less comfortable conditions,
I swallowed my disappointment as
cheerfully as I could and lay down
for the night
In the morning HuyUger appeared
pnrt brought me some breakfast, and
after I had eaten It he asked me what
connections I had in France or Eng-
land from whom I could obtain
money.
I told him that I banked at Oox *
Co., London, and that if he needed
any money I would do anything I could
to get it for him, although I did not
know Just how such things could be ar-
ranged.
"Don't worry about that O'Brien,"
he replied. "We'll find a way of get-
ting It all right What I want to know
Is how far you are prepared to go to
compensate me for the risks I am
rendering you!"
The change In the man's attitude
stunned me. I could hardly believe my
Mrs.
"Of course I shall pay you as well as
I can for what you have done, Huyll-
ger,1* I replied, trying to conceal as far
as possible the disappointment his de-
mand had occasioned me, "but don't
you think that this Is hardly the proper
time or occasion to talk of compensa-
tion? All I have on me, as you know,
Is a few hundred francs, and that, of
course, you are welcome to, and when
I get back. If I ever do, I shall not
easily forget that kindness you have
ahown me. I am sure you need have
no concern about my showing my
gratitude in a substantial way."
"That's all right O'Brien," he In-
sisted, looking at me In a knowing sort
of way; "you may take care of me
afterwards, and then again you may
not I'm not satisfied to wait. I want
to be taken care of now!"
"Well, what do you want me to do?
expectations. W11_.
parei!t rr h7 our Z How much do you expect in the way
moved whatever Imperfections our re- Qf cnsatlonj How can I arrange
peated test disclosed, we had a stamp u to yoQ? j am wllUng to do
which made an Impression so closely . ^ t , reasonable."
resembling the original that without a *2^ replied,
magnifying glass, we were sure, It I * wani pwa ^ v
would have been Impossible to tell
that It was a counterfeit
HuyUger procured a camera and
took a photograph of me to paste on
the passport in the place provided for
and he named a figure that staggered
me. If I had been Lord Kitchener In-
stead of Just an ordfoary lieutenant
In the B. F. C., he would hardly have
asked a larger sum. Perhaps he
thought I was.
"Well, my dear man," I said smlUng-
ly, thinking that perhaps he waa Jok-
ing, "you don't really mean that, do
your
"I certainly do, O'Brien, and what Is
more," he threatened. "I Intend to get
that purpose, and we then had a pass-
port which was entirely satisfactory
to both of us and would, we hoped,
prove equally so to our friends the
Huns.
It had taken two days to fix up the
passport. In the meanwhile HuyUger
Informed me that he had changed his
pinna about the convent and that In-
stead he would take me to an empty
house, where I could remain "In safety
until he told me It was advisable for
me to proceed to the frontier.
This was quite agreeable to me, as I
had had misgivings as to the kind
of a priest I would make and it seemed
to me to be safer to remain aloof from
everyone In a deserted house than to
have to mingle with people or come In
contact with them, even with the best
of disguises.
That night I accompanied HuyUger
to a fashionable section of the dty,
where the honse in which I was to be
concealed was located
This house turned out to be a four-
story structure of brick. HuyUger told
me that It had been occupied by a
wealthy Belgian before the war. but
since 1914 it had been uninhabited save
for the occasional habitation of some
refugee whom Huyllger waa befriend-
ing.
HuyUger had a key and let me In.
but he did not enter the bouse with
me, stating that he would visit me In
the morning.
I explored the place from top to bot-
tom as weU as I could without Ughta.
The houss I OwtllMsf ths Plans Hs Had Mads far
but of course, the dust lay a quarter 1 My finesse.
of sa Inch thick everywhere. « — - I *
„ It waa a
large houae, containing some twenty I every cent I have asked, and you are
rooms. There were two rooms In the going to help me get It"
basement four on the first floor, four He puUed out aa order calling for
on the aecoad five on the third and five the payment to him of the amount he
on the top. In ths days that were to had mentioned and demanded that 1
come 1 was to havs plenty of oppor- atgn it
tunity to famlUarlae myself with ths I waved U aside.
contents of that heuee but at that time I "HuyUger," I said, "you have helped
I did not know it and I was curious I ms out ao far and perhaps you have
enough to want to know joat what the I the power to help me further. lappre-
house contained. date what you have done foe me, al-
Dewn in the basement there waa a though now. I think. I see what your
huge pentry but It was abeolutely hare, I motive waa, tat I certainly dent In-
except of dust and dirt. A deer which tend to be blackmailed and I teU you
evidently led to n aahbuaesMnt at- right new that 1 wont stand for It"
traded my attention and I thought «t "Tory weU." he aald. "It la Just aa
might be a good Msa to kaow jnst I you say. butjl^^ ^
me to atade sssrebers. [ yes tolhlnk It ever.
|fy Iff!
left, was toget out of that houae Just
aa soon aa I could. I had the passport
he had prepared for me, and I figured
that even without further help I could
now get to the border without very
much difficulty, and when I got there
I would have to use my own Ingenuity
to get through.
It was evident however, that Huy-
Uger still had an Idea that I might
change my mind with regard to the
payment he had demanded, and I de-
cided that It would be fooUsh to do
anything until be paid me a second
visit
At the beginning of my dealings with
HuyUger I had turned over to him
some pictures, papers, and other things
that I had on me when I entered his
house, Including my Identification disk,
and I was rather afraid that he might
refuse to return them to me.
All day long I remained in the house
without a particle of food other than
the breakfast HuyUger had brought to
me. From the windows I could see
plenty to Interest me and help pass the
time away, but of my experiences
while In that house I shall tell In de-
tail later on, confining my attention
now to a narrative of my dealing with
HuyUger.
That night he appeared as he had
promised.
"WeU, O'Brien," -he asked, as he en-
tered the room where I was awaiting
him, "what do you say? Will you sign
the order or not?"
It had occurred to me during the
day that the amount demanded was so
fabulous that I might have signed the
order without any danger of its ever
being paid, but the Idea of this man,
who had claimed to be befriending me,
endeavoring to make capital out of my
plight galled me so that I was deter-
mined not to give it to him whether I
could do so in safety or not.
"No, Huyllger." I replied, "I have
decided to get along as best I can with-
out any further assistance from you.
I shall see that you are reasonably
paid for what you have done, but I
will not accept any further assistance
from you at any price, and what is
more I want you to return to me at
once all the photographs and other
papers and belongings of mine which
turned over to you a day or two
ago!"
"I'm sorry about that, O'Brien," he
retorted, with a show of apparent sin-
cerity, "but that Is something I cannot
do."
"If you don't give me back those
papers at once," I replied hotly, "I will
take steps to get them, and d—d
quick too!"
"I don't know Just what you could
do, O'Bricto," he declared coolly, "but
as a matter of fact the papers and
pictures you refer to are out of the
country. I could not get them back
to you If I wanted to."
Something told me the man was
lying.
"See here, Huyllger!" I threatened,
advandng towards him, putting my
hand on his shoulder and looking him
straight In the eye, "I want those
papers and I want them here before
midnight to-night. If I don't get them
I shall sleep In this place Just once
more and then, at 8 o'clock to-morrow
morning, I shall go to the German au-
thorities, give myself up, show them
the passport that you fixed for me,
tell them how I got It, and explain
everything."
HuyUger paled. We had no Ughts
In the house, but we were standing
near a landing at the time and the
moonlight was streaming through a
stained-glass window.
The Belgian turned on his heel and
started to go down the stulrs.
"Mind you," I called after him, "I
shall wait for you till the city clock
strikes twelve, and If you don't show
up with those papers by that time, the
next time you will see me is when you
confront me before the Germun au-
thorities. I am a desperate man, Huy-
llger, and I mean every word I say."
He let himself out of the door and I
sat on the top stair and wondered Just
what he would do. Would he try to
steal a march on me and get In a first
word to the authorities so thnt my
story would be discredited when
put It to them?
Of course, my threat to give myself
op to the Huns was a pure bluff. While
I had no desire to lose the papers
which HuyUger had and which In-
cluded the map and the last resting
place of my poor chum Raney, I cer-
tainly had no Intention of cutting off
my nose to spite my face by surren-
dering to the Germans. I would have
iteen shot as sure as fate, for after all
I had been able to observe behind the
German lines I would be regarded aa
a apy and treated aa such.
At the same time I thought I de-
tected a yellow streak In HuyUger, and
I figured that he would not want to
tnke the risk of my carrying out my
threat even though he beUeved there
was but a small chance of my doing so.
If I did. be would undoubtedly share
my fate, and the pictures and papers
he had of mine were really of no use
to him. and I have never been able to
ascertain why It waa he wished to re-
tain then unless they contained
thing—some Information about
which accounted for his complete
change of attitude towards me In the
first place, and he wanted the papers
aa evidence to account to hla m
riots for his conduct towards me.
When he first told me that the plan
of placing me In n convent disguised
as a priest had been abandoned he ex-
plained It by saying that the cardinal
tad tanned orders to the priests to
help no more fugitives, and I have
tvntn my eCatra, when the front dear
opened and Huyllger aaesnded the
stairs.
"I have brought you audi of your be-
longings as I still had, O'Brien." he
said softly. "The rest aa I told you. I
cannot give you. They are no longer
In my possession."
I looked through the Utile bunch he
handed mfe. It Included my Identifi-
cation disk, most of the pepera I val-
ued, and perhaps half of the photo-
graphs.
"I don't know what your object Is In
retaining the rest of my pictures, Huy-
Uger," I replied, "but aa a matter of
fact, the ones that are missing were
only of sentimental value to me and
you are welcome to them. We'll call It
a beat"
I don't know whether he understood
the Idiom, but he sat down on the
stairs Just below me and cogitated for
a few moments.
"O'Brien," he started finally, Tm
sorry things have gone the way they
have. I feel sorry for you and I would
really Uke to help you. I don't sup-
pose you will believe me, but the
matter of the order which which I
asked you to sign utaa not of my doing.
However, we won't go Into that The
proposition was made to you and you
turned It down, and that's the end of
It. At the same time, I hate to leave
you to your own resources and I am
going to make one more suggestion
to you for your own good. I have an-
£
-Your Uvea Won't fie Werth a Damn."
anything In my pnpers which tad
tamed Mm against me aad led him to
fotaaks ms after all he had proas!
other plan to get you Into Holland
and If you will go with me to another
house, I will Introduce you to a man
who I think will be In a poaltlon to
help you."
"How many millions of pounds will
he want for his trouble " I answered,
sarcastically.
"You can arrange that when you aee
him. Will you go?"
I suspected there waa something
fishy about the proposition, but I felt
that I could take care of myself aad
decided to see the thing through. I
knew HuyUger would not dare to de-
liver me to the authorities becsuse of
the fact that I had the teU-tale pass-
port, which would be his deathkneU as
well as my own.
Accordingly I said I would be quite
willing to go with him whenever he
was ready, and he suggested that we
go the next evening.
I pointed out to him that I was en-
tirely without food and asked him
whether he could not arrange to bring
or send me something to ent while I
remained In the house.
"I'm sorry, O'Brien," he repUed, "but
I'm afraid you will have to get along
as best you can. When I brought yon
your breakfast this morning I took
a desperate chance. If I hnd been dis-
covered by one of the German soldiers
entering this house with food in my
possession. I would not only have paid
the penalty myself, but you would have
been discovered, too. It Is too danger-
ous a proposition. Why don't you go
out by yourself and buy your food at
the stores? That would give you con-
fidence and you'll need plenty of It
when you continue your Journey to the
border."
There was a good deal of truth In
what he said and I really could not
blame him for not wanting to take any
chances to help me In view of the rela-
tions between us.
"Very well." I aald; *Tve gone with-
out food for many hours nt a time be-
fore end I suppose I shaU be able to
do ao again. I shall look for yen to-
morrow evening."
The next evening he came and I no-
com ponied him to another honse not
very far from the one In which I had
been ataylag and not unlike It In ap-
pearance. It too. was a substantial
dwelling house which had been unten-
anted since the beginning aave perhaps
for such occasional visits aa HuyUger
and hla aasodstee made to It
HuyUger let himself In aw
ducted me to a room on the aecoad
floor, where he introduced me to two
men. One. I could rondlly see by the
resemblance. waa his own brother.
The other was a stranger.
Tery briefly they explained to nt
thnt they had procured another peso-
port tor me—a genuine one-wMch
woald prove far more effective la help-
lac to get am to the frontier then the
right at ths Mart; tat I listened W
tlently to what they had to say.
•Of course, you wUl have to return
to us the passport we gave you betors
we can give you the real one," aald
HuyUger*a brother.
"I haven't the sUghtest objection." I
repUed, "If the new passport Is aU you
claim for It WUl you let me see It?"
There was considerable hesitation on
the part of Huyllger's brother and the
other chau at this.
"Why. I don't think that's necessary
at all, Mr. O'Brien," said the former.
"You give us the old passport and we
wiU be very glad to give you the new
one for It Isn't that fair enough?"
"It may be fair enough, my friends,"
I retorted, seeing that It was useless to
conceal further the fact that I waa
fully aware of their whole plan and
why I had been brought to this house.
"It may be fair enough, my friends," I
said, "but you will get the passport
that I have here." getting my side and
Indicating my Inside breast pocket*
"only off my dead body!"
I suppose the three of them could
have made short work of me then and
there if they had wanted to go the
limit, and no one would ever havs
been the wiser, but I had gone through
so much and 1 was feeling so mean to*
wards the whole world Just at that
moment that I waa determined to sell
my life as dearly as possible.
"I have that passport here," I •
piled, "and am going to keep It If
you gentlemen think you can take It
from me you are welcome to try 1"
To tell the truth, I waa spoiling foe
a light and I half wished they would
start something. The man who had
Uved In the house had evidently beeo
a coUector of andent pottery, for the
walls were Uned with great pieces of
earthenware which had every earmark
of possessing great value. They cm
talnly possessed greet wdght I fir
ured that If the worst came to the
worst that pottery would come la
mighty handy. A single blow with oaa
of those big vases would put a man
out aa neatly as possible and aa there
was lots of pottery and only three men,
I beUeved I bad aa excellent chanee <4
holding my own In the combat which I
had Invited.
I had already picked out to my mind
what I was going to use, aad I got an
stood with my back to the wall aad
told them that If they ever figured en
getting the passport then would be
their best chance.
Apparently they realised that 1,
meant business and they Immediately
began to expostulate at the attttade 1
was taking.
One of the men spoke exceUeat
English. In fact, he told me that he
could speak five languages, and tf M
could lie la the others aa weU as 1
knew he did in my own tongue, he waa
not only an accompUahod linguist MM
a most versatile liar Into ths bargain.
"My dear fellow," said the linguist
•it Is not that we want to deprive you o<
the passport Good bee vans! If It will
aid you in getting out of the countr*
I wish yon could have six Just Uke It
But for our own protection, yen owe
It to us to proceed on your journey
aa beet you can without It because aa
long aa yoa have It la year poeassatan
you Jeopardise our Uvea, too. Ddrt
you think It la fairer that yea *oald
risk your own safety rather thaa plaee
the Uvea of three lanoctnt men It
dangerr
"That may be as It Is, my friesda,"
I retorted, "and I am glad yoa laatta*
your danger. Keep It in mind, tor ti
case any of yon should happen to tort
Inclined to notify the Gem
ties that I am In thU part of the
try, think it over before you do an
Remember always that If/the Oormaafl
get me, they get the passport toe, aad
If they get the passport your Uvea
won't be worth a damn I When I tsD
the history of that dover Utile piece
of pasteboard, I will lmpUcate all three
of you. and whoever la working wttb
you, and aa I am an officer 11
think my word wUl be taken I
yours. Goodnight!"
The bluff evidently worked, taeniae
I was able to get out of the dty wlth
out molestation toon* the Germans.
1 have never seen theee men slaan
I hope I never stall, bt rosea I am
afraid I might be tempted to do mm*
thing for which I might otherwise be
I do not mean to Imply that aU Brt*
glans are Uke this. I had sildtnOj
fallen Into the hands of a gaag whs
were endeavoring to make capital oat
of the mlsfortuneo of thooo who were
referred to them for help. In aU coun-
tries there are bad as well as goo*
end In a country which has sulfated as
much aa poor Belgium It Is no wondaa
If some of the survivors have lost that*
sense of moral perspective.
I know that the avenge poor |
ant In Belgium woald divide hla i
rations with n needy fugitive s
a wealthy Belgian woald dela
out a morsel from his comparatively
well-stocked larder. Perhaps the peoq
have less to lose than the rich tf thotfi
generosit. or charity la disco rated bf
ths Huns.
There tave boon many Belgians that
tor bslplag escaped prisoners and e
fugitives, and tt Is not to he wend
st that they ere wllllag to take ae to*
i as posslhls. A msa with «
especially, doee not tool ja*
tilled la helping a stranger when ha
knows that he and hla whole toaritj
cray be shot or asnt to prison for their
Although I suffered much from ths
attitude of Huyllger aad his associate*
I suppooo I ought to hold ns grnflfia
them In view of the unaavUMe
(TO B COWTOtUBP.)
TMe le fin
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Huff, Thomas B. The Hollis Post-Herald. (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 15, 1918, newspaper, August 15, 1918; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc268376/m1/7/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.