Three days after this fortuitous meeting, Baldens and I met at
Devant-le-Pont-lez-Visé, not far from Liége, in order to study the
disposition of the land and water. At a short distance from the
_Anna_--one of those massive, coal-black tug-boats so familiar to
the inhabitants of the banks of our Belgian canals and rivers--was a
public-house frequented by boatmen; and near to it we found an equally
convenient private house, which, as it was to let furnished, we took
on a monthly tenancy. You will comprehend the reason for this when I
add that, having made these preliminary preparations, I returned to
Liége and began getting together a party of citizens who, in hourly
dread of deportation, were anxious to join in any well-thought-out
scheme of escape. Presuming that we succeeded in getting possession
of the _Anna_ and navigating her out of the canal into the Meuse, and
thence to Dutch waters (for that was the ambitious plan we had in
view), we had to have some place where we could temporarily harbour
our fellow-adventurers before they went on board. I had no difficulty,
I can assure you, in finding volunteers. No fewer than sixty people
expressed their willingness to join us, and did, in fact, assemble at
the house in question on the night fixed for carrying out our plans.
True, eighteen of these got frightened at the last moment and returned
home, on the plea that the risk was too great, as the boat would
have to run the gauntlet past German sentries. Over forty, however,
including two brave women, remained staunch and stuck to us.
It was a pitch-black night just five days before Christmas when Baldens
and I got our little party of fugitives under that convenient roof and
started active operations by sauntering in the direction of the _Anna_,
with the object of inviting the captain and crew to have a glass at the
neighbouring "pub." The three topers took the hook, daintly baited by
Baldens, in splendid fashion, and--one bottle leading to another--we
kept them at it until turning-out time. But it takes a lot of liquor to
fuddle a Boche completely, and, though we arranged to mix their drinks
pretty often and let them have the lion's share, they were still in
possession of their senses when they started back for their cabins on
the _Anna_. However, the far-seeing, ingenious Baldens was with them,
and I knew he could be trusted to finish the job, especially when he
whispered to me, after wishing me a boisterous good night in which the
others joined:--
"Everything will be ready, Prost, in an hour's time. You can all of you
come aboard then and assist in the finishing touches. _Au revoir!_"
Back with my flock in the furnished house, where I found them waiting
in great anxiety, I explained how things were going, and an hour later
(how the time did hang on our hands!) we all sallied forth. I led the
party in single file through the darkness, and it was an immense relief
to me on reaching the _Anna_ to find that Baldens was waiting for us--a
clear proof he had succeeded in his object and that the coast was clear.
When we got below we found the captain and his two men stretched out on
the floor, dead drunk, and chloroformed into the bargain.
"Now, quick's the word and sharp's the motion," said Baldens. "Off with
their uniforms. And who'll volunteer to put them on? Prost, find three
men who are about the same size as these fellows--three cool-headed men
who don't mind facing danger."
It was not at all an easy task undressing and redressing those three
helpless lumps of Boche humanity, but we managed it all right, in the
dim light from a hanging lantern, and in a little over half an hour
three Liégois, armed with Mausers, were impersonating the German guards
on the deck of the _Anna_.
We were to be off on our voyage as soon as possible. Steam was to be
got up without delay, so several of us, with the assistance of Baldens,
who, of course, knew the tug-boat from end to end, set to work to do
our best to light the furnaces. Whilst we were in the midst of this
work, which required to be done with the greatest caution, in order not
to arouse the suspicions of the German patrol, whose measured footsteps
could be heard along the towpath every half-hour, a tremendous uproar
arose in the cabin where we had left the three prostrate Germans.
Baldens and I rushed in, with drawn revolvers, and were just in time
to prevent the captain--who had come to his senses and taken in the
situation at a glance--from dashing up on deck and raising the alarm.
He was a powerfully-built man, and it took the two of us to master
him. He fought like a tiger, literally with tooth and nail. Finally,
however, we got him in a corner, and, whilst I was pinioning him
from behind, Baldens kept him covered with his six-shooter, which
he threatened to empty into his carcass if he moved another muscle.
Thereupon the mastered man caved in and begged for mercy in the classic
phrase: "_Kamarades! Kamarades! Nicht kaput!_"