WE JUMP FROM THE TRAIN
To return to our own affairs. When the train started off again, we made
up our minds that we must find out everything there was to know about
the carriages we were now in. To do this it would be necessary to visit
the other compartments, without of course arousing the suspicions of any
of the guards. Accordingly I again entered into conversation with one of
them, and asked him how many prisoners there were in the train, if they
were all going to the same camp, had they just been taken prisoners or
were they old ones, from what camps did they come, etc. I then hinted
that I thought I’d stroll along and have a talk to them; perhaps some
belonged to my own regiment. This did not seem to perturb him at all,
as indeed there was no reason why it should, seeing that the carriage
was made up of six compartments, which had been partitioned off with a
gangway running down one side. Sometimes one comes across them in this
country, and by standing up and looking over the seat one can see into
the next compartment. Accordingly I strolled along to the next
compartment, and sat down with the fellows there and soon got into
animated conversation. I noticed, however, that one of the guards had
followed me and was standing in the gangway. After about half an hour he
got tired of this and went back to his seat, and a few minutes after I
also returned to my own seat. This seemed to put him quite at his ease,
and by the time the evening arrived I had visited all the compartments,
and found, to my great joy, that the rear one held four officers without
a guard at all.
It was now necessary to find out the disposition of the Boche officers
and the remaining guard, which we did not discover till about 10.30 that
evening, when we arrived at some town to put up for the night. The name
of the place I don’t know, as I could see no name written up anywhere,
for there were very few lights showing on the station, and it was a
pitch-dark night. On detraining, we were marshalled into a sort of Red
Cross shelter on the platform, where we waited about three-quarters of
an hour, after which we were formed into fours and marched a distance of
about a mile and a half through the town to a big building, evidently
some kind of education institution temporarily turned into a receiving
hospital. Here we were ushered into a large hall, no doubt used before
the war as a gymnasium, and now full of collapsible camp-beds. On these
we were informed we must sleep till four o’clock the next morning, when
we should again march off. These beds looked very enticing to a great
many of us, and personally I took the full benefit out of the one
allotted to me, as I felt sure that it would be many a long weary day
before I got the chance of another good rest--if indeed I ever would
need one again in this life. The night passed without incident, and we
were well guarded.
The next morning at 4.30 we marched off again and reached the station
about 5 a.m. Here we were once more marshalled into the Red Cross rest
station where we had been the previous night. Hot coffee, bread, and a
piece of blood sausage were dealt out to us, at a price; but I for one
was very thankful, for it was the last meal I was to have for five days,
although of course I did not know it at the time.
At six o’clock we again entrained, and I noted with satisfaction that we
were to have the same carriage as that of the previous day.
Unfortunately it was now the leading one of the train, because anyone
attempting to leave our carriage must inevitably be seen by any person
looking out of those in the rear. I made especial note of the
whereabouts of our conducting officer, and found that he and the guard I
had missed the night before were located in the next carriage to ours.
As in English “Pullmans,” one could pass from one carriage to another
the whole length of the train, and I suppose he felt that he had us
sufficiently under his eyes from the next carriage.
On taking our allotted places in our carriage, we were delighted to find
that the front compartment, which had been the rear one the previous
day, was again without a guard. Nothing of any note happened till after
dawn broke, when we crossed the Rhine at Frankfort, and towards 10 a.m.
we drew up at a wayside station, and were again allowed to descend and
stretch our legs. This time there was nothing to be got in the way of
food or drink, and it was freezing very hard; so I and my two
companions, finding a small waiting-room, went in and shut the door-in
order to keep warm, of course! After about ten minutes the whistle went
for the train to start, but our conducting officer had discovered he had
not got his full complement of prisoners, and by the noise he made in
shouting at his men he seemed to be pretty much excited over it. During
a wild and flurried search we were discovered innocently doing nothing;
and although we got pretty roundly cursed, there is no doubt that it
helped to allay any suspicion on their part that we might be possible
escapers, so much so that when the train actually went off one of the
three guards was removed from our compartment after a whispered
consultation with the Boche officer, and went to join his comrade in the
officers’ compartment. This left us with two in our compartment, and
things began to look better for us. From this on nothing of any
particular note happened till midday, except that I felt exactly as if
I were going to step into a dentist’s chair, and the clock seemed as if
it were at a standstill, although the train was now moving a good deal
faster than it had done hitherto.
About one o’clock we stopped at a station, where we got rid of another
of our guards, who, suddenly discovering that his pal who had joined the
other guard had taken his grub with him, went off in search of it--and,
to our joy, he did not return. We were now left with only one guard in
our compartment and four others in the compartment in front of us. After
we moved off the train gathered speed, and our hopes began to descend
again. If the train continued like that to the end of the journey, to
jump would be out of the question. This was immediately after the sentry
had been moved, and we found ourselves with only one sentry in our
compartment.
We looked at each other, and unanimously said, “Well, what about it?”
Supposing we successfully made good our escape, we must be able to
travel with the greatest possible speed towards that part of the Dutch
frontier which we believed to be the best place for an attempt, and,
owing to its situation amongst the swamps, would probably be less
carefully guarded. Our progress across Germany was going to be very
seriously hampered by the fact that we were without a map of the actual
frontier, and only in possession of a small piece of map about three
inches square, showing the railway system on which we were actually
running, and this was not even correct according to a large tin map
showing the German north-west railway system which was nailed to the
wall of the compartment.
We therefore set to work to learn by heart this map, in so far as it was
likely to affect our possible route, and in order to get a definite idea
of our exact position on the railways, when the time came to make the
attempt. This was done, of course, by carefully noting the stations one
by one as we passed them in the train and referring to the map.
Personally that map seemed to have burnt its equivalent into my brain,
particularly the branches which led westward and passed over numerous
small rivers and eventually over a chain of lakes, which spot would
ultimately be our objective. We then sketched a rough plan of how the
attempt was to be brought to a successful issue. My plan being accepted
by the other two, it was decided that I was to have the right of trying
first--the other two tossing up with a coin for right of second place.
This being decided, another important factor had to be discussed, the
issue at point being that, firstly, there were some twenty-five or so
other British officers in the compartments in rear of us. The last of
these compartments was without a guard, and was therefore the best one
to escape from. Secondly, there might be some of these officers in
other compartments who intended to take an opportunity, should it occur.
If they did so without our knowledge, it would ruin our chance; and, on
the other hand, if we attempted to escape without their knowledge, we
should equally spoil their chance. Since we were all British officers
together, we decided to make it known to those who looked or acted as if
they were looking for a chance to leave the train.
Accordingly I left our compartment, and entered into conversation with
the officers in all the other compartments in turn, but saw no signs of
any preparations until I reached the last two compartments, where I
found evidences of suppressed excitement. The sentry in my own
compartment did not seem to mind my visiting the others where, as he
knew, I came under the eye of the sentry in charge of each compartment.
The fact that there was no sentry in the last one had evidently escaped
him. I discovered six other officers who talked of making an attempt,
and discussed my plans with the senior and two others of these, after
which I returned to my own compartment and companions.
I then proceeded to the lavatory, to which I was followed by the sentry,
who posted himself outside, letting down the window on the lavatory side
of the train and leaning out. This was in order that I might not get out
of the lavatory window without his knowledge. In the lavatory I first
cut the communication-cord; then, taking a galvanised spring which I had
concealed in the heel of my boot, I tied the broken rear end of this
cord to one of the communication-cord pull-throughs, in order that it
might be pulled in the corridor behind me, and spring back into its
place without transmitting the signal farther up the train. This done, I
removed my ruck-sack, made of sacking, from between the lining of my
trench-coat, and put into it the remains of my food brought on the
journey. I then put the ruck-sack on my back, and, coming out of the
lavatory, I manœuvred so that the sentry walked in front of me on our
way back to the compartment, in order that he might not see that I had
grown a hump-back. On being seated, I again studied the railway map in
our compartment, until I felt that I had off by heart the general
directions of the railways that would be likely to help us en route.
The next thing was to get the door of the carriage in the rear
compartment open. Before leaving our end of the train, we decided that,
as a signal to go, I should drop my handkerchief out of the window on
the left-hand side of the train, since an attempt must, if possible,
take place from the right side--firstly, because the right side
contained the corridor passage, and, secondly, the sentry could not
possibly fire on us from a moving train on the right side, unless they
were left-hand shots, which risk we had to take, though the chances were
very much in our favour. Again I paid a visit to our friends in the rear
compartments, and informed them that, as soon as dusk set in, we would
make the attempt--sooner, if the train slackened speed sufficient to
give us the least feasible opportunity.
We were just then passing the thickly wooded country near Bonn, and the
views were quite delightful. The light began to fail fast, and my nerves
were strained to the highest tension. Getting into communication with
the sentry in the next carriage, I began enlarging on the beauties of
the view, asking this or that question, at which he was highly
delighted. In fact, we got on so well that before many minutes were up I
had the window down, and was leaning half out on my right side. Whilst
we were unanimously praising a special little bit, my right hand crept
down almost to the full length of my arm outside the window, and lifted
the outside latch, after which I lost interest in the view, and the
sentry returned to his compartment, whilst I went to the rear one. The
train up to this time had been running at a speed of about fifty miles
an hour, which gave us no chance, considering we had to jump on to metal
rails and sleepers filled in with broken granite.
At about seven o’clock we ran into a small station, and thought our
chance would come as we drew out before the train could gather speed;
but just as we drew out, on reaching a level crossing, we found a
company of Boche soldiers drawn up on both sides of the line, and the
chance was left behind. At this moment we discovered a strange Boche had
entered the compartment. He turned out to be a railway official come to
turn on the light. He remained with us for a few minutes only. To us it
seemed an eternity. Would he never go! At last he went further up the
train, and we began to draw into another small town; but the train
stopped in front of another level crossing, with a crowd of Boche
civilians on both sides.
After about a minute the train moved off again and gathered speed with
great rapidity. We could see the lights of a big town about a mile in
front of us. This might be our destination, but we did not know. I
informed my confederates that in my opinion it was now or never. The
impossibility of jumping at that moment seemed to be deeply impressed on
everybody but myself. However, I dropped the handkerchief, and, crossing
to the other side, turned the handle and jumped out. Picking myself up,
I sprinted in the opposite direction to that in which the train was
moving, keeping to the centre of the track. It was impossible to leave
the line here, since both sides were lined with houses; so I rushed on,
hoping for a gap in the houses towards the open country. Passing the
level crossing, I noticed the barriers beginning to rise and the crowd
of civilians preparing to pass over. I heard a cry behind me and the
patter of running feet, and thought a crowd was following, at which I
redoubled my efforts, but soon realised that my long imprisonment had
told upon me, and that I could not go much farther.
Then it dawned on me that I could run better without my trench-coat.
Visions arose of the long wet trek in front of me, and the possibilities
of rheumatic fever without it; but my breath was going fast, so there
was no alternative. Accordingly, as I ran I threw the precious coat from
me. By this time I was very nearly done, and the weight of the ruck-sack
containing my food for the journey made my shoulders ache, so that I
threw that off also. Another fifty yards and the end of the town was in
sight, but before this I espied a gap in the houses, for which I made.
This only led to a cul-de-sac. The only alternative was to cross a
fence into a garden, and then another and another, through a wire fence
and into a kitchen garden. In a few minutes I was joined by three
others, whom, to my joy, I discovered to be three of my companions of
the rear compartment. Here we rested, and I got out my concealed
compass, in order to take down bearings. This done, in about a quarter
of an hour we prepared to make a start.
We first ran into a large house and garden surrounded by barbed wire,
into which we pushed our way, only to find ourselves temporarily
trapped, as we could find no way of exit on to the road at the other
side, so that we had to retreat by the way we had come and make a detour
round the house, to find ourselves confronted by a main road, with
occasional pedestrians passing along it. By now the moon had begun to
rise, which enabled us to see a good distance ahead, but at the same
time increased the danger of our being observed. Fortunately, she
providentially went behind thick fleecy clouds. Thinking the road in
front of us too dangerous an obstacle to cross at this point, we made a
detour of about half a mile, and again took compass bearings, which
bearings we took periodically, when it suddenly struck me we were
travelling directly towards the moon, and therefore almost south, at
least south-west, which was not our object at all. Again we took a
bearing with the compass, which seemed to prove me wrong; but I
obstinately refused to believe myself wrong, and this led to trouble
between myself and the senior officers of our expedition.
To take a bearing properly and correctly was quite a difficult feat. It
consisted of lying on the ground covered by somebody else’s coat, in
order to light a match in safety without attracting attention, otherwise
we found it impossible to set the compass sufficiently accurately. On
removing the glass from the compass, it was discovered that the agate
bearing was cracked, which caused the compass to swing and stick. This
must have happened in my jump from the train. I did not at first convey
this information to my comrades, thinking that it might cause too great
consternation; for it must be remembered that they had all been
strangers to me a few hours before, and I was not therefore sure of the
type and calibre of the men I had to deal with.
For a few hundred yards we carried on, when, to the disgust of the
others, I again decided to take a bearing, over which I spent a great
deal of time, carefully placing the compass-point towards the edge of
the agate bearing, and allowing it to swing gently to a stop. Although
the needle was not balanced in the centre, it was sufficiently so to
enable it to swing freely; then, taking a careful line of the exact
direction of west, in conjunction with the rising moon, the Pole Star
and Cassiopeia, I set a direct course, from which, with the exception of
slight deflections for the purpose of avoiding dangerous obstacles
encountered on our route, we never swerved until after we crossed the
Dutch frontier. It was hard work to make time by forced marching, since
we had to watch the ground for pitfalls for the feet and the heavens for
direction.
Shortly after taking the last bearing we crossed another electric
railway line and a station brilliantly lit up, and here it seemed to our
excited imagination that the people inside the brilliantly lit
train-cars drawn up at one of the stations were interested or excited
about something. All the occupants had their noses glued to the glass,
looking at something or other, whilst the powerful head-lamps were
sweeping the country around, often lighting up our prostrate forms as if
it were day. Innumerable cars seemed to come and go, and we dared not
move under such conditions. Soon, however, to our intense relief, the
trains slacked off, and we were able to make a good steady advance. It
began to freeze very hard, the clouds vanished, and the moon became
intensely brilliant, which of course helped us immeasurably; but we
could not see it then, as our nerves were too much on edge. Personally I
felt as if I were naked and the whole world was watching with bated
breath. The heavy frost also helped us, since we were sticking entirely
to the open country, mostly over ploughed fields, and instead of the
usual slow advance one makes over plough we walked on it as on pavement,
so that we made excellent progress. At the same time caution guided our
every movement. We never crossed a road without scouting it beforehand,
or came upon a farm or even a shed without making a wide detour round
it. What we feared more than anything else was that a dog might start
barking, and cause its owner to come out to see the reason.
When I look back at that first trek, I come to the conclusion that
fortune favoured us for once. I don’t think we ever made a false step,
which was luck indeed. We walked hard till about 3 a.m., and then found
ourselves approaching a main road, with what appeared to be two big
villages situated not more than half a mile apart. A scout went forward
to investigate, but came back scared and excited. Moving lights appeared
first here and there; sometimes red flashes came and went. We
immediately decided that we had been surrounded, only to find on closer
investigation that the lights belonged to a single-track railway, which
ran in a semicircle around us. On crossing the railroad and railtrack
beyond, we began to realise for the first time that dawn was rapidly
approaching. Lights began to spring up in the large village to our left,
so that we were immediately forced to look for a place where we could
safely hide during the coming daytime. This proved to be no easy job,
and before we were finally settled it was very nearly broad daylight.