Night and day I brooded over the problem of escape. My original idea
was to elude the vigilance of the guards and get out of the camp
through its solitary gate, open on Fridays only. Once outside, I
intended to proceed to Jaffa, and somehow get on board a ship there.
This plan, however, I had to abandon, for a newly-arrived prisoner of
whom I made inquiries informed me that there was no boat available
at that port. I had, therefore, no alternative but to choose the
crossing of the terrible Sinai Desert to the Suez Canal, a distance of
approximately two hundred miles. This was a sufficiently formidable
undertaking, but even though I risked dying of exhaustion or thirst
on the way I determined to try it, if I got the chance, sooner than
endure the misery of my life in the camp. By journeying that way I
thought I might be able to give the British authorities in Egypt useful
information concerning the Turks.
It was obvious to me, of course, that I could not hope to cross the
desert, through a region that was full of Turkish soldiers, in my own
character--such an enterprise would have been sheer madness. I decided,
after much consideration, that my best plan would be to disguise myself
as a Bedouin woman.
Let me explain exactly why I chose to take on a female _rôle_--a
very difficult one for most men to sustain. Before the war I had
impersonated women on many occasions, both on the theatrical stage and
on concert platforms in Russia and Turkey--where I appeared under the
name of "Valia Pavlov"--in aid of charity. For example, although I had
only seen her twice in France, I quite satisfactorily impersonated
Mme. Sarah Bernhardt. I can successfully imitate a woman in walking,
speaking, and singing, my face, figure and soprano voice lending
themselves admirably for these purposes. I knew, moreover, that a woman
would be less suspected than a man, would not be closely questioned,
and would have more freedom. In other words, there would be less chance
of detection.
Now it is easy enough for a prisoner to decide that he will escape
disguised as a woman; the difficulty is to put the plan into execution.
But I knew what I was about, and I thought I saw my road to success,
though it was one that needed careful negotiation. Every day I was
allowed a few hours for exercise outside the camp, escorted, of course,
by my own particular guard. Having a good knowledge of Arabic, I had
the opportunity, while stretching my legs in this way, of conversing
with the Bedouins who dwelt in the neighborhood. The soldier who
accompanied me was, fortunately for me, quite ignorant of the language
of these people. This was a real stroke of good fortune, and materially
helped me in laying my plans. If I was to cross the desert in the guise
of a Bedouin woman I should need the assistance of these folk, and I
neglected no opportunity of making good friends of them. To this end
I gave them small sums of money from time to time, taking care not to
reveal to them in any way my intentions, for my knowledge of their
character led me to believe that, should I require any favor of them
later on, they would not refuse it to me, and so it turned out.
After a lot of preparatory work of this kind--most of it done under
the very nose of my unsuspecting guard--I finally selected the man
I thought could be relied upon to help me. He never for a moment
suspected my intention to escape, as I carefully explained to him that
I wanted to obtain an outfit of female attire to enable me to make a
journey to see a friend of mine who was a prisoner of war near the
Suez Canal. He swallowed my story in its entirety, and in his guileless
simplicity was convinced that I should return after accomplishing my
errand. He arranged to supply me, when I notified him that I was ready,
with a complete outfit "borrowed" from his wife, and to set me on my
way to Suez.
It was now "up to me" to devise a means of getting out of my hut and
clear of the camp. I have already mentioned my possession of a bowl,
with which I intended to dig a tunnel under the side of my hut. Let me
now describe the hut itself, in order that my position may be quite
clear.
My prison was constructed of wood and canvas, the form of the interior
being to all intents and purposes that of a bell-tent. The skin was of
canvas, lined with wood clamped together with stout iron strips. There
was a door to the hut, with a strong lock, in which the key was turned
upon me after every visit from my guard--twice to three times daily.
Directly I had fixed things up with the Bedouin I started digging my
tunnel. Sometimes the sentry disturbed me during my excavations, but
as I was always on the alert, his approach, followed by the click of
the key in the lock, gave me sufficient warning to fling my mattress
quickly over the hole, take my seat on a box, and look up calmly when
he entered, thus avoiding rousing his suspicions. There was little
danger to be apprehended from the outside, owing to the great height of
the grass and weeds which grew all around the hut. Scraping laboriously
with my precious bowl, distributing the scooped-up material carefully
over the earthern floor of the hut so as not to attract attention, and
on the _qui vive_ night and day, I worked at my burrow for three whole
days. The tension I underwent during this period, and the constant
anxiety that tortured me, are quite indescribable. I worked like a
fiend; I had fully determined that I would not remain in the camp any
longer even though death waited for me outside.