My tunnel being completed, I fixed the hour of departure with my
Bedouin friend, arranging for him to be waiting at a specified spot
about two hundred yards away. The time appointed was in the dead of
night--at 12.30 A.M., to be exact--and as the hour approached
I worked myself into a feverish state of excitement. I became terribly
nervous, thinking of the risk I was about to take and the journey that
awaited me if I got free. I realized, almost for the first time, the
manifold difficulties of my enterprise, and I told myself I was only
going to my doom. Then, as the hands of my watch moved steadily onward,
the reaction came, and I grew calm and confident. Courage was needed
to make this dash for freedom--well, I would show courage. The moment
for action came, and swiftly I removed the mattress that had hitherto
concealed my secret passage, put my head through the aperture, and
peeped out to survey my surroundings.
So terrible was the tension at that moment that the very grasses which
waved in the faint night breeze and the leaves that rustled in the
trees caused me to start as though my plans had been discovered; I saw
myself, in my mind's eye, thrown back into my cage and subjected to all
the humiliating punishments and sufferings that would inevitably have
followed. So much was I overcome by my feelings at this moment that I
wept for very fear, and, kneeling down, prayed fervently to my Maker to
give me back the courage which I felt was leaving me and restore the
strength of mind and body that alone could see me safely through that
never-to-be-forgotten ordeal.
When the nerve-storm passed I quietly emerged from my hiding place and
crept silently away through the grass, making for the point where I was
to meet my Bedouin Good Samaritan. I passed through the open gateway
in the fence without accident, and arrived at the rendezvous quite
breathless. Thank Heaven! My friend was there, and to my surprise and
joy he had secured for me a camel, upon which I was to continue my
flight.
My joy at this first success is indescribable. There was no time to
be lost, however, so I speedily divested myself of my prison attire,
which, upon the advice of my Bedouin friend, I carefully buried. I then
dressed myself with all possible haste in the disguise my friend had
procured for me.
This consisted of a Bedouin dress of some blue-colored stuff with white
spots, and resembled an overall or woman's nightgown, secured around
the waist with a red sash. The head-dress was a small loose-fitting
green bonnet, which had stitched to it a cheap black cotton substitute
for woman's hair. Suspended from my ears were large brown polished
wooden earrings and droppers, and over all I threw loosely a large
piece of thin black veiling, resembling a shawl, which covered the
whole of my head, face, and figure, leaving only my eyes showing. My
feet were left quite bare. No facial make-up was necessary, my skin
being smooth and quite as brown as any Bedouin's. Being thoroughly
familiar, from my various impersonations, with the adjustment of a
woman's dress, I was able without difficulty to put this costume on in
the dark, and I was greatly helped by the fact that before the war my
parents had employed a Bedouin servant whose dresses I had worn on the
occasion of various carnivals.
The problem of shaving had already occurred to me, and fortunately
for my purpose, a very simple solution was available. I obtained some
powder which, after being mixed with water and applied to the face,
completely destroys the hair for the time being. This depilatory is in
common use amongst the Bedouins, Arabs, and Turks for the removal of
hair, whether from the body or face. My toilet being completed, I rose
to my feet--looking to all appearance a typical Bedouin woman--and the
pair of us mounted the camel and rode steadily on for fifteen hours
to a place called Wad-el-Arish. Our rations during that long, weary
journey consisted of onions, bread, and a few dates.
Upon arrival at Wad-el-Arish my good friend and I parted company,
for he feared to accompany me farther lest he should run into
danger, as there would be great risk for him in passing that way by
reason of the troops journeying in the same direction. I used all my
powers of persuasion to induce him to continue with me, assuring him
optimistically that no harm would come to him, but despite all my
efforts to allay his fears, he declined. Ere we parted, he bestowed
on me such good things as he was able to spare for my comfort and
sustenance during my travels, giving me a flask of water, dry bread,
and dates. Then, after a hearty farewell, he retraced his steps, riding
the camel, while I continued alone on foot, following the track left by
the troops who were journeying across the desert.