15.Gilbert had been caught actually on the border the night before, under the impression that he was already in Denmark. He was thought at first to be a smuggler!
15.Gilbert had been caught actually on the border the night before, under the impression that he was already in Denmark. He was thought at first to be a smuggler!
Passing through one village I met some French prisoners. I gave them good day and told them who I was. They invited me to come into their room in the farm where they were working. They were able to tell me what village I was in, Dollderup, and this was a great assistance. I thanked them in execrable French, gave them one of my remaining cigarettes, and told them what news I could—they had heard nothing for months. I don’t think anything on the whole journey was more difficult than framing those few simple French sentences.
The signposts made the journey easy after that. At 3 p.m. I had 18 kilometres to go to Lügumkloster. I turned off the road, lay down in some young fir trees, took off my boots, ate some chocolate, and had half an hour or more’s sleep.
I started again towards dusk. I was feeling very fit now and full of hope. If only I didn’t muck it on the frontier....
The signposts did their duty nobly. There was a keen wind from the north and the road was good. I had been out just two complete days.
In one village a soldier with a rifle came out of a house just as I passed it. He replied to my “Guten Abend” courteously.
I reached Lügumkloster, I suppose, about half-past nine or ten. It is a big rambling village, and I made a bad mistake here on leaving it. I meant to take the Arrip-Arnum road, which runs roughly north-east. I took a road running north-east, but after about an hour’s walking I found it was leading me gradually more east than north—I had not noticed that the wind had shifted from north to east. I decided to leave the road and make due north on the compass, trusting to pick up the right road later on. Then began a trying time. The ground was terribly wet and intersected with continual wired ditches. I tore my clothes rather badly here and I don’t think my trousers at the end of my journey would have stood another rip. However, I kept due north, tacking as little as possible to avoid the ditches, and eventually reached the road. It was, I supposed, about 2 a.m. I estimated I was still quite ten miles from the frontier. There was a strong wind, and I had not enough matches to spare to look more than once or twice at my map. Added to this, the signposts, previously so well-behaved, became infuriating. They only mentioned names which I had never heard of, or at least had not committed to memory.
Slog! Slog! Slog!I was getting tired. A man passed me with a cart. What on earth didhethink he was doing at that time of night?
There was lots of water about and I did not go thirsty. My cap made an effective cup.
A light railway running parallel to the road—this was theKlein Bahn(light railway) the fellow had told us of.
Slog! Slog! Sl—.What on earth was that? A sentry box on the roadside, and in the box a sentry yawning and stretching himself. On each side of the road a belt of barbed wire running east and west.
I took these things in vaguely, disconnectedly. Had I miscalculated and was I over the border after all? He hadn’t even challenged....
A mile later I crawled into a little hollow by the roadside to rest and get warm. I was getting strangely light-headed. I remember addressing myself as a separate entity. I pulled myself together and sat down to think. “I must go back and have another look at that wire. It can only be a protective belt for military purposes.”
I went back. The wire was there sure enough. So was the sentry box, but I didn’t go up to it. The wire was like the rear defence lines one had seen in France.
I retraced my steps. I still had the idea of picking myself up from the hollow where I had left myself.
I continued my way, praying for the night to end. With the dawn, I felt I should be able to think clearly again.
“Arnum 4 kilometres.” The signposts were German enough, anyway.
Arnum, I had made out from my map, lay about three or four kilometres away from the point of the salient where I meant to cross the border. It was nearly dawn and I saw that I could not get over that night.
It was getting light as I reached the village. I left the road and struck west across the fields, up on to some high ground.
Somewhere in front there was Denmark.
I chose a hiding place in some young firs and heather. I was sheltered from the wind and was fairly comfortable.
One more whole day! What an age it seemed! I got out my railway map and looked at my position. I could not be more than five or six kilometres from the frontier. Somewhere in the valley to the north-west stretched the line of sentries. I decided to sally forth while it was still light in the late afternoon, take my bearings, and go over at dark.
As I lay there I heard footsteps. A boy came by singing and passed within two yards of me. He didn’t see me. Just as well perhaps....
I took off my boots, rubbed my feet down, and had some chocolate.
About noon it started raining and went on for about three hours. I got wet through, but welcomed the rain on the whole as it would get darker sooner.
I was now thinking quite connectedly, and, it being impossible to sleep, I went over in my mind again and again what I meant to do, and what I knew already about the frontier.
I suppose it was about 5 when I started out. I reckoned there would be about one more hour’s daylight. I steered due north-west across fields and marsh land for about three kilometres. Suddenly, to my right—about 400 yards off—the sentries’ boxes came full in view. There was no mistaking them, about 200 yards between most of them, and quite 300 yards between the two opposite me.
I plumped down in the heather where I was standing, and watched them. I saw a sentry leave his box and walk about 20 yards up and down. I could see nothing that looked like wire. Only marsh and heather in between....
Looking from where I was into Denmark, there was a farmhouse immediately between the two sentry boxes. I could take my course on that—it would be silhouetted long after dark.
I waited till it was quite dark, and then started off, taking no risks—crawling. I came to a ditch with wire on each side of it. This was the only wire I saw. When I judged I was well through the line, I got up and walked to the farmhouse. A tall figure answered my knock. I began in my best German....
He shook his head to indicate that he didn’t understand. I could have kissed him.
At last we hammered it out.
“Engelsk Offizier. Fangen. Gut.”
He beckoned me in with beaming face.
I had made good in just 72 hours. Beginners’ luck!
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY J. B. PEACE, M.A., AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY J. B. PEACE, M.A., AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY J. B. PEACE, M.A., AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
Transcriber’s note:
Transcriber’s note:
Transcriber’s note:
Page 33, ‘A.M.’ changed to ‘a.m.,’ “and garnished by 10 a.m.”
Page 76, ‘door-way’ changed to ‘doorway,’ “in their own doorway”
Page 77, second ‘the’ struck, “actually entered the tunnel.”
Page 92, ‘ryefield’ changed to ‘rye-field,’ “the rye-field was reached”
Page 111, ‘Lieutenant’ changed to ‘Leutnant,’ “the Feldwebel-Leutnant Welman demanded”
Page 116, ‘he’ changed to ‘be,’ “It should be added that”
Page 137, ‘rye field’ changed to ‘rye-field,’ “through the rye-field”
Page 139, ‘rye field’ changed to ‘rye-field,’ “the rye-field to report”
Page 170, closing double quote inserted after ‘Prisoners?,’ “What? Prisoners?””