the two as being hardly in accordance with their otherwise woebegone appearance. Fortunately they had been stopped at a place where a wood lined the eastern edge of the road, which, as is usual in Belgium, was marked by a low bank without any kind of fence. "Run!" whispered Jean; and dodging behind the nearest trees, they plunged into the wood, followed by a fusilade from the police, and then by three of the men who jumped out of the car. Although the few days' exercise in the open air had done a certain amount to restore Archer's condition, he soon found that he was in no state to stand a long chase, and quickly began to show signs of distress. Their pursuers were close on their heels, so Jean, observing that his bolt was nearly shot, motioned to Archer to head to the left, whilst he himself went to the right, making a great noise and successfully drawing away the pursuers. Archer, thus left to himself, was in some doubt as to his best course of action. He had no idea as to the extent of the wood, and the police might return at any time, possibly with reinforcements, and then he would be caught like a rat in a trap. He decided to put a considerable distance between himself and the car, and perhaps to return at night to try and find Jean. Making his way eastwards he soon reached the far edge of the wood, from where he could see a large forest about half a mile away across absolutely open cultivation, through the middle of which ran a railway. He remembered that this would be the Forêt de Soignies, which he had noticed on the map as being familiar to him from reading accounts of the battle of Waterloo. As he had feared, the wood he was in was far too small to hide him for long, so he boldly walked out into the open, and had gone two-thirds of the distance when he heard shouts from the railway and saw that two of his late pursuers were already after him, followed by some men who had been working on the line. Fortunately he had now got his wind again, whilst Jean had taken a good deal out of the police, and he gained the forest with a comfortable lead. Once in its friendly shelter he felt that he was fairly safe for the time being, and he proceeded eastwards in a more leisurely fashion. Then he remembered his bandages. What a fool he had been not to take them off before, as they marked him out to his pursuers from a mile off. At dusk, in pursuance of his intention to try and find Jean, he made his way back to the west edge of the forest and looked cautiously out. A German cyclist passed at that moment and he heard him stop and talk to another German whom he could not see. Evi 66 me. How the Boches would love to catch him, for they are terrified of the English aeroplanes, and we Belgians accordingly love the brave English flying men." dently the road was being Monsieur will be safe with patrolled, and it would be folly for him to attempt to get back to where he had parted from Jean. The only chance was to make his way to the Brussels address and wait for Jean there, so having come to this conclusion, he turned back into the wood, but soon found that he had no idea of direction, and he decided to try and sleep till daylight. All next morning and afternoon he wandered in the forest, until in the evening he found himself near what was either a village or possibly a suburb of Brussels. He waited till dusk, and then feeling faint from want of food, he took his courage in both hands and entered the main street of what from a notice at the entrance he ascertained was Groenendael. There were not many people about, and after some hesitation he selected a middle-aged woman dressed in black, evidently returning from shopping, and he followed her to a small villa. As she opened the gate into the little front garden, he went up to her, and taking off his cap, said, "Madame, I am an English Flying Officer, trying to escape to Holland, and very hungry.' The woman glanced hastily to right and left, saying, "Come in, Monsieur, quickly," and she opened the front door of what was evidently a small tradesman's house. Once inside she seized both his hands, saying, VOL. CCIX.-NO. MCCLXIII. shortly by the 66 66 Her husband, who would arrive from Brussels evening train, would also be delighted to hear all that was happening over there." But Monsieur looked ill and tired, and so young too! Ah, le pauvre garçon!" she would make him some hot food at once, but she could not offer him the hospitality she would like, as they were all on rations; and then he must go to bed and rest till the morning. The husband arrived a little later, and from him Archer learnt that he could not travel by train without a pass, and that he also ought to have an identity card, which might be demanded at any time. The best chance of getting in safely was to take the tram which ran to the Schaerbeek quarter, where the street which Archer wished to reach was situated. At Madame's suggestion they fitted him out with old clothes of Monsieur's, for which the couple indignantly refused any payment, and which gave him the appearance of a struggling shop-assistant, and so attired Archer next morning bade farewell to the courageous and kindly Belgians and boarded the tram for Brussels. The car was crowded, but he reached the point where he E name given to Archer, which was merely Pierre, and inside behind the counter stood a fresh-complexioned girl who certainly would not be Pierre. had been told to change with- "Vanhuisen," and not the out incident. By this time the streets were packed with people of every description, and as Archer stood waiting for his tram he saw out of the corner of his eye two German policemen who, he fancied, were looking at him. He decided to shift his quarters at once, and jumped into the first tram which passed, and which was full inside, so he had to stay on the platform outside. The Germans jumped on after him, and whilst one went within to examine the passengers, the other, standing with his back to the interior, asked in French for Archer's papers. Archer moved his left hand towards his pocket as if to get them out, and at the same time brought his right across on to the German's jaw, sending him reeling back into the interior, where he fell full length the passengers' feet. The tram was travelling at top speed, but Archer jumped off, falling on his face, somewhat to the amusement of the passers-by who had not seen the episode in the tram, and then picking himself up he walked quietly down a side road, round some blocks of buildings, and so to the Botanical Gardens. From there he kept to the main "Rue Royale," off which ran the street of which he was in search, and which he found without further trouble. However, he had no alternative but to follow his instructions, so he walked in and said in his best French, "I wish to see Pierre," at the same time handing her half a five-franc note. It was an anxious moment, and his relief was intense when she showed the way into a small backroom before going upstairs to fetch her father, who Archer rightly concluded was Pierre, and who proved to be a burly middle-aged man of strong Flemish type. To him Archer told his story, and was much depressed to learn that nothing had been seen or heard of Jean, though Pierre had received a warning from Holland that he might be coming through. However, as Pierre pointed out, it would take time to complete the arrangements for getting Archer across the Dutch frontier, and he might turn up in the meantime. And this surmise proved correct, for two evenings later Jean appeared and was overjoyed to find Archer. He also had passed through the Forêt de Soignies, had been chased again and driven towards Louvain, and after covering some forty miles had made his way into Brussels from the north. Number 15 was a dairyman's After hearing Archer's story shop, over which was the name he congratulated him on his skill, and laughed heartily at the tram episode and the success of "la boxe." He suggested, in fact, that Archer could now take care of himself, and that he, Jean, should not cross the frontier, but return to Adrienne and prepare for Archer's next flight over the lines. The latter, however, pointed out that intelligence work was really not his business, and that it was very doubtful whether the authorities would let him cross the lines again in any case, since the facts of his escape into Holland, if they ever got there, would certainly be reported by German spies, and he would be a marked man. Jean finally agreed that he would have to accompany Archer back to headquarters to talk things over with "le Commandant." Some mornings later a milk cart left Brussels by the St Nicholas road driven by an elderly countryman, by whose side sat a fresh-complexioned girl, whilst behind with the milk-cans was a youth dressed in a blue smock and chewing a straw. of Dutch-Flemish extraction, whom we will call François, and who combined the smuggling of butter and other foodstuffs from Holland with work of some national importance, which was also a source of considerable profit to himself. At a price he was prepared to "pass" anything across the frontier in either direction, from an egg to an escaped prisoner, and to this end he usually bribed the German guards with the butter and hams and other food for which their soul longed, and which he could well afford, since he made some 200 per cent clear profit on the remainder. At the same time it is only fair to add that he carried on a part of his business at the risk of his life, and, as he himself was wont to observe, "surely the labourer is worthy of his hire." A prosperous-looking individual, whose rotundity was in marked contrast to the vast majority of the half-starved and anæmic population, he received Archer and Jean courteously, and at once got down to business. He explained that at the present time things The guards at the exit to were rather difficult, as about the town found that the photos three weeks before a large on the passes tallied with the party of young Belgians, inbearers, and that the official stead of using his organisation, stamps were perfectly in order, had decided to save their all of which proves that the money and to force their way Belgians had little to learn in across the frontier, in doing the way of artistic forgery. which they had killed several The cart covered the twenty- Germans, with a loss of some five miles to St Nicholas that ten of their own party. In day, where the girl handed addition to causing very them over to a local grocer, strained relations all round, Archer, who saw that they could not afford to make an enemy of the man, calmed Jean, and told François that they would consider whether they could wait so long as was proposed, since he personally was anxious to get back to his squadron as soon as possible. Whether they accepted his help or not, Archer could assure Monsieur that he would not be the loser by anything which he might do to help them in the meantime, and amicable relations having been outwardly restored, the two retired to the cellar which had been placed at their disposal. the German higher authorities to take some risks for their had been very much annoyed, country? We French smugand a fresh regiment had been glers have very different ideas." sent up from Beverloo to replace the old one, which had gone to the front to its intense disgust. Some of the men had, in fact, deserted into Holland with his assistance-a coup of which he was particularly proud, as he had been paid by both the Germans and the Allies for the same service. The new troops were dismounted cavalry, and François so far had not been able to re-establish the cordial relations which had existed previously to the great advantage of all concerned. Some of the guards were open to persuasion, but they wanted higher fees, and he himself had been compelled to raise his prices accordingly. Jean, as a brother smuggler, would appreciate the unfortunate necessity. However, for 500 francs a head he thought he might be able to get Jean and Archer across in about a fortnight's time, when he would be organising a party. They must remember, he added, that Archer in particular would be a big prize for the Germans, and that the services which he proposed to render them were all the more valuable on that account. Jean, who had been listening with growing indignation, could contain himself no longer, and burst out There Archer pointed out that 1000 francs was not a great sum for the British Government to pay, and that they actually had the money, but Jean flatly declined so far as he was concerned to put good money into the pockets of the 'low hound." The attitude of that individual evidently, in his opinion, struck a blow at the prestige of the honourable trade of smuggling, and wounded Jean in a Frenchman's tenderest spot his amour propre." That one smuggler should attempt to make money out of the safety of another, particularly in wartime, was unheard-of baseness, and he would never accept the help of such a person. In a day or two he would learn the ropes, and then they would 66 |