Armed with rolling-pin, carv- way. They had written to say ing-knife and straight-edge, this letter had been of the the latter would flatten out greatest assistance to them. each lump until it filled up the As we were going in a differinside of a square frame which ent direction, we thought that projected slightly above the the same story would serve bench to which it was fixed. again. Grunt, being the best When a level slab had been Turkish scholar of the party, obtained, the ruler would be accordingly drafted a suitable placed against marks on the legend in a crisp style, such as frame, and the slab out five might be expected to emanate times in one direction and four from Enver Pasha's pen; while in the other. It then only re- Johnny, aided by infinite mained to transfer the twenty patience and a bit of blue little slabs to boards, priok carbon paper, set to work and them with any fancy pattern produced a faithful imitation with a nail, and send them to of an office stamp found on a be baked by one of our order- Turkish receipt. We hoped lies. The bisouit was about that the elaborated lettering of the size of a quarter-plate, and such a orest would be as little half an inch thick, weighing intelligible to the average Otfive to the pound, and as hard toman as it was to ourselves, as a rook. Their best testi- but as a matter of interest we monials were that, without decided to show the original being kept in tins, they re- to our Greek interpreter and mained perfectly good for six casually ask its meaning. And months. it was as well we did so, for it was the stamp of the prisonersof-war camp, Yozgad. The biscuit-making concern was run regardless of expense, A pound of flour was costing at that time two shillings, sugar ten shillings, sultanas five, and eggs threepence a piece. (These, by the way, were only about half of what we soon after found ourselves paying at Yozgad. The final cost was some thing like half-a-crown biscuit.) For their escapes, Keeling and his companions had deoided, if questioned, to say that they were a German survey party, and for this purpose had forged a letter purporting to come from the Commandant of the Angora Division, and ordering all whom it might concern to help them in every VOL, CCV.-NO. MCCXXXIX. After the unfortunate setback, our pair put their heads together and finally evolved a design of their own, bearing the inscription, "Office of the Ministry of War, Stamboul." All this time, of course, we were subjecting ourselves to a oourse of rigorous trainingfootball, running in the early mornings, Müller's exercises, and cold baths. We spent half the day walking round and round the exercise the exercise ground, wearing waistcoats weighing twenty pounds, which, if disclosed from under the coat, would have reminded any one but a Turkish observer of one of those advertisements of a B firm of tyre-makers, for the waistcoat was lined with a series of cloth tubes filled with sand. Nobby, who detested sewing more than any of us, went to the trouble of making a praotice rucksack oarrying sixty pounds of earth. The whole of our last few weeks at Changri, one may say, were spent by the party in preparing one way or another for the escape. On the evening of the 10th April 1918 the cart transport for our journey drove into the barrack square and there parked for the night. Orders came from the Commandant that we were to start next day, so we decided that before we went to bed our preparations should be completed. A light ladder was made by which to climb up into the roof, drinking water was taken up in buckets and hidden there, a window-frame in the east wing was prepared so that the iron bars could be withdrawn, and we made certain by going through a list that our packs contained all that we had decided to take. The latter were then unpacked, and they and their contents placed in two boxes, each of which had a false bottom. Here were concealed our most incriminating, and at the same time our most precious, aids to escape-our maps, helio-mirrors, fezes, and compasses. The boxes were then looked, strongly bound with rope, and labelled very appropriately "Trek Stores." excellent one. Every one was busy packing, having left this unpleasant duty till the carts actually arrived. There was a lot of noise being made-to wit, a blend of singing and sawing-and when at 1 A.M. we could at last go to bed there was still much activity around us. Next morning we showed ourselves as much as possible, and took care to find an opportunity of talking to the two camp camp interpreters. It was conceivable that they might take our names in the barracks, as was usual each morning; and the Commandant, being satisfied that every one was present, might omit to call roll when the move actually took place, or alternately, in the excitement of the moment, there might be no rollcall whatsoever. On one or other of these possibilities depended the success of the modified scheme, which stipulated that until the carts were definitely on the move we were not to hide ourselves in the roof. Should the party go off without a roll-call, we were allowed to leave ourselves behind. If, on the other hand, roll was called, we had to turn up for it. This explains the necessity for the two boxes of "Trek Stores"; for, if we were left behind, these could be quickly taken up into the roof, and if roll should be called, we could hastily, and without losing our valuable escape outfit, join the carts, merely carrying two boxes of food. After loading up our own oarts with the rest of our kit an in case the scheme miscarried, For the work on hand that night the occasion was miles, the only road open to It we took these boxes into the mess-room at the S.E. corner our wheeled transport was that which runs by way of Angora: our march, therefore, was about 100 miles longer. For the first sixty-that is to say, to Angora-the country was familiar to us, as we had marched along this route in the opposite direction on the way to our first camp, Kastamoni, nearly two years before. was impossible, unfortunately, to induce our Commandant to say beforehand each day where would be the halts for the midday meal and the next night, for he did not know himself, and this was a matter to be fought out with his brother officer in charge of the transport. In other respects this march, like that of the barracks, and as the time of departure drew near, we went there ourselves and sat round a few bits of bread and an empty jam-pot. Our excellent friend H- promised to come and warn us should there be a call over. From the windows facing south could be seen the Angora road, and this we watched eagerly. The barracks were quite quiet. After many minutes a loaded cart appeared on the road followed by another. Our hopes began to rise; the one-in-a-thousand chance might yet come off. There were more carts moving on the road now, but to our disappointment they suddenly stopped, and 8 few from Kastamoni, was a pleasseconds afterwards Hing innovation after the long dashed in. They were calling the roll. We carried the boxes outside, there to be met by several officers who had come back, so they said, to collect some firewood for the journey, but really to make our late appearance as unsuspicious as possible. No wonder we were as happy at Changri as it was possible to be, having men like these for our companions. You may think that it was not worth our while to have taken so much trouble for so small a chance, yet you probably take a ticket in the Derby sweep. It was, we admit, a small chance, but the prize was a great one, so we were unwilling to let it slip by. Although the direct distance from Changri to Yozgad, as the crow flies, is barely eighty monotony of our confinement. might once more have an equal chance of escaping. It was for this reason that we let slip the above and later opportunities to make off while on trek. Half-way to Angora we came to the village of Kalijik, where we were offered billets in the local jail, already well peopled with Turkish oriminals. On our refusing this offer, we were housed for the night in an empty building on the edge of the village. We reached Angora four days after leaving Yozgad, and were accommodated in up-to-date buildings, designed by Germans as a hospital, but since used as Turkish barracks. Luckily the particular house in which we were billeted had not as yet been used by Turks. During our two days here we were allowed very fair liberty in visiting the bazaars, the shops of which, after our six months at Changri, appeared almost magnificent in the profusion of their wares. In one of these it was that Nobby espied a pair of real Goetz field-glasses. Telling his companion to lure away lure away the "posta" who escorted them, he entered the shop and succeeded in purchasing the glasses, and 8 schoolboy's satchel in which to conceal them, for about £18-a tall price; and yet if the prices of other things had been in no higher proportion to their real value, living in Turkey would have been comparatively cheap. In the end these glasses were of inestimable value to our party. While we were in Angora some of us went to see Sherif Bey, whose propensity for epigram was touched upon in the opening words of our story. As second-in-command he had accompanied us in our move from Kastamoni to Changri. There he had been perpetually at loggerheads with our new, as indeed he had been with our two former commandants. Having eventually relinquished his ambition of superseding Sami Bey, he had recently accepted the less remunerative post of commandant of the British rank-and-file prisoners in the Angora district. Some of the men whom we succeeded in meeting had certain complaints to make against their previous commandant. deputation of officers therefore waited upon his successor, who received them with a show of great friendliness, and assured them that under his benevolent sway such things as the looting of parcels would be impossible. Whether he fulfilled his promises we are not yet in a position to say: the fact remains that he treated very badly the five officers who stayed behind a stayed behind a few extra days for dental and medical treatment, asserting that they had only stopped in Angora with a view to escape. A Moreover, there were at this very time under Sherif Bey's orders two submarine officers who had been sent from the camp at Afion-Kara-Hissar, and were to join our convoy when it went on to Yozgad. Since their arrival in Angora a week before they had been confined to the only hotel, and had not once been allowed to visit the bazaar. One of the two was Lieut.-Commander A. D. Cochrane, who was destined to play the leading rôle in the eventual escape of our particular party. The other was Lieut. - Commander S These two had, with with one other naval officer, attempted to escape from the camp at Kara Hissar, but had been recaptured when within sight of the sea: they had since spent ten months in a common Turkish jail. Lieut. Commander S-had also been the victim of reprisals under somewhat amusing circumstances. Whilst he was at Kara-Hissar, an order arrived one day ordering that two officers of high birth and closely connected with the British aristocracy should be selected and sent to Constantinople. Thereupon a list was prepared of officers related to Labour candidates, Dukes, Members of Parliament, &c. Thinking that this promised at least a jaunt to Constantinople, S-- had claimed descent from the bluest blood of England. After consideration of the rival claims, he and one other were selected. Their selfcongratulations, however, were a little premature, as the Commandant now informed them that the Turkish Government, having heard that their officer prisoners in India were being badly treated, proposed taking reprisals until their powerful relations should think fit to remedy matters on both sides, In vain the unfortunate dupes protested that the report was obviously false, and asked that further inquiries should be made before reprisals were carried into effect: the reply was that the order was Enver Pasha's, and could not be questioned, but that if they agreed to go quietly to Constantinople, they would at once be led into the presence of the Generalissimo, where they could put forward their complaint in person. To this they had perforce to agree, but on arrival in the capital were at once flung into prison, kept in solitary confinement, and fed on bread and water. In this state they remained for some three weeks, after which the Turkish authorities discovered, as was only natural, that there had not been an atom of truth in the report upon which they had aoted. By way of redress, therefore, they allowed the innocent sufferers six days' absolute freedom in Constantinople, after which they were taken to their old camp. From Angora onwards we were escorted by parties of the local gendarmerie; of the Changri guard who had so far accompanied us, only a few came on with us to Yozgad, and they, ill-trained, ill-fed, and ill-clad, were rather passengers who called for our pity than guards capable of preventing us from decamping. The gendarmes were, for the most part, remarkably well mounted, and in charge of them was a benevolent old gentleman of the rank of bash-chaouse, or sergeantmajor, who was for ever holding forth upon his friendship towards the English, and his utter inability to understand why we were not fighting side war. The by side in this |