IV—"MY PLAN TO FLEE OVER SINAI DESERT TO SUEZ CANAL"
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.