As soon as we had got all our stuff, we began the return journey in order to reach the particular spot in the fence which we had selected as offering the least difficulty. The way back was twice as long as the first journey. We crawled along, holding our kits partly in both hands, partly in our teeth. In this manner another half-hour passed. We had arrived at the wire. Alas, this wire entanglement, seen from the ground immediately beneath it, was much more tangled and twisted than our previous cursory examination had led us to think. But this was no time for reflection and regret.
We felt our way in between the single strands, twisted them aside as far as possible, and pushed slowly through. In order to get a purchase, we tried leaning on our hands on the ground. But this was not a success, for the ground under the entanglement was covered with a network of wire coiled and twisted in every direction, but hidden by the grass which had grown up through it, and our hands and knees were soon torn and bleeding. On every side it caught and tore us. Scarcely had we torn our clothes free from one strand when we were caught fast by a dozen others. So far as we could, we helped each other, loosening the barbs from each other's clothes and bodies. We had worked our way so far that we were hanging almost in the middle of the entanglement when the tower-clock struck twelve, and we heard the approaching footsteps of the relieving sentries. What were we to do? In the few minutes before the reliefs arrived we could not possibly get clear of the entanglement. A good three yards of wire still lay ahead of us. To retreat was also impossible, for if we tried to creep backwards we could not use our hands to part the wires. So we sat tight, with big drops of blood coursing down our faces and bodies. 'Quiet!' we whispered to each other, and tried to hold our breath, for we were panting with our exertions, and a soldier was coming along the fence whistling cheerfully. We were in a devil of a hole. If the man discovered us we might expect a bullet next moment,[19] for there was no escaping here. We tried to turn our faces downwards, lest they should show up in the darkness.
Two minutes of the most tense expectation! Sweat poured down me from every pore and my pulse throbbed from the exertion and excitement. Nearer and nearer came the sentry. Another five paces and he would be up to us. Thank goodness! The danger was past. The man stared stupidly in front of him as he came up to us—and passed by! He stopped at the sentry-box, said something we did not catch, and then went on to the next box. We gathered all our strength in one great effort to get clear of the fence. We no longer thought of the wounds we received. Though every single barb at first had made us wince, all pain was now forgotten in the excitement of our efforts.
Dragging one's body through a barbed-wire entanglement is incredibly slow and difficult work. We were becoming visibly weaker, and many times thought we could go no farther. But inch by inch we struggled towards the outside wire. Half a yard more—a quarter of a yard, and we should be there. The last bit was extremely exhausting, for we hardly had sufficient strength left to part the few strands which separated us from freedom.
But at last this difficulty also was overcome. Puffing and blowing, we worked through the labyrinth of wires till we got our heads free. With our last ounce of strength we helped each other to get body and legs clear, and then we threw ourselves down, completely exhausted, in the tall grass. We were, to use an expression of the country, so 'pumped out,' that for the next ten minutes we could hardly move a limb. But the thought that at long last we were free did not let us rest long. After a short rest we set about putting as great a distance as possible between us and the camp. Unfortunately, it was impossible to avoid leaving footprints in the tall grass, but we hoped that the heavy dew would soon straighten up the grass again.
FOOTNOTE:
[19] The author evidently forgot that he was not liable to be shot without warning. His friend Heward, who was discovered in the position described, lived, as the author mentions later (p. 235), to occupy the cell next to his.—Tr.