“Haven’t seen any, or smelled a sniff of any since I got here,” he replied. “I guess the Kaiser when he planned this war forgot that cog in its wheels; for prisoners at least.”
It certainly looked like it, and I was hungry enough to eat a Boche uncooked, when about four o’clock in the afternoon some wheat bread and vegetable soup were given us—but not enough for a hungry man.
I still persisted in having a lame ankle, and if my face and actions were to be taken in evidence, it was a corker.
I made several acquaintances among the officers and privates too during the day, and talked with Williams about the prospects of making an escape. To which he replied: “There ain’t any!” And I finally agreed with him.
So I rolled up in my blankets, and went sound asleep.
CHAPTER XXII
HELD BY THE ENEMY
I was awakened by a tumult of voices, and by men stumbling over me. So sound had been my sleep that at first I did not recognize my surroundings. A throng of new prisoners was coming through the narrow door near where I was lying.
I sat up with my back against the wall, to see if there were any that I knew, and also to take advantage of any circumstance that might favor me. I did not recognize any of the men, but spoke to some of them. One big fellow trod on my feet and, stumbling, sprawled across me.
“Look out!” I cried, “there’s more room standing up than in lying down!”