en taken
up, and that there was no way to get across. There were a few gendarmes
on the other side, and a few carts on our side of the canal. All were
anxious to get across, but the Burgomaster had ordered traffic suspended
until things had quieted down. We prevailed upon a genial gendarme to
run back and get orders to govern our special case. After waving our
credentials and showing how much influence we had with the local
administration, we were quite popular with the panic-stricken peasants
who wanted to get into town. Orders came very soon, and we made straight
for the Hotel de Ville to thank the Burgomaster for letting us in, and
also to pick up any news he had as to conditions. We did not get any
great amount, however, as he could not get over the fact that we had
come straight through from Brussels without having been shot by the
German or the Belgian patrols, who were out with orders to pick up
strays like us. We tried several times to get information out of him,
but he could do nothing but marvel at our luck, and above all at our
_prouesse_, which left him quite bowled over. We gave him up and went
our way. He has had other things to marvel about since.

Not far out of Malines, we ran into the first Belgian outpost. When we
were about fifty yards from them, they surged across the road and began
brandishing rifles, swords, lances--a veritable armory of deadly
weapons. Blount put on the emergency brakes, and we were bracing for
quick and voluble explanations when we saw that they were all grinning
broadly and that each one was struggling to get our particular
attention. We had our _laisser-passers_ in our hands, and waved them in
the air. No one would pay the slightest heed to them. From the hubbub
that was seething about our ears, we learned that ten minutes or so
before they had finished a little brush with the Germans, and that the
articles they had been waving in our faces were the trophies of the
combat. Each fellow was anxious to show us what he had taken, and to
tell just how he had done it. They seemed to take it for granted that we
were friends and would enjoy the sight, and share their delight. One of
the boys--a chap about eighteen--held aloft a huge pair of cavalry boots
which he had pulled off a German he had killed. It was a curious mixture
of childish pride and the savage rejoicing of a Fiji Islander with a
head he has taken. We admired their loot until they were satisfied, and
then prevailed upon