s to approach for a closer look before firing.
Most of the big trees along the road had been cut down, and many houses
razed to the ground so as to have a cleaner sweep for the artillery. At
Dieghem, the German pilot-car picked up a naval officer who was to
accompany us as far as the outposts and to inspect his men on the way
back.

On the outskirts of Hofstade, under a brick railway bridge, we found the
last German troops. They had some hard fighting here at the time of the
last Belgian sortie, and the bridge and the surrounding houses showed
evidences of shell fire.

[Illustration: A street in Louvain]

[Illustration: Fixing on the white flag for the dash between the lines]

[Illustration: Refugees from the villages near the Antwerp forts]

[Illustration: Arrival in Antwerp of refugees from Malines]

I was rather against putting up the white flag, but both Herwarth and
the naval officer were most insistent that I should do so, saying that
the country between the lines was filled with patrols, both Belgian and
German; that they felt that hostilities were to be commenced at any
moment, and that any one who ventured into the district between the
lines would stand a fine chance of being shot unless he carried a
conciliatory emblem. They rigged up a long pole on the side of the car
with a white flag about six feet square, and bidding a glad farewell to
the representatives of Hohenzollern and Company, we started out to feel
our way into Malines. About 500 yards beyond the bridge we sighted two
Belgian bicycle patrols who, on seeing us, jumped off their machines and
ran into an abandoned farmhouse. Knowing that they were at high tension,
we crept up very slowly so that they might have a good look at us before
trying their marksmanship. They were peeking over the window-ledge, with
their rifles trained at us; but after a good look at the black clothes
and white whiskers of M. de Woeste they pulled in their weapons and
waved us to go ahead. About a kilometer farther on, we came around a
turn in the road and nearly ran into the first Belgian outpost--six men
and an officer. As we came around upon them they scurried behind stone
walls and trees, and gave us the usual pleasant greeting of levelled
rifles. As the most prudent things to do under such circumstances, the
car was stopped, and I went ahead to parley. The officer proved to be
young Z----. He turned quite white when he got a good look at me, and
remarked that it wa