as going to Beirut for provisions. Then I
lighted a cigarette and sat down for a chat. After discussing politics
and the war for a few minutes, I jumped up, exclaiming that if I didn't
hurry I should be late, and so took my departure. It was all so simple,
and it brought me safely to Beirut. My donkey, having served the purpose
for which I had brought him, was speedily abandoned, and I hurried to a
friend's house, where I exchanged my uniform for the garb of a civilian.

My sister was the most surprised person on earth when she saw me walking
into her room, and, when I told her that I wanted her to go with me on
the Chester, she thought me crazy, for she knew that hundreds of persons
were trying in vain to find means of leaving the country and it seemed
to her impossible that we, who were Turkish subjects, could succeed in
outwitting the authorities. Even when I had explained my plans and she
was willing to admit the possibility of success, she still felt doubts
as to whether it would be right for her to leave the country while her
friends were left behind in danger. I assured her, however, that our
family would feel relieved to know that we were in safety and could come
back fresh and strong after the war to help in rebuilding the country.

Having gained her consent, I still had the difficult problem of ways and
means before me. The Chester had orders to take citizens of neutral
countries only. Passports had to be examined by the Turkish authorities
and by the American Consul-General, who gave the final permission to
board the cruiser. How was I to pass this double scrutiny? After long
and arduous search, with the assistance of several good friends, I at
last discovered a man who was willing to sell me the passports of a
young couple belonging to a neutral nation. I cannot go into particulars
about this arrangement, of course. Suffice it to say that my sister was
to travel as my wife and that we both had to disguise ourselves so as to
answer the descriptions on the passports. When I went to the American
Consulate-General to get the permit, I found the building crowded with
people of all nations,--Spanish and Greek and Dutch and Swiss,--all
waiting for the precious little papers that should take them aboard the
American cruiser, that haven of liberty and safety. The Chester was to
take all these people to Alexandria, and those who had the means were to
be charged fifty cents a day for their food. From behind my dark gogg