gh the heather on to a road which
we had almost crossed, when there came a cry of "Halt!" The patrol
must have been standing in the trees where we had broken out from the
heather, and very quietly, too, for we had lain for five minutes to
make certain that all was safe. Evidently we were on or near the
border if the number of patrols was any indication. We were not
certain whether these were Hollanders or Germans. We made one big buck
jump. "Fire, Gridley, when ready!" I left the entire knee of one
trouser leg on a clutching thorn. But the patrol did not fire.

And then another canal. "I'm fed up with swimming to-night."

"So am I," agreed Simmons. "There are houses over there. There must be
a bridge."

We slunk along the bank and to our joy found a small bridge. We dashed
across it and debouched safely into a tiny village. Here we saw a
difference, especially in the houses and the roadway. It was in the
very atmosphere, a result no doubt of instincts made keen by the
hunted lives we had led. On either side the fields stretched out,
criss-crossed by a perfect network of small canals and ditches, which
also served as fences.

We knew we were in Holland.

We deemed it unwise to show ourselves as yet, distrusting the
sympathies of the Hollanders and fearful that they might give us up;
and continued this policy until the next day. However, we took a
chance and stuck to the road, a treat, indeed, to feel a firm footing
after our weeks of travelling across country fields. This enabled us
to shove thirty miles between us and Germany by morning.

[Illustration: PRIVATE MERWIN C. SIMMONS OF THE 7TH BATTALION,
1ST DIVISION, CANADIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE.]

It was not quite daylight when we espied a cow in a field at the
roadside and gave chase. There was no other food in sight, so when our
quarry threw up its tail and bounced off; we set out grimly to run our
breakfast down. It was half an hour later that we corralled it in a
corner between two broad ditches and were already licking our chops in
anticipation; when we discovered that our cow was only a big heifer.
Twenty-four hours earlier it would have been a tragedy. As it was, we
only laughed. Such is liberty.

At this distance from the border we felt that we were safe from the
Germans but were very much afraid that we might be interned. So we
holed up in a farmhouse which had been partly burned down and built a
roaring fire out of the remains of the charred fu