afternoon an English N.C.O. told
me that he had heard of my search and presented me with an old German
fatigue cap which had been unearthed somewhere by his pals.

Now having everything ready I determined to try my luck about six
o'clock that evening before being shut up for the night. After
learning some new German words likely to be of use, such as "wire
entanglements," "dug-outs," etc., I returned to my room and waited. My
plan was to follow the gun flashes, which in all probability would
lead me to the Bapaume area, where I expected to find some wire or
wooden posts, which I should carry with me as I approached the lines,
and endeavour to avoid suspicion by mingling with working parties as
an engineer. If thus far successful I hoped to repair the German wire
entanglements, which in this district were much damaged by our shell
fire, and eventually slip away and get into touch with our patrols.

At a quarter to six a German flying officer entered our room and
invited me to dinner at their Cambrai headquarters, assuring me that
there would be plenty to eat and drink. (I expect after skilfully
mixed drinks they hoped to loosen my tongue. When a Hun lays himself
out to be pleasant it is almost certain that in some way he expects to
benefit by it.) If you wish to realise how tempting this offer was,
live on a watery starvation diet for eight days and then be given the
opportunity of a good meal. However, when I excused myself on the plea
of being a little unwell, "Mein freund" was quite non-plussed. While
he was still trying to extract information, unsuccessfully, from the
others, I left the room after pocketing a slice of bread.

Once in the outhouse I chose my time and, climbing up to the hole in
the wall, squeezed myself through with difficulty, for it was only
just large enough. When the sentry's back was turned I dropped to the
ground on the other side, about ten feet below, making considerable
noise. I was now past the line of barbed wire, but there still
remained the ramparts to negotiate. Never having been able to see over
this point from our quarters we had no means of ascertaining the drop
to the ground below. The corner of the ramparts I was making for was
under forty yards away, but it took me about three-quarters of an hour
to get there, crawling on crackling dry leaves under the shadow of the
wall. The slightest noise would probably have attracted the sentry's
attention and caused him to switch on the ele