my breath half-dreading that perhaps one of the horses, scenting something unusual, might give a warning.  I kept to my cover until the soldiers had disappeared from sight.  Then I stole out to wander stealthily forward.  But I speedily discovered that the further I got away from the camp the greater the number of cavalry I encountered.  Moreover it was easy to see that manoeuvres and training were proceeding upon an extensive scale.

I realised the hopelessness of attempting to break through such a cordon, so with extreme regret I decided to make my way back to the hayfield.  But the return was more difficult than the outward journey.  I had to slip the guards, who seemed to be uncannily alert and who, if they had caught the slightest glimpse of me, would have blazed away with their rifles without first yelling a challenge.  But I dodged them all and regaining the field sauntered up towards my guard with perfect composure.  He had missed me and had been looking round to see if I were at a remote part of the field.  As I approached he eyed me quizzically and subjected me to a searching cross-examination to discover where I had been.  But he secured no satisfaction, beyond the sly hint that he had not noticed me for the simple reason that he had been stealing a snooze.  I know he did not believe the answers I vouchsafed, but I was on safe ground.  Had he hauled me before the Commandant for attempting to escape he knew very well that I should have retorted with the countercharge that he had been sleeping at his post, in which assertion I should have been supported by my friends.  I held the trump card and he was wise enough to realise the fact.  Consequently, beyond telling me to get on with my work he never ventured another word, nor did his attitude towards me change in any way.

Afterwards I congratulated myself upon having responded to second thoughts to return to the camp.  I learned that the chances of escaping from Sennelager were most slender.  Not only were we interned in the centre of a big military centre, somewhat comparable to our Aldershot, but special precautions had been observed to frustrate escape.  Sentries were thrown out at distances of a few hundred yards while the system of overlapping these guardians was of the most elaborate character.  Such a gauntlet was far too precarious and tight to be run with any chances of success.  The hue and cry would have been raised, and have been transmitted to the outer rings of sentries before one had covered a fourth of the danger zone.

We had to bale the hay on the waggon and when a full load had been stowed aboard it was hauled away to the lofts.  But we had no horses or traction engines to drag the vehicles; every available beast and machine had been requisitioned for the army.  Still this factor did not perturb our captors.  British muscle could be used as a substitute for animals and engines.  Accordingly, about 30 of the imprisoned British tourists were harnessed up to tug the weighty and cumbersome load over the heavy three miles of road, badgered and baited by the guards.  When we slowed down under the effort, which was pretty exhausting upon a basin of cabbage soup, we were spurred into the normal pace by the imprecations of the soldiers.