They were taken and confined in the basement of a ruined building
and a guard set.
That night I was sent to the trench headquarters to do guard duty and
next day, about 11:00 o'clock in the morning, I was standing in the
doorway of the farmhouse where the pump had blown in on Scotty, and I
was accosted by two men who were walking rapidly. They asked me where a
certain Algerian Regiment was lying and I directed them, after giving
them a drink of water and a biscuit. They also asked me what those
headquarters were, and a number of other questions. However, no
suspicion of there being anything wrong entered my mind, as they spoke
perfect English. They left and had just turned the corner to cross a
pontoon bridge over Yser Canal, going toward the front-line trenches,
when three French guards came running like mad. They asked me some
questions excitedly, but it was some time before I could make out what
they wanted.
Finally I got it through my head and told them and they raced off. The
men who had accosted me were the two prisoners who had been taken in the
clock tower at Ypres, as I heard subsequently, but they did not get away
with their nervy trick; they were taken and paid the price.
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