Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 223, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1916 — THIRD ESCAPE OF INTERNED FRENCH AVIATOR RIVALS MOVIE THRILLERS [ARTICLE]

THIRD ESCAPE OF INTERNED FRENCH AVIATOR RIVALS MOVIE THRILLERS

Prison Airshaft In Switzerland Brings Liberty to Airman GilbertFellow Townsmen, Motor Manufacturer and a Paris Newspaper Back of Exciting Adventure—Takes Advantage of Gastronomical Weakness of Guard.

Paris. —“Never two without a third” Is a French proverb which has proved true la the case of Aviator Gilbert. Forced to descend in Switzerland owing to his motor failing, Gilbert was Interned. His first attempt to escape was successful, but the French government handed him back to the Swiss authorities, because the letter in which Gilbert took back his pledge not to try to escape had not reached •the authorities in sufficient time, although it had been posted early enough. A second attempt was much more short lived, as the aviator was recognized on a train before getting out of the country, and once more made a prisoner, with greatly increased precautions to prevent another attempt. The third attempt, which the cables have already reported to huve been a complete success, involved a story that “outmovies” the movies. At the back of it are Gilbert’s fellow townsmen from the Auvergne province, the. manufacturer of the motor that Gilbert used on his aeroplane and a Paris newspaper with the largest circulation in the world.

Gilbert Closely Guarded. Gilbert was imprisoned in the third story of a large barracks in Zurich and was watched night and day by special guards. One day a Frenchman arrived on the scene, a M. Itobere-Melard, ostensibly a dealer in wool, but really a general commissioned agent who had acted as a Sherlock Holmes various occasions, especially since the war. “It took me three months to arrange affairs,” M. Melard relates, “for I met with several failures. The first thing I had to do was to inspire confidence in someone around Gilbert, who would allow me, without being aware of it, to get into close touch with the man whose escape I wished to aid. Such a man I found in Captain Sturm, who was charged with watching over the prisoner and was inflexible as to his duties.

“I made no secret of being a friend of Gilbert’s, but I explained tlyit, although I was glad to see him again, I had come to Switzerland on business. To convince the captain I talked to him and showed him heavy orders I had given in accordance with orders received from various aviation and other firms in France. I ordered all sorts of things, one day buying several cords of wood. All these orders started, but somehow or other some combination prevented delivery, and in the end few went through.

Escape Cleverly Contrived. “I soon found Captain Sturm’s weak point. It was gastronomical; We lunched together, we had dinner and supper together, aud the fare was always so good that he soon allowed me to see his prisoner almost daily. Before the captain we talked about the weather and such exciting topics, but we wrote each other dozens of little notes which we used to slip under the table as we raised our glasses to the captain’s health. •-*’ “That lasted three whole months, by which time Sturm and I were Inseparable and Gilbert and I had formed our plans. “A certain person was to pass In front of the barracks at 7:30 p. m. If he lit his cigarette twice in front of the railing between the barracks and the police station the attempt was to be made that night, but if he blew his nose ostentatiously it meant the attempt was to be postponed. Gilbert knew that he could escape by a ventilation shaft that passed through the lavatory on his landing. “The guards at his door were changed each night at 2a. m. The plan was to go to the washroom at 1:50 a. m. and hope that the departing guards would fail to notify the newcomers of his absence. On Monday and Tuesday nights the relieving sentinels were informed, but on Wednesday night this duty was overlooked. Gilbert, dressed in uniform, let himself slip down the narrow ventilating shaft onto the ground floor, from which he escaped by a key that I had provided. I should explain that when everything had been arranged I said good-by to Captain Sturmer and left for France Just before the escape was tried. Gilbert climbed the wall around the barracks and found civilian clothes In the automobile waiting for him at the point arranged.”

Is Hidden Away. Gilbert’s friend Arnold Bontemps, the newspaper man who worked his fiist escape, then *ook charge of the proceedings. It was hopeless to think of smuggling Gilbert out of the country at once, however well he might be disguised. The hue and cry would be too strong. "I took him to a safe place where we were sure the police would never think of coming, just because the apartment was one open to any visitor,” said Melard. “This operation took fifteen minutes, and five minutes later the alarm was given. Gilbert was stowed away in a closet “of whfcch he could leave the door ajar, closing it on the least sound. At night only he could take some rest. There he remained six days to let ths storm roll by. French

papers announced his arrival In Paris, declaring that he had been seen by friends, and this lulled suspicion in Switzerland.

"I returned to Zurich with a disguise for him, false beard, spectacles, heavy shoes, etc., and Gilbert took the train, having bought a ticket for Bienne. There we walked some miles toward Geneva, when an automobile met us, which tooted its horn three times. In a second we were irtside and, taking a side road to avoid the high road, reached a little wood near Geneva, where we received the latest news about the direction police activities were taking.

Crossing the Frontier. “We decided to start nekt clay, which was Ascension day, which seemed appropriate for an aviator. The last night was passed in a village near Geneva and after some hours walking next morning we saw the frontier, the railroad and the road from Annemasse to Bellegarde. This was the point we had chosen for crossing the line.

“The actual crossing proved easy. The Swiss gard happened to be some yards away and GilbePt took to his legs and got into France before the guard reached him.” The French guard, however, challenged him, and the only, “papers” Gilbert could show were his Legion of Honor, cross, his military medal and his war cross. When he gave his name, the brave guard accepted these decorations as proof of identity and telephoned his superior officers, who brought au automobile for Gilbert’s use.

A triumphant welcome met him at Lyons, where he was able to borrow an aviator officer’s uniform. A still more enthusiastic welcome awaited him at Paris, where the mitrfcster of war congratulated him and gave him a permission so that he can'take a short rest before resuming his place at the front. Gilbert needs some rest, as, in addition to his irksome life as a prisoner, he had to thin himself down considerably in order to be sure of passing down the ventilation shaft.