1955-04-23 — Page 13

THE CHINA MAIT, SATURDAY, APRIL

1965:

Seventh in the China Mail series

that

has everyone guessing:

The oldest trick in

world

the

•

WAS sitting at the wheel of my open car in one of the squares in the old quarter of Nice, waiting for Sibyl, who was buying food in the nearby market place. It was a couple of years after the war, and we were on our way to Italy,

pitching a tent by the side

of the road each night and

cooking the food we bought

on a Primus stove.

This day we had driven more than two hundred miles over the Alps to reach the Mediterranean, and as I waited I began, to doze. Suddenly T was awakened by the light touch of a finger on my bare forearm.

ON MONDAY Michael Pertwee INVITES "YOU · TO DECIDE DID IT REALLY. HAPPEN?

?

running-boardi I was taken by surprise I had been on the verge of memory and only came back to the present in time to snatch the wallet from that tight pocket was the deman gathered speed.

with

We, stood on the pavement and searched through the wallet. I had hoped them would be mough money to pay for the camera, but there was none. The wallet merely

dely represented that small parhnanbest of sentiment which a man carries

him through his daily life; a pret gave his de mariage which name and address, photographe of himself and presumably his wife and children, a form of receipt for 20,000 trancs for a I did not know what to

Leica camera and in a com next. Was he ill, or

was bo

partment by itself, a metal pretending, having recognised us prisoner-of-war identity disc

The man ....... must have récognised the word gendarme.

DID IT HAPPEN?

wwwww

Eric Williams

car again.

do

We've got him now." Sing! "caid. “All we have to do is take

the receipt to the police. They | can easily check the camera."

as we jumped from the car? He would certainly have (chown the

Slowly he lifted his head. The tablet had apparently done its work, but when he looked at me his eyes were absolutely with trick of memory, back in 1943. out depth; blank, uncompre. The scene was a circle of sarv heading.

prised, suspicious French faces in a P-o-W labour camp in the German port of Stettin; myself,

But I was already arross the

Momentarily, as though the shutter of a camera had opened, the eyes showed recognition scoped P-o-W on the rust, Then the shutter closed and all, anxiously from

standing was blank again.

"He's putting it on," I said to Sibyll wait here and you go and get a gendarme.”

there

sod

It was the sort of holiday because he seemed so shaken little but bare rock and Sibyl did her best to convince we enjoyed-no.hotels to at the sight of me. He stunted" pines. We pitched them that the thief was the man book, no time-table-just dived into an inner room and the tent under an olive tree from the wine cellar, they dis- drifting along in the sun- slammed the door behind on the Plateau de la Justice issed her theory with an ex- shine and stopping when him. I thought he must far above the noise and aggerated shrug of the shoulders. and where we wished.

smell of Nice. It was cool We gave them the number of and quiet there, and the the camera and drove on into air was scented by the pipes. Italy, not expecting to hear any

more of the matter and thank I lay for a long time ing heaven that my walles had that night, watching the contained only a few hundred shadows cast, by the moon franes to Jast us until we on the roof of the tent, but crossed the border. tired though I was I could not sleep. Later I dozed fitfully, but kept waking suddenly as though some- one had touched me on the shoulder. Once during the A week later we were driv- night I crawled out of the ing back through Mentone on. tent and stood watching the our

when Sibyl lights of Cap Ferrat and grabbed my arm. "Stop, quickly, the strings of lamps from There's that man!" the fishing boats reflected in I jammed on the brakes and the water of the bay. The we leaped out of the car. He moon was full, I remember, was leaning against a wall in the and the grating of the cica- shadow of a tall house and I he walked. And all the cang. But, on the other hand,

"13

rear

A boy was there, a small, dark, good-looking boy with. big, brown eyes. When he saw that he has my atten- tion he whispered "M'sieur!" and pointed to my wheel. I leaned out to see what was wrong, and 28 I did so my left hand felt. the camera, which had been lying on the seat beside me, slowly move away.

I grabbed hard, caught the strap and struggled out of the car. The man who had been trying to steal the camera was already wallding quickly down the crowded street.Ishouted and he

ERIC WILLIAMS in the men who „pode the clansde eseupe from "prisoner of war tamsulog, the Jast war and wrote 's classic book about it. The Wooden Horse published in 1949 "Through many, aditivas, and was mads into a tins film. Since then de kos vrlijan two „ptber escape books.

har gode

Although he was awarded the MAC (qually an Army locantins) fall his explait, he was a flight Lieutenset in the RAF when, be was captured.

¡Mon 43, by tray in Derse will Who Willams, givsi troval at sas of his recreations.

His tablets

way home,

das seemed unusually loud. could tell by his relaxed, sag

ging attitude that he was drunk. to him be As we walked up pushed himself away from the wall and staggered into a cafe. a few yards away.

Missing!

Towards morning "I fell

into a deep sleep, and when

We followed him in and sat

I awoke it was daylight. I. down at the opposite side of the put out my hand for the marble-topped table. He

worki

was

started to run. I ran after have mistaken me for some- folded clothes on the floor of sprawied across it, with kust him until I remembered the one else.":

the tent but could not find head on his hands dead to the small boy, When I got

"He must have watched them. I looked down, but back to the car the boy had gone

had the you leave the car," I said, the space between the beds and so

"Funny you should choose was bare, leather map-case which had

...looking one face-to another. I had gone there to ask. them to help me to slow away in one of the central ships in the dock where they worked, and I was frightened that they would the Germans. The man looked up. He must give me

the way to have recognised the word I remembered their suspicion gendarme. That is not neces- turning to frk

friendliness the sary, m'sieur. My son has the ready help, the warm fellow- camera. He is on the beach. Come with me."

"One of prisoner sympathy those faces was staring at me from the dog-eared fantastic snapshots, I was sure of it.

Although it seems now, I really did think at the "time that we were going for the Later I made a parcel of the camera. We walked down he wallet and sent thế back to him, street, slowly, in the hot sun; I may have been wrong about- Sibyl and I on each side of the his fact. He may never have man, who stumbled and mutter bean scar that particular Pro-W I was thinking that I knew I may have been right, I was him, wondering where I had not prepared to take the risk. met him before. I had not seen his face the day he had tried to WORLD COPYRIGHT EMSIEVED This was an earlier memory. snatch the camera from the car.

ed

time

Sentiment

Yesterday's story about Rodney the bay FICTION.

REMEMBER,

We had walked like this for a hundred yards when a motor

you now: lorry pulled up at the kerbs and have to decide: Did Fric the driver shouted something in Williams imagine his story the Nicols dialect. I gathered or did it really happen to: I tapped him on the shoulder, that he was asking the way, and him? Make a note whether "What have you done with my when our man crossed in front been lying with the camera, the place to buy the wine." I woke Sibyl., "What have camera?" I said in English, I of me and stood with one foot you think story No.7 is ond "Let's go back and see if you done with the clothes?" the man had drawn round-him- ing the wallet in

felt somehow outside the wall on the running board I was FACT or FICTION

Unsuspicious. I remember note- check the answer on Mon- he's still there.”

the back day.. "We can't leave the car,'

"I haven't touched them." self, the impregnable defence pocket of his trousers, which 11

of the bowed bead and rounded seat, and the pointed

were rather tight across the shoulders..

My stupidity

I said, "they'd be on it like I looked out of the tent." a pack of wolves." I was The car was still there, with When Sibyl came back tired after driving all day, our clothes piled neatly on laden with food and wine I and felt more interested in top of the tonneau cover. told her of my stupidity, pitching the tent and eat- "One of the oldest tricks ing dinner than in recover- The wallet had gone from in the world," I said, "and ing the map-case. "Where my pocket, and the camera I had to fall for it. Lucky on earth can we camp and my favourite pipe had

•

·

He did not move.

leather shoes that he wearing

woven was

When the driver suddenly let and the lorry I tapped again, herder, and in the clutch spoke again, more loudly. The moved off with the thier on the iri came from behind the zipc counter, and although I could

did not look at me but mut-

I turned back when I did, round here? It's as built been taken from the car. not understand her French I otherwise they'd have had up as Birmingham."

knew that she was abusing me "It must have been that for being so rough with a man the lot."

"The woman in the wine man," Sibyl said, "The old who was obviously sick I "Was he a thin dark man cellar was just telling me. woman must have told him shook him by the shoulder, and in a striped shirt and blue The only place for miles where we were camp- this time he raised his head. He trousers?" she asked. around is up on the Grande ing."

Corniche. It's on our way We went to the police; of tered, "De l'eau," and fumbled That's him. He Was into Italy."

course, but All they seemed in his pocket until he found ai "wearing a white linen cap.

Interested in were my father's small cardboard box of white We zigzagged up the profession and my place of tablets. The girl brought a glass "He dashed into the wine mountain road behind Nice, birtin From the detailed in- cellar when I was there. I past all the villas, up into would have thought that I had tablet and let

formation they

of water and he swallowed a his head fall noticed him parrticularly the hills where there was done the stealing. Although again to the table.

"

required one

DID IT REALLY HAPPENT No. 7: The Oldest Trick in the World.

YES

NO

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1936

Perfection