Then the chief constable arrived, a very pleasant, fine old gentleman. He expressed his admiration for our very clever escape, and asked if there was anything we wanted. I asked him to let us pay for a warm breakfast and a few cigarettes out of the money taken from us, a request which he immediately granted. My complaint in regard to the conduct of the detectives evidently pained him, and he promised me relief as well as the punishment of the offenders. They kept a respectful distance from us after that. Shortly afterwards we were taken to the Guildhall--purely as a formality. We had to sit on the same seat with men and women accused of theft and other crimes. On a raised bench in front of us sat the chairman and other magistrates, reporters, detectives, and policemen. The seats on both sides were filled with spectators. It had evidently been noised abroad that the two 'Hun officers' had been recaptured. A number of offenders were summarily dealt with, and then it was our turn. There was a general movement in the court-room. We had only two or three questions to answer. The mayor refused to believe that we had escaped on Thursday, as the Commandant of Donington Hall had expressly stated that we had broken out on Saturday. The explanation was obvious, and the consequence was that later on the English Parliament occupied itself with the question for a whole week, and asked for an explanation of the fact that two German officers had been able to escape in spite of the strong guard and the electrified wire fence. As a matter of fact, the electric arrangement had been out of action for a long time. I answered all questions without hesitation. But I avoided, then and afterwards, giving any explanation of the manner of our escape. This remained a mystery to the English, and we had many a joke about it. Towards evening an escort of twelve men came to fetch us. They turned out to be our old friends of the camp guard. They were very excited, and told us all about the impression which our escape had made. We now heard how our flight had been discovered. As our escape had not been discovered, our friend Horn, the day after our disappearance, suddenly decided to leave the camp also--which, with the help of the stout roller-team, he succeeded in doing. Then, as another day went by and our absence had not been discovered, the roller-team again got to work, and again one of them disappeared into the ditch. This time it was my messmate, Heward. Unfortunately, he got stuck in the wire entanglement and was discovered. Then the whole affair came to light. Otherwise our absence might not have been noticed for another week, and we might have succeeded in flying from Nottingham. It was rotten luck for all concerned.