“Yes, we did, General. I am sorry, and I was sorry then, but the pay--it was a _great_ temptation. We have been punished since. We went down through Mexico and took ship. There were five hundred men on board who were all going over to be ‘interpreters.’ And we never guessed, poor fools, that ship after ship was bearing each a like load. We never suspicioned the outcome. When we reached German soil, we were scattered, two going one place, two another, and instead of having any _interpreting_ to do, we were outfitted as soldiers and attached to different regiments. Men kept coming day after day. I dare not say how many thousands of Germans have been taken out of the United States in this way. We were virtually prisoners. Of course to the most of us it did not matter much. After all Germany was our fatherland before America adopted us. As long as we were fighting the French and English and the Russians, we did not care. “But then, when we were already very tired, came the news that President Wilson had declared war. “General, it is not yet believed in Germany. All of them, the highest officers, even the Emperor, on occasion, all have addressed the troops and have explained that war was declared solely for political purposes and that no troops were to be sent over sea.” “They know now, do they not?” asked the General. “Very few of them, General. They think that the English have adopted the American uniform as a blind.” “What did you think, Fritz?” asked the General. “I saw them fight, and I knew,” said Fritz simply. “I know them; I know how they fight. I told the others so. And when they came across the plain I wanted to hurrah. I suppose I will be shot as a German prisoner, but I could not help it. All my mistake was in the beginning. I would have deserted if I could have done so. Why, General, if those fellows over there behind the German lines knew the truth, a third of them would walk right over here. They are lied to again and again.” “How is the army faring as regards food?” asked the General. “There is not enough to feed a third of the men. All Germany is dying slowly of substitutes. Substitutes for bread, for meat, for tea, for sugar, for coffee, for milk. At first the army was fed well, at the expense of the civilians. Now all suffer together, and no man in the world works well or fights well on an empty and aching stomach.” He groaned. “What were you doing out there in that hillock?” asked the General.