He destroyed them so they might not fall into
the hands of the Germans, a fate he knew would be his own shortly.
But Harry Leroy was not doomed to instant capture. The blaze caused
by his burning aeroplane attracted the attention of a peasant, who
had not been deported when the enemy overran his country, for the
young aviator had fallen in a spot well back of the front lines.
This French peasant took Harry to his little farm and hid him in the
barn. There the man, his wife, and his granddaughters, looked after
the injured aviator, feeding him and binding up his hurts. It was a
great risk they took, and Harry Leroy knew it as well as they. But
for nearly two weeks he remained hidden, and this probably saved his
life, for he got better treatment at the farmhouse than he would, as
an enemy, have received in a German hospital.
But such good luck could not last. Suspicion that Americans were
hidden in the Frenchman's barn began to spread through the country,
and rather than bring discovery on his friends, Leroy left the barn
one night.
He had a desperate hope that he might reach his own lines, as he was
now pretty well recovered from his 'Injuries, but it was not to be.
He was captured by a German patrol. But by his quick action Harry
Leroy had removed suspicion from the farmer, which was exactly what
he wished to do.
The Germans, rejoicing over their capture, took the young aviator to
the nearest prison camp, and there he was put in custody, together
with some unfortunate French and English.
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