An old man sat hunched by my spot and watched what I was doing. He helpfully bent down and whispered that he would lift the wire to make it easier for me to roll under. And that is just what happened. I waited for the right moment when the sentry had passed. On my signal, the old man lifted the wire and I scooted under it. In a second, I was out! 

What I didn’t expect was that another boy would follow me under the wire. It was Mottel, the son of the baker. He was a younger than me but his sister was my classmate at school. I guess he also must have seen me planning the break and spontaneously invited himself along, making more of a commotion and attracting more immediate attention than I had planned.

As I got back to my feet on the other side of the fence, I saw him behind me and realized that my chances for a clean getaway had been seriously compromised.