SS
OVER THE TOP
By A n A m erican
Soldier W ho W ent
99
Arthur G u y Em p e y
Machine Gunner, Serving in France
C o p y rig h t HIT. by A rth u r O u y E m p «y
hoiuber Is general utility man In a sec­
tion.
,
E M P E Y AND A COM RADE HAVE EXCITING EX P ER IE N C E
About five o'clock In the afternoon
our lieutenant came down the trench
W H I L E ON L I S T E N I N G P O S T D U T Y .
and stopping In front of a hunch of us
on the fire step, with a broad grin on
hls face, asked:
Synopsis__ Fired by the sinking of the Lusitania, with the loss of
“Who Is going to volunteer for listen­
American lives, Arthur Guy Euipey, an American living In Jersey City,
ing |a>8t tonight! I need two men."
goes to Engluud auil enlists ns n private in the Itrltlsh army. After a
It Is needless to say no one volun­
short experience ns a recruiting officer lu London, he Is seut to train­
teered, because It Is anything hut a
ing quarters iu France, where he first hears the sound of big guns and
cushy Job. I began to feel uncomfort­
makes the acquaintance of “cooties." After a brief period of training
able as I knew It was getting around
Empe.v's company is sent Into the front-line trenches, where he takes
for my turn. Sute enough, with unother
his first turn on the fire step while the bullets whir overhead. Empey
grin, he snld:
learns, ns comrade falls, that death lurks always In the trenches.
"Empey, you and Wheeler are due,
Chaplain distinguishes himself by rescuing wounded men under hot
so come down Into my dugout for In­
fire. With pick and shovel Empey hus experience as a trench digger
structions nt six o'clock."
In No Man’s Land. Much attention Is required by wounded men from
Just as he left and was going around
the corps of doctors and nurses. On listening post detail.
n traverse. Frit* turned loose with a
machine gun nnd the bullets ripped the
sandbags right over hls head, it gave
at brigade headqunrters. With our gas
CHAPTER XIV—Continued.
me great pleasure to see him duck
helmets on we again attacked that hole
— 10 —
ngnlust the parapet. He was getting a
nnd
uncovered
the
decomposed
body
of
If a man 1? killed he Is burled, and
taste of what we would get later out
the responsibility of the government a German; the pick was sticking In hls In front.
ceases, excepting for the fact that hls chest. One of the men fainted. I was
Then, of course. It began to rain. I
people receive a pension. But If a man that one. Upon this our lieutenant knew It wns the forerunner of a mis-
halted
proceedings
and
sent
word
hack
Is wounded It takes three men from
ernble night for us. Every time I had
the firing line, the wounded man and to headquarters and word came back to go out In front. It Just naturally
that
after
we
filled
in
the
hole
we
could
two men to carry him to the rear to
rained. Old Jupiter I’luvlus must have
the advanced first-aid post. Here he Is knock off for the night. This was wel­ had It In for me.
attended by a doctor, perhaps assist­ come tidings to us, because—
At six we reported for Instructions.
Next duy the general changed the They were simple and easy. All we
ed by two It. A. M. C. men. Then he Is
put Into n motor ambulance, manned dot on hls map and another emplace­ had to do was to crawl out Into No
by a crew of two or three. At the field ■ ment was completed the following Man's I.and, lie on our bellies with our
hospital, where he generally goes un­ night.
ears to the ground and listen for the
der an anesthetic, either to have hls
The odor from the dug-up, decom­ tap, tap of the German engineers or
wounds cleaned or to be operated on. posed human body has nn efTect which sappers who might be tunneling under
he requires the services of about three is hard to describe. It first produces ! No Man’s I^and to establish a mine-
to five persons. From this point an­ a nauseating feeling, which, especially head beneath our trench.
other ambulance ride Impresses more after eating, causes vomiting. This re- j Of course. In our orders we were told
men In his service, and then at the am­ Iieves you temporarily, but soon a . not to be cnptnred by Gertnnn patrols
bulance train, another corps of doc­ weakening sensation follows, which ; or reconnoltering parties. Lots of
tors, R. A. M. C. men. Red Cross nurses leaves you limp as a dlshrag. Tour j brenth Is wasted on the western front
and the train’s crew. From the train spirits are at their lowest ebb and you j giving silly cautions.
he enters the base hospital or casualty feel a sort of hopelessness and a mad | As soon ns It wns dark. Wheeler and
clearing station, where a good-sized desire to escape it all, to get to the I crawled to our post which was nbont
corps of doctors, nurses, etc., are kept open fields nnd the perfume of the flow­ halfway between the lines. It was
busy. Another ambulance Journey is ers In Blighty. There Is a sharp, raining bucketfuls, the ground was a
next in order—this time to the hospital prickling sensation In the nostrils, sen of sticky mud nnd clung to us like
ship. He crosses the channel, arrives which reminds one of breathing coal glue.
In Blighty—more ambulances and per- ■ gas through a radiator in the floor, and
We took turns In listening with our
enrs to the ground. I would listen for
haps a ride for five hours on an Eng- j
twenty minutes while Wheeler would
Hsh Red Cross train with Its crew of
be on the qul vlve for German patrols.
Red Cross workers, and nt last he
We each wore a wristwntch, and be­
reaches the hospital. Generally he
lieve me, neither one of us did over
stays from two to six months, or long- j
twenty minutes. The rain soaked us
er. In this hospital. From here he Is
to the skin und our ears were full of
sent Jo a convalescent home for six
mud.
weeks.
Every few minutes n bullet would
If by wounds he Is unfitted for fur- j
crack overhead or a machine gun would
ther service, he Is discharged, given a
traverse back nnd forth..
pension, or committed to a soldiers’
Then all firing suddenly ceased. I
home for the rest of his life—and still
whispered
to Wheeler, “Keep your eye
the expense piles up. When you real­
skinned, mntp; most likely Fritz has
ize that all the ambulances, trains and
a patrol out—that's why the Boches
ships, not to mention the man power,
hnve stopped firing.”
used in transporting a wounded man,
We were each armed with a rifle nnd
could he used for supplies, ammunition
bayonet nnd three Mills bombs to be
and re-enforcements for the troops nt
used for defense only.
the front, (t will not appear strange
I had my ear to the ground. All of
that from a strictly military stand­
a
sudden I heard faint, dull thuds.
point, a dead man Is sometimes better
In a low hut excited voice I whispered
than a live one (if wounded).
to Wheeler, "I think they are mining,
Not long after the first digging party,
listen.”
our general decided, after a careful
He put hls ear to the ground and
tour of inspection of the communica­
In nn unsteady’ voice spoke Into iny
tion trenches, upon “an Ideal spot,” as
ear:
he termed It, for a machine-gun em­
“Yank, that’s a patrol nnd It’s head­
placement ; took his map, made a dot
ing our way. For God's sake keep
on It, and as he was wont, wrote “dig
still.”
here,” and the next night we dug.
I wns ns still as a mouse and was
There were twenty in tne party, my­
scared stiff.
self Included. Armed with picks,
Hardly breathing nnd with eyes try­
shovels and empty sandbags we ar­
ing
to pierce the Inky blackness, we
rived at the “Ideal spot” and started
waited. I would hnve given a thou­
digging. The moon was very bright,
sand pounds to hnve been safely In
but we did not care as we were well
my dugout.
Entrance to a Dugout.
out of sight of the German lines.
Then we plainly heard footsteps and
We had gotten about three feet you wnnt to sneeze, hut cannot. This
our hearts stood still.
down, when the fellow next to me, aft­ was the effect on me, surmounted by a
A dark form suddenly loomed up In
er a mighty stroke with hls pick, let go vague horror of the nwfulness of the
of the handle, and pinched hls nose \ thing nnd an ever-recurring reflection front of me; It looked as big as the
I could hear
with hls thumb nnd forefinger, at the that, perhaps I, sooner or Inter, would Woolworth building.
same time letting out the explosion, be In such a state nnd he brought to the blood rushing through my veins
“Gott strafe roe pink, I’m bloody well light by the blow of a pick In the hands nnd It sounded as loud as Niagara
falls.
gassed, not 'alf I ain’t.” I quickly of some Tommy on n digging party.
Forms seemed to emerge from the
turned in hls direction with an inquir­
Several times I have experienced this darkness. There were seven of them
ing look, nt the same Instant reaching
for my gas bag. I soon found out what odor, but never could get used to it; In all. I tried to wish them away. I
was ailing him. One whiff was enough the enervntlng sensation v.-ns always never wished harder In my life. Thpy
and I lost no time In also pinching my present. It made me hate war nnd muttered n few words In Gennnn nnd
nose. The stench was awful. The rest j wonder why such things were counte- I melted Into the blackness. I didn't
of the digging party dropped their 1 nnnced by civilization, nnd all the spice stop wishing either.
All of a sudden we heard a stumble,
picks nnd shovels nnd bent It for the | and glory of the conflict would disap­
weather side of that solitary pick. The | pear. leaving the grim reality. But a muddy splash, nnd a muttered “Don-
officer came over nnd Inquired why the j nfter leaving the spot and filling your ner und Blltxen.” One of the Boches
work had suddenly censed, holding our lungs with deep breaths of pure, fresh had tumbled Into a shell hole. Neither
noses, we simply pointed In the direc­ nlr, you forget nnd once again wnnt to of us laughed. At thnt time—It didn’t
strike us as funny.
tion of the smell. He went over to the be “up and at them.”
About twenty minutes after the Ger­
pick, Immedintely clnpped hls hnnd
CHAPTER XV.
mans had disappeared something from
over hls nose, made an “about turn”
the rear grabbed me by the foot. I
nnd cnme bnck. Just then our cap­
Listening Post.
- «
nearly fainted with fright. Then a
tain cnme nlong nnd Investigated, but
It wns six In the morning when we welcome whisper In a cockney accent.
after about a minute snld we had bet­
"I s’y, myte, we’ve come to relieve
ter carry on with the digging, that he arrived at our rest billets, and we were
did not see why we should have allowed to sleep until noon; that is, you.”
stopped ns the odor was very faint, If we wanted to go without our break­
Wheeler and I crawled back to onr
hut If necessary he would allow us our fast. For sixteen dnys we remained trench; we looked like wet hens and
gas helmets while digging. He would In rest billets, digging roads, drilling, felt worse. After a swig of rum we
■stay nnd see the thing through, but he and other fatigues, and then bnck Into were soon fast asleep on the Are step
In onr wet clothes.
¡had to report bnck to brigade head­ the front-line trench.
quarters Immedintely. We wished that
The next morning I wns ns stiff as a
Nothing happened thnt night, hut the
we were captains and nlso had a date next afternoon I found out that a poker and every Joint ached like a
had tooth, but I was still nllve, so II THE ONWARD MARCH of Bronchi­
tis and deep seated Cougha
did not matter.
la arreated by
Doctor
Plerco’a Golden Medical
CHAPTER XVI.
Dlacovery.
In those acrofulous con­
Battery D 2SS.
dition« of the blood which
Invite Consumption; In
The day after thle I received the
severe, lingering Coughs,
glad tldluge that I would occupy the '
and Weak Lunga, which
machine gunners' dugout right near
threaten you with this fa­
the advanced artillery observation |
tal disease, and when oth­
post. This dugout was n roomy affair, j
er help ha« failed—this
dry aa tinder, and rent cola In It.
medicine 1« a proved rem­
These cots had been made by the
edy.
It. E.’e who had previously occupied
As a blood cleanser, strength restor­
the dugout. I wns the first to enter er, and tonic it la aura to beoeflt. In
and promptly made a signboard with all lingering Bronchial and Throat af­
my name ami number on It nnd sus­ fection«. and In every disease that
pended It from the fool of the most can be reached through the blood, It
never falta to benefit or cure. In tab­
comfortable cot therein.
„
let or liquid form. Tablets 60c.
In the treuches It Is always “first
The machinery of the body needs to
come, first served," nnd this Is Heed be well oiled, kopt In good condition
up to by sll.
juat a« the automobile, eteam engine
Two R. F. A. men (Roynl Field ar­ or bicycle. Why should the human
tillery) from the nearby observation neglect Ilia own machinery more than
post were allowed the privilege of that of hls horse or hla engine? Yet
stopping In this dugout when off duty. moat pimple do neglect themselves.
One of these men, Bombardier Wil­ Clean the system at least once a week
I)r. IMerce'a Pleasant Pellets.—
son by name, who belonged to Itgt- with
Adv.
tery I) L’.'lH, seemed to take a liking
to me. and I returned this feellug.
Lumber In New Zealand.
In two days' time we were pretty
Moat of the better furniture and In­
chummy, and he told me how hls bat­ dustrial lumber used lu New Zealand
tery in the early dnys of the war had la Imported, such as oak. ash, hickory,
put over u stunt on Old Pepper, und ete . and ( omes largely from the Uni­
ted States, United Kingdom and Japan.
had gotten away with It.
I will endeavor to give the story as
far ns memory will penult In hls own
Dr. Pierce’s Pellets are best for liver,
bowels and stomach. One little Pellet
words:
for a laxative—three for a cathartic
Dssplts the excellent targets
men ere not allowed to shell
Fritz, Empey relates In next In­
stallment
{T O
SUCH
A
UK
CONTINUED!
SMART
BROTHER
SUFFERING CATS!
GIVE THIS MAN
THE GOLD MEDAL
But It la Entirely Probable Sister Did
No humbug!
Any corn, whetbar
Not Appreciate Hls Peculiar
hard, soft or between the toes, will
Form of W it
looaen light up and lift out without
A young lady In Lakewood Is of tha a particle of pain or soreness.
Thla drug la called freesone and Is
opinion thnt she Is grown up—In which a compound of ether discovered by a
opinion she Is not encouraged either by Cincinnati man.
her parents or her older brother. Sha
Ask at any drug store for a small
Is fifteen, brother Is sixteen. Shethlnka bottle of freesone. which will coat but
that young men should be allowed to a trifle, but ta sufficient to rid one’s
call on her In the evening; brother feet of every corn or callous.
Put a few drape directly upon any
Jeers, parents shake their hends.
Finally the girl’s mother consented tender, aching corn or callous. In­
stantly the soreness disappears and
to her having n certain approved boy shortly
the corn or callous will looaen
call, provided he cnme on a Friday eve­ and can ba lifted off with the fingers.
ning. And the excited damsel called
Thla drug freesone doesn't eat out
the favored youth up on the phone and the corna or callouses but shrivels
Imparted the glad news. It Is pre­ them without even Irritating the sur­
sumed thnt the young man (he was nil rounding akin.
Ju st think! No pain at all; no sore­
of eighteen years old) spent a good
deni of time at hls toilet thnt evening— ness or smarting when applying U or
If your druggist don’t
certainly the young ludy took great afterwards.
have freesone have him order It for
care of hers. She wns still primping you.—Adv.
when the swain rung the doorbolL
Brother answered.
The Real Teat.
“Ah," l>egnn the caller, clearing Ma
“Don't
conclude
that a man Is a pa­
throat. "Is Miss Jones nt horn«?*’
tient mortal because you've watched
"Come In." answered Brother, equiv­ him sitting on a log fishing.” >*ld the
ocally. Then he went to the foot of milk toast philosopher. "Watch him
the stairs nnd called—
while he's waiting for hls aupper.”
“Molly! Quit cuttln’ paper dolls aa’
come downstairs. One of your play*
Cuticura Stops Itching.
mates wants to see y o u C le v e la n d The Sonp to cleanse and Ointment to
I’lnln Dealer.
soothe and heal moat forms of Itching,
burning skin and scalp affections.
Always In.
Ideal for toilet use. For free samples
It was the shopping period, and Miss address. "Cntlcura. Dept. X, Boston."
Smith thought she would "drop In" oa Bold by druggists nnd by mall. Hoap
Mrs. Joues und ask her If she would 25, Ointment 25 nnd 50.—Adv.
usslst her In the noble art of present
hunting.
Natural. •
“Is your mistress In?" she asked tbo
'Jever notice that when a girl la
young maid.
pretty men expect her ?o be silly?
“Yes, miss,” wns the prompt reply.
And then she goes and acta up to ex­
She was shown Into the drawing pectations.—Memphis Commercial Ap­
room. But an hour passed nnd no peal.
Mrs. Jones appeared. At lust the lady
got up and called to the muld:
“Did you tell your mistress I was
here?” she asked.
“Oh no. miss," replied the girt
quickly; "she hasn't returned from
shopping yet.”
"Not returned!" exclaimed the a »
Should Read Mrs. Monyh&n’s
tonlshed visitor.
"No, miss. You see the mistress told
L etter Published by
me she wns always home to you!"
MOTHERS
TO BE
Her Permission.
Long Ride Before Him.
A cyclist who stopped at a village
Inn boasted about hls nhllities ns •
rider to such un extent that the land­
lord ventured to make a wager with
him.
*’I.ook here, mister” said the Inn­
keeper, “you can’t ride up nnd down
this road till the church clock strikes
six.”
"Done.” said the cyclist. "It's Just
close on five now;" nnd the next min­
ute he wns speeding down the road.
After nbout nn hour’s riding tbs
cyclist shouted to one of the by.
«tenders, of whom many had assem­
bled:
"I say, has the church clock struefc
six yet?”
“No, yotf Idiot," wns the blunt r *
ply. “Our church dock never strikaa
nt all.”—London Tlt-BIts.
Two Kinds.
There Is a place In the world far
reformers. Reformers are the gentl*
men who created our great Declara­
tion of Independence, and the Consti­
tution of ^ the United 8tntes. Bless
them, we say.
At the rame tiras
there should be more positive reform­
ers and fewer negntlve reformers, ths
latter being well-meaning persons whs
are always against something and not
for anything.—Atchison Globs,
Mitchell, Ind.—"L y d ia E . Pinkham’s
Vegetable Compound Helped me so much
during the time I
was looking forward
to the coming of my
little one that I am
recommending it to
other e x p e c t a n t
mothers. B e f o r e
tnking it, someday*
I suffered with neu­
ralgia so badly that
I thought I could
not live, but after
taking three bottles
of Lydia E. P in k-
hanrs V e ge t a b l e
Compound I was en­
tirely r e l i e v e d of
ne ur al gi a, 1 hnd
gained In strength
and was able to go
around and do all
my housework. My baby when seven
months old weighed 19 pounds and I feel
better than I have for a long time. I
never had any medicine do me so
much good.” —Mrs. P earl M onyiian ,
Mitchell, Ind.
*
Good health during maternity is a
most important factor to both mother
and chibl, nnd many letters have beer
received by the Lydia E. Pink ham
Medicinifc. o., Lynn, Mass., telling of
health restored during this trying period
by the use of Lydia E. Pinkham's Vege­
table Compound.