OVER
y An American
JOMIeF ff MO Went Machine Gunner, Serving in Franc
n a n n va tea
EMPEY AND A COMRADE HAVE EXCITING EXPERIENCE
WHILE ON LISTENING POST DUTY.
Synopsis. Fired by tho sinking of tho Lusltnnln, with tho loss of
American lives, Arthur Guy Kmpey, nu. American living In Jersey City,
goes to England and enlists as n private In tho British army. After n
short experience ns a recruiting ofltcer In London, ho Is sent to train
ing quarters In, France, where he tlrst henrs tho sound of big guns and
makes the acjjjmlutance of "cooties." After a brief period of training
Empey's company is sent Into tho front-lino trenches, where he takes
his first turn on the Are step while the bullets whiz overhead. Empey
learns, ns comrade falls, that death lurks always In the trenches.
Chaplain distinguishes himself by rescuing wounded men under hot
fire. With pick nnd shovel Empey has experience as a trench digger
In No Man's Land. Much attention Is required by wounded men from
the corps of doctors nnd nurses. On listening post detail.
CHAPTER XIV Continued.
10
If a man Is kilted he is burled, nnd
the responsibility of the government
censes, excepting for the fact that his
people receive a pension. But If a man
Is wounded It takes three men from
the firing line, the wounded mnn and
two men to carry him to the rear to
the advanced flrst-nlil post Here ho Is
attended by a doctor, perhaps assist
ed by Jwo It. A. M. C. men. Then he Is
t put Into n motor ambulance, manned
by a Crew of two or three. At the field
Jiospltal, where he generally goes un
"der an anesthetic, cither to have his
wounds cleaned or to be operated on,
lie requires the services of nbout three
to five persons. From this point an
other ambulance ride impresses more
men In his service, nnd then at the am
bulance train, another corps of doc
tors, R. 'A. M. C. men, H6d Cross nurses
and the train's crew. From the train
he enters the base hospital or casualty
clearing station, where a good-sized
corps of doctors, 'nurses, etc., are kept
busy. Another ambulance Journey Is
next In order this time to the hospltnl
ship. He crosses the channel, arrives
In Blighty more ambulances nnd per
haps ride for five hours on an Eng
lish Red Cross train with Its crew of
Red Cross workers, nnd nt last he
reaches the hospital. Generally he
s stays from two to sir months, or long
er. In this hospltnl. From here he Is
sent to n1 convalescent home for six
weeks. -
If by wounds he Is unfitted for fur
ther service, he Is discharged, given a
pension, or committed to n soldiers'
home for the rest of his life and still
the expense piles up.- When you real
ize that all the ambulances, trains nnd i
ships, not to mention the man power,
used In transporting a wounded man, i
could be used for supplies. 'nhimunltlon
nnd re-enforcements for the troops nt
the front, !t will not appear strange
that from a strictly military stand
point, dead man is sometimes better
than n live one (If wounded).
Not long after the first digging pnrty,
our general decided, after a careful
tour of inspection of the communica
tion trenches, upon "an Ideal spot," as
he termed It, for a machine-gun em
placement; took his map, made a dot
on It, and as he was wont, wrote "dig
here," and tho next night we dug.
There were twenty In tne party, my
self included. Armed with picks,
shovels and empty sandbags we ar
rived at the "Ideal spot" and stnrtcd
digging. The moon was very bright,
but we did not care as we were well
out of sight of the. German lines.
' We had gotten about three feet
down, when the fellow next to me, aft
er n mighty stroke with his pick, let go
of the handle, and pinched his nose
with his thumb nnd forefinger, nt the
same time letting out the explosion,
"Gott strafe me pink, I'm bloody well
gassed, not 'nlf I ain't" I quickly
turned In his direction with on Inquir
ing look, nt the same Instant reaching
for my gas bag. I soon found out what
was ailing him. One whiff was enough
nnd I lost no time In ulso pinching my
nose. The stench wns awful. The rest
'of the digging party dropped their
picks and shovels and bent It for the
weather side of that solitary pick. The
officer came over and Inquired why thq
work had suddenly ceased, holding our
noses, we simply pointed In the direc
tion of the smell. lie went over to tho
pick, Immediately clupped his hand
over ids nose, made an "nbout turn"
nnd came back. Just then our cap
tain enmo nlongnnd Investigated, but
nfter nbout a minute said wo had bet
ter carry on with tho digging, that he
did not see wjiy wo should have
Ktpppcd ns tho odor was very fnlnt,
hut If necessary ho would allow us our
gas. helmets whllo digging. Ho would
stay nnd see the thing through, but ho
had to report buck to brlgndo head
quarter immediately. Wo wished that
we were cnptHliis, and ulso hud a date i
i nr.
Arthuar Guy Empey
OopjrlaM 1917, by Ajthnr Oaj Bmpr
nt brigade headquarters. With our gas
helmets on we again attacked that hole
and uncovered tho decomposed body of
a German; the pick was sticking In his
chest. One of the men fainted. I was
that one. Upon this our lieutenant
halted proceedings and sent word back
to headquarters and word enmo back
that after we filled In tho hole we could
knock off for the night. This wns wel
come tidings to us, because
Next day tho general changed tho
dot on his map and another emplace
ment wns completed the following
night.
The odor from tho dug-up. decom
posed human body has an effect which
Is hard to describe. It first produces
a nnuseatlng feeling, which, especially
after eating, causes vomiting. This re
lieves you temporarily, but soon n
weakening sensntion follows, which
leaves you limp ns n dlshrng. Your
spirits are at their lowest ebb and you
feel a sort of hopelessness and n mad
desire to escape It all, to get to tho
open fields nnd tho perfume of the flow
ers In- Blighty. There Is a sharp,
prickling sensntion In tho nostrils,
which reminds one of breathing coal
gas through a radiator In tho floor, nnd
Entrance to a Dugout
you want to sneeze, but cannot. This
wns the effect on me, surmounted by a
vnguo horror of the nwfulness of tho
thing nnd nn ever-recurring reflection
that, perhaps I, sooner or later, would
be In such a state add bp brought to
light by the blow of a pick in the hands
of some Tommy on n digging pnrty.
Several times I have experienced this
odor, but never could get used to It;
tho enervating sensation was always
present. It made jno .hnto war nnd
wonder why such things wero counte
nanced by civilization, npd all the spice
and glory of tho conflict would disap
pear, leaving the grim reality. But
nfter leaving tho spot. and. filling your
lungs with deep breaths ofjpure, fresh
nlr, you forget and once again wnnt to
be "up and at them," i "
CHAPTER'
Listening Post
It wns six In tho morning when wo
arrived at our rest billets, and wo wero
nllowcd to sleep untJI noon;, thnt is,
If wo wanted to go without our break
fast. For sixteen days wo remained
In rest billots, digging roods, drilling,
and olhor fatigues, nnd then back Into
tho front lino trench. '
Nothing Implied that, night, but tho
next nflenmmi i found ioutt thot a
TOP"
bomber Is general utility man In n sec
tion. About flvo o'clock In tho nftcrnoon
our lieutenant enmo down tho trench
and stopping In front of a bunch of us
on tho tiro step, with n broad, grin on
his face, nsked:
"Who Is going to volunteer for listen
ing post tonight? I need two men."
It Is needless to say no ono volun
teered, because It Is anything but n
cushy job. 1 began to feel uncomfort
able ns I know It was getting around
for my turn. Sure enough, with another
grin, ho mid:
"Empey, you nntl Wheeler nro duo,
so como down Into my dugout for In
structions nt sir o'clock."
Just ns ho left nnd wns going n round
a traverse, FrlU turned loose with a
machine gun nnd the bullets ripped the
sandbags right over his head. It gave
mo great pleasure to seo him duck
ngnlnst tho parapet. He was gottlng a
tnsto of,whnt wo would get later out
in front
Then, of course, It began to rain. I
know it wns tho forerunner of a mis
erable night for us. Every tlmo I had
to go out In front. It Just naturally
rained. Old Jupiter I'luvlus must hnvo
hnd It in'for 'rao.
At -sir wo reported for Instructions.
They wero simple and easy. All wo
hnd to do was to crawl out Into No
Mnn's Lnnd, He on our bellies with our
ears to the ground and listen for tho
tnp, tap of the German engineers or
sappers who might be tunneling under
No Mnn's Land to establish n mine
head beneath our trench.
Of course, in our orders we were told
not to bo captured by German patrols
or rcconnoltcrlng parties. Lota of
breath Is wasted on tho western front
giving silly cnutlons.
As soon na It wns dnrk, Wheeler and
I crawled to our post which was about
halfway between the lines. It was
mining bncketfuls, the ground wns n
sea of jtlcky mud and clung to us like
glue.
Wo took turns In listening with our
ears to thp ground. I would listen for
twenty minutes whllo Wheeler would
be on tho qui vivo for Oermnn patrols.
Wo each wore n wrlBtwntch. nnd be-
, Ileve me, neither ono of us did over
twenty minutes. Tho rnln soaked us
to tho skin nnd our cars wero full of
mud.
Every few minutes n bullet would
crack overhead or n machine gun would
tra verso back and forth.
Then nil firing suddenly censed. I
whispered to Whielor, "Keep your cyo
skinned, mnto; most likely Fritz has
a patrol outthat's why tho Bodies
iiay.0 stopped firlug."
Wo were each armed with a rlflo nnd
bayonet and three Mills bombs to bo
used for defense only.
I luul my ear to tho ground. All of
a sudden I heard faint, dull thuds.
In n low but excited voice I whispered
to Wheeler, "I think they are mining,
listen."
Ho put his enr .to tho ground nnd
In nn unsteady volco spoko Into my
enr:
"Yank, that's a patrol nnd It's head
ing our way. For God's soko keep
: still."
I was as still as a mouso and wns
scared stiff.
Hardly breathing and with eyes try.
Ing to plcrco tho Inky blackness, wo
wnlted. I would have given n thou
sand pounds to hnvo been safely In
my dugout.
Then wo plainly heard footsteps and
our hearts stood still.
A dark form suddenly loomed up In
front of me; it looked as big as tho
Woolworth building. I could hear
tho blood rushing through my elns
and it sounded as loud as Niagara
falls.
Forms seemed to cmcrgo from tho
darkness. Thero wero soven of them
In nil. I tried to wish them nwny. I
never wished hnrdcr In my life. They
muttered n few words in German and
melted into tho blackness. I didn't
stop wishing either.
All of a sudden wo heard n stumble,
a muddy splash, and n muttered "Don
ner und Blltzen." Que of tho Bochcs
had tumbled Into n shell hole. Neither
of us laughed. At that time It didn't
strlko us as funny.
About twenty minutes after tho Ger
mans hnd disappeared something from
tho rear grabbed rao by tho foot. I
nearly fainted with fright Thon a
wolcomo whisper in a cockney accent
"I .s'y, myto, wo've como to relieve
you."
Wheeler and I crawled bnclc to our
trench; wo looked like wet hens and
folt worse After a swig of rum wo
wero soon fast usJccd on the flro step
In our wot clothes.'
Tho next morning Lwns as stiff ns n
poker mid every joint ached like a
had tooth, but I wnn still nitre, so It
did not mutter,
CHAPTER XVI,
Battery D 2M.
Tho dny after (lilt I received the
glad tidings that t would occupy tho
machine gunners' dugout right near
tho advanced nrtlllery observation
post This dugout was n roomy affair,
dry ns tinder, and real cots In It.
Thcso cots hnd been mifdo by the
It. E.'s who hnd previously occupied
tho dugout I wns tho first to enter
and promptly nmdo a slgnbonrd with
my nnmo and number on It nnd sus
pended It from tho foot of tho most
comfortable cot therein,
In tho trenches It Is always "first
como, first served," nnd this Is lived
up to by nil.
Two R. F. A. men (Iloynl Field nr
tlllery) from tho nearby observation
post woro allowed the privilege of
stopping In this dugout when off duty.
Ono of these men, Bombardier Wil
son by name, who belonged to lint-'
tcry D 238, seemed to tnku a liking
to me, nnd I returned this feeling.
In two days' tlmo wo wero pretty
chummy, nnd ho told mo how his bat
tery In the enrly days of tho war had
put over a stunt on Old Pepper, nnd
had gotten nwny with it.
I will cudenver to give the story ns
far as memory will permit In his own
words :
Despjte the excellent targets
men are not allowed to shell
Frltx, Empey relates In next In
stallment I'fO UK CONTINUED.)
SUCH A SMART BROTHER
But It Is Entirely Probable Sister Did
Not Appreciate His Peculiar
Form of Wit
A young lady In Lnkewood Is of the
opinion that sho Is grown up In which
opinion she Is not encouraged either by
her parents or her older brother. She
Is fifteen, brother Is slxtoen. Sho thlnke
that young men should be allowed to
call on her In the evening; brother
Jeers, pnrents shnko their heads. !
Finally tho girl's mother consented;
to her hnvlng n certain npproved boy'
call, provided ho camo on a Friday eve-,
nlng. And the excited dnmHcl called j
tho favored youth up on tho phono and
Impnrtcd tho glnd news. It Is pre
sumed thnt tho young mnn (ho was all
of eighteen years old) spent n good
deal of tlmo nt his toilet thnt evening
certainly tho young lady took great
caro of hers. She wns still primping
when tho swnln rung tho doorbell.
Brother answered.
"Ah," began tho caller, clearing his
throat. "Is Miss Jones nt home?"
"Come in," nnswercd Brolhor, cqulv'
ocnlly. Then ho wont to tho foot of
the stnlrs nnd cnllcd
"Molly i Quit cuttln' pnper dolls nn'
come downstairs. One of your ploy
mntes wants to see you 1' Cleveland
Plain Denier.
" Always In.
It was tho shopping period, and Mis
Smith thought sho would "drop In" on
Mrs, Jones mid usk her If sho would
assist her In tho nohlu art of present
hunting. "Is your mistress In?" sho asked the
young imild.
"Yes, miss," wns the prompt roply.
Sho was shown Into tho drawing
room. But un hour passed and no
Mrs. Jones nppeared. At last tho lady
got up and cnllcd to the muld:
"Did you tell your mistress I wae
hero?" she asked.
"Oh. no. miss," replied tho ' girt
quickly; "sho hasn't returned from
shopping yet"
"Not returned I" exclaimed tho as
tonlshcd visitor.
"No, miss. You seo tho mistress told
mo sho was always homo to you'."
Long Ride Before Him.
A cyclist who stopped at u village
Inn boasted about his abilities as a
rider to such on extent -that the land
lord ventured to moke n wager with
lilm,
"Look hero, mister" said tho Inn
keeper, "you enn't rldo up nnd dowa
this rood till tho church clock strike
sir."
"Done," said tho cyclist. "It's Just
close on flvo now;" ond tho next rain
uto ho wns speeding down tho rond.
After nbout an hour's riding the
cvcltst shouted to ono nt im
standors, of whom many hnd nuom.
bled:
"I say. has tho church elnrir it tni Mr
sir yet?"
"No. you Idiot." wns (ho ht,ti
ply. "Our church clock never strikes
at nil." London Tlt-Blts.
Two Kinds.
Thero In n nlnen In ihn
- w nu(u VI
reformers. Reformers nro tho gontle-
mon who creatou our great Declara
tion of Independence, and tho Constl
tutlon of tho United States, Bless
them, wo say, At tho hiiuio time
there should bo moro tmnlllvi. mfni-m.
era nnd fower nnimflvn ntn
latter being well-mennlng persons who
are always ngnliist Nomuthlng and net
for anything. Atchison Globe,
THE ONWARD MARCH of Bronchi
v (Is ami deop seated Coughs
V I" irroslnll by Doctor
M Plorco's (lotduii Medical
K Dlscovory.
uX. In thoao scrofulous con
Bfe dltloug of the blood which
Invito, Consumption; In
novum, lingering Coughs,
and W'enk Lungs, which
threaten you with thin fft
Mm tnl disease, and wliou nth
b m M or help linn fnllod this
mj I mnllelno U n proved rem-
As a hlood-eloaiiKor, strength restor
er, and tonlo It Is sure to benefit In
nil lingering Bronchial nnd Throat af
fections, and In tfvnry dlsenso thnt
can bo reached through tho blood, It
uuvor falls to benefit or euro. In tab
lot or liquid form. Tablets 00c.
The machinery of tho body needs to
ho well oiled, kept in good condition
Just ns tho automobile, tdcnm cubIiio
or hleyclo. Why should tho human
neglect his own machinery moro than
that of his horso or his onglnoT Yet
most people do noglcct' themselves.
Clean tho system at leant onco a week
with Dr. Plorco's Pleasant Pellets.
Adv.
Lumber In New Zealand.
MoBt ot tho bettor furnlturo and in
dustrial lumber used In Now Zealand
Is Importod, such as oak, ash, hickory,
etc., nnd comes lnrgoly from tho Uni
ted States, United Kingdom ami Japan.
Dr. Pierce's Peltate nro best for liver,
bowels and stomach. One littlo Pellet
for a laxative three for n cathartic.
SUFFERING CATS!
GIVE THIS MAN
THE GOLD MEDAL
No humbug! Any corn, whether
hard, sort or botwecn the toes, will
loosen right, up and lift out without
a particle ot pain or soreness.
This drug is called freezone and is
a compound of ether discovered by a
Cincinnati man.
Ask at any drug itore for a email
bottlo ot freezone, which will cost but
a trifle, but is auffiolent to rid one's
foot of every corn or callous.
Put a fow drops directly upon any
tender, aching corn or callous. In
stantly the soreness disappears and
shortly tho corn or callous will loosen
and can bo lifted off with tho fingers.
This drug freozone- doesn't eat out
tho corns or callouses but shrlrols
thorn without even irritating the sur
rounding skin.
Just think I No pain at all; no sore
ness or smarting when applying it or
afterwards. If your druggist don't
havo freczono have him order It for
you. Adv.
The Real Test
"Don't concludo that a man Is a pa
tlont mortal bocauso you'vo watched
him sitting on n log fishing," said tho
milk toast philosopher, "Watch him
whllo ho's waiting for his supper."
Cutlcura Stops Itching.
Tho Soap to clennso nnd Ointment to
sootho nnd heal most forms of Itching,
burning skin and scalp affections.
Ideal for toilet use. For freo samples
address, "Cutlcura, Dept. X, Boston."
Sold by druggists nnd by mail. Soap
25, Ointment 25 nnd CO. Adv.
Natural.
'Jovor notlco thnt when a girl Is
protty inon oxpoct her to bo silly?
And thon sho goes and acts up to ex
pectations. Mcmphl Commercial Ap
peal. MOTHERS
TO BE
Should Read Mrs. Monyhan's
Letter Published by
Her Permission
Mitchell, Ind.-'Lydla E. PInkliam's
Vegetable Compound helped mo so much
during tno tuno i
was looklngforward
to tho coming of my
littlo ono that I am
recommending it to
other ox poet nnt
Sothors. Do for a
king It.Bomodnys
I suffered with nou.
ralgla so badly that
I thouuht I could
not live.- but after
taking three bottles
of LydlaE. Pink
ham's Vo Rotable
Compound I was en
tlrolv roliovod of
nournlpiu, 1 had
gained in strength
and was ablo to go
around and do all
my housowork. My baby when soven
months old weighed 10 pounds and I feel
better than I havo for a long time. I
neyor had any medicine uo me so
much good." Mrs. PEAHL MONYUAN,
Mitchell. Ind.
Good health during maternity is a
most important factor to both mother
and child, and many loiters linvo bear
received Jy tho Lydla E. Plnkhnm
fdodlclni fo., Lynn, Mass., tolling of
leBlthn'storeddiirJngthls trying period
iy tho uhu of Lydb E. PJiiklianra Vege
table Compound. '