66
OVER
By An American Artliisir Giay Empey
SoldlrlIlO WIlt Machine Gunner, Serving in France
CHAPTER XXVI Continued.
The presence of tho It A. M. C. men
'did not seem to disturb tho raiders, be
cause many n joke made In an under-
Itone, was passed along tho winding
column, ns to who would be tlrst to
take n ride on one of the stretchers.
'This was generally followed by a wish
that. If you were to be the one, the
wound would be a "cushy mighty
one."
The stretcher bearers, no doubt
hoping that. If they did have to carry
anyone to tho rear, he would be small
and light. Perhaps they looked at me
when wishing, because I could feel an
uncomfortable, boring sensation he
tween my shoulder blades. They got
their wish all right.
Going up this trench, about every
sixty yards or so we would pass a lone
jly sentry, who in a whisper would
, wish us "the best o' luck, mates." Wo
i would blind nt him under our breaths;
that Jonah phrase to us sounded very
ominous.
' Without any casualties the minstrel
troop arrived nt Suicide ditch, tho
: front-line trench. Previously, a wiring
party of the Royal Engineers had cut
a lane through our barbed wire to en
:able us to get out Into No Man's Land.
Crawling through this lane, our
party of twenty took up an extended
order formation about one yard apart
We had a tap code arranged for our
movements while In No Sinn's Land,
because for various reasons It Is not
safe to carry on a heated conversation
a few yards In front of Fritz' lines.
The officer was on the right of the
line, while I was on the extreme left.
Two taps from tho right would be
.passed down the line until I received
them, then I would send back one tap.
The officer, In receiving this one tap,
would know that his order had gone
.down the whole line, had been under
stood, and that the party was ready
to obey the two-tap signal. Two taps
'meant that we were to crawl forward
slowly and believe me, very slowly-
for Ave yards, and then halt to await
further Instructions. Three taps meant,
when you arrived within striking dis
tance of the German trench, rush It
and Inflict ns many casualties as pos
. sible, secure a couple of prisoners, and
then back to your own lines with the
speed clutch open. Four taps meant,
I have gotten you into a. position from
which It Is Impossible for me to extri
cate you, so you are on your own."
After getting Tommy into n mess on
,the western front he Is generally told
, that he Is "on his own." This means,
"Save your skin In any way possible."
Tommy loves to be "on bis own" behind
the Hues, but not during a trench raid
. The star shells from the German
lines were falling in front of us, there
fore we were safe. After about twen
ty minutes we entered the star, shell
,zone. A star shell from the German
jllnes fell about five yards In the rear
;and to tie right of me; we hugged the
ground and held our breath until It
burned out. The smoke from tho star
i shell traveled along tho ground and
crossed over the middle of our line.
ISome Tommy sneezed. The smoke had
gotten up his nose. We crouched on
the ground, cursing the offender under
our breath, and wulted the v6lley that
generally ensues when tho Germans
have heard a noise In No Man's Land.
Nothing happened. We received two
taps nnd crawled forward slowly for
Ave yards; no doubt the ofllcer be
lieved what Old Pepper had said, "Per
sonally I believe that that part of tho
German trench Is unoccupied." By be
ing careful and remaining motionless
when tho star shells fell behind us, we
reached the German barbed wlro with
out mishap. Then the fun began. I
was scared stiff ns It Is ticklish work
cutting your wuy through wire when
about thirty feet In front of you there
Is a line of Bodies looking out Into No
Man's Land with their rifles lying
ncross the parapet, straining every
sense to seo or hear what Is going on
in No Man's Land; because at night,
Fritz never knows when n bomb with
his name and number on It will come
hurtling through the air aimed In the
direction of Berlin. Tho man on the
right, one man In tho center and ray
self on the extreme left wero equipped
with wire cutters. These ure Insulated
with soft rubber not becnuso tho Ger
raun wires are charged with electricity,
but to prevent tho cutters rubbing
ngulnst the barbed wiro stakes, which
are of Iron, nnd making u nolso
which may warn the Inmutcs of tho
trench that somcono Is getting fresh
In their front yard. Thero Is only ono
way to cut n bnrbed wlro without nolso
mid through costly experience Tommy
Jin s become nil expert In doing Mil,
You jniist gruHi Hi" wlro nbout two
ma
Copyright tPIT, Atlhur Ouy Ktupr
Inches from tho stako In your riirht
hand nnd cut between the stake nnd
your hand.
If you cut n wlro Improperly, n
loud twnng will ring out on the nlghl
air llko the snapping of a banjo
string. Perhnps this nolso can be
heard only for fifty or seventy-llvo
yards, but In Tommy's mind It makes
u loud nolso In Berlin.
Wo had cut n lnno about halfway
through the wire when, down tho ecu
ter of our line, twnng I went nn Im
properly cut wire. We crouched down,
cursing under our breath, trembling nil
over, our knees lacerated from tho
strands of tho cut barbed wlro on tho
ground, waiting for n challenge nnd
tho Inevitable volley of rltle lire. Noth
ing happened. I suppose tho fellow
who cut tho barbed wire Improperly
was the one who had sneezed nbout
half nn hour previously. What wo
wished him would never tunke his new
year a happy one.
Tho otllcer, In my opinion, nt tho
noise of tho wire should have given tho
four-tap signal, which meant, "On your
own, get back to your trenches ns
quickly ns possible," but ognln he must
have relied on the spiel that Old Pep
per had given us In tho dugout, "Per
sonally i believe that that part of tho
German trench Is unoccupied." Any
wny, we got careless, but not so care
less that we sang pntrlotlc songs or
made any unnecessary noise.
During the Intervals of falling star
shells we carried on with our wire cut
ting until at Inst wc succeeded In get'
ting through the German bnrbed wire,
At this point we were only ten feet
from the Germnn trenches. If we were
discovered, we were llko rats In a trap,
Our wny was cut off unless we ran
along the wire to the narrow lane we
had cut through. With our hearts In
our mouths we waited for the three-
tap slgnnl to rush the German trench.
Three taps had gotten nbout halfway
down the line when suddenly about ten
to twenty German star shells were
flred all along the trench nnd landed
In the barbed wire In rear of us, turn
ing night Into day and silhouetting us
against the wall of light made by the
flares. In tho glaring light we were
confronted by the following unplcnsant
scene.
All nlong the German trench, nt
about three-foot Intervals, stood a big
Prussian gunrdsman with his rifle nt
the aim, and then wo found out why
we had not been challenged when the
man sneezed nnd the bnrbed wire had
been Improperly cut. About three feet
In front of the trench they had con
structed a single fence of bnrbed wire
and we knew our chances were ono
thousand to one of returning alive.
We could not rush their trench on nc
count of this second defense. Then
in front of me the challenge, "Halt,"
given In English rang out, and oup of
the finest things I have ever heard on
the western front took place.
From the middle of our line some
Tommy answered the challenge with,
"Aw, go to h 1." It must have been
the man who had sneezed or who had
Improperly out the barbed wlro; ho
wanted to show Fritz that ho could
die game. Then came the vol toy. Ma
chine guns were turned looso and sev
eral linmlin wr thrown In our roar.
The Boche In front of me was looking
down his sight. This fellow might
have, under ordinary circumstances,
been hnndsorae, but when I viewed him
from the front of his rifle ho had tho
goblins of childhood Imagination rele
gated to the shade.
Then came n flash In front of me, tho
flare of his rifle and my head seemed
to burst. A bullet had hit me on the
left side of my faco about half un
Inch from my eye smashing tho cheek
bones. I put my hand to my face and
fell forward, biting tho ground and
kicking my feet I thought I was dy
ing, but, do yon know, my past llfo did
not unfold before me tho way It docs
In novels.
Tho blood was streaming down my
tunic, and tho pain was awful. When
I came to I said to myself, "Emp, old
boy, you belong In Jersey City, nnd
you'd better get back thero as quickly
as possible."
Tho bullets were cracking overhead.
I crawled a fow feet back to tho Ger
man barbed wlro, und In a stooping po
sition, guiding myself by tho wire, I
went down tho lino looking for tho
lano wo had cut through. IleforoJ
reaching this lano I enmo to n limn
form which seemed llko a bag of oats
hanging over tho wlro. In the dim
light I could see that Its hands wero
blackened, nnd knew It was tho body
of ono of my mutes, I put my hand
on his howl, tWo top of which hud been
blown off by u bomb, My Angers sunk
Into Iho liolo, I pulled my bund buck
TOP"
full of blood nnd brnlns, then I went
crazy with fear and horror and rushed
nlong tho wlro until I rnmo to our
lane. I hnd Just turned down this lano
when something Inside of mo seemed
to say, "Look nrouml." 1 did so ; n bul
let caught mo on the left shoulder. It
did not hurt much. Just felt ns If some-
ono hnd punched mo In tho back, nnd
then my left side wont numb. My nrm
was dangling like a rng. I fell fonvnrd
In n sitting position. But nil tho fear
had left mo nnd 1 was consumed with
rage and cursed tho German trenches.
With my right hand I felt In my tunic
for my flrst-nld or shell dressing. In
feeling over my tunic my bund enmo
In contact with one of tho bombs which
I carried. Gripping It, I pulled tho pin
out with my teeth and blindly throw It
townrds tho German trench. I must
have boon out of my head, becnuso I
wus only U n feet from the trench nnd
took n chuiico of being mangled. If
the bomb had failed to go Into tho
trench I would hnvo been blown to
bits by tho explosion of my own bomb.
By tho flare of the explosion of the
bomb, which lit klly landed In their
trench, I saw one big Boche throw up
his arms and full backwards, while his
rifle, flew Into tlu nlr. Another ono
wilted and fell forward across tho
sandbags then blackness.
Itctillzlng what a foolhardy nnd risky
thing I hnd done, I was again seized
with n horrible fear. I dragged myself
to my feet nnd run mndly down tho
lano through the barbed wire, stum'
tiling over cut wires, tearing my uni
form, nnd 'Incerntlng my hands nnd
legs. Just as I was nbout to reach
No Man's Land ngaln, that samo voice
In "Blighty."
seemed to sny, "Turn around." I did
so, when, "crack," another bullet
caught me, this tlmo In tho left shoul
der about one-half Inch away from tho
other wound. Then It was taps for me.
Tho lights went out.
When I camo to I was crouching In
n holo In No Man's Land. This shell
hole was about three feet deep, so that
It brought my head a fow Inches below
tho level of the ground. How I reached
this hole I will never know. German
"typewriters" wero traversing bnck
and forth In No Mnn's Land, tho bul
lets biting tho edge of my shell holo
and throwing dirt nil over me.
Overhead shrapnel was bursting.
I could hear tho fragments slap tho
ground. Then I went out onco more.
When I came to everything was sllcnco
nnd darkness In No Man's Land. I
was soaked with blood and n big flnp
from tho wound In my cheek was hang
ing over my mouth. The blood run
ning from this flap choked mo. Out of
tho corner of my mouth I would try
and blow It bnck, but It would not
move. I reached for my shell dressing
nnd tried, with ono hand, to bundage
my face to provent tho flow. I hnd
an nwful horror of bleeding to death
and was getting very faint. You would
hnvo laughed If you hod seen my
ludicrous attempts at bandaging with
ono hand. Tho pains In my wounded
shoulder were awful nnd I was getting
sick at tho stomach. I gavo up tho
bandaging stunt ns a bad Job, and then
fainted.
When I enmo to, hell was let loose.
.An Intetiso bombardment was on, nnd
on mo wnoio my position was acciuuu
ly impJensunt. Then, suddenly, our
barrugo censed. Tho nllenoo utmost
hurt, but not for long, because Fritz
turned looso with shrapnel, iniichlno
guns, nnd rlflo fire. Then nil along our
lino camo a cheer nnd our boys emtio
over llio lop In n dmrgo, Thu first
wnvo wus romposcd of "Jocks, 'iliey
wero n tnngntflcent sight, kilts, flapping
In tho wind, bare knees showing, und
their bayonets glistening. In tho first
wnvo that passed my shell hole, ono (if
thu "Jocks," nn Innuendo fellow, nbout
six fect two Inches In height Jumped
right over me. On tho right nnd tuft
of inu several soldiers In colored kilts
wero huddled on tho ground, then over
camo tho second wnvo, nlso "Jocks."
Ono young Hcottlo, when hn ' ciiinu
nbrenst of my shell hole, leaped Into
tho nlr, bin rlflo shooting out of his
hniulsniidliig about six foot In front
of him, bayonet first, and stuck In Iho
ground, the butt trembling. This Im
pressed mo greatly.
TO I IK CONTINUED.)
COMPARES MEN WITH TIRES
Phlloiopher Atierta That tho Impor
tant Auto Fixture It Not Unlike
Some of Human Race.
"Tho more I hnvo to do with nuto
mobile tires," snld Philosopher Jim,
"tho hotter I understand men, Thero
Is no limit to tho comparisons that
might bo made, but let mo nsk your at
tention for Just ono of them. It turns
upon tho way thoy come to mi cud,
men and tires hllko.
"On my little roadster I may hnvo at
ono nnd the sumo tlmo two tires of
such dirfcrent character ns this:
"Ono has served long and well. It
seems sound ns ever, mid still looks
good for n lot of work. But Its healthy
nppearanco Is deceptive: It bus n
vnst number of well hidden decayed
colls.
"They began to go separately, not In
masses. No ono part of that tiro woro
out all by Itself. Tho wholo thing has
been slowly, subtly honeycombed with
wear.
"Tho limit Is reached suddenly. Tho
end, prepared for slowly nnd In tho
dnrk, comes swiftly; and It Is a very
complete end. The tiro la a goner, tho
doctor can do nothing for It.
"Some men end llko that; seemingly
vigorous ono day; nnd tho next day,
on the scrap heap.
"And then thero aro tires nnd men
thnt go tho other way. They soem
worn nnd weakened, but thoy nro
sound Inside. Tho shell goes first, tho
Inner tube retains Its usefulness. You
know they nro going, but they always
seem good for another day's work, an
other hundred miles. They will stand
u lot of patching.
'Tires nro mighty human, and that's
why I really jnjoy fussing with them."
Why Orldes Love June.
The tlrst people to adopt tho month
of Juno ns sacred to Hymen, tho god of
marriage, wero tho ancient Ilomnns,
who considered Juno tho most propi
tious season of tho year for entering
upon mntrlmonlnl relations. Tho Horn
ana held that Juno weddings wero like
ly to bo happier than alliances con
tracted In any other months of tho
year, especially If tho day chosen wero
that of tho full moon. They also held
thnt of all months Mny was to bo
avoided, as In that month newlyweds
would comn under tho Influence of
spirits adverse to happy households.
These ancient marriage superstitions
wero related by tho Christians In tho
mlddlo ages, and even today Juno Is
considered by many to bo pre-eminently
the month of marriages. Tho word
"wedding" Is derived from tho ancient
Anglo-Saxon "wed" custom.
Royal Needlewomen.
Most of tho European queens noted
In history's pages wero oxpert needle
women. Mnry Queen of Scots Is snld
to hnvo been particularly clover with
tho neodle, Hardwlck hall being
adorned with many of her tapestries.
Appllquo was popular In tho mlddlo
nges, not only on quilts, but on wear
ing nppnrel. A peculiar court custom
sprang up In the rolgn uf Charles T,
thnt known as "drizzling," according
to an old text This term was applied
to tho ripping out of tho gold threads
of wonderful Chlneso embroideries to
obtain tho braid for tbolr gowns. Ono '
noblewomnn wroto thnt "all the ladles
who do not play cards pick gold. It
Is tho most general fashion I cvor nnw,
nnd they all carry bags containing tho
necessary tools." Exchange
Reliable Workers.
trlnHtna nt nnrvnum nml nttini Ilia
. . t . I
snouiu iieep um hi uiu mr uuu nun
shine, get nil tho cxorclso posslhlo, nnd
then go to bed "with tho chickens."
This "formula" will woo sleep whon all
other helps fall ; hut lato bourn -post
poned rotlrlng will only add to these
persons' woes. Early rising and early
retiring always go hand In hand.
Hence, tho business girl or woman
should, If sho has her own best Inter
ests nt heart, taboo lato rotlrlng. 01 h
erwlso It in out of tho question to ex
pect that sho can report nt her desk
or In tho workroom with calm cool
nerves, or feeling physically able to
dlsposo of tier day's tasks whntover
thoy mny bo.
Remember This.
Overwork Just beforo serving of
nieiilH, inoro limn nuy other thing, has
kept women from being recognized by
men ns equal thinkers,
A WW olbbinnlfig i;ppanilu heals
and lights lliu room at llio snmo llmu.
Cure for Hiccoughs.
To stop hiccoughs, rIvo tho patient
n tonnpoonful of granulated nugnr find
vinegar. It this does not afford relief
nt onco, repent tho done.
Nltro-Starch Possibilities.
Nltro starch, inuro compact than, thu
allied nitrocellulose or guncottoii,
soonis to promlsn great offleluncy nn u
bliiHtlng explosive.
One Advantage.
Tho follow who tolls nil ho known
linn ono good point- ho will never do
nnythliig wrong If ho tolls nbout it
beforo and nftttr. Farm Llfo.
LISTEN TO THIS!
SAYS CORNS LIFT
RIGHT OUT NOW
You coru-puatorod men and woman
need auffor no longor. Wear tho shoes
that nearly killed you before, saya
tills Cincinnati authority, bocauso a
fow drops of froczono applied directly
on a tondor, aching com or callous
stops sorenoaa at onco and noon tho
corn or hardened callous loosens so It
can bo lifted out, root and all, with
out pain.
A small bottle of froeiono coata
vory llttlo at nuy drug atoro, but till
positively tako off ovory hard or soft
corn or callous. This should bo trlod
as It la Inoxponslvo and la said not
to Irrltato tho surrounding akin.
If your druggist hasn't any frooiono
toll him to got a email bottio for you
from hla wholoaalo drug houao. It la
flno atuff and nota llko a charm ovory
time. AdT.
Testing Pineapples.
Tho rlponoss of n plnonpplo mny bo
touted by pulling Its loaves. If thoy
do not pluck readily tho plnonpplo In
not ready to bo uaod.
Look and Feel
Clean, Sweet and
Fresh Every Day
Drink b glaas of real hot water
before breakfast to waih
out poisons.
Llfo is not merely to live, but to
Ilvo well, cat woll, digest well, work
well, sloop woll, look woll. What n
glorious condition to attain, and yot
how vory easy It la If ono will only
adopt tho morning Insldo bath.
Folks who aro accustomed to fool
dull and heavy when thoy arlso, split
ting headache, stuffy from a cold, foul
tonguo, nasty brcnlh, ncld stomach,
can, lustond, fcol as fresh ns n daisy
by opening tho sluices of tho syotom
each morning nnd flushing out tho
wholo of tho Internal poisonous stag
nant mattor.
Everyone, whether ailing, sick or
well, should, each morning, boforo
breakfast, drink n glass of rent hot
water with a toaspoonful of llmostono
phosphato In it, to wash from tho
stomach, llvor, kidneys nnd bowols tho
previous day's lndlgostlblo waste
sour bllo nnd poisonous toxins. Tho
action of hot wntor and llmostono
phosphato on an empty stomach Is
woudorfully Invigorating. It cleans
out nil tho sour fcrmontatlons, gases,
wnsto nnd acidity nnd gives ono a
splendid nppotlto for breakfast
Tho millions of pooplo who aro
bothered with constipation, bilious
spoils, stomach trouble, rheumatism;
others who hnvo Ballow skins, blood
disorders nnd sickly complexions, nro
urged to got a quarter pound of llmo
stono phosphnto from tho drug store,
which will cost vory llttlo, but Is suf
ficient to mnko nnyono n prnnouncod
crank on tho subjoct of internal san
itation. Concrete Telegraph Poles.
Tho Now Zealand govornmont Is re
placing Its woodon telegraph polos and
lettor box posts with others of rein
forced concroto.
STOP LOSING CALVES
You can Stamp Abortion Out
op Youn iieud und Keep It Out
By tho uso of
Dr. David Robert'
"ANTI-ABORTION"
Small Expense,
Easily Applied. Sure Knulli,
Utcd ucmfully for.'IOycart.
II anlinal !lmi.;il, IriforinHtluii fri-o, Html for
PllJCIScouyor '"III Calllf HwtUW vrllli full
Information on Aborllun In Cuwi,
Dr.Otittfitorlt' M Co, CrOi0., WwtuU Wl,