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PAGE TWO "Over the Top" By An American Soldier Who Went ARTHUR GUY EMPEY Mac/tint Gunner Serving in Franct \ UJop.Tr.gbu iai:, by ArUiurOuy Miupor) (Contluued From La*t Issue. > CHAPTER XIII. My First Official Bath. Right behind our rest billet wai large creek about ten feet deep i twenty feet ucross. anil it was a hi 4>t the company to avail themselves an opportunity to take a swim and the same time thoroughly was|) tin .selves and their underwear when their own. We were having a spell .hot weather, nnd these baths to were a luxury- The Tommies wo 4Splash around In the water and tl wcoine out and sit In the sun and hi jwhnt they termed a "shirt hunt." Jlrst we tried to drown the "cootU but they also seemed to enjoy the bi One Sunday morning the whole s tlon was In the creek and we were h dug a gay time, when the sergeant i *Jor appeared on the scene. He en to the edge of the creek and order "Come out of It. Oct your equipm on. 'drill order." and fall in for hi parade. Look lively, my hearties. ^ have only got fifteen minutes." A hi of Indignation from the creek gree this order, but out we came. Ph pline is discipline. We lined up front of our billet with rifles ami b onets (why you need rifles and ba nets to take a bath gets me), a f quota of ammunition, and our tin hi Kach man had a piece of soap ant: towel. After an eight-kllo march air a dusty road, with an occasional sh whistling overhead, we arrived at little squat frame tmildlnj: upon I bank of a creek. Mailed over the dc f } 5 ! V 11/a J if! umi/i * . "** ' >* && ^ : ' %? 1^5. .^'iiii^^j^'-j \ ^T;ir.r:r i Throwing Hand Grenades. of thl? huildlnp vra* a large sign whl read "Divisional Baths." In a wood shod in the roar wo could hoar wheezy old engine pumping water. We lined up in front of tho hat] soaked with perspiration, and (til our rifios into stacks. A sergeant the H. A. M. with u yellow ha Kiround his left arm on which w **8. I'." (sanitary police) in hlack I ,ters, took charge. ordering us to ta oft our equipment, unroll our putt* und unluce hoots. Then, starting fr< the right of the line, he divided ilnto squads of fifteen. 1 happened be In the first squad. We entered a small room, where ' wore given live inlnntey to undre "then filed into tlie bntliroom. In lu A Bathroom at the Front. there were fifteen fobs (barrela kbw In two) half full of water. Each t contained a piece of htnndry soap. T wergennt Informed na that we had Jt twelve mlnntea in which to take o . *> v^vnmvT ^3U l.utl.s. Soaping ourselves ull over, i took turns In rubbing each othei backs, theu by means of a garden hos washed the soap off. The water w lee cold, but felt fine. Pretty soon a bell rang and the w ter was turned off. Some of the slow ones were covered with soap, but t! made no difference to the sorgeai who chased us Into another roo where we lined up In front of a liti window, resembling the box office In theater, and received dean underwe and towels. From here we went In the room where we had first undress* ! Ten minutes were allowed In which get Into our "clabber." My pair of drawers mine up to i ' chin anil the shirt barely reached i R a diaphragm, but they were clean? find at rangers on them, so 1 was sntisfh 'bit At the expiration of the time nll< ' of ted we were turned out and tiuish ut our dressing on the grass, cm- J When all of the company had hath "n It was a ease of march back to bllle 1 That march was the most unoongenl ns > one imagined, just cussing and bliti u'^ | lug all the way. We were covered wl on white dust and felt greasy from swei nve The woolen underwear issued w ^ Itching like the mischief. !S- After eating our dinner of ste 'tb. which had been kept U>r us?It w ;<>c* now four o'clock?we went into t nv- ffp,,!; Hn,j flJMj another hath, mi- y "Holy Joe" could have heard o remurks about the divisional hat '* ' | and army red tape he would ha ' th ! m,r "X-kednes*. Hut Toi '' my Is only human after all. I Just mentioned "Holy Joe" or t ^ chaplain in an irreverent sort of wti I but no offense was meant, ns the . wore some very brave men amoi lD them. uvVf>_ There are so many instances of h "nil rol<" deeds performed under fire In rt |ts cning the wounded that it would tnl I ' several books to chronicle them, but huve to mention one instance p< I formed by a chaplain. Captain Hall 1 a name, in tiie brigade on our left, h cause It particularly appealed to m r A chaplain Is not a fighting man; 1 is recognized as a noncomhntnix nt n carries no arms. In a charge or tren< ) rflld f ho o n : - ? a irrillig ??l lO fldenee from rontnct with his rifle. r volver. or bomb ho Ih carrying. Ho hi j something to protect himself wit .* ' j something with which ho can infll I harm on the enemy?In other word ; !; he Is able to got his own back. Put the chaplain Ik empty-hande and Ik at the mercy of the enemy jjjf he encounters them, so It Is iouhl : brave for him to go over the top. undt v lire, and bring In wounded. Also ? > chaplain is not required by the king regulations to go over In a charge, hi ^ this one did. made three trips undt $ the hottest kind of fire, each time r< ^ turning with a wounded man ??n h r back. On the third trip he receive $ a bullet through his left arm. but next % reported the matter to the doctor unt 3 lute that night?Just spent his time a< 3? ministering to the wants of the wount ed lying on stretchers. Is I The chaplains of the British arm are a fine, manly set of men. and ar * greatly respected by Tommy. CHAPTER XIV. f'h Picks and Shovels. cn i had not slept long before the ewee n vo.e < eif the sergeant informed thi "No. i section hucj clicked for uaoth' ?(j blinking digging pjirty." I smiled ((f myself with deep satisfaction. 1 It: n(j l>e? tt promoted from a ntere digger ,hg a member of the Suicide club, and w: exempt from all fatigues. Then can Ijp an awful shock. The sergeant look* >es <)ver in my direction and said : tin "Iton't you homh throwers think yc ?M are wearing top hats out here. 'Cor to in" to orders you've been taken up < the strength of this section, and wl have to do your hit with the pick ar ss shovel, same as the rest of us." >re ; I put up a how l on my way to g< I my shovel, but the only thing that r ?i suited was a loss of good humor e my part. We fe-ll in at eight o'clock, outsh of our billets, a sort of mnsquerne party. I was disguised as a contrite laborer, had a pick and shovel, ar ^ about erne hundred empty sandbag P The rest, nhont two hutielreel in a! ; were- equipped likewise: picks, shovel *| sandhags, rifles nn<! ammunition. Tlte juirty moved out in column < h four- taking the- road leading to tl j| tr- ne In-.. Several time s we hud J f-trilig ' lit in the elite It to let h'tig e < lifitTis of limber*. artillery and snpplh get past. The mnrching, under these cone! sa g t! >ns. was neeossnrlly slow. I'mm a * rivnl mi the entrance to the cominur cation trench, I looked at my illun nnt'i) wrist watch?it was elevc o'clock. Before entering this trench, wen was passed down the line, "no talkie or smoking lead off in single file, co cring party first." This covering party consisted of ' men. armed with rifles, bayonet bombs, and two Lewis machine gun 1 They Were to protect us and gum against a surprise attack while di ging in No Man's Land. The communication trench wt about half a mile long, a zigznggir ! ditch, eight feet deep and three fe< wide. Now and again, German shrnpn would whistle overhead and burst I our vicinity. We would crouch again the earthen wulls while the shell fra ments "slapped" the ground above u Once Fritz turned loose with u in chine gun, the bullets from whit nh "cracked" through the air and klek? hft up the dirt on the top. scattering snr and pebbles, which, hitting our ate u_f heliuets, aoundea like hailstones. THE LANCASTER N itp j Tpon arrival In the fire trench ?r r's officer of the Itoyai Engineers gave ut <e. our instructions and acted as guide, as We were to dig an advanced trencfc two hundred yurds froin the Germans a- (the trenches at this point were sli er hundred yards apart), ds i Two winding lanes, five feet wide nt. had heeu cot through our harbed wire ?u, iur r iuiii tie ! these lines white tape had been laid ie. Trench Digging. on the ground to the point where we were to commence work. This in orn dor that we would not get lost In the * darkness. The proposed trench was also laid out with tape. ' The covering party went out first. After a short wait, two scouts came fi back with information that the working party was to follow and "carry on" P* uitti u-..rb In extended order, two yards apart, we noiselessly crept across No Man's r Laud. It was nervous work ; every ,a minute we expected a machine pun to * open lire on us. Stray bullets "cracked" 11 around us. or a ricochet sanp over!F head. Arrivinp at the taped diapram of ' the trench, rifles slunp around our shoulders, we lost no time in pettinp I" to work. We dup us quietly as posI siMe hut every now aiul then the nois? of ji pick or shovel strikinp a stone would send the cold shivers (lawn our ! hacks. Under our breaths we hcartll> ^ cursed the olTendinp Totntny. At intervals a star shell would po uj from the ( erumn lines and w? would rep i in motionless until the plare of its white llpht died out. Win n the trench had reached a t depth of two feet we felt safer, be ' cause it .vould afford us covor in oust fit wo were discovered and fired nn. l'r Tim digging had ?>< < n in progrest '|j about two hours, who* suddenly h?dl seemed to tireak loose in the form of iimchine-gun and rifle tire. ( We dropped down on our bellies in j the shallow trench, bullets knocking up the ground and snapping in the air. Then shrapnel hutted In The music j was hot and Tommy danced. The covering party was having a II rough time of it; they had no cover; j Just had to take their medicine. Word was passed down the line to l beat it for our trenches. We needed no ^ urging; grabbing our tools arid stooping low, we legged it across No Man's Land. The covering party got away . to a poor start but beat us in. They must have had wings because we low)e , . , ered the record. ((l ('anting and out of breath, we tumbled into our front-line trench. I tore II my bands getting through our wire, hut. at the time, didn't notice it ; tnv s. Journey was too urgent. rij When the roll was called we found ( that we had gotten it In ttie nose for (Jfl casualties. to (j. Our artillery put n barrage on Frlfz* |>s front-line and entumuuicatlon trenelies ntnl their machine-gun and rifle tire suddenly censed. r. Upon the cessation of this fire. ,|. stretcher hearers went out to look for ,p killed and wounded. Next day we 10h rn t Lo * 4>1 '- ^ * * * > .i ?>i iMir iiii'ii nuo neen ; killi'i! niul .'57 wounded. Five men were -,j missing; lost in tlie darkness, they must ha\e wandered over into the <!erv. innri lines, where they were either killed or captured. Speaking of stretcher hearers and ? wounded, it is very hard for the avers age civilian to comprehend the enor.(j mous cost of taking cure of wounded and the war in general, lie or she gets ] so accustomed to seeing billions of dob JH I lnrs in print that the significance of ' the amount is passed over without pt thought. From an oflfleinl statement published In one of the London papers, It is ' stated that It costs between six and j seven thousand pounds ($.'10,000 to $.TV s fHK?) to kill or wound a soldier. This result was attnlned h?- taking the cost u* of the war to date arid dividing It by ^ the killed and wounded. It may sound heartless and Inhuman, but It Is a fact, nevertheless, that from a military atnnd|>olnt It Is better for a man to be billed than wounded. _ If a man Is killed he Is buried, and EWS, LANCASTER S. C. > ! the responsibility of the government i ' ceases, excepting for the fact that his people receive a pension. But If a man i is wounded it takes throe men from i the firing line, the wounded roun and : two men to carry him to the rear to the advanced first-aid post. Here he Is , attended by a doctor, perhaps assisted by two R. A. M. C. men. Then he Is i put Into a motor ambulance, manned I by a crew of two or three. At the field hospital, where he ??*nemllv > on. ! _ ? ?' n^" " "" j der an nupstlirtlc, either to have his i wounds cleaned or to he operated on, I he requires the services of ahout three { to five persons. From this point another ambulance ride impresses more | men in his service, and then at the am- , j hulance train, another corps of doc- j tors. It. A. M. O. men. Red Cross nurses ! I arid the train's crew. From the train i he enters the base hospital or casualty j ! clearing station, where a good-sized | I corps of doctors, nurses, etc.. are kept j busy. Another ambulance Journey is n? \t In order?this time to the hospital j ship. He crosses the channel, arrives j in Blighty?more ambulances and per- j haps a ride for five hours on an Kng- i lisli Red Cross train with its crew of j Red Cross workers, and at last he I reaches the hospital. (Jenerally he i stays from two to six months, or long- ' er. In this hospital. From here he is sent to a convalescent home for six weeks. II by wounds he is unfitted for fur- J tlier service, he is discharged, given a pension, or committed to a soldiers' i home for the rest of his life?and still the expense piles up. When you realize that all the ambulances, trains and ships. not to mention the man power. used in transporting a woniKlci] man, could bo used for supplies, ammunition and re-enforcements for the troops at the front, it will not appear strange j that from a strictly military stand- I point, a dead man is sometimes better I than a live one (if wounded). Not long after the first digging party, our general decided, after a careful tour of inspection of the communication trenches, upon "an ideal spot," as lie termed it, for a machine-gun emplacement ; took his map. made a dot on it, and as lie was wont, wrote "dig ' here," and the next night we dug. There were twenty In tne party, myself included. Armed with picks, shovels and empty sandbags we arrived at the "Ideal spot" and started digging. The moon was very bright. Km ?? win inn care as we were well out of sight of the German Hues. We had gotten about three feet down, when the fellow next to me. after a mighty stroke with his pick. let go of the handle, and pinched his nose j with his thumb and forefinger, at the! same time letting out the explosion. I "Gott strafe me pink. I'm bloody well gassed, not 'alf I ain't." I qnirklyj turned in his direction with an inquir-1 ing look, at the same instant reaching for my gas bag. I soon found out what j was ailing him. One whiff was enough ' and I lost no time in also pinching my , nose. The stench was awful. Th? rest of the digging party dropped their j picks imd shovels antl beat it for the weather side of that solitary pick. The officer came over and inquired why the work had suddenly censed, holding our noses, we simply pointed in the direction of the smell. lie went over to the pick, immediately clapped his hand over his nose, made an "about turn" j tind came back, .lust then our captain came along and investigated, but after abc.it a minute said we had bet-j ter carry on with the digging, tlwit lie did not see why we should have 1 stopped as the odor was very faint. ' I but If necessary he would ullow us our | gas helmets while digging. He would ! stay and see the thing through, hut he had to report hack to brigade head- , quarters immediately. We wished that we were captains and also had ti date j at brigade headquarters. With our gus , helmets on we again attacked that hole and uncovered the decomposed body of a German; the pick was sticking In his chest. One of the men fainted. I was that one. t'pon this our lieutenant halted proceedings and sent word hack ' to headquarters and word came hack that after we filled In the hole we could knock off for the night. This was welcome tidings to us, because? Next day the general changed the ; dot on his map and another einplnce; merit was completed the following I night. The odor from the dug-up. decotn- ' posed human body has an effect which is hard to describe. It llrst produces a nauseating feeling, which, especially. | after eating, causes vomiting. This re- | licves VOU temiMirnrllv !. %? - weakening sensation follows, which leaves you limp as a dishrag. Tour i spirits arc at their lowest ebb and you | fool a sort of hopelessness and a mini dosiro to osoapo It all, to pot to the l open fields and tho porfutno of the flow- . ors In Blighty. There Is a sharp, 1 prioklinp sensation In the nostrils, which rominds one of breathing coul 1 pas throuph a radiator In the floor, arid j you want to sneeze, but ennnot. This , was the effeet on me, surmounted by a I vague horror of the awfulness of the i thing and an ever-recurring reflection that, perhaps I, sooner or later, would t 1 be In such a state and be brought to | light by the blow of a pick in the hands of some Tommy on a digging party. Several times I have experienced this I odor, hut never could get used to It ; i the enervating sensation was always I present. It made me hate war ami I wonder why such things were counte, nanced hy civilization, and all the spice ' and glory of the conflict would dlsap, pear, leaving the grim reality. But I after leaving the spot and (tiling your J lungs with deep breaths of pure, fresh ! air, you forget and once aguin want to ' be "up and at them." CHAPTER XV. Listening Post. It war rIx tn the inorulng when v arrived at our rent billeta, and we we uliowed to aleep until noon; that 1 If we wunted to go without our brea fast. For sixteen days we remnlm Entrance to a Dugout. In rest billets. roads. drlllln and other fatigues, and then back in the front-line trench. Nothing happened thnt night. hut tl next afternoon I found out thnt bomber Is general utility tnun In u sc tlon. About five o'clock In the afterno< our lieutenant came down the treni and stopping in front of a bunch of i on the tire step, with u broad grin t his face, asked: "Who Is going to volunteer for liste Ing post tonight? 1 need two men." It Is needless to say no one volu teered, because it is anything but cushy Job. 1 began to feel uncoinfoi able as 1 knew it was getting aroui for my turn. Sure enough, with uuoth grin, tie said: "Empey, you and Wheeler are dti po come down Into my dugout for 1 structions at six o'clock." Just as he left and was going aroui a traverse, Fxitz turned loose with machine gun and the bullets ripped tl sandbags right over his head. It ga me great pleasure to see him du< against the parapet. He was getting taste of what we would get later o In front. Then, of course. It begun to rain, know It was the forerunner of a ml erahle night for us. Every time I In to go out in front, it just natural rained. Old Jupiter Pluvius must ha had it in for me. At six we reported for instructiot They were simple and easy. Ail \ had to do was to erawl out into ? Man's Land, lie on our bellies with o ears to the ground and listen for tl tap, tap of the German engineers suppers who might ho tunneling und No Man's I.and to establish a tnic head beneath our trench. Of course, in our orders we were to not to he captured by German patrt or recc.noltoring parties. Lots breath is wasted on the western frc giving sillv cautions. As soon as it was dark. Wheeler an I crawled to our post which was abot halfway between the linen. It wn ruining bucketfuls, the ground was sea of sticky mud and dung to us Ilk glue. We took turns in listening with nti ears to the ground. I would listen fr twenty minutes while Wheeler woul be on the qui vlve for German patrols We each wore a wristwateh. and b< lieve me, neither one of us did ov< twenty minutes. The rain soaked i to the skin and our ears were full < mud. Kvery few minutes a bullet woul crack overhead or a machine gun woul traverse buck and forth. Then all firing suddenly ceased, whispered to Wheeler, "Keep your ej skinned, mate; most likely Fritz hi a patrol out?that's why the Hocln have stopped firing." We were each armed with a rifle an bayonet and three Mills bombs to I used for defense only. I had my ear to the ground. All < a sudden I heard faint, dull thud In a low but excited voice 1 whisper* to Wheeler, "I think they are minin listen." He put his ear to the ground an In an unsteady voice spoke Into in ear: "Yank, that's a patrol and it's heat Ing our way. For God's sake ket still." I was as still as a mouse and wi scared stiff. Hardly breathing and with eyes Ir; Ing to pierce the Inky blackness, ? waited, I won Id have given u thoi sand pounds to have been safely I my dugout. Then we plainly heard footsteps nn our hearts stood still. A dark form suddenly loomed up I front of ine; It looked as big as tt Wool worth building. I could her the blood rushing through my velr and It sounded aa loud as Nlagar falls. Forms seemed to emerge from tti darkness. There were seven of thei In all. I tried to wish them away. neVer wished harder In my life. The muttered a few worda In Qennun an t #* FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 1918. IbeTted Into "the TdacfenessT T didn't tatop wishing either. , All of a sudden we heard a stumble, r#i a muddy splash, and a muttered "Donre ner und Blltzen." One of the Bochea . had tumbled Into a shell hole. Neither of us laughed. At that time?It didn't I strike us as funny. A About twenty minutes after the Oer? mans had disappeared something from the rear grabbed me by the foot. I nearly fainted with fright. Then a welcome whisper In a cockney accent, f "I s'y. myte, we've come to relieve ' J you." J Wheeler and I crawled back to our trench; we looked like wet hens and felt worse. After n swig of rum we were soon fast asleep on the fire step In our wet clothes. The next morning I was as stilT as a poker and every joint ached like a had tooth, hut 1 was still alive, so it did not matter. t CHAPTER XVI. Battery D 238. The day after this 1 received the glad tidings that I would occupy the t. machine gunners' dughut right near the advanced artillery observation post. This dugout was a roomy affair, dry as tinder, and real cots in it. I These cots had been made by the > j II. E.'s who had previously occupied 1 J ; the dugout. I was the first to enter i , and promptly made a signboard with J I my name and number on it and susI | ponded It from the foot of the most I comfortable cot therein. S I In the trenches it is always "first P : come, first served." and this Is lived ?1 "After the drive to I'arls was turned at ariieh warfare started. Our general grubbed n map. drew a pencl1 d ncriisx It. and salil. *1 >lir here.' Ther t he went hack to his tea, and Tommy H armed himself with a pick and shovel and started digging. He's been dlgglng ever since. "Of course we day those trenches at night. hut It was hot work, what with >r the rltle and machine-nun tire. The (j stretcher hearers worked hurder than the diggers. "Those trenches, hloomin' ditches, I ' call them, were nightmares. They were onlv about five feet deep, and yon used - to get the backache from bending ' j down. It wasn't exactly safe to stand upright, either, because as soon as ( 1 your napper showed over the toj? a " i num.# tiA.,1.1 i ? ?- -- ....... . i>1 iniivt* mi it, or pise come I so rinse It would make your hair stand. "We used to fill sandbags and stick them on top of the parapet to make It ,s higher, hut no use; they would he "s there ahnut an hour and then Fritz would turn loose and blow them to j hits. My neck used to he sore from ,e - ducking shells and bullets. ^ ' "Where my battery was stationed n j hasty trench had been dug, which . ! the hoys nicknamed 'Suicide ditch.' , and. believe me, Yank, this was the original 'Suicide ditch.' All the others , are imitations, id )y "When a fellow went Into that trench It was an even gamble that he ,, would come out on a stretcher. At one ll* ,p time a Scotch battalion held It, and when they heard tl.e betting was even j money that they'd come out on , stretchers, they grabbed all the lads I in sight. I.Ike a lot of bally Idiots, severnl of the battery men fell for their game, and put up real money. The Jocks' suffered a lot of casualties, and the prospects looked bright for the battery men to collect somp easy l( | money. So when the battalion wn? ~ I lleved the gamblera lined up. Several " 'Jocks' pot their money for emerging safety. but the ones who clicked It ,r weren't there to pny. The nrtllleryls men had never thought It out that ? wny. Those Scottles were hound to he sure winners, no matter how the ie wind blew. So take a tip from me, m never bet with a Scuttle, 'cause you'll lose money. \ y (To be Continued.) - up to by all. Two It. F. A. men (Royal Field artillery) from the nearby observation R. post were allowed the privilege of 1? . stopping in this dugout when off duty. One of these men, Rombardler Wlli son by name, who belonged to Bat" tery I> 2.18. seemed to take a liking to me. and I returned this feeling. ! In two days' time we were pretty >n chummy, and he told me how his battery in the early days of the war had put over a stunt on Old Pepper, and m . had gotten away with It. I will endenver to give the story as n* i far as memory will permit In his own words: n* "I came out with the first expedln ttonar.v force, and. like all the rest, "b thought we would have the enemy licked in Jig time, and he able to eat l-r i Christmas dinner at home. Well, so [ far. I have eaten two Christmas dinie ners In the trenches, and am liable to n" j eat two more, the way things are I pointing. That Is. if Fritz don't drop a 'whizz-bang' on me. and send me to a Blighty. Sometimes I wish I would '14> get hit. because It's no great picnic ve | out here, and twenty-two months of It j makes you fed up. " "It's fairly rushy now compared to u* what It used to he. although I admit this trench is a trifle rough. Now, 1 j we fiend ovrr Ave she lls to their one. IS" | Wo are potting our own hark, hut in u' j the rarly days It was different. Then >y I you had to tnke rvrrythlnp without vt j reply. In fart, we would get twenty I shells in return for every one we sent ,s- over. Fritz seemed to enjoy it. hut H l'e we Pritlsli didn't : we were the snfs*? I ferers. Just one casualty after anl,r | other. Sometimes whole platoons | would disappear, especially when a or '.Tack Johnson' plunked into their t>r middle. It got so had that a fellow lt>" | when writing home, wouldn't ask for ] any cigarettes to tie sent out. because tie was afraid he wouldn't he there tr its , <i -