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B CHAPTER I. 9 From Mufti to Khaki. H It was In an office In Jersey City. H.was sitting at my desk talking to ^ .lieutenant of the Jersey National ^Huard. On the wall was a big war ^Bap decorated with variously colored ^ tle flags showing the position of the |H)poslng armies on the western front France. In front of me on the desk ^ y m New Tork paper with big flaring HMiYlfnAt HL18ITANIA SUNK! AMERICAN IB LIVES LOST! i^frrhe windows were open and a feelHk of spring pervaded the air. HHrough the open windows came the BEttlDs of a hurdy-gurdy playing In the ^keet?**I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be HHMLusltanla Sunk! American Lives ^Hftt!"?"I Didn't Raise My Boy to H ? Soldier." To us these did not |Hrhe lieutenant In silence opened one ^Rtife lower drawers of his desk and from It an American flag which H volemnly draped over the war map the wall. Then, turning to me with K^&rlm face, said: ^KHow about it, sergeant? Tou had ^Ker get out the muster roll of the Qnnnfa a a T fhlnlr thoxr xulll Ieede&in the course of a few days." fa busied ourselves till late in the ling writing out emergency telenfl for the men to report when the should come from Washington, a we went home. crossed over to New York, and as ?&t up Pulton street to take the pay to Brooklyn, the lights in the buildings of New York seemed to burning brighter than usual, as if L too, had read "Lusitanla Sunk! jtlcan Lives Lost!" They seemed k glowing with anger and righteous ^nation, and their rays wigwagged iQuy Empey. esk. I Immediately followed >n by throwing the telegrams wast^basket. Then we looked other In silence. He was I in his chair and I felt demd uneasy. lephone rang and I answered Kb a business call for me, remy services for an out-ofUgnment Business was not B, so this was very welcome. Itening to the proposition I jo be swayed by a peculiarly pee within me, and answered, fhot T nonnnf ttaih* UVV.V|/t JVU1 I am leaving for England c," and hung up the receiver, enant swung around In his Stared at me in blank astonA sinking sensation came but I defiantly answered his l "Well, It's so. I'm going." k ' p across was uneventful. I [ Tilbury, England, then got ring of matchbox cars and | to London, arriving there L m. t took'a room In a.hotel lahcras station for "five and Itra." The room was minus ut the "extra" seemed to &rm. That night there was raid, but I didn't see much ise the slit In the curtains j tall and I had no desire to! ger. Next morning the tel- i rang, and someone asked, lere?" I was, hardly. AnyTied that the Zeps had reftelr fatherland, so I went ie street expecting to see ivful devastation and a cow-1 funirw? <S?> is AilBM 50LWER p 10 WENT * * P, IJMMEYl ! on <IF fiflNNFD TOIMFDANfF?? icos ?1917 BY y?x ARTHUR CtfYgflPEYl fas , sid ! ering populace, but everything was ; me j normal. People were calmly proceed- me ! ing to their work. Crossing the sto street, I accosted a Bobbie witl^: saj "Can you direct me to the place of " damage?" no* He asked me, "What damage?" In surprise, I answered, "Why, the j 8el damage caused by the Zeps." J330 I tre With a wink he replied: . I "There was no damage; we missed : p? them again." j After several fruitless inquiries of 11 the passersby, I decided to go on my j 1 own In search of ruined buildings and 11 scenes of destruction. I boarded a bus j | which carried me through Tottenham / Court road. Recruiting posters were g| everywhere. The one that impressed >ij me most was a life-size picture of Lord Kitchener with his finger pointing directly at me, under the caption of "Tour King and Country Need You." No matter which way I turned, the | accusing finger followed me. I was j an American, in mufti, and had a little American flag In the lapel of my coat. I had no king, and my country had seen fit not to need me, but still that pointing finger made me feel small and 111 at ease. I got off the bus to try to dissipate this feeling by mixing with the throng of the 6ldewalbs. Presently I came to a recruiting office. Inside, sitting at a desk was a lonely Tommy Atkins. I decided to in- ffl terview him in regard to joining the || British army. I opened the door. He ii looked up and greeted me with "I s'y, H| myte, want to tyke on?" I looked at him and answered, "Well, whatever that Is, IH take *a chance at it'* Without the aid of an Interpreter, I i caE found out that Tommy wanted to know I Uti If I eared to Join the British army. He ! asked m?: "Did you ever hear of the | Royal Fusiliers?" Well, in London, tor you know, Yanks are supposed to know ?ct everything, so I was not going to ap- 1 pear ignorant and answered, "Sure." car After listening for one half-hour to no Tommy's tale of their exploits on the j"3, firing line, I decided to Join. Tommy ^ took me to the recruiting headquarters, where I met a typical English captain. He asked my nationality. I immedl- " ately pulled out my American passport stu and showed It to him. It was signed the by Lansing. After ldoklng at the tal* passport, he Informed me that he was sPe sorry but could not enlist me, as It tlnD would be a breach of neutrality. I insisted that I was not neutral, be- bio cause to me it seemed that a real J v American could not be neutral when * T big things were in progress, but the j captain would not enlist me. j an( With disgust In my heart I went out: v In the street. I had gone about a , block when a recruiting sergeant who j had followed me out of the office (^ tapped me on the shoulder with his I swagger stick and said: "S'y, I can a get you In'the army. We have a *leftenant' down at the other office who rec can do anything. He has just come out of the O. T. C. (Officers' Training corps) and does not know what neu- * trallty is." I decided to take a chance, y0T and accepted his Invitation for an in- Pat troductlon to the lieutenant. I entered the office and went up to him, opened ^ up my pasiport and said: tw< "Before going further I wish to state that I am an American, not too proud *r to fight, and want to Join your army." jthe He looked at me in a nonchalant at manner, and answered. "That's all ^ right; we take anything over here." I looked at him kind of hard and re- ^ plied, "So I notice," but it went over * his head. He got out an enlistment blank, and placing his finger on a blank line said, "U{ "Sign here." mu I answered, "Not on your tintype." j(na "I beg your pardon7" "fit Then I explained to him that I would a ( not sign it without first reading it. I * v read it over and signed for duration of j ^ r\var. Some of the recruits were lucky. | "10 They signed for seven years only! he Then he asked me my birthplace. I nei answered, "Ogden, Utah." He said, "Oh, yes, Just outside of i ^ New York?" i With a smile, rreplied, "Well, it's up Jma the state a littler" j I Then I was taken before the doctor i,I n and passed as physically fit, and was | cru issued a uniform. When I reported ! I c back to the lieutenant, he suggested ! I ^ that, being an American, I go on re | her cruiting service and try to shame some ' I of the slackers into joining the army." , pu( "All you have to do," he said, "is to ing go out on the street, and when you see : a young fellow in mufti who looks | physically fit. Just stop hira and give ! him this kind of a talk: 'Aren't you j ashamed of yonrself,; a Britisher, phys-! 1 ically lit, ana in murn wnen your *iuk ior and country need you? Don't you a r know that your country is at war and J out that the place flor every young Briton i j is on the firing lLne? Here I am, art jjui America:;, in fchaki, who came four an( thousand mHes to fight for your kingly, and country,^ and j|ou, as yet, have not ter lsted. Why don't you Join? Now the time.' This argument ought to get many xuits, Empey, so go out and see j at yon can do." le then gave me a small rosette of I, white and blue ribbon, with three ' le streamers hanging down. This j s the recruiting Insignia and was 1 be worn on the left side of the cap. Vrmed with a swagger stick and my 5 rrlotlc rosette, I went out into Tot- 1 ham Court road In quest of cannon J Ider. Pwo or three poorly dressed civil- ] 8 passed me, and although they apired physically fit, I said to myself, hey don't want to join the army; < haps they have someone dependent I them for support," so I did not ac- ; it them. Jomlng down the street I saw a ing dandy, top hat and all, with a ] hlonably dressed girl walking be- ] ? T "Vaii n ra mTT tJ 111 Hi. x UiUllCICU, XVU UiV Ui; I at," and when he came abreast of I stepped directly in his path and pped him with my swagger stick, ring: . , Tou would look fine In khaki; why : change that top hat for a steel met? Aren't you ashamed of yourf, a husky young chap like you in. fti when men are needed in the nches? Here I am, an American, Swearing in a Recruit. ae four thousand miles from "Ogden, ih, Just outside of New York, to it for your king and country. Don't a slacker, buck up and get into unim; come over to the recruiting ofi and I'll have you enlisted." 1 le yawned and answered, "I don't e if you came forty thousand miles, one asked you to," and he walked The girl gave me a sneering look; v'as speechless. recruited for three weeks and near?ot one recruit. This perhaps was not the greatest nt in the world, but It got back at officer who had told me, "Yes, we :e anything over here." I had been inding a good lot of my recruiting le in the saloon bar of the Wheat ?af pub (there was a very'attractive nde barmaid, who helped kill time? /as not as serious in those days as vas a little later when I reached i front)?well, It was the sixth day 1 my recruiting report was blank. ras getting low m tne pocKet?Darids haven't much use for anyone o cannot buy drinks?so I looked >und for recruiting material. You >w a man on recruiting service gets 'bob" or shilling for every recruit entices Into joining the array, the ruit is supposed to get this, but he \ uld not be a recruit if he were wise ' this fact, would he? )own at the end of the bar was a , mg fellow in mufti who was very , riotlc?he had about four "Old ales aboard. He asked me if he 1 lid join, showed me his left hand, ) fingers were missing, but I said t did not matter as "we take anyag over here." The left hand Is rifle hand as the piece is carried the slope on the left shoulder. Neareverything in England is "by the t," even general traffic keeps to the t side. took the 'applicant over to headirters, where he was hurriedly exlned. Recruiting surgeons were sy in those days and did not have ch time for thorough physical exam* tlons. My recruit was passed as by the doctor and turned over to :orporal to make note of his scars, ras mystified. Suddenly the corpo- 1 burst out with, "BHme me, two of ] fingers are gone." Turning to me ' said, "You certainly have your 1 "ve with you, not 'alf you ain't, to ug this beggar in." ?he doctor came over and exploded, 1 hat do you mean by bringing in a 1 n in this condition?" ! coking out of tne corner of ray eye otlced that the officer who had re- ! ited rae had joined the group, and I 1 ould not help answering, "Well, sir, ' -as told that you took anything over e." think they called it "Yankee im lence," anyhow it ended my recrultCHAPTER II. 1 Blighty to Rest Billets. i Lhe next morning the captain sent i me and informed me: "Empey, as I ecruiting sergeant you are a wash- ! and sent nie to a training depot, j tfter.arriving at this place, I svas Jtled to the quartermaster scores I received an awful shock. The irtermaster sergeant spread a waproof sheet on the ground and com tnenced throwing a miscellaneous assortment of straps, burkles and other paraphernalia into it I thought he would never stop, but when the pil? reached to ray knees he paused long enough to say, "Next, No. 5217, 'Arris, B company." I gazed in bewilderment at the pile of junk In front of me, ant then my eyes wandered around looking for the wagon which was to carry it to barracks. I was rudely brought ta earth by the "quarter" exclaiming, "'Ere, you, 'op it; tyke it aw'y; bllnt my eyes, 'e's looking for 'is batman t? elp 'Im carry it." Struggling under the load, with frequent pauses for rest, I reached our barracks (large car barns), and my platoon leader came to the rescue. It was a marvel to me how quickly he assembled the equipment. After he had completed the task, he showed me how to adjust it on my person. Pretty soon I stood before him a proper Tommy Atkins in heavy marching order, feeling Itke an overloaded camel. On my feet were heavy-soled hoots, studded with hobnails, the toes and heels of which were re-enforced by steel half-moons. My legs were in cased in woolen puttees, olivs drab In color, with my trousers overlapping them at the top. Then a woolen khaki tunic, under which was a bluish gray woolen shirt, minus a collar; beneath this shirt a woolen belly baud about six inches wide, held In place by tie strings of white tape. On my head was a heavy woolen trench cap, with huge earlaps buttoned over the top. Then the equipment: A canvas belt, with ammunition pockets, and two wide canvas straps like suspenders, called "D" straps, fastened to the belt In front, passing over each shoulder, crossing in the middle of ray back, and attached by buckles to the rear of the belt. On the right side of the belt hung a water bottle, covered with felt; on the left side was my bayonet and scabbard, and intrenching tool handle, this handle strapped to the bayonet scabbard. In the rear was my intrenching tool, carried In a canvas case. This tool was a combination pick and spade. A canvas haversack was strapped to the left side of the belt, while on my back was the pack, also of canvas, held In place by two canvas straps over the shoulders; suspended on the bottom1 of the pack was my mess tin or canteen In a neat little canvas case. My waterproof sheet, looking like a jelly roll, was strapped on top of the pack, with a wooden stick for cleaning the breach of the rifle projecting from each end. On a lanyard around my waist hung a huge Jackknife with a can-opener attachment. The pack contained my overcoat, an extra pair of socks, change of underwear, hold all (containing knife, fork, spoon, comb, toothbrush, lather brush, shaving soap, and a razor made of tin, with "Made in England" stamped on the blade; when trying to shave with this it made you wish that you were at war with Patagonia, ?o that you could have a "hollow ground" stamped "Made in Germany"); then your housewife, button-cleaning outfit, consisting of a brass button stick, two stiff brushes, and a box of "Soldiers' Friend" pdste; then a shoe brush and a box of dubbin, a writing pad, indelible pencil, envelopes, and pay book, and personal belongings, such as a small mirror, a decent razor and a sheaf of hnanswered letters, and fags, ?. , \ in your nuversucK juu uiu j juui uuu rations, meaning a tin of bully beef, four biscuits and a can containing tea, sugar and Oxo cubes; a couple of pipes and a pack of shag, a tin of rifle oil, and a pull-through. Tommy generally carries the oil with his rations; it gives the cheese a sort of sardine taste.' Add to this a first-aid pouch and a long, ungainly rifle patterned after the Daniel Boone period, and you have an Idea of a British soldier in Blighty. Before leavng for France, this rifle Is taken from him and he is issued with" a Lee-Eafleld short trench rifle and a ration tag. In France he receives two gas helmets, a sheepskin coat, rubber mackintosh, steel helmet, two blankets, tearshell goggles, a balaclava helmet, gloves and a tin of antifrostbite grease which is excellent for greasing the boots. Add to this the weight of his rations, and can you blame Tommy for growling at a twenty-kilo route march? Having served as sergeant major in the United Strtes cavalry, I tried to tell the English drill sergeants their hncinesa hi?t if did not work. They Immediately pu: me as batman in their mess. Many a ;reasy dish of stew was accidentally spilled over them. I would sooner fight than be a waiter, so when the order came through from headquarters calling for a draft of 250 re-enforcements for France, I volunteered. Then we went before the M. O. (medical officer) for another physical ?xamlnation. This was very brief. He asked our names and numbers and said "Fit," and we went out to fight. We were put into troop trains and sent to Southampton, where we detrained, and had our trench rifles Issued to us. Then in columns of twos we went up the gangplank of a little steamer lying alongside the dock. At the head of the gangplank there was an old sergeant, who directed that we line ourselves along both rails of the ship." Then he ordered us to take life belts from the racks overhead and put them on. I linve crossed the ocean aov^pnl tlmos nml knew T was no!" sea sick, but when I buckled on that life belt I had a sensation of sickness. After we got oat into the stream all I could think of was that there were a million German submarines with a torpedo on each, across the warhead of which wr.s inscribed my name and address. After five hours we came alongside a pier ami dtaemBarkcd, X had at* tallied another ona of my ambitions. I was "somewh'ere in France." W? alept in the open that night on the aid* at the road. About alz the next mornI lag we were orderad to entrain. I laoked around- for the passenger coachea, but all I could aee on tba aid! log were cattle cara. Wa climbad lata i these. On the slda of aech car waa a algn reading "Hocamaa 40, CheraMX j t." When we got laslda of tha oara, vt thougtit that perhaps the algn | palater had rararaad the order af I things. After 4^houra In theae trucka ! we detrained at Jtouen. At this placa i we went through an Intensive training for ten day*. The training consisted of the rudiments of trench warfare. Trenches had been dug, with barbed wire entanglements, bombing caps, dugouts, i observation posts and machine gun em placements. We were given a smattering of trench cooking, sanitation, bomb throwing, reconnoltering, llsten| Ing posts, constructing and repairing | barbed wire, "carrying in" parties, The Author's Identification Disk. methods used In attack and defense, wiring parties, mass formation, and the procedure for poison-gas attacks. On the tenth day we again met our friends "Hommesr 40, Cheveaux 8." Thirty-six hours more of misery, and we arrived at the town of F . After unloading our rations and equipment, we lined up^on the road in .columns of fours waiting for the order to march. A dull rumbling could be heard. The , sun was shining. I turned to the man , on my left and asked, "What's the ! noise, Bill?" He did not know, but his face was of* a pea-green color. Jim, , on my right, also did not know, but i| suggested that I "awsk" the sergeant. Coming towards us was an old grlzlj zled sergeant, properly fed up with I the war, so I "awsked" him. I "Think It's going to rain, sergeant?" j He looked at me In contempt, and grunted, " 'Ow's it a-goin' ter rain with the bloomin' sun a-shlnln'?" I looked i guilty. "Them's the guns up the line, me lad, and you'll get enough of 'em be' fore you gets back- to Blighty." My knees seemed to' wilt, and I squeaked out a weak "Oh 1" Then we started our march up to the ! line in ten-kilo treks. After the flr^t day's march we arrived at our rest billets. In France they call them rest Diners, Decause wuue jlu iucui hmmhj works seven days a week and on the eighth day of the week he Is given twenty-four hours "on his own." Our billet was a spacious affair, a large barn on the left side of the road, which had one hundred entrances, ninety-nine for shells, rats, wind and rain, and the hundredth one for Tommy. I was tired out, and using my shrapnel-proof helmet (shrapnel proof until a piece of shrapnel hits It), or tin hat, for a pillow, lay down In the straw, and was soon fast asleep. I must have slept about two hours, when I awoke with a prickling sensation all over me. As I thought, the straw had worked through my uniform. I woke, up the fellow lying on ray left, who had 1 been up the line before, and asked him :* "Does the straw bother you, mate? It's worked through my uniform and I; can't sleep." I In a sleepy voice he answered, j "That ain't straw, them's cooties." i From that time on my friends the "cooties" were constantly with me. I "Cooties," or body lice, are the bane I of Tommy's existence. The aristocracy of the trenches very i seldom call them "cooties," they speak I of them as fleas. j; To an American flea means a small I Insect armed with a bayonet, who is I wont to jab it into you and then hopi skip and jump to the next place to be attacked. There Is an advantage in j having fleas on you instead of "cooties" j in that in one of his extended jumps said flea is liable to land on .the fel! low next to you; he has the typical j energy and push of the American. : while tlie "cootie" has the bulldog tenacity of the Englishman; lie Holds j on and consolidates or digs in until his tncal is finished. j There is no way to get rid of them permanently. No matter how often i you bathe, and that is not very often, or how many times you change your underwear, your friends the "cooties' are always in evidence. The billets are ' infested with them, especially so if j there is straw on the iloor. 1 bftrc takes a bath and put on brand-new underwear; in fact, a complete change of uniform, and then turned In for the night. The next morning my shirt would be full of them. It Is a common sight to see eight or ten soldiers sitting under a tree with their shirts over their knees engaging in a "shirt hunt" At night about half an hour before "ligfcts out," you can see the Tommies grouped around a candle, trying, in its dim light, to rid their underwear of the T?nnln.*A popular and very quick method is to take your shirt and drawers, and run the seams back and forward in the flame from a candle and burn them out This practice is dangerous, because you are liable to bum holes In the garments if you are not careful. Recruits generally sent to Blighty fnp A hronrt nf Insapf nnmrtop oHoot. tlsed as "Good! for body lice." The advertisement Is quite right; the powder is good for "cooties;" they simply thrive on it The older men of otir battalion were wiser and made- scratchers out of wood. These were rubbed smooth with a bit of stone or sand to prevent splinters. They were about eighteen inches long, and Tommy guarantees that a scratcher of this length will reach . any part of the body which may be attacked. Some of the fellows were lazy on/1 nnlr mo/la on^of/*^ni?o ftrftlvo ciuit uuij iuauu tuui aviaivuuo brrvivv Inches, but many a night when on, guard, looking over the top from the fire step of the front-line trench, they would have given a thousand "quid" for the otfler six inches. Once while we were in rest billets an Irish Hussar regiment camped in an % open field opposite our billet After * they had picketed and fed their horses, a general shirt hunt took place. The troopers ignored the call "Dinner up," and kept on. with their search for big game. They, had a curious method of procedure. They hung their shirts over a hedge and beat them with their entrenching tool handles. I asked one of them why they didn't pick them off by hand, and he answered, "We havetft had a bath for nine weeks or a change of clabber. K I tried to pick the 'cooties' off my shirt, I would be here for,duration of wjir." After taking a close look at his shfrt, I -agroti with him; it was alive. The greatest shock a recruit gets when he arrives at his battalion, in France is to see the men engaging, in a "cootie" hunt With an air of contempt and disgust he avoids the company of the older men, until a couple of days later, in a torment of itching, he also has to resort to a shirt hunt, or spend many a sleepless night of misery. During these hunts there are lots of pertinent remarks bandied back and forth among the explorers, such as, "Say, Bill, JT11 swap you two little ones for a bfg one," or, "I've got a black one here that looks like Kaiser , < Bill."' ^ V One sunny dajr jn, .the front-line trench, I saw tfiree officers sitting outside of their dugout ("cooties" are . no respecters of rank; I have even noticed a suspicious uneasiness about a certain ImAlllfnAnm .*nnnt>nl\ svvtA ^flfi TTCU'AUUTYU 5CUC1 ai/| uuc V1 iuvu? TftMt a major, two of them were exploring their shirts, paying no attention to the occasional shells which .passed overhead. The major was writing a letter; every now and then he would lay aside his writing-pad, search his shirt for a few minutes, get an Inspiration, and then'resume writing. At last he finished his letter and gave It to his "runner." I was curious to see whether hv was writing to an insect firm, so when the runner passed me I engaged him in conversation and got a glimpse at the address on the envelope. It was addressed to Miss Alice Somebody, in London. The "runner" Informed me that Miss Somebody was the major's sweetheart and that he wrote to her every day. Just imagine it, writing a love letter during a "cootie" hunt: bt? ?uch Is the creed of the trenches. (TO BE CONTINUED.) 1 Glass of Hot Water Before Breakfast a Splendid Habit Open sluices of the system each morning and wash away the poisonous, stagnant matter. Those of us who.are accustomed to feel dull and heavy when we arise; splitting headache, stuffy from a cold, foul tongue, nasty breath, acid stomach, lame back, can, instead, both look and feel as fresh as a daisy olwowa Kit xxtq esViiri <r tlin nnienna onrl ainajo uj naouiu^ tu^ piriovjuo uuu toxins from the body with phosphated hot water each morning. We should drink, before breakfast, a glass of real hot water with a teaspoonful of limestone. phosphate in it to flush from the stomach,' liver, kidneys and ten yards of bowels the previous day's indigestible waste, sour bile and poisonous toxins; thus cleansing, sweetening and purifying the entire alimentary tract before putting more food into the stomach. The action of limestone phosphate and hot water on an empty stomach is wonderfully invigorating. It cleans out all the sour fermentations, gases, waste and acidity and gives one a splendid appetite for breakfast and it is said to be but a little while until the roses begin tr appear in the cheeks. A quarter pound of limestone phosphate will cost very little at the drug store, but is sufficient to make nnunno wVin VintVionod ttM+Vi hJHnrin ness, constipation, stomach trouble or rheumatism a real enthusiast on the subject of internal sanitation. Try it and you are assured that you will look better and feel better in ?very way ahortly.