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I?JH I ? m Jfc I "Over the Top" I 1 By An American Soldier Who Went ARTHUR GUY EMPEY Machine Gunner Serolng in France * <1 (Copyright, 1917, by Arthur Guy Bmpty) SYNOPSIS. CHAPTER I?Fired by the news of the Inking of the Lusltania by a German submarine, Arthur Guy Empey, an American, leaves his office in Jersey City and j goes to England where he enlists in the f British army. CHAPTER n?After a period of trainf Ing, Empey volunteers for immediate serv? ice and soon finds himself in rest billets "somewhere in France," where he first makes the acquaintance of the ever-present "fiOOtlAB." CHAPTER III?Empey attends his first church services at the front while a German Fokkpr circles over the congregation. CHAPTER IV?Empey's command goes Into the front-line trenches and is under Are for the first time. _ "CHAPTER learns to adopt the motto of the Brtish Tommy, "If you are going to get It, you'll get it, so never' worry." CHAPTER VI?Back in rest billets, Empey gets his first experience as a mesa VII?Empey learns how the RriMsh soldiers .are fed. - .. . CHAPTER V'lU. The Little Wooden Cross. After remaining In rest billets for eight days, we received the unwelcome tidings that the next morning we would .. "go in" to "take over." At six in the morning our march started and, after * long march down the dusty road, we again arrived at reserve billets. I was No. 1 in the leading set of fours. The man on my left was named Tete Walling," a cheery sort of fellow. He laughed and joked all the way on the march, buoying up jny drooping spirits. I could not figure out anything attractive In again occupying the front line, but Pete did not seem to mind, said it was all In a lifetime. My left heel was blistered from the rubbing of my heavy marching boot. Pete noticed that I was limping and offered to carry my rifle, but by this time I had learned the ethics of the march In the British army and courteously refused his offer. We had gotten half-way through the communication trench, Pete in my immediate rear. He had his hand on my shoulder, as men in a communication trench have to do to keep in touch with each other. We had just climbed over a bashed-in part of the trench when In our rear a man tripped over a loose signal wire, and let out an oath. As usual, Pete rushed to his help. To reach the fallen man he had to cross this bashed-ln part A bullet cracked In the air and I ducked. Then a moan from the rear. My heart stood still. I went back and Pete was lying on the ground. By the aid of my flashlight I saw that he had his hand pressed to his right breast. The fingers were covered with blood. I flashed the light on his face and In its glow a grayishblue color was stealing over his countenance. Pete looked up at me and said: "Well, Yank, they've done me In. I can feel myself going West." His voice was getting fainter and I had to . kneel down to get his words. Then he gave me a message to write home to his mother and his sweetheart, and I, like a great big boob, cried like a baby. I was losing my first friend of the trenches. Word was passed to the rear for a f stretcher. He died before it arrived. Two of us put the body on the stretcher and carried it to the nearest first-aid post, where the doctor took an official record of Pete's name, number, rank and regiment from his Identity disk, this to be used in the caa ualty lists and notification to his family. We left Pete there, but It broke our hearts to do so. The doctor Informed us that we could bury him the next morning. That afternoon five of the 1 boys of our section, myself Included, went to the little ruined village In the rear and from the deserted gardens of the French chateaux gathered grass and flowers. From these we made a wreath. While the boys were making this wreath, I sat under a shot-scarred apple tree and carved out the following verses on a little wooden shield whlrh no nallpd nn Ppfp'a rrnss. True to his God; true to Britain, Doing his duty to the last, Just one more name to be written On the Roll of Honor of heroes pasted? Passed to their God, enshrined In glory, Entering life of eternal rest. One more chapter In England's story Of her sons doing their best' I 4 Rest, you soldier, mate ao true, Never forgotten by us below; Know that we are thinking of yon, i Ere to our rest we are bidden to go. <tm i <c> AMOIGW SOLDIER [0 WENT ? ? TOMMY IE GUN?,JEWING IN fRANCE & 1917 BY ARTHUR CtfY EflPfY Next morning the whole section went over to say good-hy to Pete, and laid him away to rest After each one had a look at the face; of the dead, a corporal of the R. A. r ^ nw wAmolna Ir? a hidn IYI. v. sewru up UIC iciuaiuo 1U u u>uu ket. Then placing two heavy ropes across the stretcher (to be used In lowering the body Into the grave), we lifted Pete onto the stretcher, and reverently cowed him with a large union Jack, the flag he had died for. The chaplain led the way, then came the officers of the section, followed by two of the men carrying a wreath: Immediately after came poor Pete on the flag-draped stretcher, carried by four soldiers. I was one of the four. Behind the stretcher, in column of fours, came the remainder of the section. To get to the cemetery, we had to pass through the little shell-destroyed village, where troops were hurrying to and fro. As the funeral procession passed these troops came to the "attention" and smartly saluted tne aeaa. Poor Pete was receiving the only salute a private Is entitled to "somewhere in France." Now and again a shell from the German lines would go whistling over the village to burst In our artillery lines in the rear. When we reached the cemetery we halted in front of an open grave, and laid the stretcher beside it Forming a hollow square around the opening of the grave, ?he chaplain read the burial service. German machine-gun bullets were "cracking" in the air above us, but Pete didn't mind, and neither did we. When the body was lowered into the grave the flag having been removed, we clicked our heels together and came to the salute. I left before the grave was filled in. I could not bear to see the dirt thrown on the blanket-covered face of my comrade. On the western front there are I no coffins, and yon are lucky to get a I blanket to protect you from the wet and the worms. Several of the secI Hnn aiarrtu1 ilfl/inrflfoH tho with white stones. That night, in the light of a lonely i candle in the machine gunner's dugout of the front-line trench I wrote two letters. One to Pete's mother, the other to his sweetheart While doing i this I cursed the Prussian war god with all my heart, and I think that St. Peter noted same. The machine gunners In the dugout were laughing and joking. To them Pete was unknown. Pretty soon. In the warmth of their merriment, my blues disappeared. One soon forgets on the western front CHAPTER IX. \ 1 Suicide Annex. I was In my first dugout and looked around curiously. Over the door of same was a little sign reading "Suicide Annex." One of the boys told me that this particular front trench was called "Suicide Ditch." Later on I learned that machine gunners and bombers are known as the "Suicide Club." j.nat augoui was muuuy. iue men slept in mud, washed Id mud, ate mud, and dreamed mud. I had never before realized that so much discomfort and misery could be contained In those three little letters, MUD. The floor of the dugout was an Inch deep in water. Outside it was raining cats and dogs, and thin rivulets were trickling down the steps. From the air shaft Immediately above me came a drip, drip, drip. Suicide Annex was a hole eight feet wide, ten feet long and six feet high. It was about twenty feet below the Are trench; at least there were twenty steps leading down to it These steps were cut Into the earth, but at that time were muddy and slippery. A man had to be very careful or else he would "shoot the chutes." The air was foul, and you could cut the smoke from Tommy's fags with a | knife. It was cold. The walls and i roof were supported with heavy square-1 cut timbers, while the entrance was j strengthened with sandbags. Nails had I been driven Into these timbers. On | each nail hung a miscellaneous assort- j ment of equipment. The lighting arrangements were superb?one candle | In a reflector made from an ammunl-1 tinn tin. Mv tepth were. chfltterlnir from the cold, and the drip from the airshaft did not help matters much. While I was sitting bemoaning my fate and wishing for the fireside at home, the fellow next to me, who was writing a letter, looked up and innocently asked, "Say, Yank, how do you spell 'conflagration'?" I looked at him in contempt and answered that I did not know. Prom the darkness in one of the earners came a thin, piping voice singing one Qt the popular trench ditties en titled: in* "Pack up your TrouMea In yttttt Old K Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile. Every now and then the singe would stop to cough, cough, cough, bu it was a good illustration of Tommy' cheerfulness under such conditions. A machine-gun officer entered th dugout and gave me a hard look, sneaked past him, sliding and slipplnj and reached my section of the fro:ii line trench, where I was greeted b the sergeant, who asked me. "Wher In ?? 'ave you been?" gjHjj Taking Provisic j (TO BE C COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIO Washington, D. C., arMch 1918.1. All persons in the militai service are forbidden to act as pa: correspondents for or contributo: to any newspaper, magazine, ? other publication, or to receive ar payment or reward whatever fro any such publication for any letti or item of news written or-furnisl ed by them, whether the article : question is sent direct to the pap< or periodical, or consists of priva correspondence which the writ< permits to be published. 2. Except as above prohibite there is no objection to the writir of letters or the furnishing of ne? items to newspapers, magazines, et from time to time, or to the pub] cation, with the consent of the wi ter, or personal and private co respondence, provided such acth ties do not interfere vrith the piper performance of military dut; and provided also that the followir directions are faithfully complij with. d. ah letters cuiiuuuuig main for publication, as above authorize must ba sent through the office hereinafter provided for? charg< with the duty of censoring' lette for publication. No letter design< in whole or in part for publicatic will be mailed otherwise than thi the above-mentioned 'officer, ar such letters will be always left ui sealed. 4. ' The comnlanding - officer < every camp, cantonment, and trail ing depot or detachment in tl United States will detail a suitab officcr to perform the dutie:; of cei sor of all matter intended for pub! cation and written by persons in tl military service. This officer wi delete all references capable of fu nishing important information 1 the enemy. The commanding officer will ah call to the attention ox* all persoi in military service writing for pui lication, or otherwise, the fact th< criticism of superiors and the sprea ing of false reports which woul tend to injure the military servic constitute breaches of military di cipline. 5. None of the foregoing applii to troops in Europe. The Commam ing General, American Expeditioi ary Forces, will establish such regi lations in this respect as the situ: tion may seem to him to require. The object of this order is t satisfy, as far as compatible wit the protection of military interest the natural desire of the people t keep in touch with their soldier re] resentatives. It is, therefore, e; pected that all concerned will con ply with both the letter and th spirit of its provisions. None of the foregoing applies t press dispatches filed from Nations Army or Ntional Guard cantor 3 ![ made no answer, Dut sat on the muddy Are step, shivering with the r cold and with the rain beating In my face. About half an hour later I * teamed up with another fellow and s I went on guard with my head sticking | over the top. At ten o'clock I was e relieved and resumed my sitting posl1 tion on the fire step. The rain sud> denly stopped and we all breathed a > sigh of relief. We prayed for the momy ihg and the rum issue. e n J) >na to the Front IONTINUED.) ments or camp3 by regularly paid N newspaper correspondents not in the military service/ Their copy will not be censored by military, authority, but the camp commander will i(j instruct them that they must rigidly adhere to the requests for secrecy rs jr with respect to information of value to the enemy, as defined in the printed card sent out by the Comm mittee on Public Information. On k violation of these requests, the of n fending correspondent will be de;r prived of .the privileges of the camp. By order Secretary' ol? War. sr ' UAll/ VA! f AA1J Uri D nvrr A VU VAil THE FOOD A1[)M!NISTRAT0R d, Realize that the restriction* suggested by the Food Administrators c* are for the good of all the people and to win the war. That those who are undertaking r" to enforce the food regulations are ri" doing so from a spirit of patriotism ?" and service to their country and y? not for pay. Observe the wheatless and meatid less days strictly, and see that others do so. These are most essential Br Insist upon the wheatless and d> meatless days wherever and whenr> ever you eat. id Good intentions and promises ^ count for naught. Both preach and Jd "practice home economics. >n Talk food conservation. Tell youi* neighbors of a practi*d cal and appetizing recipe you have yourself used tihat economizes in wheat, sugar and fats. The! food regulations are all sure n~ and patriotic, and if you find your] ie merchants or eating houses are faille ing to co-operate, report the facts to the County Administrator and 1_ give your trade to those who apie preciate the actual necessity for " recognized rules. r" Women's clubs should discuss :o practical houuehold questions and leave their Ibsen and Browning ev- | 10 enings until the boys "Over there" i 18 return home. When you use wheat see that it j is mixed with corn meal and other j l<* cerealu. 'd See that your neighbors and par-11 ;e ticularly your merchant is co-oper- j 3" ing and is not asking unauthorized ] prices for food-stuff. iS Be independent of the outside j; world and provide your table fromi ^11 __ TT l? ' your own neia or garaen. nave l_ food-stuff to sell, not to buy. l_ Remember that all you save in wheat, fats and meats is for your 0 soldiers and their companions in h armies. Be a soldier behind the lir.es for o half an hour each day, and spend that time in seeing that food crops I-1 are cultivated on your fields or cul* tivate your own garden. e If it is not for you to be on the firing line, do your bit in saving o and producing food. tl From August Kohn, State Chairman Conservation and Production., Economy Your Purity Your Stan Your^Uncle Sam wants you to be as sa\ of Food, but there is not a citizen of thes< he wanst to go hungry. In the matter of Conservation of food, i * ' the longest way. You cannot economize by ducts obtainable. Highly nourishing food * the cheapest in the long run. ( Feed your family from our store. We out for the best from every viewpoint. ] and at the same time highly nourishing, w way to economize. W D. Bai i /w * .. II / Childre m To Saw MB <4 - ' Start the kidd MrfUf ktr molrJnrf I'll ugui ujr UKUU115 w want to save their mo: A personal savings tcoou a high-class banking ins . tion like this, wher tre given the propei t and encouragemen die their own fini is a good start ii JtK right-direction, dollar opens an a< I Safety?Honesty?Cot The Nation Abbeville i HB?? I I GOOD PRir Eg mm I generally conveys success. We neveri himself, but his Iett< head, catalogue or affords us an opp< size him up, hence 1 Press and Ban ABBEV1I COLUMBIA GRAF FROM $18.00 TC NEW COLUMBIA RECEIVED EACI THE HALL INVES1 " Watchword dad 1 ing as possible in the matter1 -s i good old United States that 1 x'emember this: The Best goes ; ' -i using the cheapest food pro-' > j :omes higher in price and is are constantly on the watch if it is pure and wholesome e have it. 'Tis the very best r ' Ai ksdale iTiv&y ruwviug \ al Bank an luca ui /, see the man || ;rhead note- A pamphlet | jrtunity to IJs :he need. Ell ner Co. HONOLAS > $200.00. 3 RECORDS 11 i WEEK. ' M fMENT CO. fa