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1 I ? ? F SYNOPSIS. i CHAPTER I?Fired by the news of the (Sinking of the Lusitania by a German ( submarine, Arthur Guy Empey, an American, leaves his office in Jersey City and goes to England where he enlists in the British army. CHAPTER II?After a period of train- i ing, Empey volunteers for immediate service and soon finds himself in rest billets '^somewhere in France," where he first 'makes the acquaintance of the ever-present "cooties." CHAPTER III?Empey attends his first church services at the front while a German Fokker circles over the congregation. CHAPTER IV?Empey's command goes Into the front-line trenches and is under fire for the first time, i CHAPTER V?Empey learns to adopt ' ? - - ??Tf irrtll (tne motto OI ine iDTllSH lumiu;, u ;are going: to get it, you'll get it. so never [worry." _ .* "CHXPTER VI?Back In rest billets, Em pey gets his first experience as a mess orderly. j CHAPTER VTI?Empey learns how the I British soldiers are fed. I CHAPTER Vin?Back in the front-line j r trench, Empey sees his first friend of the 'trenches "go West." CHAPTER IX?Empey makes his first | visit to a dugout in "Suicide Ditch." CHAPTER X?Empey learns what conistitutes a "day's work" in the front-line (trArch. r CHAPTER XI?Empey goes "over tne [top" for the first time in a charge on the i :German trenches and is wounded by a ' [bayonet thrust. , ' CHAPTER XII?Empey joins the "sui- i icide club" as the bombing squad is called. ; { CHAPTER XIII. > " ? ? My First Official Bath, j j Right behind our rest billet was a ^llnrge creek about ten feet deep and tfwenty feet across, and it was a habit pof the company to avail themselves of kn opportunity to take a swim and at fthe same time thoroughly wash themlofllirno mil 4-Vi n!. nndnmitooir tt-Vi fln r?r? pctico auvi U1U1 UliUCl u 1TUVU vu I their own. We were having a spell of hot weather, and these baths to us were a luxury. The Tommies would splash around in the water and then come out and sit in the sun and have what they termed a "shirt hunt." At first we tried to drown the "cooties," but they also seemed to enjoy the bath, j One Sunday morning the whole sec- j ?>n was in the creek and we wdre havg a gay time, when the sergeant ma-1 (ibr appeared on the scene. He came! fto the edge of the creek and ordered: rCome out of it Get your equipment |on, 'drill order,' and fall in for bath roarade. Look lively, my hearties. You Slave only got fifteen minutes." A howl lof indignation from the creek greeted ' [this order, but out wq^ came. Discipline is discipline. Y> lined up in i tfront of our billet with rifles and bayonets (why you need rifles and bayoinets to take a bath gets me), a full quota of ammunition, and our tin hats. Each man had a piece of soap and a :'towel. After an eight-kilo march along . a dbsty road, with an occasional shell whistling overhead, we arrived at a . little squat frame building upon the 'bank of a creek. Nailed over the door tof this bnildincr was a laree sien which read "Divisional Baths." In a wooden Bhed in the rear we could hear a jwheezy old engine pumping water. We lined up in front of the baths, soaked with perspiration, and piled jpur rifles into stacks. A sergeant of !the R. A. M. C. with a yellow band around his left arm on which was "S. P." (sanitary police) in black let- ' . |ters, took charge, ordering us to take loff our equipment, unroll our puttees Etd unlace boots. Then, starting from e right of the line, he divided us to squads of fifteen. I happened to be in the first squad. I We entered a small room, where we were given five minutes to undress, (then filed into the bathroom. In here there were fifteen tubs (barrels sawed in two) half full of water. Each tub contained a piece of laundry soap. The isergeant informed us that we had just twelve minutes in which to take our (baths. Soaping ourselves all over, we [took turns in rubbing each other's ibacks, then by means of a garden hose, iwashed the soap off. The water was lice cold, but felt fine. Pretty soon a bell rang and the wa. >ter was turned off. Some of the slower iones were covered with soap, but this >made no difference to the sergeant,; who chased us into another room, i fwhere we lined up in front of a little window, resembling the box office in a jtheater, and received clean underwear jand towels. From here we went into Ithe room where we had first undressed. I Ten minutes were allowed in which to {get into our "clabber." My pair of drawers came up to my chin and the shirt barely reached my 'diaphragm, but they were clean?no ^strangers on them, so I was satisfied. At the expiration of the time allot- j Ited we were turned out and finished four dressing on the grass. When all of the company had bathed j - fit was a case of march back to billets, j 'That march was the most uncongenial \ lone imagined, just cussing and blindling all the way. We were covered with ;white dust and felt greasy from sweat (The woolen underwear issued was (itching like the mischief. After eating our dinner of stew, rwhich had been kept for us?it was mow four o'clock?we went into the I mt if . <c> mm sousm o WEST * * lDfflYUlPEY Z GUNHER,JERVING IN fRANCE? " ?1917 BY ARTHUR GUY gflPEY crees ana naa another bath. If "Holy Joe" could have heard our remarks about the divisional baths and army red tape he would have fainted at our wickedness. But Tommy is only human after all. I just mentioned "Holy Joe" or the chaplain in an irreverent sort of way, but no offense was meant, as there were some very brave men among them. There are so many instances of heroic deeds performed under fire in rescuing the wounded that it would take several books to chronicle them, but I have to mention one instance performed by a chaplain. Captain Hall bv &jEJKgj3jag?BM A Bathroom at the Front. name, in tne brigade on our left, because it particularly appealed to me. A chaplain is not a fighting man; he is recognized as a noncombatant and carries no arms. In a charge or trench raid the soldier gets a feeling of confidence from contact with his rifle, revolver, or bomb he is carrying. He has something to protect himself with, something with which he can inflict harm on the enemy?In other words, he is able to get , his own back. Bnt the chaplain is empty-handed, and is at the mercy of the enemy if he encounters them, so it is doubly brave for him to go over the top, uuder fire, and bring in wounded. Also a chaplain is not required by the king's regulations to go over in a charge, but this one did, made three trips under the hottest kind of fire, each time returning with a wounded man on his back. On the third trip he received a bullet through his left arm, but never reported the matter to the doctor until late that night?just spent his time administering to the wants of the wound: ed lying on stretchers. The chaplains of the British army are a fine, manly set of mem and ejre greatly respected by Tommy. CHAPTER XIV. ~ I Picks and Shovels. I had not slept long before the sweet voice of the sergeant informed that "No. 1 section had clicked for another blinking digging party." I smiled to myself with deep satisfaction. I had been promoted from a mere digger to a member of the Suicide club, and was exempt from all fatigues. Then came an awful shock. The sergeant looked over in my direction and said: "Don't you bomb throwers think you are wearing top hats out here. 'Cordin' to orders you've been taken up on the strength of this section, and will have to do your bit with the pick and shovel, same as the rest of us." I put up a howl on my way to get my shovel, but the only thing that resulted was a loss of good humor on my part. We fell in at eight o'clock, outside of our billets, a sort of masquerade party. I was disguised as a common laborer, had a pick and shovel, and ohnnt /->na Vinnrlrnrl amntp cnnHhfl crt; C* L/V U t VUV/ 11UUU1 VU vui|/ kj j The rest, about two hundred in all, were equipped likewise: picks, shovels, sandbags, rifles and ammunition. The party moved out in column of fours, taking the road leading to the trenches. Several times we had to string out in the ditch to let long columns of limbers, artillery and supplies get past. The marching, under these conditions, was necessarily slow. Upon arrival at the entrance to the communication trench, I looked at my illumi/ natea wrist watcn?it was eleven o'clock. Before entering this trench, word was passed down the line, "no talking or smoking, lead off in single file, covering party first." This covering party consisted of 30 men, armed with rifles, bayonets, bombs, and two Lewis machine guns. They were to protect us and guard against a surprise attack while digging in No Man's Land. The communication trench was about half a mile long, a zigzagging ditch, eight feet deep and three feet wide. Now and again, German shrapnel would whistle overhead and burst in -our vicinity. We would crouch against the earthen walls while the shell fragments "slanped" the ground above us. ^ 1. 3 1 ~ A unce rrnz lurneu loose wilu a machine gun, the bullets from which "cracked" through the air and kicked up the dirt on the top, scattering sand and pebbles, which, hitting our steel helmets, sounded like hailstones. Upon arrival in the fire trench an officer of the Royal Engineers gave us our instructions and acted as guide. We were to dig an advanced trench two hundred yards from the Germans (the trenches at this point were six hundred yards apart). Two winding lanes, five feet wide, had been cut through our barbed wire, for the passage of the diggers. From these lines white tape had been laid on the ground to the point where we were to commence work. This in order 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 back with information that the working party was to follow and "carry on" with their work. In extended order, two yards apart, we noiselessly crept across No Man's Land. It was nervous work; every minute we expected a machine gun to open fire on us. Stray bullets "cracked" around us, or a ricochet sang overhead. Arriving at the taped diagram of the trench, rifles slung around our shoulders, we lost no time in getting to work. We dug as quietly as possible but every now and then the noise of a pick or shovel striking a stone would send the cold shivers down our backs. Under our breaths we heartily cursed the offending Tommy. At intervals a star shell would go up from the German lines and we would remain motionless until the glare of its white light died out. When the trench had reached a depth of two feet we felt safer, because it would afford us coter in case we were discovered and fired on. The digging had been in progress about two hours, when suddenly hell seemed to break loose in the form of machine-gun and rifle fire. We dropped down on our bellies in the shallow trendh, bullets knocking up the ground and snapping in the aif. Then shrapnel butted in. The mu?ic was hot and Tommy danced. The covering party was having a rough time of it; they had no cover; just had to take their medicine. rvo ooa/1 ^Atrm flin linn 4a * t vi ix if oo paoocu uv rr u tuu uug w beat it for our trenches. We needed no urging; grabbing our tools and 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 lowered the record. Panting and out of breath, we tumbled into our front-line trench. I tore my hands getting through our wire, Hla?H|lj|^ HNf^nHnn;:';:;:;^ UK i,iyy,iya *** Trench Digging. Dut, at tne time, didn't notice it; my journey was too urgent. When the roll was called we found that we had gotten it in'the nose for 63 casualties. Our artillery put a barrage on Fritz' front-line and communication trenches and their machine-gun and rifle fire suddenly ceased. Upon the cessation of this fire, stretcher bearers went out to look for killed and wounded. Next day we i learned that 21 of our men had been killed and 37 wounded. Five men were missing; lost in the darkness, they (Continued on page 7, column 1.) CITATION NOTICE. Tlie State of South Carolina, County of Bamberg?By J. J. Brabham Jr., Probate Judge. Whereas, Minnie Dunbar made suit to me to grant her letters of administration of the estate and effects of William Williams. These are, therefore, to cite and admonish all and singular the kindred and creditors of the said William Williams that they be and appear before me in the court of probate to be held at Bamberg on April 27th next, after publication hereof, at 11 o'clock in the forenoon, to show cause, if any they have, why the said Administration should not he erant ed. Given under my hand this 9th day of April, Anno Domini 1918. J. J. BRABHAM, JR., Judge of Probate. NOTICE OF SALE. By order of the Judge of Probate I will sell at public sale at my home on April the 20th at 11 o'clock, the personal property of M. A. Inabinett, deceased, consisting of one bed room set and furniture. 4-11 G. W. KEARSE. Adm. 1131111111^ I Best material and workman- I ship, light running, requires Jj little power; simple, easy to I handle. 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