South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-08-21
BY WILHELM LAMsZUs.
{ Master OF a large public school
Germany
CHAPTER TX.

CHAPTER TX.
am conscious that am terribly
tired can no longer keep myself
on my feet-my head sinks down on
my rile-my eyes close-but the
overstrained nerves are still alert.
And now
The earth reverberates sullenly.
That's our battery 1t is firing
straight into the darkness. So our
turn IS coming now
We hear how ours over there are
opening fire, and how il suddenly
again swells to a maddening rattle.
That is an attack by sharpshOOters in
overwhelming strength they can
not be very far from one another
row f.. and yet the battery goes on
believing. and Turing the enemy to
assault.
And now a martial symphony rises
over the dark country =. bugles
shrill through the darkness and
drums are rolling sullenly that
means a general assault d. there
rises a sound of shouting and tramp
ing . thunderous roar of tri-
umph rises TO the dark sky q.
that is the shout of victory from
thousand threats in their thou
sands they have charged ours" over
there, and have crushed them by as
sault. Ha. ha! they have taken
a battery by storm.
Why. of a sudden, has silence fall
len . what is the object of it
now it's our turn
Into the air. Rapid fire." And
the volley crashes. And look there
over there the cheer rings out
again the signals for assault
sound, and thousands of voices are
shouting it simultaneously -. there
they are foaming Up Z. they are
charging on. drunk with victory, in
closed ranks they are rolling
with a roar over the mined field :.
they are trampling the earth, as il
with horses hoofs that means
death . 1 am lying rigid now
it must break, now l open my
mouth wide =. my rife is trem-
bling in my grasp.
And then
The earth has opened her mouth
lightnings, crashes and thunder
ings, and the heaven splits in twain
and falls down in fiame-the earth
whirls upwards in shreds men and
the earth blaze and hurtle through
the air like catharine wheels E.
and then d. a crash. a maddening
uproar. strikes us full in the chest, so
that we reel backward to the ground,
and half-consciously struggle for
breath in the sand and now
the storm is over :. the pres
sure of the atmosphere relaxes off
our chest we breathe deep ..
only scattered. dancing flames now
and squibs fireworks.
But what on earth has happened?
We peer out fearfully over our
earthworks.
Has red hell opened its mouth?
There rises noise of screams and
yeIls, an uproar so unnaturally wild
and unrestrained that we cringe up
closer to one another and. trem-
bling, we see that our faces, our uni
forms. have red. wet stains. and dis
tinctly recognize shreds of flesh on
the cloth. And among our feet some
thing is lying that was not lying there
before-it CLEANS white from the
dark sand and uncurls a strange
dismembered hand H.. and there
and there fragments OF
flesh with the uniform still adhering
TO them-then we realize it, and hor-
ror overwhelms us.
Outside there are lying arms. legs,
heads, trunks they are bowling
into the night: the whole regiment is
lying mangled on the ground there, a
lump Of humanity crying TO heaven.
Clouds are arising from the earth
they are rising crying aloud in
the air they pass over US in
thick drifts, so that we can see the
wounds steaming. and can taste
blood and bones upon our tongues.
And then a spectral vision rises be-
fore my eyes l see red death
standing outside there on the plain