Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-10-23

They have not found us yet. have
they?
He had hardly finished speaking
when one fell that did the damage. My
sense of hearing was already numbe6
by the sound Of the others. l remem.
ber l was sitting on the bottom Of the
trench when it came. The man killed
must have been standing up, as the
piece of shell which struck him tore
through his left side, all but carrying
his arm and shoulder away. None OF
the others were scratched. They were
on the bottom with me.
1--WE were still daZed when we
heard some one say: Look out fol
them now But no more shells fell fol
a few minutes. and by the time they
recommended we were too busy to
pay any attention. 1 only remember
that there were more.
There they are, there they are.
could hear soldiers saying in boarding
school whispers. l peered out cauti-
ously and it seemed to me at first
merely as if the shadow Of the wood
had deepened.
The Germans Come On.
"All along our line could hear the
rustling and rasp of leather and an
occasional click, but l could also hear
the air pumping in and out of my
throat Then could see the shadow
coming closer Steady now, wait,
whispered the lieutenant, and the
whisper ran down the line.
1T kept running through my head
that l had done something like this
before. My mind groped for what it
was and hit upon that fact that l had
laid in the grass while stealing apples
as a boy while the farmer walked
close behind me. 1t occurred to me
that that would be a good thing to
say when l wrote about it, but the
thought harassed me that / had read
something like it before.
my mind refused to do anything
but try and decide whether / Should
mention it and then Let them have
it, heard. l think one man fired just
before the words, but l am not GER
tain.
For the next twenty minutes it
went on. Out of it l retain just two
pictures. Just before the lieutenant
gave the order to fire, the German
line seemed to stop 1t was quite
compact, just as l had been told by
everyone who had ever faced it that
it would be. For an instant the dark
deceived me into thinking 1t was
drawing back. Then 1t came on
was going to say it rushed, but it
did not. It's movements seemed to
me astoundingly slow.
"They fired as soon as we did and
dropped down and out Of sight. AS
crouched on the bottom of the
trench l wished for a rifle too. l
tried to decide what to do If the
Germans carried the trench and mar
yelled at the amount of sound. l did
not know until afterward there was
a machine gun in the wood.
"Of the rest of the night 1 have
very little recollection. l know the
firing stopped, and l looked out and
saw nothing but the dark.
There was shelling all the morn
ing over us mostly and beyond the
shelling a few motor buses coming
up. One shell knocked the carefully
built haystack over at an angle and,
stopped by the impact, exploded. In
a few seconds came the flame and
after that the terrible sight of the
bodies burning.
1T took quite a time to burn, and
it was all in flame before the man
with a bullet through his stomach
got up. He appeared suddenly. as II
he were a salamander coming out of
him as if he did not know where to
go. / think some one called out, and
he went staggering down the slope.
Il was so excited by the occurrence
that | lost my caution and followed
him down when he was taken to the
village. When it was too late | real
lied there was nothing for me to do
but get away. l need not have been
disturbed, however, for no one show
ed any inclination to stop me.
"On that main road from scissors
when | thought l was safe from in
reference, l was stopped by TWO
French gendarmes. They finally ac-
cepted my explanation that | was 60
ing south for a train, and as | was out
Of the firing line anyhow, and afoot,
they let me CO."