Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1914-11-13
ca men!, he shouted At the top Of ms

voice.
The colonel Of the 128th had not
looked for immediate resistance. He
had told Fracasse's men to occupy the
knoll expeditiously. But by the COM
mon impulse of military training, no
less than in answer to the whistles
call, In face of the whitening ire they
dropped to earth at the base OF
knoll, where Hugo threw himself
down at full length in his place in line
next to Peterkin.
Fire pointblank at the crest IN
front of you! | saw couple OF men
standing up there!" called Fracasse.
Fire fast! That's the way to keep
down their pointblank, tell you!
You're firing into the sky! want to
see more dust kicked up. Fire fast!
Well have them out of there soon!
They're only an outpost"
Hugo was firing vaguely, like man
in a dream. Pilzer was shooting to
kill His eye had the steely CLEAN
of his rifle sight and the liver patch
on his cheek was deeper hue as he
sought to avenge Eugene's death
Drowned by the racket of their own
fire, not even Peterkin was hearing
the whish-whish of the bullets from
Dellarme's company now He did not
know that the blacksmith's son, who
was the fourth man from him, lay with
his chin on his rife stock and tiny
trickle of. blood from hole in his
forehead running down the bridge OF
his nose
Young Dellarme, new to his cap
tain's rank, watching the plain
through his glasses, saw the move
ment of mounted officers to the rear
of the 128th as a reason for summon
ing his men.
Creep up! Don't show yourselves!
Creep up carefully carefully" he
kept repeating as they crawled for
ward on their stomachs "And no one
is to fire until the command comes"
Hugging the cover of the ridge of
fresh earth which they had thrown up
the previous night, they watched the
white posts. Stransky, who had been
ruminatively silent all the morning,
was in his place, but he was not look
ing at the enemy Cautiously, to avoid
a reprimand, he raised his head to en-
able him to glance along the line. All
the faces seemed drawn and clayish.
They don't want to fight! They're
just here because they're ordered here
and haven't the character to defy au-
thority," he thought. The leaven is
working My time is coming!"
For Dellarme the minute had come
when all his training was to be put to
test. The figures on the other side of
the white posts were rising. He was to
prove by the way he directed COM
Dany of infantry in action whether or
not he was worthy of his captains
rank He smiled cheerily. In order
that he might watch how each man
used his rifle, he drew back of the line,
his slim body erect as he rested on
one knee, his head level with the
other heads while he fingered his
whistle. The instant that Eugene
Aronson sprang over the white post
a blast from the whistle began the
war.
1t was a signal, too, for Stransky
to play the part he had planned; to
make the speech of his life. His six
feet of stature shot to its feet with
observation-disclosures abruptness, under
the impulse of a mighty and reckless
passion.
Men, stop f1ring!" he hoWled thun-
derously stop firing on your broth
ers! Like you, they are only the
pawns of the ruling class, who keep
us all pawns in order that they may
have champagne and caviare Com
rades, I'll lead you! Comrades, we'll
take white flag and go down to meet
our comrades and we'll find that they
think as we do! I'll lead you'll"
The appeal was drowned in the
cracking Of the rifles working as regu-
larly as punching-machines in a fac
tory. Every soldier was seeing only,
his sight and the running figures un-
der it. Mechanically and automatical-
~, training had been projected into
action anticipation into realization. A
spectator might as well have called to
man in a hundred-yard dash to stop
running, to an oarsman in q race to
jump out of his she'll
The company sergeant sprang for
Stransky with an oath. But StraDsky
was in no mood to submit. He felled
the sergeant with a blow and, reck
lessly defiant, stared at Dellarme,
while the men, steadily firing, were
still oblivious of the scene. The SER
geant. stunned, rose to his knees and
reached for his revolver. Dellarme,
bent over to keep his head below the
crest, had already drawn his as he
FASTENED toward them.
"Will you get down? Will you tako
your place with your rifle?" demanded