The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-05-07
come forward, and indicated small
opening in a screen of branches.

to show yourself or to shake
branches. That hillside opposite us
is dotted with enemy observatories
just as this hillside is dotted with
ours, and they are constantly search
ing this ridge with powerful glasses
in hope of spotting us and shelling
us out. Thus far they have not been
liable to locate us. We have had bet
ter luck, however, for we have spot
ted two of their fire control stations
and cleared them out"
AS l was by no menas hankering
to have a storm of shrapnel bursting
about my head, | was careful not to
do anything which might attract the
attention of any German with a tele-
scope glued to his eye. Peering eau
tiously through the opening in the
screen of bushes, l found myself
looking down upon the winding
course of the Aisne and upon the
white walls and pottery roofs Of
Scissors, clustered on its further
bank. Directly back of the town
rose steel ridge, it's flanks already
green with grass, but its green was
slashed across by many zigzag yell
low lines which might have been
roads or paths, but which 1 knew
were German trenches.
But although all those trenches
sheltered an invading army, not a
sign of life was to be seen. The
landscape seemed absolutely desert
ed. But on the other side of that
ridge we knew German batteries
were posted just as French guns
were stationed out of sight back of
the ridge on which I stood. This
artillery warfare is after all but
gigantic edition of the old-fashioned
game of hide and seek. When you
see your opponent, however, instead
of tipping him on the shoulder and
saying politely, '''I see you," you try
try to kill him with three-inch
shell.
The officer in command at this
point was anxious to give demon
stration of the accuracy with which
his gunners could land on the Ger
man solar plexus until he learned
that we were going into the town.
Then he changed his mind.
They've been quiet for several
days now," he said, "and If you are
going across the river it's just as
we'll not to stir them up. You will
probably get a little excitement,
anyway, for they usually drop few
shells into town about sunset just
before knocking off for dinner"
BLOOMS AND BOMBS MINGLE.
This was not exactly cheerful
news, for it was then 4:30 p. m.
Slipping through an opening in the
screen of foliage which masked the
observatories we found ourselves at
the beginning of the communication
trench which led diagonally down
the hillside to the river. Down this
we went, sometimes on hands and
knees and always STOPPING, for we
were now within full view of the
German position, and to have shown
our heads above the trenches would
have brought an instant storm of
shrapnel.
Crossing the river, we still had
before us a mile or more of cobble
paved high road lined on either side
by cottages, all of which showed
signs of shell fire. Some had shat
tered roofs and plaster on the walls
Of others was pock-marked with bull
let's. Here fighting had been des-
Derate and bloody.
But over garden walls strayed
branches of peach, {
cherry and apple trees. The air was
leavy with their fragrance. Black !
md white cattle grazed contentedly I
lnee-deep in the grass of nearby
meadow Pigeons cooed and chat +
cred on housetops. {
By an open window an old woman I
With large white cat in her lap /
at knitting. AS she knitted she S
ooked out across blossoming hill G
ides to the skyline where the in G
aders lay entrenched and waiting. s
wonder what she was thinking c
bout? She must have remembered F
uite distinctly when the Germans I
anne to scissors for the first time =
We and forty years ago, and of how il
hey shot the townspeople in the u
ublic square. A few years ago the c
eople of Scissors erected a monu- d
lent to those murdered citizens.
When this war is over they will n
ave some more names to add to I
hose already carved on its base. +
Flames have swept away half the
own of Colon, Panama, causing