The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1915-03-18

Evea the MINUTE ol tAs sttask -
kasv: aAA ~ bs1ses aiAnAshe ~
vsss Standing st tAs viaAov IoekiAg
ost into The night. vhiis tAs vieseAisf
Asa1 his watch In hand. In the hssb
ths faint sound OF . 1ifigihls's proDsl
lsr high ~ In the haaveas. Du@oA by
the fog. Vas drowned By the Gray
gsns opening are.
Before the mine sgDaoded. by ths
Hight OF ths shell bursts breaking their
va0 prtsms from centsal spheres oe
Aaos for miles. vieA the quick -
ausncs Of . moving-Dicture flicker.
Ffscasss's nea could So one another's
aAoes. spectral and stiR and pasty
white. With teeth cleaning where jaws
had dropped. some eyes half closed BY
the binding flashes and some opened
wide ~ II the lids were paralyssd.
Fsees and faces! A sea Of faces
stFstehiag away down the slope-faces
IN q trance.
Up over the breastwosks. over rocks
and spltntered timbers. Peterkin and
the judges son and their comrades
cIanbered. When they moved they
were - q myriad-legged creature.
brain nambsd. without any sensatioa
except that Of rapids going over fall.
Those in front could not falter. being
pushed o. BY the pressure of those in
the rear. For . few steps they were
under no nrl. The scream Of their
own shells breaking In Internal pande
monium in front seemed to BE- . power
- irresistible % the rear OF the wedge
in driving them ON.
Then sounds moro hideous than the
hight Of projectiles broke about them
with the abruptness Of hshtnings held
In the hollow Of the Alnighty's hand
and suddenly released. The Browns
guns had opened fire. Explosions were
even swifter In sequence than the
aashes that revealed the stark faces.
Dust and stones and hyhg fragments
Of flesh iilled the air Men went down
In positive paralysis of faculties by the
terrific crashes. Sections OF the ram
were blown to pieces by the burst Of
. shrapnel shoulder high: other sec
tions were lifted heavenward by Q
shell burst in the earth.
Peterkin fell with a piece Of Jagged
steel embedded in his brain. He had
gone from the quick to the dead 20
swiftly that he never knew that his
charm had failed The same explosion
got Fracasse. sword In hand. and an
other buried him where he lay. The
bankers son went little farther; the
BARRIERS son still farther. Men who
were alive hardly realized life. 30
mixed were life and death. Internal
Imagination goes faint; it's widest
SMILES grow feeble and banal before
such a contamination of hell.
But the tide keeps on; the torn gaps
Of the ram are filled by the rushing
legs from the rear. Omcers urge and
lead. Such are the orders; such IL
the duty prescribed: such is human
bravery even in these days when life
is sweeter to more men In the Joys Of
mind and body than ever before. Pre-
cision. organization, solidarity in this
charge such as the days Of the death
or-gfory" boys never knew! Over the
bodies Of Peterkin and the BARRIERS
and the bankers sons. plunsing
through shell craters. stumbling, stag
gering. cut by swaths and torn By
eddies Of red destruction in their
ranks, the tide proceeded. until its
hosts were oetener treading ON flesh
than on sof. And all they knew was
to keep on-keep on, bayonet in hand.
till they reached the redoubt. and there
they were TO stay. alive or dead.
After hell. moro hell, and then still
more hell!" was the way that stra1sky
expressed his thought when the en-
gineers had taken the place Of the $50
Of the Browns in the redoubt. They
put their mines and connections deep
enough not to be disturbed by shell
fire. After the survivors In the van Of
the Grays' charge, spent of breath,
reached their goal and threw them.
selves down, the earth under them, a.
the mine exploded. split and heaved
heavenward. But those in the rear,
slapped in the face by the conclusion,
kept on, driven by the pressure of the
mass At their backs, and, in turn,
plunged forward on their stomachs In
the seams and burrows OF the mines
havoc. The mass thickened as the flood
of bodies and legs banked up, in keep
ing with Westerling's plan to have
enough to hold"
(To BE coNTINUED)