Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-05-21

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since that which l first told you of.
For your mother, when l dared think
OF her fcould think of her, | should
say, | never knew anything but love.
l was not so grief stricken when /
heard of her death as l thought 1
should have been. I have loved her
better and been more at peace since
then.
Your father never let me know of
her death: | heard of it from a casual
friend. So instead of a possible recon
Citation between your father and me.
a thing which | would have almost
welcomed then over her grave, l think
/ hated him more. They say love can
only turn to hatred. never to friend
ship. and so that chance passed.
It is midnight now.
Well, the next thing l must tell you
is that the man in my regiment whom
I killed was-as they said at the court
martial today-an enemy Of mine.
His name was Williams, and he was
until recently employed In u firm In
a comparatively subordinate position.
He was a troublesome, self opinionat-
ed man. of no great value to the bust
ness. and not long ago he was gotten
rid of. largely at my instigation and
thoroughly as he deserved.
However. he belonged to the militia.
and when the war broke out he was
given a commission in this regiment.
I volunteered for service, and /, too,
was put into this regiment as private.
and thus 1t came about that he so o o
found himself in a position to take his
revenge upon me. and well did he do
1t, the BLACKBOARD. That's immaterial
now, but it is necessary that you
should understand that the whole regi-
ment knew these facts, and knew, too.
that although ! had supported his bull
lying for a long time without a MUIR
muir 1t was not unlikely that / should
try to get ever with him If | had an
opportunity.
Our regiment was almost in the
center of the first line the day before
yesterday at the storming OF the big
redoubt. and we had had the brunt OF
the fighting all day. The enemy had
thrown up some very strong earth
works In front of the main defenses.
and our artillery. aided by the in
fantry, had had a lot of work to do
in demolishing them and driving the
enemy from them,
We had stormed the earthworks
twice already and had lost at least a
third of our officers and men. / had
two minor wounds only.
The captain of my company. Frank
lin, was killed in the second assault.
and Williams took his place In com
mand.
Then the big assault was ordered on
a weak point In their main defenses
where Il heavy artillery had made a
breach, and we were hurled at 1t. regi-
ment upon regiment.
There was a surge and a roar of
fighting. One was conscious of nothing
but explosions and shouts and screams.
blood everywhere and men struggling
and men fallen. At last / was on the
slope ut the foot of the breach. STUN
bling over bodies and fighting my way
blindly, half choked by smoke and
dust.
And then suddenly l saw your IA
Their.
| cannot explain what happened
within me at that moment. | was half
mad and dazed from u wound in the
head and perhaps half a child again.
| cannot explain, but saw him as
though he were the only man before
me. Despite all the years since l had
last seen him and the state he was in,
with blood and CRIME on his face and
in his grizzled hair, l saw him as
though we were at home together in
the old days.
1t was as though a vision flashed on
me and made me unconscious Of the
CHASTITY holocaust around us. Perhaps
your mother was lei
But it was only to be an instant. He
saw me also. and whether the same
feelings were in him | do not know.
but he stood as If turned to stone with
his gaze full on me.
The next instant some one In front
of me and to my right, l could not see
who 1t was. dashed forward and buried
a sword half its length in his chest.
l can see Georges face now. His
jaw dropped, but his eyes remained
fixed ON me till he fell.
Then l went quite mad, l think. l
felt choked. and things swan before
me. / killed that man. do not actual
ly remember how. but men behind me
saw 1t.
He was Williams. of course, the man
who killed your father and for whom
l am to be shot in an hour or two.
l am tired and will stop. | have said
everything. think.
But | am not sorry. | believe abso-
lutely in the hereafter, and ! think
that l shall find Helen and George in
a very little time now.
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