The Washington times., 1916-01-16

terrific explosion at the roadsid,
the Shrek OF n shell. A Bhe1l
a tunnel through the air and thf
this tunnel the echoes of the wits
of the shell Jar and clash and mi
one long S.yTa whins s ThsoE the she ~. I'VE S STa
lance window we saw first a cloud OF
bmoke and then the outline OF a huge
gun which stood at least eight feet
had a mouth that a man could have
nut his head into. The great cannon
stood within fifteen feet Of the roaa.
but 1t was so cleverly sheltered and So
den by decorations OF holly that W
not seen it,
But. now Il was a battlefield.
non on the top OF the hill roared
other cannon further away roare'
British cannon behind us roared
different sound. II was a shrek that
didn't grow less with the passage OF
seconds. but louder. Look into the sky
above you; you can see nothing: you
feel helpless; all around YOU the air IL
filled with that growing whine: 1t may
end in a burst near you: IL that's the
case. YOU won't hear the burst. in ali
likelihood. In common parlance. the
light will 20 out and you won't know
wha. hit you. You have an infinitely
intense desire to hear the boom: you
want to have the thing over with: az
long as that whine Is in the sky over
minute.
An Alarming Experience.
l am not writing this in order to
boast that l have been under shell fire,
but in order to point out that being un-
der shell fire is an alarming thing, and
that IL the experience doesn't stir UP
heavy thrill within you. then you must
be a dumb animal that cannot under
stand the things that are going or
around it. Some men say they liB~
thrill; that the feeling lis plea
Others say they don't like it. and
among them. It's too much like be
in a terrific electrical storm with hart
lightning than human being ever sa
in the sky. any bolt of which mean.
death.
But here the shell is. in the sky
above us.
There is a terrific roar. On the hill
side above us huge cloud. bigger than
siX-story building, OF mud, stones
and earth arises. The she'll has burst.
Let 1t be recorded that Richard Hard
Chicago Tribune: John Bass Of the Chi
cago Daily News, and James Hare,
the war photographer, were not hit.
Neither was /.
How 1t Feels.
said didn't like It, had been un-
der shell fire in Russia, in Serbia, on
the English front; l had lodged bo
ally and anti-ally shells and h
made UP my mind months before, tn
the next time l was near fiying she
would try to study the working
my mind and nerves and discover,
possible. whether l was frightened
whether or not the shaky feeling IL
comes from knowing that death
somewhere in the sky near by is reA
pleasant one: whether the thrill of
kiss or q drink compares with
thrill Of being in danger of sudd
death by bullets or shells. I had ma
the study this time ana found thai
did not like the thrill In the pri
ence of the other war reporters 1 81
that didn't like II.
'Well." said Davis, "Im old enougI
hes almost fifty and he's seen
score OF wars-'Pn. old enough to
init. without being accused of bravado,
that like it,"
Which [ took 20 mean that all younG
reporters are afraid to admit that they
like shell fire.
I was tc have more experience with
shell fire before the day was out.
CThe fourth installment Of the Shepherd
story will appear later)