The sun., 1916-12-10

worked pretty we'll over toward the
river in the rushing back and forth
between the lines and began to back
| down along the bank. 1t was great
the way those fellows %scrappei.
"'Are yuh hit?' they'd say, and then
Go on, we'll hold this a While and
some who weren't hurt SO bad would
help us blinded chaps until Se could
sec a little and help carry the bad
| ones, while the chaps behind would
snuggle down into a gully and pick on
the bloomin' Turks till the Turks got
'e4n. Bully fighters. those Dcrscts.
There was n big chap named
Yorkie, with a bullet through his thigh,
and he'd pick up a fellow and carry
him till he found somebody hurt worse,
and then put the other beggar down
and make him walk"
And Roberts laughed at Yorhie stag.
gering through the sand with a man
over his shoulder, taking a pot shot
now and hen at a Turk.
They got Yorkie finally. Two bul-
let's took him square in the Toby and
knocked him off his dot. lie curled
up and I thought he was sure gone.
lDut IL tell yOu VIA IltPBSitu " IlIU
later.
We lost the rear guard and got
showed ovcr into the grass along the
river where Il was easier 10 hide. and
we found out later that the rear guard
got caught the same way until TWINS
bend down in kut got uneasy and
cut his way back to them. But We
didn't know about that then. All We
knew was that Townshend was hitting
| the high spots for Kut and We were
left in the sinking weeds. a fine little
crew Of blind and wounded M hail
dotty men. We hid from the Turks
til night and then made our way down
the river until we al across an old
dhow in the reeds and piled into her.
Some Of the worst ones were raving
then. We only had a little water and
that went to the wounded and We
didn't want TO drink out of the river:
We knew what that meant. But we
had &c finally; scooped a little up. and
then those of us who had been only
blind before got d~ysentery and began
TO All up With fever.
I'VE dropped down the river. and ny
luck went past Kut IN the night and
never KNEW IL. Ntu tTOuUu hl 4
mud bank and some chap who had a
little sense in his dot would push US
| of. and then we'd float on again. I
passed out early in the game viii
| fever, and the others began TO drop
too after drinking that river water.
! don't know how many days we were
coming down. five or six. / guess. and
then one night we wen drifting by
Basra. We hit one OF the ships and
they got in n boat and pulled over 10
us. thought we were a bomb or some
thing. and found an old dhow chock
fun Of Tommies and not n man on his
feet. Some of us were dead n some
died later. hut I pulled around after
being in the hospital with my eyes
lone up for what seemed a year. And
when ! got out | decided that home
was good enough for me. So here I
am"
But you forgot about York!e."
Roberts grinned again.
We'll. while / was In the hospital
one Of the chaps anne in with "A hoe
through his shoulder and said, so
you're the biloxi that drove that
bloomin' box and old me 1t served
m" right for rolling around with a
wagon full of peanuts-yes, that's
bombs-and then | asked him about
Yorkie. Yorkie hadn't been killed a.
all. but the shock had knocked him
cold for a time and when the Turks
had been over the field and missed
him Yorkie came to. II must have
been funny TO see him jump mp with
his gun and go tearing out for kut
with the bloomin' Turks too aston!shcd
Ia take n shot AZ him, You see, 'hcyd
been over the field and didn't expect 70
have dead men jump up.
We'll, ! guess I'll go down 10 Ph',,y
and get a job making munitions. So
long"