The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-10-16


all. There Is a packet Of mail waiting
IN France now for Private Leo G. Car
ter. That is the name l chose. l re-
member particularly one little girl In a
small town in Ohio. She was about
twenty years old, dark, very pretty and
very sentimental on the subject OF
| soldiers.
Where do you come from?" she
| called to me, as ! was sitting In the
car window.
"Arizona," l replied.
"Wbere are you goingT
Somewhere in France" / answered
proudly and hopefully too.
She looked so shocked that l got out
and talked with her. We chatted for
quite awhile. She took my address
and said she would keep me posted on
things back home when l was in the
trenches. | carried the thing through
to the end. l eve kissed hef at part
ing. She was awfully surprised. but
thrilled at the romance Of the situation.
Being q Romeo Is easier than being a
soldier.
Just before we reached Chicago my
husband came to me and begged me
not to 60 on.
1T will be better for you to 60 home
with the folks" he said. You can
study nursing and enter the Red Cross
as soon as you qualify"
Eyes," l replied, 81 a spend months
In preparation, and when I finish they
will send me to the eastern front or
put me on some hospital ship or keep
me on duty here in the U. S. A. Not
for me! / will be no nearer you than
l was before. If / 60 along there will
be a chance Of my being sent for duty
back Of your lines. At least I will re-
quest that position"
II command you to return" he said
In his severest military manner
"Ill think it over, Corporal Carter"
I promised and walked away. When
the train pulled out of Chicago | was
in the cook q peeling potatoes.
When We arrived in Hoboken the
men went straight from the train to
the transport. Here again my husband
demonstrated with me-.
Husband Again Urges Her to Return
you've got away with it this far"
be said. Don't you think it Is time to
90 back"
"Ill say goodby. and I'll go-if
can" was my answer.
When the time came fell In line
again with the cooks and went aboard
the barge.
The barge was tied alongside the
transport where the Eighteenth was
embarking. 1t was piled high with
supplies which were being loaded on to
the ship. These kept arriving all day
and far into the night. Great truck
loads Of them were emptied out on the
deck. This continued during the entire
three days we were anchored there.
worked like a Trojan, and my hands
were well blistered. but my heart "a
happy.
There were no sleeping quarters on
the barge, but there were plenty Of
mattresses. The cooks were quarter
ed together. We slept on mattresses
thrown on the floor inside the barge
cabin. 1t was not uncomfortable. !
used to wake up in the night, look out
at the dusky form Of the transport
swaying gently on the tide and pray l
would not be discovered until | was
aboard and well out IN to the ocean.
The boys around me snored peacefully.
They had nothing to worry them but
the work of unloading the supplies.
Every evening there was a crap game
in the cabin. 1t was what you would
call a fading ~game-noisy. with calls
for Little Joe" and the rest. The
players got most Of their fun out of
joshing one another. One man usually
took all the money. The next night
some fellow-a winner in another game
would take it away from him. and so
it went. Finally. the lucky survivor
had it all
There were few. if any, shore leaves
after the men boarded the transport.
The furthest they went was out on the
pier. Across the river, they could see
the gay lights Of New York reckoning.
They had read often Of the Great White
Way. Few Of them had ever seen 1t
Here they were. within q few minutes
of it. yet it might as well have been q
thousand miles away.
I'D like to take just n slant" said
a rookie to me one evening, as we were
standing on deck. gazing across the
river at the mass Of lights we knew
was New York. He vas a big. raw
boned fellow, typical Of the west. I'D
like to give the old town the once oveT
as long as I'm going over to fight for
her. Gee. look Mt them lights. Must
be a billion Of them. And the build
ings. Kinda tall, eh? If the Germans
ever started shooting at them. good
night"