The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-10-19
Disappointed Through Failure to
See q Boats.

See q Boats.
However, these optimists were DOOM
ed to disappointment, for Jul ship did
not see a German porpoisa' the whole
voyage, nor did we hear a gun fred.
Since returning to the United States
I have heard Of the attack on some Of
the ships Of the transport feet, but it
was not on the part Of 1t we were with.
It would have been impossible for US
to have been attacked and not to have
known Of it. As I say, lots Of the boys
were disappointed because they could
not write home to the folks about the
narrow escape from the subs, and the
doughboys are great letter writer's.
Perhaps some of them did, anyway, 80
as to let those at homo know they
weren't missing anything.
BY this time l felt almost like 4 SOL
der and had learned to smoke tailor
made" cigarettes, although I had tried
it only once before this trip al an e1-
pertinent when I was at school and had
abandoned it after q couple Of puts.
In the privacy of my bunk I devoted
q whole lot of time to trying to roll
them with as much carelessness and
real economy Of tobacco an are shown
by the q. s. soldier. I had acquired
the "makin's" and spent hours at the
task.
About the third or fourth day out !
felt I was pretty proficient and got out
my brown papers and tobacco on deck
and went to 1t. Near me was 4 sailor
off one Of our biggest battleships who
was in the gun crew assigned to defend
the transport from attack BE was
of duty, and I saw him watching me
closely as I rolled the pill Finally he
sided up.
"say," he asked, you're q Jane, amt
you?"
what are you doin'-kiddin' me%
asked him.
Il guess you're kiddin' me-" hs an
swered. Il pegged you by the way
you wrap up one of those pills. No re-
cruit is 30 raw he can't roll n better
than that. They wouldn't let him In
the army If he couldn't But what
you're doing on this Joy ride ia none of
my business, sis. Don't be afraid Ill
tip you of. I'm in the navy, and what
the army does amt my affair so long
as we get you over there all O. T."
didn't admit / was a girl, but he
knew. he was q nice boy. who had
come from Iowa originally. and l got
real we'll acquainted with him later.
He was n Of the few people on the
transport on the way back, a sad and
lonesome trip for me, and we became
quite chummy. I saw him only the
other night here in Hoboken.
"Well," be remarked, Tt's hard luck
they got you. The other two girls
aboard could roll them better than you
and slipped through all right"
More power to them II they did," !
answered. II hope they made It"
OF course there were no more girls
on board. He was trying to kid me
and get my goat
Life on Shipboard.
I was pretty happy and contented for
the next couple of days. and I guess l
became too sure of myself. Most OF
the boys were getting over their sea.
sickness by this time, and the inev-
liable crap game that follows the army
was in progress. You could hear the
men calling for Little Joe'' and Jim
my Hicks" after they got out the "hot
and colds" and they made plenty OF
noise.
The officers were not very strict
aboard ship and let the crap game run
with all the noise necessary to the sue.
cessful playing Of this national pas
time. One Of the boys had been In par
ticularly hard luck and had only q thin
dime left to put up for a future margin
when he COPIED a big pot. Just then
the submarine alarm sounded We
knew we were near the danger zone.
Hurry up!" shouted n Of the play
ers as we all broke away from our
places.
The winner calmly collected the pot.
"They may shoot me. and I will tell
the world So" he announced, before
| will leave this sugar for a blooming
Dutchman to put a torpedo into. That
would be just my luck. If it ever rains
soup | will be caught with a fork"
It was another drill alarm, so the
calamitist returned to the game only
to be taken" for his roll.
1T would have been better for me II
had been torpedoed," he said after
he had beer cleaned.
And don't think the doughboy Is q
piker. Many a time I've seen $1,000 In
a single pot.
Besides craps, the men sang and
played Black Jack, a favorite card
game of campaigners and one In which
they win and lose big. It wasn't long
before a few Of them had all the mon
ey. The youngsters wrote letters until
I thought some of them would never be
able to handle a gun on account Of
writer's cramp. One young fellow
Sf5-yx tI-IL ,i~t L. Shn akofa ~ Tnv