Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-25

too, with five bullets in his body, two in
the right leg two in the right arm and one
through the right shoulder. He had ready
wit enough to sink limp to the ground as
If death had come to him as it had to the
others, and he lay perfectly STILL despite
pain despite the awlwardness Of his posi-
tion. in which his wounded arm was under
the body, and his cheek touching the newly
dead shoulder of fellow victim In a mo-
ment the German officer came up close,
looked at the five PROSTATE men for sec
ond and fired five shots from his revolver,
one in each body. The bullet intended for
Auger furrowed a ridge TO the hone across
his forehead. He felt its burnirl passage,
the triclIling blood but lay still . . if truly
dead
All day he laid there in the cold, suffer-
ing, but with gritted teeth waiting for the
night Would they come and bury before
darkness? He did not know. He only
prayed to our Lady, thought of his Brit
tany home Of his mother. of the sCapuar
about his neck that he was certain had
saved his life.
Crawled Away in the Dark
With the early dark he cautiously raised
his head and seeing no one crawled way,
finally after what seemed hours dragging
himself to the open beyond the village.
There he was found unconscious by a Ger
man patrol during the night, taken for
member Of French patrol that had been
wounded in a skirnish and removed to
field hospital. on the way he asked HIM
self If he would meet the officer or any
of the squad that had executed him. And
with his sound hand he touched the soap
ular about his neck
In the hospital he was given medical
treatment The German surgeon looked
at his wounds and said the arm would
have to be amputated Aug!er answered
al Il.
useless and you may have blood poison
ing" was the reply.
Let it be, bandage It, but let it be-"
answered the soldier from Brittany.
And so he was sent to the rear and
later TO a hospital in Germany and after
ward 10 n prison camp. He suffered the
tortures of hell during the Journey And
he reached his prison "home" with his
forehead healed, but showing a livid scar,
his leg usable with stick, his arm "A
wthered thing. There he remained until
four months ago, when he was exchanged
through Switzerland as one of the hope
lessly wounded. And when he reached
Paris he was sent TO hospital, where the
five bullets were extracted. Those in the
arm had destroyed nerves and ligaments.
Muscular power was forever gone so
after two operations that have left him
slightly less a cripple than when he en-
tered, he was discharged That was a
fortnight ago.
Today he wore a new uniform upon
which were the Medaille NIilitaire, the
CroiX de Guerre, the Legion of Honor. And
the old sweat-stalned faded scapular.
And even while war still wages he will
begin TO live again, TO take his bride to his
little farm in Brittany to the quaint old
stone house that was his fathers before him
and where with his wife and his mother, he
will, pray reap life's reward in happiness,
which after all is sweeter than high
honors.
AS / kissed his bride upon both cheeks
and shook his hand in parting, his old
mother-in-law said to me:
you will come as usual next week
Monsieur For L will stay here, l hope 10
die here, since / have lived in this house
thrty-four years. And there are two In
Germany to come to it after the war and
keep me company"