The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-08-18

few seconds.
Meat said Harvey, the bomber,
Blooming neat; though 1 don't say
as it beats the old Mills. But any
how, we're dash lucky to have 'em.
Ere they come again, Larry"
'Sock it i'm said Larry briefly.
There's more bombs than we'll have
time to use, I fancy, SO don't tryn
save them, up He shouted for any
of the wounded that could move
themselves to clear out, and set him
self tossing over the grenades as fast
as he could pull the decorating
strings.
Then his last man on lookout on
the pit rim yelled a warning and OPP
ened rapid fire, and Larry knew that
another rush was coming over the
open. This he knew was the finish
because now he had no men left to
keep up a fire heavy enough to stop
| the rush above ground, and, if Har-
vey and\he went to help, the ceasing
of their grenade-throwing would
leave the attack to come at him along
the shattered trench.
He and Harvey looked once at each
other. and went on grin1ly throwing
grenades. Then Harvey dropped
without a word, and Larry, looking
up, saw few Germans shooting over
the pit rim. They disappeared sud
denly as he looked, cut down-al-
though he did not know that-by a
heavy rifle fire that had been open
ed by the British-owned trench be-
hind him.
He yelled hoarseIy at the one man
left still firing from his niche up on
! the parapet, grabbed the box with
the remaining grenades, and made a
i holt the milf fnY> the other side
and the trench opening from it. The
rifleman did the same, but he fell
halfway across, and Larry, reaching
cover, glanced around and saw the
other struggling to his kneese, turned
and dashed back, and half dragged,
half carried the man across up the
crumbling edge of the pit, and heaved
him over into the trench mouth. Then
he took up his position behind the
1 breastwork, and made ready to hold
it to the last possible minute.
i In that last minute assistance ar
rived-and arrived clearly only just
in time.
Headed by an officer, a strong de-
tachment of the Stonewalis. hurried
along the trench, found Larry stand
ing waist-high above the barricade
jerking the misunderstanding and
lhurling the last of his grenades as
fast as he could throw them into the
pit, from which arose a fpandemo-
MUM of crashing explosions, yells
an 4 shrieks, and gutteral curses ano
the banging reports of rifles.
1 The Stonewalls swarmed, cheering
over the barricade and down into the
hole beyond like terriers into a rat
pit. Most of the Germans threw theil
rifles down and threw up their
| nm, 4 eel
and the Stonewalls, with hardly {
check, charged across the, pit int
the trench beyond, swept it clear o,
the enemy for a full two-hundret
yards, and then firmly established
themselves in and across it will
swiftly built barricades and plentiful
stores of bombs.
Larry's share ended there, and Lar
ry himself excited from the scene O.
his first command quite inconspicu
J, ously ON a stretcher.
It was only chance that brough
him. one or two of the other wound
/ ed of his party, and his own platoon
commander to the same sFirst-Ai
post and to travel in the same motor
: ambulance, and only chance tina
| tmadeI known something of his story
{ But it was not until sometime afte
: that the platoon commander cam,
, to learn it anything like fully AM
write out and tell it to the G.. o. -
3 The G. o. read his letter out t,
/ Larry's company commander. to tina
: worthy captains utter amazenient.
!, Well, upon my word," h said
; that beats me! Who ever. would hav
: suspected Arunde1-Arundel4 of al
) men-of being fit to take Hold of
: job like that and handle his men an
lput the thing through I'M such first
rate shape? 1t beats nei''
YES" said the old man; ct remem
Der you and the others telling me h
! had no knack of leading or hand1in
!, men, ~
= HE never showed sign of it,
protested the captain, "all the tim
at home and in the biIlets out her
: and the trenches-a1though, O
! course, those were ordinary time
without any great fighting to brin
! him out in that line
!, THAT was it, said the C. O.. slow
! ly. He had no knack of barrach
square soldering, I suppose. re
. member his father hadn't, but h
. was a born fighting man, as I believ
!. his father before him, and more for
: bears than I know were. And thi
: boy only showed his ability to lea
: when it came to action and res
!. lhard-fighting and a tight corner. Lik
!, father like son . and could te
you stories of his father
! must have been bred in the boy; ant
: after ALL, breed te1ls-breed tells"
> And there, as ] have said, he spok
:. more truly and more widely than h
Z knew Of the British Army of toda,