Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-31

OIL the men 1elt as customers. Ihey
| were made to feel as old and valued
| friends of the patronne.
Cleans Bayonet After Battle.
| At a table near the door sat young
soldier in shirt sleeves, busily engaged
! in cleaning the muck of Messines from
| his bayonet He had been up in the
| attack, as every man in the room had
been. and now his sole attention was
directed to the cleaning of his accou-
| terments, which was as it should be,
| for soldiers appearance on parade is
| a certain indication Of his bearing in
| battle. He had only come back from
| the trenches that morning at o'clock,
| but to look at him now one might
think that his knowledge of war was
confined to the barrack square and the
| official films in a London cinema. Sud-
| denly he raised his head and looked
| round.
Some Of the Germans looked very
young" he remarked. Three or four
| 1 saw could not be more than sixteen
or seventeen years Of age"
II saw one young Jerry said red
| haired soldier, who was sitting on
| table. swinging his legs backward and
| forward. HE was a youngster-
| couldn't be more than seventeen. He
was under the ruins of dugout when
| came across him / saw the dugout
moving. so 1 pulled the beggar out and
| then got my bomb ready. You never
know what one of these fellows is
going to do, do you? However, he was
dazed with fright, a gibbering idiot!
I felt sorry for the poor devil"
He Took Care Of Jerry"
The man who was cleaning his bay
onet rose from his chair, stepped into
the middle of the floor, lit a cigarette
| and looked round.
| II saw one Jerry and I wasn't sorry
| for him." he said. This bounder was
lying in shell hole and by the look
of him I thought that he was sham
foot as I passed over him and he
jumps to his feet, shoots his hands up
over his head and shouts out Kane
rad! kamerad"
you're my prisoner I said, but
can't go back with you. I have more
Important work on hand, now Go back
alone" I said to him. and left him
| there Then my company came under
machine gun fire and we had to flop to
the ground. AS I lay I had look back
and there was my fine German with a
rife potting at some Of our fellows
who were coming up on the left. went
back to him. He heard me coming.
looked round. dropped his rifle and up
with his hands again.
| 'Kamerad." he yelled. I've a wife
| l says to him. I was watchin' you.
! AS he spoke. the man rushed over to
the window and looked out. THERE
he shouted. Some of my mates going
along to the quartermaster sergeant
for boots 1 want a pair, SO I'm off,
and off he went.
| At this moment another party OF SOL
diers came by. their tunics off, their
hair wet and shiny, their shirt sleeves
! thrust up almost to the shoulders.
They had been out bathing in the
! canal.
"Old Joe. he got caught nicely" one
of the newcomers remarked I'VE were
sitting in our billet and the sergeant
comes in. I'm taking down the names
| of men who want to go home on leave
says the sergeant. Put mine down
SAYS Joe always first to get word IN
! when there's anything going. The SER
geant puts his name down and then
| looks at him. You go down to the
canal and stay on picket there TIL 1
send a man down to relieve you,' he
SAYS to Joe, and Joe is down there on
picket yet. If the sergeant had want
ed two men l would be unlucky, for
was second in giving my name, said
the speaker with a laugh. Then he sat
down at a table to write letter.
Writing the Story Home.
! A number of men were engaged on
| the same job. Ihey were writing hotes,
tearing them up when written and
writing them again. Only one simple
truth had to be told, but how difficult
to tell It! The letter writers had lost
mates, good pals. who had fallen in
war and wives and mothers had to be
| told how these brave men died at the
battle of Messines.
| Even while the men wrote a merry
party came down the street singing a
song:
| What's the good of worrying?
1t never is worth while;
Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag
And smile, boys, d-n you, smile!
! So it is with the soldier. He smiles
on the way to battle and on the way
back from it. The life he lives is
hard one. but he has learned to make
the best of it. The soldiers back from
| Messines are making the best of their
few days hard-earned rest They can be
seen in many a cafe and village to rear
of the firing line, their whole atten-
| ton absorbed by trivial details. 1t
takes very little to interest them, the
heart of one is set on having a dip in a
canal, of another on foot ball match
or a game of whist, while third Is on
the lookout for a strong pair of boots,
! a new hat badge or a decent pair OF