Evening star., 1917-09-16

"A n ~. ain eaid muCn ABOUT IL De-
Mu fore. There are some things
III Nj you're apt to keep to yourself
- specially the ones that root
deep. And I'll admit that at first there
! didn't quite know where I was at
But as affairs got nessier and messier
end the U-boats got buster. and heard
some flrst-hand details of what had
happened to the Belgians-well, l got
mighty restless. 1 expect l INDUCED in
more serious thought stuff than I'd
ever been guilty of.
You see. IL was along back when we
were gettin' our first closeups of the
big scrap-some of our boats sunk,
Slinkers reported off Sandy Hook, bomb
plots shown up. and Papa Joffre over
here soundin' the S. o. s. earnest.
Then there was Mr.. Robert joinin' the
Naval Reserves, and two young hicks
Wed had postals from 'em at the train
in camp. Even Wee was busy with a
nrst-aid class. learnin' how to tie band
ages and put on splints.
So private seccing seemed sort of
tame and useless-like keepin' on
sprinklin' the lawn while your chimney
was bein' struck by lightnin. / felt
like l ought to be gettin' in the game
oomeho" anyway, II seemed as II II
was my ante.
Not that I'd been rushed off my feet
by all this buntin'-wavin' or khaki
wearin'. I'm no panicky Old Glory
trail-hitter. Nor / didn't lug around
the idea l was the missin' hero who was
to romp through the barbed wire. stamp
Hindenburg's whiskers in the mud. and
lead the allies across the Rhine. I
didn't even kid myself I could swim out
and kick hole in submarine, or do
hA ria ri n iafn oCy a bal e NOV
lesson at Mineola.
In fact. 1 suspected that sheddin' the
enemy's gore wasn't much in my line.
I knew l should dislike quittin' the
hay at dawn to sneak out and get
mixed up with half bushel of impetu-
Gus scrap-iron. Still, if it had to be
done. why not me as well as the next
party?
Vee-sort of hint around. anyway. and
zee how she'd take it. But as a matter
OF fact / never could seem to find just
the right openin' until, there one night
after dinner, as she finishes a new piece
shes tryin' over on the piano, wan
ders up beside her and starts absent
minded tearin' little bits off a corner of
the music
'Torchy!" she protests. What an
absurd thing to do"
En- says I. twistin' it into a cornu-
copia. But you know l can't go on
warmin' the bench like this
She stares at me puzzled for a second
Meaning what, for instance?' she
asks.
Il got to go help swat the Hun"
says l.
The fickery look in them gray eyes of
1ers steadies down, and she reaches out
Tor one of my hands. That's all No
5umpy emotfons-not even lip culver
Must you?" says she, quiet.
Il can't take ii out in wearin' a but
TON or hirin' some one to hoe potatoes
In the back lot" says l.
NO" says she.
"Auntie would come, 1 supposer'
says /.
Wee mods.
And with Leon here" goes on. and
Ars. Battou. you could
Yes / could get along" she breaks
IN But-but when
Right away" says l. LAS soon as
they can use me-"
You'll start training for a commits
sion. them she asks
Not me-. says l. I'D be poor enough
as private. but maybe I'd help fill In
one Of the back rows. 1 don't know
much about it. I'll look it up tomor-
row"
Tomorrow? Ohw says Wee. with Just
me suspicion Of break in her voice
And that's all we had to say about it.
livery word. You'd thought we'd ex-