The Dermott news., 1918-10-17
CHAPTER VI-Continued.

The lieutenant came back with the stretcher bearers and he asked one of them. so the boy could not hear him, if the boy would live.
 The stretcher bearer said: "I don't think so. One through his chest and right leg broken"
 The boy had kept quiet for q while, but all of sudden he yelled, Give me cigarette !' I handed him a ciga rette butt that I had found In the dug out. We were all out of cigarettes.
 So they lit 1t for him and he kept quiet As soon as they could they got around the corner of the fire bay with him and through communication trench to field hospital. The lieu tenant and I walked Il little way with him and he began to thank us, and he told the lieutenant, "Old man, you have been n father and mother to me"
 And the lieutenant said to him: You have done well. old boy. You have done more than your share.'
 When they started into the commu nication trench the boy began to scream again. And the lieutenant acted like wild man. He took out his cigarette case. but there were no cigarettes in It. and then he swore and put It back again. But In n few min uteS he had the case out again and was swearing worse than ever and talking to himself.
 .'The boy isn't dying like n gentle man." he said. Why couldn't he keep quiet" do not think he meant 1t. He was all nervous and excited and kept taking out his cigarette case and putting It back again.
 The other officer had gone on to in- spect the sentries when the boy rolled into the trench and Il poilu came up 10 tell us that the officer had been hit We walked back to where I had been and there was the officer. If I had been there I would have got 1t too. l guess. He was an awful mess. The veins were sticking out of his neck and one side of him was blown off. Also. his foot was wounded. That Is what shrapnel does to you. As I crawled past him happened to touch his foot and he cursed me all over the place. But when I tried to say 1 was sorry I could not for then he apolo- gized and died moment later.
 There was silver cigarette case sticking out of the rags where his side had been blown away and the lieutenant crossed himself and reached in and took out the case But when he pried open the case he found that it had been bent and cracked and all the cigarettes were soaked with blood. He swore worse than ever. then, and threw his own case away, putting the other officers case In hts pocket
 At this point our own artillery be- gan smelling and we received the order to stand to with fixed bayoncts. When we got .ke order 10 advance some of the men were already over the para pet and the whole bunch after them and. believe me, I WIS aS pale as Il sheet. just scared to death. I think every man iS when he goes over for the first umc-every time fer that matter. But was glad We were going to get some action, because it Is hard to sit around in trench under fire and have nothing to do. l had all could do to hold my rifle.
 We ran across Nc Mans Land. l cannot remember much about it. But when We got to the German trench I fell on top of a young fellow and my bayonet went right through him. IL was n crime to get him, at that. He doll tn
 When 1 got back to our trenches after my first charge l could not sleep for n long time aftcrward. for remeln- boring what that fellow looked like and how my bayonet slipped Into him and how he screamed when Inc feil. He had his legs and his neck twisted under him after he got 1t. I thought about il a lot and 1t got to be almost n habit that whenever I was going to sleep l would think about him and then all hope of sleeping waS gone.
 Our company took Germnn trench that time and along with another company four hundred prisoners. We had to retire because the men on our sides did not get through and We were being ilauhed. But We lost lot of men doing it.
 When We returned to our trenches our outfit was simply all fin and we were lying around in the front line, like bunch of old rags in narrow , alley. None of us showed any sixam of life except n working party aid q was digging with picks and shC- .sh il Some bodies that had been frc
 the mud of the trench.