The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-09-23
tBy F1oi.c RobinN1n. !

Paris, sept. 10 fBy MAii) Two
tired. homesick looking younk omeArs
/ leaning back against the wAll OK the
dugout with two dirty rAktAd little
French hcys huddied bAsidA them H.
was 10 O'Clock In the morning, And
Fritz was carrying on an air raid out :
side
There was pop. pop. pop 81 anti
aircraft guns and the occasional z.t-z-A
boom OF falling bomb. but the rner
and the little boys we're paying but
little attention. IT was An old story
10 them wha. they did hear WAS
the squeaking tune OF the rhonogra ph
hat was playing away. equally obltv-
ious
There's a long. long trail a-winding
To the land of my dreams"
They had come more than A year
ago as soon as America came into
the war Some OF the men had been
there for longer than that--~for four
years. as the blue on the collars
showed, They had come acroAa with
the very first Canadians.
Al that. they hadn't seen mitch OF
the war: nothing but the big army
camions that came In and out----in good
the men out on the battle front And
back In the rest biiiets and the train
| ing camps would many times haeA
gone hungry and very often cold. For
they were the men who cut all the
wood for the allied armies.
When they had come to that far
away place on the Swiss border they
had cut down the trees and built
themselves barracks AT the same
time they had built a recreation hut
with a canteen in one corner
| From somewhere or other they had
found a piano They had hoped that
the Y NJ c A would send workers
up there But there were only 400
men Of them and the Fed Triangle
men and women were desperately
needed at places where there vera
thousa nds of troops so they had never
had a real r M c. A.
They had found sign. though. or
a piece Of one. with the triangle stu
intact. and they had hung that un
outside. Perhaps some day II would
he good luck,
i Outside the Gotha. finished their
work. or were chased away before
they had finished II. fsut, As we have
said. the two young officers we're not
listening to the bombs. and they we're
) listening to the phonoErAph. which
was playing the '1onk. Long trait"
all over again So they tur1p ped when
they heard woman's voice At the
door saying:
Hello there''
They gazed dazedlv at tho gray e~As
and the shining brown hair 81 the
face that was laughing at them from
the doorway e, ~
I'll say, you're not a woman. are
your"
Don't I look like one7"
II should saw YOU do, But cAh't
believe It, Won't you please pinch
tmer" He came across the room ana
held out his arm to her,
How will 1t do II give YOU sorne
cigarettes instead ?" Her hand went
into the pocket OF her uniform and
came out again with package OF real
Gosh ding it," ne exploded. Nov
/ know you're blooming dream"
ITS dream l don't mind havinr
myself" the second soldier remarked
looming up with an anticipatorv looJ
In his eye.
A second package Of cigarettes cam.
from the place where the hrtt hac
lbeen found
IF l am it's the first time / evel
knew 1t. I've always thought OF nv,
self rs Marguerite Cockett-Dr. Cock
EFT, II you like-~-late OF Bryn Mawr
Pennsylvania, later still amhulane.
driver for the A. r.. r. W. and now
of the women's bureau Of the Y 81
c A, Am ) properly introduced 90
should say you are, And zee
but we're glad to see you,'
1t seemed there were others slat
to see her. and the two women VIII.
had come with her And they SO
about to prove II, They showed tn.
visitors around first OF all becaus,
that In what the visitors said the,
had come for.
II They wanted to ace what the Y. VI
G. A. could do for this special cam,