Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-28

terry or lance corporal, rs YOU call It
In the infantry, used to relieve the
telephonists. We would do two hours
IN and four off. ! would be on duty
in the advanced observation post,
while he would be at the other end OF
the wire in the battery dugout signal
ing elIiln. We were supposed to send.
throgsl! orders for the battery to fire
when ordered to do so by the observa-
ton officer in the advanced post. But
only in casc Of IN actual attack that
we Void get a chance TO earn our
two ana six day You see. Old Pep
per he'd issned orders net TO fire ex-
eept when The orGers came from him.
And With Qld Pepper orders is orders,
and made TO obey
"Fbe Germans must have known
about tisse orders for even In the day
their u nspor5 and troops used to
expose themselves rs if they We're on
parade. tEhis sure got up our nose,
sitting tigafe day after day, with fine
targets ia front of US but unable to
send over a Shell. We heartily c,,ssed
old Peppca, his orders, the govern
ment, the people nj home, and every
ching IN general. But the Boches
didn't aind cassing and got very care
less Bilne me, they were badly in
sulting Used to- when using certain
road, throw their caps into the air as
I talmt at orr helplessness.
"Cassell had been a telegraphcr in
eivil life and joined up When war was
declared, Ks Tor me, knew Morse,
learned II az The signalers' school back
in 1910. With an officer in the obser-
! yatipn post, we could not carry on the
kind Of conversation that's usual be-
tween two mates, so we used the
Morse code. To send, one of us would
tap the traasmitter with his finger
nails, and the one on the other end
would get it through the receiver.
Many an hour was whiled away in this
manner passing compliments bacl, and
forth.
IN the observation post the officer
used 10 81 fer llcp9s with a powerful
pair of field glasses to his eyes.
Through . clevery concealed loophole
he would scan the ground behind the
German trenches, looking for targets
and finding many. This officer. Cap
tain A by name, had habit of
talking ont l9rla 10 himself. Some
times he would vent his opinion, same
IS & co!lmon private does when he's
wrought up. once upon II time the
captain had been on Old Peppers staff,
50 he could cuss and blind in the most
approved style. Got to be sort of a
habit with him.
about six thousand yards from us.
behind the German lines was a road
III pl'llh view of our post. For the last
three days Fritz had brought compa-
MES Of troops down this road in broad
daylight. They were never shelled,
Whenever this happened the captain
would froth at The mouth and let out
u volume of Gid Peppers religion
which used TO make me love him.
Every battery has a range chart on
which distinctive landmarks are noted
with the range for each. These land
marks are called targets, and are mum.
befed. On our battery's chart. that
road was called Target IL, Range
60oG 3 degrees 80 minutes left d 23s
battery consisted of four AS howit.
zers, and fired a 35-pound Fl. e. shell
AS you know, II. g. means high ex.
plosive.' | don't like cumming ND my
own battery, but we had II record in
the division for direct hits and our
boys We're just pining away for a
chance to exhibit their skill in the
eyes of Fritz.
ION the afternoon Of the fourth day
of Fritz contemptuous use of the road
mentioned the captain and / were al
our posts as usual. Fritz was strafe.
Ing us pretty rough. just like he's doing
now. The shells were playing leap
frog all through that orchard.
u was carrying on a conversation
in our tap code with Cassell at the
. other end. 1t ran something like this
"'Say, Cassell, how would you like
to be in the saloon bar of the Kings