Connecticut western news., 1918-07-18
I 0ie7 eY l IARTHu1 GUY EhpfyI

He nodded to the sergeant, who dis appeared, and I'll be darned if he didn't return with a glass of ale. could only open my mouth about quarter of an inch, but got away with i every drop of that ale. It tasted just like Blighty, and that is heaven to Tommy.
 The doctor said something to an or derly, the only word could catch was "chloroform," then they put some kind of an arrangement over my nose and mouth and 1t was me for dreamland.
 When opened my eyes was lying on stretcher, in a low wooden building. n Everywhere looked saw rows of Tommies on stretchers, some dead to the world, and the rest with 1 flags in their mouths.
 The main topic of their conversation was Blighty. Nearly all had grin on their faces, except those who didn't have enough face left to grin with. | ] grinned with my right eye, the other was bandaged.
 Stretcher-bearers came in and be- gan to carry the Tommies outside. You could hear the chug of the engines in the waiting ambulances. I was put into an ambulance with ! three others and away we went for an eighteen-mile ride.
 ! I was on a bottom stretcher. The lad right across from me was smashed up something horrible. Right above me was a man from the Royal Irish rifles, while across from l him was a Scotchman. We had gone about three miles when I heard the death-rattle in the throat ! of the man opposite. He had gone to rest across the Great Divide. I think at the time envied him. The man of the Royal Irish rifles had had his left foot blown off, the jolting of the ambulance over the rough road had loosened up the band ages on his foot, and had started it bleeding again. This blood ran down the side of the stretcher and started dripping. was lying on my back, too weak to move, and the dripping of this blood got me in my unbandaged right eye. closed my eye and pretty soon could not open the lid; the blood had congealed and closed 1t, as if 1t were glued down.
 An English girl dressed in khaki was driving the ambulance, while beside her on the seat was corporal of the R. A., M. C., They kept up a running conversation about Blighty which al- most wrecked my nerves; pretty ! soon from the stretcher above me, the Irishman became aware of the fact that the bandage from his foot had be- come loose; 1t must have pained him horribly, because he yelled in a loud ! voice:
 Eff you don't stop this bloody death wagon and fix this d. bandage on my foot, will get out and walk" | The girl on the seat turned around and in a sympathetic voice asked, | Poor fellow, are you very badly woundedW
 1 The Irishman, at this question, let i out a howl of indignation and an- swered, "Am I very badly wounded, i what bloody cheek; no, I'm not wound ed. I've only been kicked by canary bird"
 l l and the corporal came to the rear and fixed him up, and also washed out my right eye. I was too weak to thank him, but it was a great relief. Then I must have become unconscious, be- cause when I regained my senses, the ambulance was at standstill, and my stretcher was being removed from it. It was night, lanterns were flashing here and there, and could see stretch er-bearers hurrying to and fro. Then I was carried into a hospital train.
 The inside of this train looked like heaven to me, just pure white, and we met our first Red Cross nurses; we thought they were angels. And they were.
 Nice little soft hunks and clean, white sheets.
 | A Red Cross nurse sat beside me
 during the whole ride which lasted three hours. She was holding my
 wrist; I thought had made hit, and
 tried to tell her how I got wounded,
 but she would put her finger to her lips
 and say, "Yes, know, but you mustn't
 talk now, try to go to sleep, it'll do you good, doctors orders." Later on I
 learned that she was taking my pulse
 every few minutes, as I was very weak
 from the loss of blood and they ex-
 pected me to snuff 1t, but I didn't.
 From the train we went into ambu-
 lances for a short ride to the hospital
 ship Panama. Another palace and more
 angels. don't remember the trip
 across the channel.
 I opened my eyes; I was being car
 ried on a stretcher through lanes of
 people, some cheering, some waving
 flags, and others crying. The flags were
 Union Jacks, was in Southampton. Blighty at last. My stretcher was