The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-12

ton. Give my compliments to Captain K, and tell him you stay in the trenches way"
 Bursting shells, ruins torn-up roads, shrapnel puffs in the air were as elo- quent as the guide to the American trenches. Boche airplane seemed to fall upon us. Straight down he came. Then away he sped, pursued by a row of smoke circles from our guns.
 Trying to take photos" said the guide. Wait till we get our airmen going" He shook his fist at the fleeing plane.
 The sun spiashed the rolling hills with yellow Birds were carroling to an early spring, and the smell of wet earth was impressive.
 Soon we came to the end of the road The mud began. Deep, red mud where the grass was thin, redding brown mud in the woods maroon where the shells had torn urSly wounds in the hillsides, golder red where the sun played upon it. We reached the ducllboards that long row of little ladders laid flat on the ground. leading from here to the front line and broken only by enemy shells which even now were coming closer.
 Ten Seconds to Save Life
 'Better put on your helmet and get your gas mask ready" said the ser geant q suppose you know how tc use it in case of an attack"
 I didn't. He showed me Got to do it in ten seconds, and hold your breath meanwhile.'
 We entered a bit of woods where six men were cooking in a shanty, and came out into the open agaln closer to the trenches. The duck boards now were badly broken up, and dud shells were lying about.
 The Boche." explained the guide, shells this chow patch at every meal, the damned joy-killer. Let's beat it or he might think we are the mess boys.'
 We ran to the entrance of the trenches. They meant safety. Look ing back, I saw rows of wire entan- elements. new reserve lines and older ones. untenanted. In front there was a ditch growing narrower but deeper every step. deep enough, ten feet away, to shelter walkink soldiers.
 This muddy ditch was the entrance to the line America had sent her men to hold until they were strong enough to break the enemy. There was noth- ing bold nothing heroic, nothing mo- ble, nothing romantic about it. Just a ditch. with mud on top and wet sides
 
 smell of damp, fresh earth and green grass.
 Further in, the trenches were lined with twigs twined about and sup ported by poles driven into the mud. Where the duck boards were broken we stepped or fell knee-deep into the ooze. But we journeyed rapidly through windings and sharp turnings until we came to the captains dug out. At Che door was a line of rock cts. red and green and white, star shells and others. each either bearing message or warning. Smoke was rising gently from the flue protrud- ing from the oiled paper dugout win dow. and voices of men grew louder as we came to the door. The captain closed his portfolio of secret papers and orders, maps and notes, and rose to meet us.
 Want to see what the front lines like? I'll take you there myself He put on his helmet and swung his gas mask over his shoulder. Then ha clasped we'll filled cartridge belt around his hips and examined his big automatic.
 Here, Macey, better give your gun to our visitor,' he said, this isn't ex- actly like promenade on Euclid ave- nue. and if Fritz ever comes over in superior numbers, I'm going to take as many as I can along with me-"
 We went through the trench mud, h-slosh-slosh-then splash-zip, when either of us slipped into a hole and meantime and always the whizz- hizz-whizz-boom!- !-of big shells Occasionally we stopped and waited for the explosions. Frequently there were none. I believe we counted seven whizzes and only four booms
 'Duds," said the captain. q be- 10 nha ic r;, nitlons he got from the Russians"
 We walked out of the trenches, into the open again.
 Better going than by the com. municating trench. so long as the fir ing is not direct"
 We had not gone 50 yards when we heard the zip-zip-zip-zip of a machine gun. At the same instant, there were puffs of sand only four or five yards to our left
 THE PERSONAL NOTE
 They ve spotted us Let's go in," said the captain and it didn't take either of us long to tumble into the trench "If there's anything I dor't like,'' continued Captain K, its machine gun Just so long as the big shells and the little 1 shells and the grenades and mortar l bombs keep coming over. they don't | bother me. They're out for no one in | But when the machine gun | starts, it's like 2 regiment of infantry l formi,,. firing cauad against you per l We began passing men in the trenches. | some at ease. others with rifles close tr | the parapet- Several yards further on | the paraper was not very high. so I ]