The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-04-04


The American WOmen's War hospi-
tai was a heaven for wounded men.
They We're allowed every privilege DOS
sible conducive with the rules and mill
Eary discipline. The only fault was
that the mems passes were restricted
70 get a pass required an AFT of par
lament. Tommy tried many tricks TO
get out, but the commandment, an old
BOer war officer, was wise to them all
and it took a new and clever ruSe 10
make him affix his signature to the
vv,eJed slip of paper.
AS soon as it would get dark mans a
patient climbed over the wall anu went
ION his own" regardless of many signs
staring him in the face, "Out of bouniS
for patients" Generally the purses
were looking the other way when one
Il these night raids started. ] nGTe
Ehls information will get none of them
into trouble, but l cannot resist the
temptation to let the commandaoI
know that occasionally we put it over
On him.
One afternoon l received q Ecte,
through our underground channel, fl on
my female visitor, asking me to attend
n party at her house that night. !
answered that she could expect Inc and
to meet ME at Il certain place on the
road well known by all patients, and
some visitors as cover the wall" l
told her l would he on hand at seven
thirty.
About SEVENTEEN I sneaked NY
overcOat and cap out of the ward 3Ed
hid 1t in the bushes. Then l told i]le
nurse, particular friend of mine, that
I was going for walk in the rose gar
den. She winked and I knew that ev-
erything was all right on her end.
Going out of the ward, l slipped into
the bushes and made for the wall. It
was dark as pitch and l was cropping
through the underbrush, vixen sudden
ly ] stepped into space AMI felt myself
rushing downward, Il horrible bump
and blackness. When l came to my
wounded shoulder was hurting horri-
bly,. l was lying against a circular
wall of bricks, dripping with moisture,
and far away could hear the tricEling
of water. l had in the darkness fallen
into an old disused well. But why
wasn't 1 wet? According to all rules
should have been drowned. Perhaps
l was and didn't know it.
AS the shock of my sudden stop
gradually wore off it came to me that
7 1N-in IN
least movement on my part would pre-
cipitate me to the bottom of the well.
l struck a match. In its faint glare
I saw that l was lying in a circular
hole about twelve feet deep-the well
had been filled in. The dripping l had
heard came from q water pipe over on
my right.
With my wounded shoulder 1t was
impossible to Skinny up the pipe. l
could not yell for help. because the
reScuer would want to know how the
accident happened, and l would be
hailed before the commandant on
charges. l just had To grin and bear
it, with the forlorn hope that one of
the returning night raiders would pass
and l could give him our usual signal
of 'SiSS-S-S-S," which would bring him
to the rescue.
Every half-hour / could hear the
clock in the village strike, each stroke
bringing forth a muffied volley of
curses on the man who had dug the
we'll
After two hours I heard two men
talking in low voices. 1 recognized
t c6r Gaaka &C. ardent might raid
err" He heard my "siss-s-s-s" and
came to the edge of the hole. I ex-
planned my predicament and amid a lot
of impertinent remarks, which at the
time l did not resent, was soon fshed
out.
Taking off our boots, we sneaked into
the ward. / was sitting on my bed in
the dark, just starting to undreSs,
when the man next to me, "Ginger"
Phillips, whispered, "'Op it, Yank, ere
comes the matron."
l Immediately got under the covers
and feigned sleep. The matron stood
talking in low tones to the night nurse
and fell asleep.
When I awoke in the morning the
night sister, an American, was bending
over me. An awful sight met my eyes
The coverlet on the bed and the sheets
were mass of mud and green slime.
She was a good sport all right, and
hustled to get clean clothes and sheets
so that no one would get wise, but ION
her own" she gave me a good tongue
flashing but did not report me. One Of
the Canadians in the ward described
her as being "a Jake Of a good fell
low"
Next visiting day I had an awful
time explaining to my visitor why
had not met her at the appointed time
and place.
And for a week every time l passed
Il patient he would call, "Well, well,
here's the Yank. Hope you are feel
ing well, old top"
The surgeon in our ward was an
American, a Harvard unit man, named
Frost. We nicknamed him "Jack
Frost" He was loved by all. If a
lection to undergoing the operation if
Jack Frost" was to WELD the knife.
Their confidence in him was pathetic.
He was the best sport have ever met.
One Saturday morning the command
ant and some high up" officers were
inspecting the ward, when one of the
patients who had been wounded in the
head by bit of shrapnel. fell on the
floor in fit. They brought him round,
and then looked for the ward orderly
to carry the patient back to his bed
at the other end of the ward. The or
derby was nowhere to be found-like
our policemen, they never are when
needed. The officers were at q loss
how to get Palmer into his bed. Doc
tor Frost was idgeting around in a
nervous manner, when suddenly with
muffied ID n" and a few other
qualifying adjectives, he stopped down
and took the man in his arms like
baby-he was no feather, either-and