The Washington herald., 1918-03-08
"OWR THE TOP"
By ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
Copyrighted by Arthur Guy Empey.

When the fact that all hope was
gone finally entered Lloyd's brain. a
calm seemed to settle over him, and
rising to his knees, with his arms
stretched out to heaven, he prayed,
and all of his soul entered into the
prayer:
"Oh, good and merciful God, give me
strength to die like a man. Deliver
me from this towards death. Give
me chance to die like my mates in
the fighting for my country. l ask
this OF Thee"
A peace, hitherto unknown, came to
him. and he crouched and covered no
more, but calmly waited the dawn,
ready to go to his death. The shells
were bursting all around the guard
room, but he hardly noticed them.
While waiting there, the voice OF the
sentry, singing in a low tone, came to
him. He was singing the chorus Of
the popular trench ditty:
want to go home, want to go home.
l don't want to go to the trenches no
more.
Where the "whizzbangs" and sau-
sages" roar galore.
Take me over the sea, where the Allie
ihdIiu Cdn get at me.
Oh my, don't want to die! I want
to go home.
Lloyd listened to the words with a
strange interest, and wondered what
kind of home he would go to across
the Great Divide. 1t would be the only
home he had ever known.
Suddenly there came a great rushing
through the air, a binding flash, a
deafening report, and the sandbag
walls OF the guardroom toppled over,
and then-blackness.
When Lloyd recovered consciousness,
he was lying on his right side, facing
what used to be the entrance Of the
guardroom. Now, it was only a jum-
BILE Of rent and torn sandbags. His
head seemed bursting. He slowly rose
on his elbow, and there In the East
the dawn was breaking But what
was that mangled shape lying over
there among the sandbags? Slowly
dragging himself to It, he saw the
body of the sentry. One look was
enough to know that he was dead.
I The soldiers head was missing. The
sentry had had his wish gratified. He
had gone home" He was safe at
. last from the "whizzbangs" and the
Allemand.
Like a fash it came to LLOYD that
he was .ree. Free to 60 over the
top" with his company. Free to die
like a true Briton fighting for his
King and country. A great gIadness
and warmth came over him. Care
fuily stepping over the body OF the
sentry, he started on a mad race
down the ruined street Of the village,
/ amid the bursting shells, mindine
them not, lodging through or around
hurrying platoons on their way to also
go "over the top" Coming to a COM
mundcation trench he could not get
through. It~was blocked with laugh
ing cheering, and cursing soldiers.
Climbing out Of the trench, he ran
wildly along the top, never needing
the rain Of machine-gun bullets and
shells, not even hearing the shouts
Of the officers, telling him to get back
into the trench. He was going to
join his company who were IN the
front line. He was going to fight with
them He, the despised coward, had
come into his own.
While he was racing along, jumping
over trenches crowded with soldiers,
ringing cheer broke out all along
the front line, and his heart sank.
He knew he was too late. His COM
pany had gone over. But still he ran
madly. He would, catch them. He
would die with them.
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW.