New-York tribune., 1918-05-05
the east has frightened there is wave
of an officers arm. and silently again
the men file back to the dugouts.

the east has frightened there IS wave
of an officers arm. and silently again
the men file back to the dugouts.
dous cursing coming from somewhere
in the rear. There is rattle of tin,
and an Irish brogue is heard inquiring
if some particular son-of-a- sea cook
wants to tell the Hun that grub is
coming up. 1t is the corporal in charge
of the mess gang.
Soon they come splashing through q
communication trench, two men to a
large tin container, built double and
with sealed lid, on the vacuum prin-
ciple, SO that it will retain heat. Break
fast is little more than bread, syrup
and coffee, for the cooks, Somewhere"
back OF the lines, can't keep much of a
fire going so early, otherwise the Boche
would see the glare and take shot at
the kitchen.
1t is now about 6 o'clock. A few
men are cold off to do necessary work
around the trenches, others have been
sent to lookout positions, to "watch
stations" and observation posts bevond
our own wire. One we had. where tho
enemy lines were 800 yards distant. was
almost 400 yards out and located in a
she'll hole. Every few hours it would
get so hot in that particular hole the
observers would have to move to an
other break in the ground. They were
kept out there to watch for the enemv
saliylng out, or to warn of snipers that
might crawl through the Hun wire and
lurk IN the trees outside our own. They
plugged two one day who were I'M a
tree 100 yards from them, in CANON
faged costumes of black and white
When 7 o'clock came most of the
men would crawl into their durouts
and try to get some sleep. 1t was q
standing order that for a certain time
every day each man should remove his
shoes and stockings and expose his
bare feet to the air and sunlight. if
there was sunlight. This was to pre-
vent trench feet.'
The day wore on slowly. At II
O'Clock there would be more profanity
from the rear, and one could tell Ro-
gan's appetizing Irish stew was to be
served once more. Also one could
usually bet that the nutritious bean or
respectable rice would form a part of
the meal. Coffee, of course, hot as il
could be.
! Very little work was done in the
afternoon, and as few men as possible
were kept in the trenches.
Supper came up shortly after s
o'clock, though the hour would vary
often, so the Hun wouldn't be expecting
the party. In menu it copied dinner.
Just as it was becoming dark "stand
to" was held again. The men once
more silently fell in at their positions
and the look of tenseness came back.
Shadows heightened, the sky grew dark.
he Hun artillery spoke and was an
swered by our own. A machine gun
ripped out its curse. Star shells lit up
No Mans Land. The night of weird
ness was on again. Sleep was forgot
ten. The tensenesss of "stand to-" even
after that Ceremony" was over, re-
mained 1t was the time to be ex-
pectant.
The trenches and the strong positions
were fully manned. Grenade shelters
were opened and the hand bombs placed
SO they could be handled easily.
One might hear the shutting of feet
on the "duck boards" and probably
half a dozen men, without a word,
would climb up the sortie steps run
ming from trench bottom to ground,
leap lightly across the trench and crawl
like so many snakes through paths few
knew existed even in our own barbed
wire in front. Even knowing they were
out there it was practically impossible
to distinguish them as they crawled
away from the wire and squirmed from
one shell hole to another. They were
out either to look over our own wire,
to see that the Hun hadn't cut it; to