Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-10-13
THE HEROIC FOOL
ny LIEUT.. X. N. COLvILE.

A CONSIDERABLE stir was made
some years ago in England by q
fire In one of the biggest Of her public
schools. boarding house was set
blazing, and two boys We're suffocated
IN their sleep. The rest were awak-
ened to get out in time. but one boy,
having but just escaped from tho
blazing building, was seen suddenly
to rush back into 1t. Up the smoky
stairs he dashed. Presently he reap
peared, mono the worse for his es.
capade.
Why had he gone? Did he suppose
there was any one left in the building?
NO, ne said. no one was there SO far
as he knew, but he remembered that
lie had left half a crown, and he saw
no sufficient reason for abandoning It,.
/ am reminded of this incident by a
story have just heard Of an artillery
officer at the front. Late one after
noon his battery had concluded a shoot
and the detachmsnts were on their
way from the guns to their shelters,
when hostile battery suddenly OPEN
ed fire and pumped salvo right into
their midst. 1t was a heavy howitzer
battery and it hit or the range with
great accuracy. Four rending, shat
tering shells descended with rush
into the position. One hit timber a
little In rear of it's gun, one fell right
In The middle of one of the detach-
mcnts, and two men We're killed out
right and six wounded. The other two
shells did no damage, but the shock
and roar of four projectiles of such
caliber bursting almost Simultaneous
ly within a small compass is hideous
and horrible. Moreover the enemy,
firing with little variation Of range,
repeated the blow about every two
minutes for the next hour.
Tho British battery was not re-
quired to fire just then, and as soon as
possible all the personnel got away
INTO the deeper dugouIs or out of the
line of fire, but the wounded had to be
remfvcd The officer in question was
among the first to get there, and he
found several of the men injured and
bleeding profusely. 1t was unwise TO
move them until they had been rough
ly bandaged, so he set to work on ono
of the worst, cutting the clothing open
with his knife. In due course all were
bound up, put on stretchers and taken
to the road, where ambulances had
already arrived to take charge of
them. But in the interval those work
ing on the wounded were exposed to
incessant danger from a thousand
splnters and to the harassing assault
of those terrific explosions within a
few yards of them. Another timber
was hit and some boxes of cartridges
Jared UP to the darkening sky.
The work was quickly done and
there We're no further serious casual
ties. The officer took shelter with his
fellows in a well protected dugout.
out of the danger zone. Presently,
while the place was still quivering
with the continual explosions. he felt
in his pocket and went quickly out,
"Where are you going?" shouted the
major, but the answer was inaudible.
He was away several minutes.
where have you been?' asked the
major on his return. you had much
better stop where you are till they
switch off"
81 left my knife up there, near where
was bandaging Casey" was the re-
ply. IT'S getting dark, but l had
good look and couldn't see it. They're
a very one sided lot. those boches;
they keep on Pumping their shells
into the same old place, and the knife
ever. I thought I'd ask the men If any
OF them had picked 1t up, and the
third dugout I went to l found fell
low had got 1t. It's good knife. My
sister gave 1t to me-"
The major, I understand, refraine
from reproving his subordinate. 1t In
extremely foolish for an officer to risk
his life unnecessarily. but there are
times when fools serve a good pur-
pose. The intrepidity Of the uncOn-
sciously courageous Is wonderful
tonic to those OF us whose nerves re-
CURE "A more deliberate mastering.
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