The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-10-13
Following The Flag With
Woman Motor Truck Drivers

watch point to twenty minutes past
3 O'Clock.
soon there are voices down in the
garden. hear Mac say, Il falt rest
less so came here 10 smoke. Then
! the Kid answers. I'm tell YOU what
| let's 90. Let's make a lot of coffee
! Drowsiness is stealing over me and
the last thing remember is Macs
dronlng, No, be patient just a llttie
longer The night is almost done.
Next morning Cap and ] drive
through IS much OF Eelleau wood as
we care TO see II isn't the pieces OF
horses still unhuried, nor the great
swarms of flies which make us TURN
back It's the sight Of baby CAP
with gaping shell hole right through
the middle.
We conc upon Chateau-Thierry in.
all the brightness Of a hummer after
noon. We PASS through street atter
street OF what were homes, now. mute
evidences Of frau humanliys nate
aud also OF frail humanitys woe
An eloquent silence reigns. Nothing
stirs except when a breath OF wind
catches up some Of the thick white
plaster dust and ~hirls II gleetuiN
from ruin 10 ruin We begin TO meet
soldiers. both French and American
but never a civilian. nor a dog, nor
cat can imagine nothing more
heart breaking than the emptiness OF
place like this.
The kindly mayor gives us written
authority to occupy house. "nich
from the road looks presentable. but
which entirely lacks rear walls. Bo,n
front and hack yards are full Of shell
holes and as we go into the mouse
we pick our way cautiously through
debris Of every sort There isn't
window in the place and there's not
much left nf the furniture Twelve
,dining-room chairs from which the
Heather has been cut carefully stand
stiTly In a row and handsomely
carved table Tits crafty on three
legs An inlaid chest In corner Is
lunintured except for neat ard uni
form sized hole where was the lock
of each drawer Needless 10 state
1.-THE drawers are empty In the liv-
ing room only the piano seems un-
touched
Our new hahitation is at the top
of rather steep hill. and az I stand
lat an upstairs window | am appalled,
BY the desolaton about me. Not a
building in sight to right or left hut
has been hit. Across the roadway u
bedraegled lace curtain has caught
+ In a tree and the breeze sweils it into
/ A balloon Gaps and plates and
pieces Of bread arc still on table.
/ Next door bed hangs perilously from
la second story window Farther
down the road Il stove or cradle or a
! bicycle catches the eye.
turn to took about the room
which is to be mine. Here also ali
the locks have been cut from the
i furniture on the dressing table is "A
household account book. the first en-
try is dated July a. 1886" II is for
five metres Of black velvet. 30 francs,
! Beside it Is an old fashioned photo
graph Of naked baby. and In a
glass tray are two false teeth. In the
next room what remains IF the floor
is covered inches deep with torn let
tiers. broken ornaments. bedding and
iwomen's clothing In the Mushroom
the material of the pipes. cut into fin
fest Shavings, is strewn about, and
turn away sick at heart
Suddenly / hear a jolly little whis-
tile, II comes from Long Joe. who
lis carefully rasting two big X OF G
stickers on the white posts OF our
garden gate. So | try to sing little
myself and think hard of the choco-
late and the smokes and the sorely-
needed club
Mac comes in presently from TRIP
somewhere in the neighhorhood
proudly exhibiting three clean sheets
One serves as tablecloth. and later
s4utis-e 'ti1at some kind friend has 'I'H'
the other two OF my bed A gener-
Gus mess sergeant having presented
ms with a loaf OF bread and some
icooked meat. our dinner IS soon pre-
nared Again the ex-Canuck has
~, yyyyaA
blooming bravely close to hole fllec
with line and smile brightly AZ us II
tho glory of three half-burned can
dIos cans coffee is quite as good AS
il was last night. but somehow ever
t,,, cnokea Ms n little. We are al
moro or less silent because for most
re ne Z, ia the first visit close To what
(the soldiers call the big show. Also
the spirits Of the departed owners OF
ithe Mace seem to he near, listening
land watching.
During the business OF clearing ur
we hear a shv but confident hello
close by. and there. Just outside OF
what was once the dinins-room door
stand seventeen yanks regarding us
icuriously
come right in" Wells the Kid, OK
citedly. Were almost finished with
the dishes" add,
"Oh. how good that sounds" says
voice from the rear.
( After which all the seventeen troor
inside and, hoy-like-and especially
isoldi,r-like~-soon make themselves
comfortable. Hey. Buddy" laughs
one. "iookit me sittin' on green
plush chair"
| Long Joe hands out the cigarettes
while I run for the chocolate. Clanc-
ling into the yard I see younEster
All alone When ask him why he
doesn't come in. too. he tells me he
makes II a rule never to go into houses
they make him too homesick. So
\ give him pieces OF chocolate and
watch him. until looking very small,
he disappears through the big open
gate. As | turn hack to the crowd
II hear a chuckle and the remark
say, remember how your mother
used to tell you to stay out OF "a
draurht?"
J One lad drawer than the others,
ventures. IT'S sure nice to see reg
uiar lady" But most OF them are
/ ireadfully frightened OF me-. It's so
long since they've been accustomed
ito social pleasantries However. they
forget all about me when little dog