The Cordova daily times., 1918-04-06

After I had passed our barbed wire and gotten into No Mans Land a Tommy about fifteen feet to my right front turned around and looking in my | direction, put his hand to his mouth | and yelled something which could not | make out on account of the noise from | the bursting shells. Then he coughed. | stumbled, pitched forward and lay still. ! His body seemed to float to the rear , of me. I could hear sharp cracks in | the air about me. These were caused l by passing rife bullets. Frequently, | to my right and left, little spurts of | dirt would rise into the air and a rico ! chet bullet would whine on it's way. 1 If Tommy should see one of these little spurts in front of him, he would tell the nurse about 1t later. The crossing of No Mans Land remains a blank to me.
 Men on my right and left would stumble and fall. Some would try to get up, while others remained huddled i and motionless. Then smashed-up 1 barbed wire came into view and l seemed carried on a tide to the rear. 1 Suddenly, In front of me loOmed a
 bashed-in trench about four feet wide. Queer-looking forms like mud turtles
 were s..ambling up its wall. One of 1 these forms seemed to slip and then
 rolled to the bottom of the trench. I
 leaped across this intervening space.
 The man to my left seemed to pause in
 midair, then pitched head down into
 the German trench. laughed out loud
 in my delirium. Upon alighting on the
 other side of the trench came to with
 sudden jolt Right in front of me l loomed a giant form with a rife which 1 looked about ten feet long, on the end l of which seemed seven bayonets. These
 flashed in the air In front of me. Then
 through my mind flashed the admoni-
 tion of our bayonet instructor back in
 Blighty. He had said, whenever you
 get in a charge and run your bayOnet
 up to the hilt intosa German the Fritz
 will fall. Perhaps your rifle will be
 wrenched from your grasp. Do not
 waste time, If the bayOnet is fOuled
 in his equipment, by putting your foot
 on his stomach and tugging at the rife
 to extriCate the bayOnet. Simply
 press the trigger and the bullet will
 free it." In my present situation this
 was the logic, but for the life of me
 could not remember how he had told
 me to get my bayOnet into the Ger
 man. To me this was the paramount
 issue. I closed my eyes and lunged forward. My rifle was torn from my hands. I must have gotten the Ger man because he had disappeared.
 About twenty feet to my left front
 was a huge Prussian nearly six feet
 four inches in height, a fine specimen of physical manhood The bayOnet
 from his rife was missing but he clutched the barrel in both hands and
 was swinging the butt around his head
 I could almost hear the swish of the I butt passing through the air. Three
 little Tommles were engaged with him They looked like pigmles alongside of the Prussian. The Tommy on the left t was gradually Circling to the rear of ;, his opponent. It was a funny sight to ' see them duck the swinging butt and
 try to jab him at the same time The u Tommy nearest me received the butt 1 of the Germans rife in a smashing = blow below the right temple. Il = smashed his head like an eggshell. He
 pitched forward on his side and a con '' vulsive shudder ran through his body
 Meanwhile the other Tommy had !, gained the rear of the Prussian. Sud u denly about four inches of bayOnet | sl oE4 4I
 sian soldier, who staggered forward
 and fell. I will never forget the look
 of blank aStoniShment that came over :, his face.
 Then something hit me in the Jeff :, shoulder and my left side went numb 't It felt as if hot poker was being |, driven through me. I felt no pain
 just a sort of nervous shock. bay
 onet had pierced me from the rear. fell backward on the ground, but was
 not unconscious, because I could set dim objects moving around me. TheI n a flash of light in front of my eyes anC y unconsciOusness. Something had hi
 me on the head. I have never found out what 1t was.
 Il I dreamed l was being tossed abou e in an open boat on heaving sea ant e opened my eyes. The moon was shin VI ing. I was on a stretcher being car u rled down one of our communication E. trenches. At the advanced first-ai( 'S post my wounds were dressed, anC e then I was put into an ambulance anC T sent to one of the base hospitals. Tn, wounds in my shoulder and head wert 'l not serious and in six weeks had re e joined my company for service in tn '' front line.
 o (To be Continued)