The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1918-04-16

ter"l"Ster'S, to draw their gas helmets
and trench equipment.
At four in the afternoon fney were
again hustled into cattle cars. This
time the journey lasted two days.
They disembarked at the town OF Ere
vent aud could hear distant dull
booming. With krees shaking. Lloyd
asked the sergeant what the noise was,
and nearly dropped when the sergeant
replied in q somewhat bored fcne:
"Oh, thems the guns up the line
Well be up there in couple o days
or so Don't worry, my laddle, you II
see more of 'em than you want before
you get 'ome to Blighty again, that is,
if you're lucky enough to get back
Now lend hand there unloadin them
cars, and quit that everlastin' shakin'.
I believe yer scared" The last with
contemptuous sneer.
They marched ten kilos, full pack.
to little dilapidated village, and the
sound of the guns grew louder, con-
stantly louder.
The village was full Of soldiers VINO
turned out to inspect the new draft,
the men who were shortly to be their
mates in the trenches, for they were
going 'sup the line" on the morrow, to
stake over" their certain sector Of
trenches.
The draft was paraded in front OF
battalion headquarters and the men
were assigned to companies.
Lloyd was the only man assigned to
D company. Perhaps the officer in
charge of the draft had something to
do with it, for he called Lloyd aside
and said:
Lloyd, you are going to a new COM
pany. No one knows you. Your bed
will be as you make it, so for Gods
sake, brace up and be man. / think
YOU have the stuff in YOU, my boy, so
good-by and the best Of luck to you"
The next day the battalion took over
their part Of the trenches. 1t happened
to be very quiet day. The artillery
behind the lines was still, except for
an occasional shell Gent over to let the
Germans know the gunners were not
asleep.
In the darkness, in single file, the
company slowly wended their way
down the communication trench TO the
front line. No one noticed Lloyd's
white and drawn face.
After they had relieved the company
in the trenches, Lloyd, with two of the
old company men, was put on guard ID
one of the traverses. Not a shot was
fired from the German lines, and no
one paid any attention 70 Rim
crouched on the firing step.
On the first time in, new recruit IS
not required to stand with his head
"over the top" He only "sits it out
while the older men keep watch.
At about ten o'clock, all of a sudden,
he thought hell had broken loose, and
crouched and shivered up against the
parapet. Shells started bursting, as he
imagined, right in their trench, when in
fact they were landing about hun
dred yards in rear of them, in the sec
ond lines.
One of the older men on guard, turn
ing to his mate, said:
"There goes Fritz with those ID
trench mortars again. It's about time
our artillery 'taped' them, and sent
over few. Well, I'll be id,
where's that blighter Of draft man
gone to? There's his rife leaning
against the parapet. He must have
legged it. Just keep your eye peeled,
Dick, while report it to the sergeant.
I wonder if the fool knows he can be
shot for such tricks as leavin' his
post?"
Lloyd had gone. When the trench
mortars opened up, a maddening ter
ror seized him and he wanted to run,
to get away from that horrible din,
anywhere to safety. So quietly sneak
ing around the traverse, he came to the
entrance of q communication trench,
and ran madly and blindly down it,
running into traverses, stumbling into
muddy holes, and falling full length
over trench grids.
Cropping blindly, with his arms
stretched out in front of him, he at
last came out of the trench into the
village, or what used to be a village,
before the German artillery raZed it.
Mixed with his fear, he had q Pc
culiar sort of cunning, which whis-
pered to him to avoid all senries. be-
cause if they saw him he would be
sent back to that awful destruction III
the front line, and perhaps he killed
or manned. The thought made him
shudder, the cold sweat coming out IN
beads on his face.
On his left, in the darkness, he could
make out the shadowy forms Of trees
crawling on his hands and knees. stop
ping and crouching with fear iii each
shell-burst, he finally reached an old
orchard and covered at the base Of q
shot-scarred apple tree.
He remained there all night, listen