Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-03-17

that ft was up 10 rs to best 6hAn ton
Digging stopped at once and VIC begzM
rushing in II. E. in ffty-pound bo1e4
was ordeFed back into supports with my
section.
Right here I began to have buck Dust
see how this worked out First a rush
ing party was organized whose duty It
was to rush the crater made by the
mine explosion and occupy it before
the Germans got there. Sixty men were
selected, few from each company. and
safe, but where they could get up cRa-
This is the most dangerous duty an
infantryman has to do. because both
sides after a mine explosion shower IN
including a perfect rain of machine
gun bullets. The chances of coming out
Of a rushing party with a whole hide
are about one in five.
Well. for wonder, didn't got drawn
for this one. and / breathed one long.
deep sigh of relief. put my hand inside
my tunic and patted Blinky on the
back. Blinky is my mascot. I'll tell
you about him later.
On top of that another bit OF luck
came along. though it didn't seem like
it at the moment 1t was the custom
at the Warren for a ration party to 60
out each night and get up the grub.
This party had to go over the duck
walk, and was under fire both going
and coming. One of the corporals who
had been out on rations two nights in
succession began 10 grouse
OF course Sergt. Wells spotted me and
detailed me to the ''wanglers duty. I
"grou6ed'' like a good fellow, but had
to go.
"Garn.~ says Wellsie "wots the diff
if yer gets it ere or there? II ye clicks
TIL draw yer flags from Blighty and say
a PRAYER for yer soul. On yer way.
Cheerful beggar, wellsie. He was
doing me favor and didn't know it
1 did the three miles along the duck
walk with the ration party, and there
wasn't a shell came our way. Queer!
Nor on the way back. Queerer. When
we were nearly back and were about
500 yards from the base of the Pimple
a dead silence fell on the German side
of the line. There wasn't gun nor a
mortar nor even a rife in action for q
mile in either direction. There was,
too, a kind of sympathetic let-up on
our side. There weren't any lights
going up. There was an electric ten
sion in the very air You could tell by
the feel that something big was going
to happen.
/ halted the ration party at the end OF
the duck walk and waited. But not Tor
long. Suddenly the very lights went
up from the German side, literally in
hundreds. illuminating the top of the
ridge and the sky behind with a thin
greenish white flare. Then came deep
rumble that shook the ground. and Q
dull boom. a squirt of blood-red flame
hill and a rolling column of white
smoke
Then another rumble. and another.
and then the whole side of the ridge
seemed to open up and move slowly
skyward with a world-wrecking. SOUL
paralyzing crash. a murky red glare
lit up the white smoke screen and
against it mass of tossed-up debris.
and for an instant L caught the black
silhouette of whole human body
spreadeagled and spinning like a PIN
wheel
Most of our party, even at the dis
lance. were knocked down by the
gigantic impact of the explosion. A
shower of earth and rock chunks, some
as big as barrel, fell around US.
Then we heard a far-away cheering,
and in the light of the flares we saw .
newly-made hill and our men swarming
up it to the crater. Two mines had
exploded. and the whole side of the
Pimple had been torn away. Half o.
our rushing party Were killed, and~rGe
had SIXTY casualties from shock and
wounds among men who were supposed
to be at safe distance from the min
ing operation. But We took and held
the new crater positions.
Tue corporal whose place had talrun
on the ration party was killed by fall
ing stones. Inasmuch as he was where
/ would have been. 1 considered that /
had had a narrow escape from "eofx,w
west, More luck,
Copyright, 1918. by Mcclure syndicsA.S -