Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-02-13
BY ELIAS RUTHERFORD.

1t wasn't a cheerful sort of night. In
fact. 1t was as cold as the Belgian
hearthstones, and as black as gloom
of defeat. And rain like tears Of all
the world ever the war beat down upon
the draft cantonment field at Camp
Lee, Petersburg, Virginia.
Yet suddenly out of the depths of q
trench just ahead, came rollicking
bit of song.
ooh, We'll hang the dirty Kaiser to
sour apple treel" it announced to the
tune of Mine Eyes Hath Seen the
Glory Of the Coming of the Lord And
the secretary, taking a short cut back
to his own building, paused to admire
the valiant spirit of a man who could
sing in a trench on such a night.
ooh, Wen hang" began the lusty
voice again, then died away in the
midst of a word. The singer seemed to
have arrived at the tardy realization
that it wasn't a balmy summer night.
He began to wet -blankety-bl the
Erain and the mud and the wind and the
weather with precision and pungency
The secretary had never heard q man
swear with more fluency and range
Cheer up!" he called with laugh in
his voice THAT was hot enough to
dry up the mud"
HALT" came the sharp command.
WHO goes there?'' There was an in
terval during which he established the
Y. M. G. A. mans identity by means Of
q flashlight. pass, friend!" he said
with q grin. "If you Y. M G. A. guys
always get by as easy as GU do in this
camp, you should worryl"
He leaned his gun agai.st the side
of the trench, and looked up at the sec
rotary with, confidential air. He was
hardly more than youngster, with IT.
tie laugh -crinkles around his brown
eyes, and a devil may care swagger
that he seemed to consider an essential
part of the army uniform.
"There amt no use at all O. putin
me here on guard" he said, dolefully
1.-THE only two Twin bein,s I ever met
here was Y.M. G. A. man and cow"
II heard your voice as l came over
the HILL" said the secretary. AT first,
didn't gather that you were just adj
dressing the weather. thought You
had some one here with YOU"
II Gid have guy here" grinned the
soldier, as he looked down at his feet,
half lost in the mud But I'm standin'
on his shoulders!"
The Association nan chuckeld.
you certainly have a soft Job to-
night" he suggested.
4 amt in right with the officers"
explained the boy with grin, II sassed
| one of them, and since then I been as
popular as mouse at a meetin' of the
Ladies' Aid"
They talked for while and the as
ISOLATION man found out tina. his pic
turesque companion of the darkness
run away from his Pennsylvania home
when he was fifteen, and since then
had turned his hand to about every
thing from cow puching to profession
al baseball.
Folks both living?" asked the Sec
rotary.
There was pause Then the young
soldier spoke in a different tone
Dad is, and my sister," he said.
"Mother-she died, after left. :" There
was another little silence. ut always
makes me feel like the devil when
think O. my mother / guess my run
min away just about killed her" He
tramped up and down a few times
tanning his gun viciously into the
dirt walls of the trench. II never would
do thing she wanted me to when
was a kid" he burst out at last.
1.-THE next best thing Is to please her
now" said the secretary gently
"She won't know it now" was the
sombre answer. "Oh, forgot. You're
one of them guys that believe you're
livin when you're dead. But I never
been much on religion"
1.-THE secretary, who had been a
prominent minister before the war, was
wise man; he did not speak much of
religion, but led the young soldier on to
talk of his mother.
she was great on church." said the
boy, miserably. at last. "Fd-Pd like
to be the kind of guy she'd want. You
sure think she knows?"
Sure" said the Y. M. c. A. man.
"A fe1low'd like to think that when
he's goin away to fight" the boy adj
mitted. "But amt been nothin but a