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

sent my man up the line TO our wv
position.
We sat on the fire step, drinking,
and I told the corporal about meeting
the sergeant out in front. While We
were at. the Char" it kept getting
lighter, and presently a pair. of Lewises
started to rattle hundred yards or
so away down the line. Then sud-
den commotion and kind of low
growing shout. That is the best way
T can describe it. We stood up, and
there below we saw men going over
the top.
"what the dickens can this be-" slut
barrage. There's no orders for a
charge. What is it? What is it?''
Well, there they were, going over, as
many as 200 of them-growlng. The
corporal and climbed out of the trench
at the rear, over the paras1os, and ran
across lots down to a point opposite
where the Canadians had gone ever
and watched.
They swept across no mans tand
and into the boche trench. There was
the deuce of a ruckus over there for
maybe two minutes and then back they
came-carrying something strangely
enough. there had been no machine gun
Are turned on them as they crossed.
nor was there as they returned. They
had cleaned that German trench. And
they brought back the body of man
dreadfuIly mutilated. 1t was the
Canadian sergeant 1 had met earlier
in the night.
What had happened was this: The
man had been captured by a German
patrol and they had held him up above
the parapet in the early dawn His
Yiddled him with machine gun bullets
in the dim light When they saw that
it was one of their linen they went
over. men, officers and all. Nothing
could have stopped them.
The Canadians were reprlmanded Tor
going over without orders. Take the
word of your experienced little friend
and believe that persd nal encounters
on patrol are t be is too
great Once I was out on patrol alone,
having sent my man back with a mes
sage, when I encountered HeIn1e- L
was lying down at the time. A mock
of lights went up and showed this fell
low standing about ten feet from me.
He had frozen and stayed that way till
the flares died; but ] was close enough
to see that he was a German. Also
marvel of marvels-he was alone.
When the darkness settled again 1
got to my feet and jumped at him. He
jumped at me-another marvel Going
into the clinch / missed him with a
persuader and lost my grip on it, leav-
loop on my wrist He had struck az
me with his automatic, which / think
he must have dropped. though I'm not
sure of that. Anyway. We fell into
each others arms and were atNit bare
handed. He was bigger than l. I got
under the ribs and tried to squeeze the
breath out of him, but he was too rug
ged.
At the same time felt that he didn't
relish the clinch. ! slipped my elbow
up and got under his chin. forcing his
head back. His breath smelled of rum
and onions l was choking him when
he brought his knee up and got me in
the stomach and again on the instep
when he brought his heel down.
+
1t broke by hold and I staggered back,
cropping for the persuader. He jumped
back as far as I did. I felt somehow
that he was glad So was L We stood
for q minute and I heard him mutter
out something that sounded like Yer
damder swinehund." Then we both
backed away.
1t seemed to me to be the incest way
out of the situation. No doubt he felt
the same.
1 seem to have wandered far from the
quarries and the grouse holes" Let's
go back.
We were two days in the grouse
holes" and were then relieved, going
back to the quarries and taking the