The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1918-05-14

his wound was given q temporary
dressing, and a tag was tied to his
clothing, giving his name and regi-
ment, and a diagnosis of his injury, to
expedite work at the general hospital.
His name and regiment had been
ascertained from his Identification tag,
a little aluminium disk which nearly
every soldier wore suspended from his
neck by string, a device presented
by the Red Cross society. An hour
later he was placed with others, both
dead anu wounded, in an ambulance
and carried to the general hospital,
which stands on the bank of the Pasig,
lust outside the city wall. The oper-
ating room was full of wounded await
ing attention, the equipment of the
hospital being utterly inadequate to
the demands so unexpectedly made
upon it, and it was several hours be-
fore Jules turn came to receive sur
gical attention. In his case the delay
was not serious, for he was sent
to cot hastily improyised in one OF
the casualty wards. 1t was here
lie uISl ECCONcIGu Ills ScDSCS SutllOlCnl7
ly to realize what had happened, and
to think again of the one absorbing
thing that had been on his mind con-
stantly as he lay under fire the night
before, and even during the excite
ment of the advance and charge upon
the fort Why had Susie deserted him7
It seemed to him now, enfeebled both
mentally and physically by his injury,
that she had deserted him In the hour
of peril and left him to die in a strange
land. Mental worry and increasing
fever from his wound gradually rem
dered him dellrious, moaning and tos-
sing upon his cot and reproducing
Susie for her faithlessness. 1t was thus
one of the new Red Cross nurses
found him as she went from bunk to
bunk in her ward ministering to her
charges.
The transport that had brought the
mail the day before had also brought
a dozen Red Cross nurses, and never
was woman's help more badly needed.
They had not yet landed from the ship
when the sounds of battle warned them
that their services would soon be in
demand. A launch was hastily sent
out into the bay where the ship was
anchored, and the nurses were taken
on board and conveyed directly to the
stone steps leading up from the river
to the back of the hospital, and they
were Immediately assigned to duty in
the wards. A few wounded came In
during the night, but in the morning
came a perfect stream. All day long
these women worked, assisted by a
number of American ladies who had
volunteered their services, and when
night came, with II cessation of new
cases, they were completely exhausted.
It was at this time that the nurse who
had discovered Jules condition went
to her companion and said:
miss Preston, there is wounded
man from your state on my side of
the ward who is delirious. You said
you wanted to see all the men from
your state"
Thanking her, Miss Preston follow
ed to the cot where julie lay, his head
swathed In bandages as to expose only
a portion of his face, and stopped
down to read his name on his identi-
f1cation tag. She had barely read:
Julius Orion" when julie apparently
disturbed by the lifting of the tag, be-
gan again to mutter incoherently about
being deserted and left to die. With
half smothered shrek she fell on her
knees beside the cot and took Jules
hand in one of hers, while with the
other she gently stroked his face, ex-
claiming almost as incoherently as he:
II didn't, julie, ] didn't. I'm here
I l only did it to surprise you. thought
/ was coming on the same boat julie,
julie, I'm here. julie, julie"
The muttering ceased, the head that
had been swaying from side to side on
! the pillow came to a rest and the pa
TENTS eyes slowly opened and rested
upon the pleading, tear-stained face
held so. close to his, For a moment
they rested there without a recogni-
ton, and then a sweet smile gradually
stole over the white face, and softly
whispering "Susle," the patient again
closed his eyes and fell into a calm
sleep.