The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-06-03

diiu HyiuS Dlls Vi uhdsOuTy uuu steer.
Just then the great French guns be-
gan to add their boom to the din Of
the enemy artillery. One, two. three,
four. five and on up to twenty came
the ripping, tearing ~detonations. First
a flash, then a whine, then a spongy
roar from somewhere "over there" In
the midst of the fanfare and scurry a
sergeant-and II Is permissible to state
that he came from Missouri-stepped
up to the captain, who was directing
his men to places of safety or to
neighboring sections, and said:
There are so horses In a very dam
gerous position. What shall be done
with them?'
at is too dangerous to risk a trip
leave them"
Refuses to Desert Horses.
The sergeant paused a moment. A
look of disappointment came into his
eyes. l learned later that he has al
ways loved horses.
Il raj get them out" he said. look
ing the captain straight In the eye.
There was no further conversation.
The sergeant trotted Off up the street
into what might well have been the
pit Of death. He disappeared around
a slight curve. A few minutes later
he came into view again behind a gal
Looping string of horses which shot Off
into a field to join a pack of mules
which slowly and with traditional per-
versity had been moving nearer the
spot where shells were falling with
greatest frequency.
And owe In the batteries. around
which shells had been falling for sew
eral hours, the artillerymen had taken
to their dugouts, where they were sit
ting about like gnomes with their gas
masks In position. Gas shells had been
dropping all about them. but fortunate
ly the wind was such as to Whit Ii
away from them.
With others / moved down the road
a few hundred feet and entered a graz
ing field, where I stood with about
80 boys from various parts of the
United States. We could see the Ger
man shells falling not far away and
could see the flash and hear the boom
Of the allied guns.
Gazing ut the people moving acros
the fields, a soldier from Chicago-in
every regiment there are men from
practically every state and every big
city back home-said sententiously:
IF the people at home could see this
and then realize that their own IA
theirs, mothers and childrenm get the
same thing II the Germans amt licked
/ guess we'd have an army of twenty
million, huh"
Shortly there was a lull in the fight.
Ing. In the period of quiet which came
there was q release of the tension
which had been quite successfully
camoufiaged. Everyone broke out In
comment. much as does a person who
has just come through a painful dental
operation.
"what's the news from back homef"
one of the privates asked me.
"What do you want to hear aboutf'
I asked.
HAS Grover Alexander gone In the
armyf"
"where'd they bury Bob Ftxsim-
mons?"
did Teddy Roosevelt get over that
operationY'
rs 1t true they've cut down the SAL
aries of baseball playersr"
just News From Home Wanted.
These four questions came quickly
from four different soldiers and when
they were answered the boys seemed
satisfied that everything at home II
all right.
Unimportant subjects were dropped
instantly when a shell spattered up
the earth a few hundred feet away.
causing everyone to move to a new
region. In a minute the bo~mbardment
was fercer than before. Down In the
narrow valley Immediately In the path
Of the shells fight Ave Freedmen
were planting vegetables. The bonn
bardment made no alteration In their
movements.
AT the end of three hours. when
dusk was gathering, the firing was be-
ing maintained from both sides. but
the explosives were no longer drop
ping in the village. and the soldiers
moved back into their billets and
their places of occupation.
One who was privil> ged to 60 to the
next village and thence to return to
a region Of complete security could
not help realizing how different was
his lot from that Of the hundreds OF
young Americans - courageous all.
too-who has no alternative but to re.
turn to the village which. as I have
said, could be completely blown off
the face Of France II such were the
determination Of the Huns who were
believing with their guns only tive
miles away.