Norwich bulletin., 1918-02-28
OVER THE T0P!s ARTHUR GUY EMPEY IN
Copyright by ARTHUR GUY EMPEY

( | his place before he came down to breakfast. Taking his seat, he read the fiaring headline, "Conscription Bill Passed and nearly tainted. EUcus ing himself, he stumbled upstairs to his bedroom, with the horror of it gnawing into his vitals.
 Having saved up a few pounds. he decided not to leave the house and to sham sickness, so he stayed in his room and had the landlady serve his meals there.
 Every time there was knock at the door he trembled all over imag- ming it was a policeman who had come to take him away to the army.
 One morning his fears were realized. Sure enough, there stood police man with the fatal paper. Taking it in his trembling hand, he read that Ee, Albert Lloyd, was ordered 70 re- port himself to the nearest recruiting station for physical examination. He reported immediately, because he was afraid to disobey.
 The doctor looked with approval upon Lloyd's six feet of physical per lection, and thought what fine guardsman he would make, but ex- amined his heart twice before he passed him as physical fit." Ii was | beating so fast.
 i From the recruiting depot Lloyd was taken, with many others in 1 charge of sergeant, to the training depot at Aldershot where he was i given an outfit of khaki and drew his . looking soldier, except for the slight shrinking in his shoulders and the { hunted look in his eyes.
 At the training depot it does not take long to find out mans char acter, and Lloyd was promptly dubbed Windy" In the English Army windy means cowardly.
 l The smallest recruit in the barracks {! looked on him with contempt and wa: not slow to show it in many ways. Lloyd was good soldier learned ] quickly, obeyed every order promptly ! never aroused at the hardest fatigues tie was afraid to. He lived in deadl, fear of the officers and non eoms'
 over him. They also despised him. One morning about three months after his enlistment Lloyds compan, was paraded and the names picktI
 for the next draft to France wert read. When his name was called h, l did not step out smartly, two pace
 to the front. and answered cheerfully Here, sir" as the others did H. just tainted in the ranks, and wa 1 carried to barracks amid the sheer of tue rest.
 1 That night was an agony of miser. i to ain1. He could not sleep; jus cried and whimpered in. his bunk, be
 cause on the morrow the draft wa to sail for France where he woul see death on all sides, and iperhap 1e killed himself. On t;le steamer crossing the Channel he would hay
 jumped overheard to escape, but wa
 afraid of drowning.
 Arriving in France he and the res lwere huddled into cattle cars. On tn
 side of each appear in white letters
 "Chevaux 8, Hommes 40." After hour
 of Jumping over the uneven Frenc
 roadbeds they arrived at the trainin base of Rouen.
 At this place they were put throug
 a weeks rigid training in trench war fare. On the morning of the eight day they paraded at 10 o'clock an
 were inspected and passed by Geners ], H--, then were marched to tn quartermaster's to draw their gas he
 mets and trench equipment.
 At in the afternoon they wei Lagain hustled into cattle cars Tn time the journey lasted two day 5 They disembarked at the Town
 Prevent and could hear distant du |, booming. With knees shaking, Lloy } asked the sergeant what the nois was and nearly dropped when tf