El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-05-11
By j. j. BOsDAN.


: hole yawued down there. FIRM tine
to time thick, black pillars OF earth
I leaped up, and for moments hid small
parts Of this desert burned to ashes,
I where the cloTen srumps OF trees,
I whitfield as by pen knives. stuck up
I like a jeering challenge to the impo-
] tent ina ginatiOn. a challenge 10 rec
I oguize in this field Of death and re-
7 fuse, the landscape II once had been.
I before the great madness had swept
, over It and sown il with ruins, leav-
/ ing il like a dancing floor on which
I two worlds had fought for e loose
woman
And into this vale OF he'll he was
I now TO descend
A Rebellion OF the Soul
"All alone. with no one near to
him. amid the fury OF the bursting
| shrapneL which fell up there as thick
] as rain in a thunderstorm, Capt
] Marschner gave himself up TO his
] rage his impotenr rage against a
I world that had inflicted such a thing
I on him
Lieut. Weixler presented himself
I in strictest military form, and an
I nOunced the loss OF IA men Marsch-
I ner heard the ring OF pride in bis
voice, like triumph over what had
I been achieved like the rejoicing OF
I a boy bragging OF the first down on
Z his lip and deepening the newly ac-
quired dignity Of a bass
What were the wounded men
I writing on the slope above TO this
I raw youth. what the red haired COW
] ard with his whine. what the children
I robbed OF their prOYider growing up
l TO be beggers, to a life IN the abyss.
I perhaps life in 1ail2 All these were
/ mere supers. a stage background for
] Lieut. Weixler's heroism 10 stand out
I In relief
Fourteen bloody bodies lined the
I path he had trodd6n without fear.
I How should his eyes not radiate AFRO
~The captain fastened on. past
I Weixler.
TroddIne Over Deafh.
'He saw the traces OF puddIes OF
blood at his feet and trod upon tat
tered. blood soaked pieces OF uni
forms, on empty shells. rafting pre-
serve tins. fragments OF cannon balls.
TaWning she'll holes would open up
suddenly, precariously bridged with
half charred boards
Everywhere the traces OF a fren-
zied devastation grinned, blackened
remains Of a wilderness OF wires,
/ beams, sacks, broken tools. a disor-
der that took ones breath away and
made one diZzy-au stepped in the
suff0cating stencil OF combustion
powder smoke and the punEent.
singing breath OF the shells. Wher-
ever one stepped the earth had been
lacerated by gigantic explosions. Ia
boriOusly patched up again, once more
ripped open 70 its very bowels. and
reeled on unconscious, as II a a
hurricane.
Capt. Marsehner's Agony.
capt Maschner uttered a short.
belchinE cry and reeled forward
suddenly an unknown face emerged
directly in front OF him and attracted
his attention and gave him back self
control II was a sergeant. who was
staring at him silently with great
fevered- cleaning ewes in deathly
stood as though paralyzed. then his
mouth opened wide, he clapped his
hands and jumped into the air Ike a
dancer and dashed off. without think
ing OF a salute.
Relief he shouted. running
He followed the sergeant slowly,
and saws though the cry had
awakened the dead - pallld faces
peerinE from all corners. wounded
men with blood soaked bandsEes. tot
tering figures holding their rifles.
Men streamed toward him from ev-
cry direction. stared at him and with
speeches. lips formed the word re
lief until at length one OF them
rOared out a piercing Hurrahr which
spread like wildfire.
Relief for the Trenches.
Deeply shaken. MarSchner bowed
his head and swiftly drew his hand
across his eyes. when the command
ant OF the trench rushed toward him
from the dugout
Nothing that betokens life was
left about the man. His face was
ashen. his eyes like lamps extin-
gulshed. glazed and surrounded by
broad blue rims. His lips were a vivid
red from sleeplessness. His hair. his
beard. his clothes were encased IN a
thick crust OF mud. so that he looked
as if he had Just arisen from the
grave.
he gave a brief military salute.
then grasped the captains hand with
hysterical Joy. His hand was cold as
corpSe's and sticky with sweat and
dirt And most uncanny was the con-
trast between this skeleton hung
with clothes. this rigid death mask OF
face. and the twitching. over excl
ted nervousness with which the lieu
tenant greeted their liherator.
All But Too Late.
" ] tell YOU. three hours more he
crowed biissfuly. with affected gay
ETY.. -three2 What am talking
about2 One hour more, and it would
have been too late
The captain let him talk He
leaned his elbows on the primitive Ia
bic, held his head between his hands.
and kept silent His eyes wandered
about the dark mouldy den. filled
with the stencil Of a smoking little
kerosene lamp He saw the mill
connected telephone at the entrance.
an empty box OF timed food on which
a crumpled map was spread out
"And the thought that now his turn
Continued on page 19.)
,rre TL.- " p0-k~