The Arvada enterprise., 1918-12-12

was slipping to the ground and diegins
his lists into his ears, and the rest Of
them sat on the parapet IRE step with
their heads between their knees and
their arms wrapped around their
heads.
Our sergeant came to me after q
while and began acting just like
people DO at show, only he shouted
instead Of whispered in my ear. When
people are looking at one show they
always want to tell you how good some
other show II, and that was the way
with the sergeant.
you should see what they did to
NJ at st. Elol," he said. "They Just
baptized NJ with the big fellows. They
did not know when to stop. When you
go shelling that 10 Smelling, you win
know It, my son"
''Well. II this u not Smelling, what
the devil IL IT. Are they trying to
kid us or are you, mon vieuxr which
II q French expression that means
something Ike "old timer"
NY son, when you sec dugouts
caved In, roads pushed all over the
map, guns wrecked, bodies twisted up
in knots and forty men killed BY one
shell-then you will know you ara
seeing shelling."
Then one Of our men sat up straight
against the parapet and stared at N
and began to shake all over, but We
could not get him to say anything or
move. 80 We knew he had shell shock.
And another man watched him for q
while, and then he began to shake.
too. The sergeant said that Il We
stayed there much longer We would
not be At to repel an attack, 70 he
ordered ~ into the two dugouts we
had made In the hole, and only himself
and another man stayed outside On
watch.
The men In the dugout kept asking
each other when the bombardment
would end, and why We were not rein
forced. and what was happening. and
whether the Turks would attack rs. II
was easy to sec why We were not rein
forced-no body Of men could have
got to ~ from the reserve trenches.
The communication trenches were
quite Q distance from NJ and wess
battered up at that. Some Of the mea
said We had been forgotten and that
the rest Of our troops had either re-
tired or advanced and that We and
the men n the trench who had tried
to signal % were the only detachmenta
left thsre.
Pretty soon another man and
relieved the two men who were out
side On watch, and ~ he went down
into the dugout the sergeant shouted
to ~ that be thought the Turks weea
afraid to attack. He also ordered one
Of ~ 10 keep q live eye toward our
rear In case any Of our troops should
try to signal ~. When I looked
through . little gully at the top ID
the hole, toward the other trench. III
I could ZEE was barbed wire and
smoke and two OF three corpses. !
began to SILVER . little. and I waa
afraid I would get shell shock. too.
30 began to think about Murray and
how he looked when they took him
OF the wall. But that did not stop the
shivesing. % I thought about my grand
mother and how she looked tho last
time I saw her. I was thinking about
her. I guess. and not keeping q very
good lookout, when q man rolled over
the edge and almost fell o. me. He
was from the other trenches. I carried
him into the dugout and then went out
again and stood my watch until the
relief came. We were doing half.houz
shifts.
When I got into the dugout again
the man was coming to. He was just
about - near shell shock % I had
been-by this time I was shiverins
only once in q while. when I did not
watch myself. He said four men had
been sliced up trying to get to NJ be.
fore he came: that they had lost
II men out Of their 82. including the
serEeant.majoe In command and two
coeporals; that they were almost out
Of ammunitioa: that the trenches on
both sides Of them had been blown 10
and that they were likely to 90 to
pieces Ut any moment He said they
all thought The Turks would attack
behind their barrase. for he said the
curtain Of ire did not extend moro
than Q hundred yards In front Of their
trench. What they wanted % to do
was to relay Q man back with the
news and either get The word to I'D.
vance or retire or await reinforce
ments. they did not care which-only
to Be ordered 10 do something. There
was not q commissioned oficer left
with either Of the detachments, you
zee. and you might say We were up
In the air-only We were really - fal
In the ground a. We could get
TIE man thought there were other
q our lines not far behind ~, but va
knew better: - then no said he did
not see how any one could get back
from there 70 our nearest lines.
did not go either. Then We all Ag.
ured We were forgotten and would not
come out Of there alive. and you can
believe me or not. but ! did not much