The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1918-03-04

were looking the other way when one
Of these night raids started. | hope
this information will get none of them
into trouble, bui | cannot resist the
temptation to LET the commandaut
know that occasionally we put it over
en- him.
One afternoon I received note,
through our underground channel from
my female visitor asking me 10 attend
party at her house that night.
answered that she could expect me and
to meet me at a certain place on the
road well known by all patients, and
some visitors, as "over the wall" |
told her I would be ON hand at seven
thirty.
About SEVENTEEN I sneakcd my
oycrcoat and cap out Of the ward and
hid it in the bushes. Then l told the
nurse, particular friend Of mine, that
was going for walk in the rose gar-
den. Size Winked and I knew that ev-
erything was all right ON her end.
Going out Of the ward, slipped into
the bushes and made for the wall 1t
was dark as pitch and was cropping
through the underbrush, when sudden-
~ stepped into space and felt myself
rushing downward II horrible bump,
and blacknoss When | came to my
wounded shoulder was hurting horr-
bly,. | was lying against a circular
wall Of bricks dripping with moisture,
and far away could hear the trickling
of water. | had In the darkness fallen
into an old d.Sused wen, But wsy
wasn't | wct2 According to all rules
| should have been drowned. Perhaps
was and didn't know it.
As the shock of my sudden stop
gradually wore off it came to me that
| was lying on a ledge and that the
least movement on my part would pre-.
cipitalc ne TO the bottom Of The well,
/ struck match In It's faint glare
l saw that was lying In Il circular
hole about twelve fect deep-the we'll
had been filled in! The dripping had
heard came from a water pipe over on
my right.
With my wounded shoulder if was
Impossible to Shiny up the pipe
could not ycll for help, because the
rescuer would want TO know how the
accident happened, and | would be
hailed before the commandant on
charges. just had TO grin and bear
t. with the forlorn hope that one Of
the returning night raiders would pass
and could give him our usual signal
Of "Siss-s-ss,' which would bring him
to the rescue,
Every halfhour | could hear the
clock in the village strike, each stroke
bringing forth muilled volley OF
curses on the man who had dug the
We'll
After two hours | heard two men
talking in low voices, recognized
Corporal Cook, an ardent might raid
or." He heard my "SisS-s-s-s" and
came to the edge of the hole. / cx,
planned my prcdcamcnt and amid lot
Of impertnont remarks which at the
time did NOT resent l was soon ished
out.
Taking off our boots, we snoaked into
the ward. ] was sitting ON my bed in
the dark, Just starting to undross,
when the man next to me, Ginger
Phillips, whispered cop it, Yank, ere
comes the matron.'
| Immediately got under the covers
and foigned sleep The matron stood
talking in low tones to the night nurse
and fell asleep.
When | aWoke in the morning the
night sister an American, was bending
over me. An awful sight met my eyes.
The coyerIet on the bed and the sheets
were mass of mud and green slime,
She was good sport all right and
hustled to get clean clothes and sheets
so that no one would get wise, but "on
her own" she gave me a good tongue
laShing but did not report me. One Of
the Canadians in the ward described
her as being ga Jake of a good fel,
low"
Next visiting day | had an awful
time explaining to my visitor why |
had not met her at the appointed time
and place.
And for week every time I passed
patient he would call, "Well, well,
here's the Yank, Hope you are feel
ing well, old top"
The surgeon in our ward was an
American, a Harvard unit man, named
Frost We nicknamed him "Jack
FROST He was loved by all. If a
Tommy was to be cut up he had no oh
/ lection to undergoing the operation if
lack Frost was to WELD the knife
Their confidence in him was pathetic
lie was the best sport have ever met.
one Saturday morning the command
ant and some high up officers were
! inspecting the ward when one of the
patients who had been wounded in the
head by bit Of shrapnel, fell on the
floor in fit, They brought him round.
/ and then looked for the ward orderly
to carry the patient back to his bed
at the other end of the ward The or
| dcrlY was nowhere to be fOund-ille
our policemen. they never are when
needed. The officers were at a loss
how to get Palmer into his bed. Doc
tor Frost was fidgetng around in n
nervous manner, when suddenly with
a muflled "d---n' and few other
nnnIifying adinctiyes. be stnnned doun