Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1918-09-05

49,
tait.
One very uicelooking. o~verenthusi.
easric young thlnG. stopped at my bed
,nnd asked. "What wounded you in the
tfacef
In polite bat bored tone I an
lswered. "A ride bullet"
With Q look Of disdatn she passed
60 the next bed, first calculating. "Oh!
tOnly q bulictl 1 thought It was Q
she'll" Why she should think a shell
wound was NOR Of q distinction beats
me. l don't see a whole lot of differ.
ence myself.
The American Women's War hosp.-
itai was . heaven for wounded men.
They were allowed every nriyilege pos
,sible conducive with the rules and mill
ttary discipline. The only fault was
that the mems passes were restricted.
To get . pass required an act Of par
,liament. Tommy tried many tricks to
get out. but the c~ommandant. an old
tBoer val officer, was wise to them all,
and II took q new and clever ruse to
make him afix his signature to the
coveted slip of paper.
Al soon MS It would get dark many a
patient climbed over the wall aud went
ION his own" regardless of many signs
staring him In the face. 'Out of bounds
for patients." Generally the nurses
were looking the other way when one
of these night raids started. l hope
sshts Information witt get none Of them
tnto trouble, but I cannot resist the
temptation to let the commandment
xnow that occasionally we put 1t over
ON him.
One afternoon + received n note,
through our underground channel. from
my female visitor, asking me to attend
a party at her house that night. I
answered that she could expect he and
70 meet me at a certain place on the
road well known by all patients. and
tsome visitors, as ''uver the wall" /
told her I would he on hand at seven
Thirty.
About seven fifteen I sneaked my
jovercoat and cap out Of the ward and
aid II In the bushes. Then I told the
nurse. a particular friend Of mine, that
I was going for a walk in the rose gar
den. She wfnked aud / knew that ev-
crythIng was all right on her end.
Going out Of the ward. I slipped into
the bushes and made for the wall. 1t
was dark III pitch and I was cropping
through the underbrust,. when sudden
Ky I stepped into space and felt myself
rushing downward, a horrible bump,
land ~hlnckncss. Wt,ea I came to my
wounded shou'sier was hurting horri.
bly,. was lying against a circular
wall OF bricks. drippiag with moisture.
and far away I could hear the trlckllng
,of water. I had In the darkness fallen
tnto an old disised we'll. But why
wasn't l wet? According to all rules
7 should have been drowned. Perhaps
I was and didn't know It.
As the shock Of my sudden stop
gradually wore Off II came to me that
was lying on a ledge aud that the
Least movement on xay part would pre-
'clpitate me to the hottom Of the we'll.
struck Z match. In Its faint glare
I saw that I WINS lying In u circular
taoie about twelve feet deep-the well
had been filled in! The dripping l had
heard came from a water pipe 0ver on
my right.
With my wounded shoulder It was
impossible to stinny up the pipe.
could not yeii for help. because thu
,r:escuer would vast to know how the
accident happened, s~d l would b.
tha'ed before the c0tMnandant or
charges. ! jast had to grin and beal
tt, with the foriora hopc that one o.
the returning night raiders would pas.
and could gtSc him oar usual sigma
Of "~siss-Ess." which would bring hin
to tho rescue.
Every haiE-hoWr I could hear tn
clock In the village strike, each strok
bringing forth a muHled vOlley 0
curses on the wan who had dug tn
well.
After two hours I heard two me
talking In Tow voices. I recognize,
Corporal Cook. an ardent might raid
err" He heart my "~siss-s-s.s" an
came to the edge ~ the hole. e,
planned my p%redicnmcnt and amid n Ia
Of impairment remarks, which Mt tn
time l did not resent, | was o 0 fs,c
out.
Taking OF eur boots. We sncaked Int
the ward. ! was sitting on my bed I
che dark, last starting to undres
when the nap uext to me, "Ginger
Phillips, whispered, "'Op It, Yank, e,
comes the msGpN."
Immediately got usdcr tho cover
and feigncd sleep. The matron stoo
talking In low tones to the night nur.
ond I fell asleep.
When I awOkc IN Inc morning Il
night dster, an American, wns bcndlr
over me. An owfui sight met my eye
The coveriet "a thu bed aud the shec
wer . mass Of Mxd and Grcen slim
She was . Go0d sport ali right. al
hustled b Get cieaA clothes ana shcc
m that no ono wosid get wise. but -,
her own" slls gave INC q good. tong,
flashing but I'D not report inc. One
the CanadtRnA In tie ward dcscrib
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