The sun., 1918-11-17

officers, strolllng along road IN the eve
ming with nurse, can often be heard in
a snatch of conversation about how 'the
shells were falling all around, and start
ed rushing across the feld'-and the
officer, with the attentive nurse, passes on
without enlightening you as to which way
he was rushing.
But every hospital orderly will admit
that he'd tell the same stories if he had
been up front! And most Of them want
to 60 there.
Ny friend Dick interviews every conva-
lescent soldier he can get within earshot of
and memories all of the pointers he can
pick up, for Dick is hoping that the day
will come in when he'll get a chance to
go up too. Dick is driving a flivver now,
and he says he thinks of becoming taxi
cab robber when he gets back to New
York, for the other day an officer gave
him three-franc tip.
My friend Ernie is working in the medi-
cal supply depot. The other day, while
directing the unloading of some freight,
he had to boss a gang Of cosmopolitan
laborers, including Frenchmen, Spaniards,
Chinese coolies and Greeks. He would
shout out direction to one of the coolies,
who translated it to the Frenchman, who
passed it on in Spanish to the Spaniard,
who relayed it to the Greek further along
the line Ernie said he felt like cele-
brated author being translated in so many
foreign languages.
AS for me, I'm working with the evacu-
ating officer of this centre. 1t is our
duty to see that the patients who have
been passed upon by the Disability Board
and discharged from the hospitals are
evacuated to-wherever it is they should
be evacuated. Usually to q replacement
camp. But the other night we sent off a
bunch of men who probably will never
60 to a replacement camp. They were
Class I'D" men, and they went back to
the "States," leaving here in a fine hos
pital train with the best of equipment, in
Guiding electric fans. These poor devils
are the ones who, because of the loss of
leg or arm, or for some other reason, are
no longer fit to fight. They sat out in
front Of headquarters in the moonlight
waiting for their train, and meanwhile
they talked joviaIly Of their next pay day
and the Statue of Liberty.
Going Back to the Front.
Another detachment of convaleseents
went off the other day. They were Glass
a." the ones who go back to the front
again to fight. They came troOping over
to headquarters about 9 A. NJ, carrying
with them only handful of belongings.
We counted them, verified the number,
and selected non-commissioned officer to
march them down the hill to the main line
Of the railroad couple of miles away.
During this march it's impossible to keep
the doughboys under any kind of disci-
pline. They go struggling along, some
quarter of a mile behind the rest of the
column, stopping to pick berries by the
wayside and laughing and singing.
At the railroad station under the big
sycamore trees they are lined up again, il
you can keep them from running over TO
where a vender Of nuts and grapes has
his tempting baskets spread on the ground.
Sergeants and corporals are then picked
out, one for each seven men, to occupy a
single compartment in the train. A ticket
yard long and blue and green and
yellow is stamped by the Chef de Care
and thrust into the hands of the bewil-
dered Lieutenant or Captain who is to
take the men to their replacement depot.
Rations, which have been brought down
from camp by truck, are given out,
including made-in-America beans and
corned beef and tomatoes, made-in-E Eng
land jam and made-right-here-in-camp
bread, big wholesome loaves Of it.
The Stationmaster.
The station is q small one. So the men