The Jasper news., 1918-12-05

l could do was to go through with 1t.
But was all in when we reached the
hospital. The first thing ! saw when
we got In the door was another negro,
also from Barbados, and as tall and
thin rs Jim had once been short and
fat. This black boy and l made a
great team, but never knew what
his name was. I always called him
Kate, because night and day he was
whlstling the old song, "Kate, Kate,
Meet Me at the Garden Gate," or words
to that effect. have walked up many
a night and heard that whistle just
about at the same place rs when had
fallen asleep. 1t would not have been
so bad If he had known all of it.
/ took Swatts' broom and cleaned
up, and then asked where the coal or
wood was. This got great laugh. 1t
was quite humorous to the men who
had shivered there for weeks, maybe,
but to me 1t was about as funny as a
cry for help. got wood though, be-
fore 1 had been there long.
There was great big cupboard
that looked more like small house,
built against the wall of the hospital
barracks in one corner Of the room,
and not far from the stove. Kate was
the only patient able to be on his feet,
so 1 thought he would have to be my
chief cook and bottle washer for a
while; and, besides, there was some
thing about him that made him look
pretty valuable. had not recognized
his whistling yet, so Slim looked to be
the right name for him.
"Slim, what's that big cupboard
for?"
How'd know? Nuthin' in It,"
"Slim, that would make q fine box
for coal or wood. wouldn't it?"
"Um. Whar de coal an wood?"
I'm going out and take observa-
tions, Slim. Take the wheel while I'm
gone, and keep your eye peeled for
U-boats." So l sneaked out the door
and began looking around.
If you look at the sketch / have
made, 1t will not take you long to see
that next to us was a vacated Russian
barracks. And 1t did not take me
much longer to see 1t, too. Back to
the hospital and Slim.
"Slim, what barracks are next to
us2"
Russian burrucks. only dey amt
dere now. Been SICK"
"And you mean to tell me you don't
know where to get wood?"
"Sick men been in dem burrucks."
Sick men here, aren't there? Let's
CO."
That did the trick. The black boy
would watch from the hospital win
dows until he saw the coast was clear,
then we would slip into the barracks
next door, and he would watch again.
When there was no sentry near
enough to hear US, crash and out
would come dividing board from the
hunks. When we had an armful
apiece, and had broken them up to the
right lengths, all we needed was lit,
tie more watching, and then back to
the hospital and the big cupboard
Later on, our men told me they used
to watch the smoke that poured from
the hospital chimney all the time and
wonder where on earth we got the
wood.
We got the same kind of food in the
hospital that was served in the Other
barracks, and / would not have had
any more than l used to, except that
sometimes some of the twenty-six pa
tients could not eat their share, an(
then, of course, 1t was mine. One day
though, we all had extra rations.
Two Russian doctors came to visi
us each day, and once they were fool
ish enough, or kind enough, to ask L
received them earlier than usual ant
they were finished at the time. o
course, said no, so they ordered tn,
Russian In the kitchen to delive
twenty-eight rations to us, which wa
not quite three loaves of bread. W.
were that much ahead that day, but
would not work when tried the tricl
again.
One day a German doctor came t
the hospital barracks. He would no
touch anything while he was there
not even open the door. All of tn
patients had little cards attached t.
their beds-charts of their condition
When the German wanted to see thes
charts the Russian doctors had to hol,
them for him.
1 was having a great time at tn
hospital. wrecking the barracks mex
door each day for wood, along wit
Kate, and getting little more foo
sometimes, and was always nice an
warm. I thought myself quite pei
Compared to what had been u
against, 1t seemed like real comfor
But the more food l got, the more