Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1918-04-12

|
me- Squad-shunW
We came 10 attention. Then he left
My heart was OF lead and my knees
shook.
After standing at Attention" fol-
what seemed week, though In reality
II could not have been over Ave min
utes we heard low whispering In our
rear and footsteps on the stone flag
cling of the courtyard.
Our officer reappeared and In a low,
but firm voice, ordered!
"AbOut-Turn |"
We turned about. In the gray light
OF dawn, few yards In front Of me, !
could make out brick wall. Against
this wall was dark form with white
square pinned on Its breast. We were
supposed to aim at this square. To the
right Of the form noticed white spot
on the wall. This would be my target.
"Ready Aim! Flrew
The dark form sank into huddled
heap. My bullet sped on It's way, and
hit the whltlsh spot on the wall; 1
could see the spllnters fly. Some one
else had received the rifle containing
the blank cartridge, but my mind was
at ease, there was no blood Of a
Tommy on my hands.
"0rder-Arms! About-Turn Pile
Arms! Stand-Clear"
The stacks we're reformed.
"Quick - March! Right - Wheel"
And we left the scene of execution be-
hind us.
It was now daylight. After march
Ing about five minutes, we were dis
missed with the following instructions
from the officer in command:
Return, alone, to your respective
companies, and remember, no talking
about this affair, or else 1t will go hard
with the guilty ones
We needed no urging to get away. I
did not recognize any Of the men on
the firing squad; even the officer was a
stranger to me.
The victims relations and friends in
Blighty will never know that he was
executed they will be under the i'm
preston that he died doing his bit for
king and country.
In the public casualty lists his name
will appear under the caption "Accl-
dentally Killed." or Died"
The day after the execution l re-
ceived orders to report back to the
line, and to keep a still tongue in my
head.
Executions are part of the days
work, but the part we hated most of
all, | Enthusiastically the saddest. The
British war department Is thought by
many people to be composed of rigid
regulations all wound around with red
tape. But 1t has q heart, and one Of
the evidences of this Is the considerpte
way in which an execution Is concealed
and reported to the relative of the IN
fortunate man. They never know the
truth. He is listed in the bulletins as
among the accidentally killed."
In the last ten years l have several
times read stories in magazines of
towards changing in charge, to he
roes. l used to laugh at 1t. 1t seemed
easy for story-writers, but l said,
"Men aren't made that way.p But over
In France l learned once that the
streak of yellow can turn all white. l
picked up the story, bit by bit, from
the captain of the company, the SEN
tries who guarded the poor fellow, as
well as from my own observations. At
first did not realize the whole of his
story, but after week of lnVestlga-
ciOn 1t stood out as clear In my mind
as the mountains Of my native West In
the spring sunshine. 1t impressed me
SO much that wrote 1t all down In
rest bAlets on scraps Of odd paper.
The incidents are, as I say, every bit
true; the feelings of the man are true
i know from all underwent In the
fighting over In France.
We will call him Albert Lloyd. That
wasn't his name, but It will do:
Albert Lloyd was what the world
terms a coward.
In London they called him Stacker.
His country had been at war nearly
eighteen months, and still he was not
In khaki.
He had no good reason for not en-
listing. being alone In the world, hay-
ing been educated in an orphan asy-
lum, and there being no one dependent
upon him for support. Hehad no good
position to lose, and there was no
sweetheart to tell him with her lips
to go, while her eyes pleaded for him
to stay.
Every time he saw recruiting SER
geant he'd stink around the corner out
Of sight, with terrible fear gnawing
at his heart. When passing the big re-
cruiting posters, and on his way to
business and back he passed many, he
would pull down his cap and look the
other way from that awful finger
pointing at him, under the caption,
"Your King and Country Need YOU"
or the boring eyes Of Kitchener, which
burned into his very soul, causing him
%