The Benson signal., 1918-08-10

side of each appeared in white letters,
"Hommes 40, Chevaux g." After hours
Of humping over the uneven French
roadbeds they arrived at the training
base of ROuen.
At this place they were put through
weeks rigid training in trench war
fare. On the morning of the eighth
day they paraded at ten o'clock, and
were inspected and passed by General
H, then were marched to the quar-
termaster's, to draw their gas helmets
and trench equipment.
At four in the afternoon they were
again hustled into cattle cars. This
time the journey lasted two days.
They disembarked at the town of Ere
vent and could hear a distant dull
booming. With knees shaking, Lloyd
asked the sergeant what the noise was,
and nearly dropped when the sergeant
replied in somewhat bored tone:
"Oh, them's the guns up the line.
Wen be up there in a couple O. days
or so. Don't worry, my laddie, you'll
see more of 'em than you want before
you get 'ome to Blighty again, that is,
if you're lucky enough to get back.
Now lend hand there unlOadin' them
cars, and quit that everlastin' shakin'.
believe yer scared" The last with
contemptuOus sneer.
They marched ten kilos, full pack,
to little dilapidated village, and the
sound of the guns grew louder, con-
stantly louder.
The village was full Of soldiers who
turned out to inspect the new draft,
the men who were shortly to be their
mates in the trenches, for they were
going "up the line" on the morrow, to
take over" their certain sector of
trenches.
The draft was paraded in front of
battalion headquarters and the men
were assigned to companies.
Lloyd was the only man assigned to
D company. Perhaps the officer in
charge of the draft had something to
do with it, for he called Lloyd aside
and said:
Lloyd, you are going to new COM
pany. No one knows you. Your bed
will be as you make it. so for Gods
sake, brace up and be man. think
you have the stuff in you, my boy, so
gOOd-by and the best of luck to you."
The next day the battalion took over
their part of the trenches. It happened
to be very quiet day. The artillery
behind the lines was still, except for
an occasional shell sent over to let the
Germans know the gunners were not
asleep.
In the darkness, in single file, the
company slowly wended their way
down the communication trench to the
front line. No one noticed LlOyd's
white and drawn face.
After they had relieved the company
in the trenches Lloyd, with two Of the
old company men, was put on guard In
one of the traverses. Not shot was
fred from the German lines, and no
one paid any attention to him
crouched on the firing step.
On the first time in, new recruit is
| not required to stand with his head
"over the top" He only "sits it out"
while the older men keep watch.
At about ten o'clock, all Of sudden,
he thought hell had broken loose, and
crouched and shivered up against the
parapet. Shells started bursting, as he
imagined, right in their trench, when in
fact they were landing about hun
| dred yards in rear of them, in the Sec
| ond lines.
One of the older men on guard, turn
ing to his mate said:
'"rhere goes Fritz with those ID
| trench mOrtars again. It's about time
our artillery 'taped' them, and sent
| over few. Well, I'll be ID,
where's that blighter of a draft man
against the parapet. He must have
| legged it. Just keep your eye peeled.
Dick, while I report it to the sergeant.
l wonder If the fool knows he can be
shot for such tricks as leavin' his
post?
Lloyd had gone. When the trench
mortars opened up, maddening ter
ror seized him and he wanted to run,
to get away from that horrible din,
anywhere to safety. So quietly sneak
ing around the traverse, he came to the
entrance of a communication trench,
and ran madly and blindly down 1t.
running into traverses, stumbling into
muddy holes, and falling full length
| over trench grids.
Cropping blindly. with his arms
stretched out in front Of him, he at
last came out of the trench into the
village, or what used to be village,
before the German artillery razed it.
| Mixed with his fear, he had a pc
culiar sort of cunning, which whis-
pered to him to avoid all sentries, be-
cause if they saw him he would be
sent back to that awful destruction in
the front line, and perhaps be killed
or MANNED The thought made him
shudder, the cold sweat coming out in
beads on his face.