Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1918-04-05

licatlon, but strongly seconded hl'
opinion of the war, army and divisional
headquarters In general,
After bit our spirits rose, We were
full-hedged spy'cNtchers, because ouI
instructions and orders, said 80,
We Immediately reported to the
nearest French estamlnet and had sew
eral glusses Of muddy water, which
they called beer After drinking our
beer we left the estamlnet and hailed
an empty ambulance,
After showing the driver our passes
we got In, The driver was going to the
part Of the line where we had to re-
port.
How the wounded ever survived a
ride In that ambulance was lnexpllca-
BILE to me. II was worse than riding on
a gun carriage over a rock road.
The driver Of the ambulance was n
corporal Of the II. A, M. g., and he
had the "wlnd up" that Is. he had an
aversion to being under fire.
was riding on the sen with him
while Atwell was sitting In the ambu'
lance, with his legs hanging out Of the
back.
As we passed through a shell-de-
str0yed village a mounted military po-
liceman stopped us and Informed the
driver to be very careful when we got
out on the open road. as II was very
dangerous, because the Germans lately
had acquired the habit of Smelling It,.
The corporal asked the trooper II there
was any other way around, and was
Informed that there was not. Upon
this he got very nervous and wanted to
turn back, but we insisted that he pro-
coed and explained to him that he
would get into serious trouble with his
commanding officer II he returned
without orders; we wanted to ride,
not walk.
From his conversation we learned
that he had recently come from Eng
land with draft and had never been
under fire, hence his nervousness
We convinced him that there was not
much danger, and he appeared greatly
relieved.
When we at last turned into the open
road we were not so confident, On
each side there had been a line Of
trees, but now, all that was left Of
them were torn and battered stumps
The fields on each side of the road
were dotted with recent shell holes,
and we passed several in the road IT.
self. We had gone about half mile
when shell came whistling through
the air and burst in field about three
hundred yards to our right Another
soon followed this one and burst on
the edge of the road about four hun
dred yards in front Of us.
told the driver to throw In his
speed clutch, as we must be in sight
of the Germans. | knew the signs !;
that battery was ranging for US, and
the quicker we got out Of its zone Of
fire the better. The driver was trem-
bling like a leaf, and every minute
expected him to pile us up In the ditch.
l preferred the German fire.
In the back Atwell was holding onto
the straps for dear life. and was sing
ing at the top Of his voice:
We beat you at the Marine,
We beat you at the Aisne.
We gave you hell at Neuve Chapelle,
And here we are again.
Just then we hit small shell hole
and nearly capsized. Upon a loud
yell from the rear l looked behind, and
there was Atwell sitting in the middle
Of the road, shaking his fist at us. His
equipment, which he had taken off
upon getting into the ambulance, was
strung out on the ground, and his rifle
was In the ditch.
shouted to the driver to stop, and
in his nervousness he put on the
brakes. We nearly pitched out head
first. But the applying Of those brakes
saved our lives. The next instant
there was binding fash and deaf
ening report. All that I remember is
that was flying through the air, and
wondering If would land In soft
spot. Then the lights went out.
When came to, Atwell was pouring
water on my head out Of his bottle.
On the other side Of the road the cor
poral was sitting, rubbing lump on
his forehead with his left hand, while
his right arm was bound up in blood
soaked bandage. He was moaning
very loudly. had an awful headache
and the skin on the left side Of my
face was full Of gravel and the blood
was trickling from my nose.
But that ambulance was turned over
in the ditch and was perforated with
holes from fragments Of the shell. One
Of the front wheels was slowly revolv-
ing, so l could not have been "out" for
a long period.
The shells were still screaming over
head, but the battery had raised Its
fire and they were bursting In little
wood about half a mile from US.
Atwell spoke up. II wish that off,
Ger hadn't wished US the best o. luck. !"
Then he commenced swearing. ]
couldn't help laughing, though m
hoad u,os nioh IN huratinU