The Glenwood post., 1918-05-18
I @is7 81 I
IMIhuR GUY EnfYI

ID lar just the same. BACK to
your battery
II saluted and made my exit.
"That night the captain sent for US.
With fear and trembling we went to
his dugout. He was alone. After sa-
luting we stood at attention in front
of him and waited. His say was short.
"Don't you two ever get it into your
heads that Morse is a dead language.
I've known it for years. The two Of
you had better get rid of that nervous
habit Of tapping transmitters it's dam
gerous. That's ALL
eve saluted, and were just going out
the door of the dugout when the cap
tain called up back and said:
"'Smoke Goldfiakes? Yes? Well,
there are two tins of them on my table.
Go back to the battery, and keep your
tongues between your teeth. Under
standY
1--WE understood.
'For five weeks afterwards our bat
terry did nothing but extra fatigues.
We were satisfied and so We're the
men. 1t was worth it to put one over
on Old Pepper, to say nothing of the
injury caused to Fritz feelings"
When Wilson had finished his story
I looked up and the dugout was
jammed. An artillery, captain and two
officers had also entered and stayed
for the finish. Wilson spat out an
enormous quid Of tobacco, looked up,
saw the captain, and got as red as Il
carnation. The captain smiled and
left. Wilson whispered to me:
"Blime me, Yank, see where click
for crucifiXion. That captain is the
same one that chucked us Goldhakes
'chucking me weight about in his
hearing"
Wilson never clicked his crucifiXion.
Quite contrast to Wilson was an
other character in our brigade named
Scott; we called him "Old Scotty" on
account of his age. He was fifty-seven,
although looking forty. "Old Scotty"
had been born in the Northwest and
had served in the Northwest Mounted
police. He was typical cowpuncher
and Indian fighter and was dead shot
with the rifle, and took no pains to
disguise this fact from us. He used to
take care Of his rifle as If 1t were a
baby. In his spare moments you could
always see him cleaning it or polish
ing the stock. Woe betide the man
who by mistake happened to get hold
of this rifle; he soon found out his
error. Scott was as deaf as mule,
and it was amusing at parade to watch
him in the manual of arms, slyly
glancing out of the corner of his eye
ut the man next to him to see what
the order was. How he passed the
doctor was mystery to us; he must
have blufred his way through, because
he certainly was Independent. Beside
him the Fourth of July looked like
Good Friday. He wore at the time
large sombrero, had Mexican stock
saddle over his shoulder, lariat on
his arm, and a "forty-five" hanging
from his hip. Dumping this parapher-
MALTA on the floor he went up to the
recruiting officer and shouted: "Tm
from America, west Of the Rockies.
and want to join your ID army.
l VIC sol liz use lOI IL beTllluu anu Gull
shoot some. At Scotland Yard they
turned me down; said was deaf and
so I am. I don't banker to ship in with
ID mud-crunching outfit, but the
cavalry's full. so l guess this regi-
ment's better than none, so trot out
your papers and I'll sign 'em." He told
them he was forty and slipped by. I
rarruifip0 nf fp,n
he applied for enlistment.
1t was Old Scotty's great ambition
to be a sniper or "body snatcher," as
Mr.. Atkins calls it. The day that he
was detailed as brigade sniper he cele-
brated his appointment by blowing the
whole platoon to fags.
Being Yank, Old Scotty took llk-
ing to me and used to spin some great
yarns about the plains, and the whole
platoon would drink these in and ask
for more. Ananias was a rookie COM
pared with him.
The e1-plainsman and discipline
could not agree, but the officers all
liked him, even If he was hard to man
age. SO when he was detailed as a
sniper sigh Of relief went up from
the officers mess.
Old scotty had the freedom of the
brigade. He used to draw two or
three days rations and disappear with
his glass, range finder and rifle, and we
would see or hear no more Of him
until suddenly he would reappear
with a couple Of notches added to
those already on the butt Of his rifle.
Every time he got German 1t meant
another notch. He was proud of these
notches.
But after a few months Father
Rheumatism got him and he was sent
to Blighty; the air in the wake of his
stretcher was blue with curses. Old
Scotty surely could swear; some Of his
outbursts actually burned you.
No doubt, at this writing, he 10