Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1918-07-10
Over the Top
BY An American Soldier
Who Went
ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
Machine Gunner Serving
In France

Machine Gunner Serving
I In France
A~~~~~~~>~~~~~~~~>~ ~~~>~~~~>>~~~-~~~~-~
Copyright, 1917, by Arthur Guy
Empey.
ana trench equipment.
At four in the afternoon they were
again hustled into cattle cars This
time the journey lasted two days.
They disembarked ct the town Of Ere
vent and could hear . 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.
We'll be up there In couple O. days
or 20. Don't worry, my laddie, you'll
see more of 'em than you want before
you get 'ome to Blighty again. that ID.
II you're lucky enough to get back.
Now lend a hand there unloadin' them
cars. and quit that sverlastin' shakin'.
believe yer scared" Tho last with .
c0ntemptuous sneer.
They marched ten kilos. full pack.
to q 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 1t, for he called Lloyd aside
and said:
"Lloyd, you are going to a new COM
pany. No one knows you. Your bed
will be as you make 1t, so for Gods
sake, brace up and be man. I 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 wendell 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 6f the trayerses, 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 enly "sits 1t 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 upfagainst the
parapet. Shells started bursting, as he
Imagined, right in their trench, when In
fact they were landing about hum
dred yards in rear Of them. In the sec
Ond lines.
One Of the older men on guard, turn
ing to his mate. said:
"There goes Fritz with those ID
trench mortars again. It's about time
our artillery tapped them, and sent
over few. Well, I'll be dd,
where's that blighter Of draft man
gone to? There's his rifle leaning
against the parapet He must have
legged it. Just keep your eye peeled,
Dick, while l report 1t to the sergeant.
wonder If the fool knows he can be
shot for such tricks as leavin' his
post?" II
Lloyd had gone. When the trench
mortaSs 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 communication trench,
and ran madly and blindly down it,
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 RACED it.
Mixed with his fear, he had pc
culiar sort Of cunning, which whis.
pered to him to avoid all sentries, be-
cause II 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.
On his left, In the darkness, he could
make out the shadowy forms Of trees |:
crawling on his hands and knees:stop-
ping and crouching with fear at each
shell-burst, he finally reached an old
orchard and covered at the base Of a
shot-scarred apple tree.
He remained there all night, listen
ing to the sound Of the guns and ever
praying, praying that his useless life
would be spared.
AS dawn began to break, he could
discern little dark objects protruding
from tho ground all ahont him Curi-