The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-08-19
OLD-T1ME TRANSPORTER
SAVES HIS COMRADES
By MAMMALIAN FOSTER.

BY MAMMALIAN FOSTER.
t"Fritzie" finds many ways to get
information to the Germans from back
of the American lines. Here's sig
nal service sergeant, an old-time trap
shooter. who got his pigeon shooting
at the same timel
Paris, July q (By Mail) There is
a certain United states signal service
sergeant UP In the Tout sector at the
front who has been able of late to
combine little pleasure with his bust
ness. The censor won't let one tell
the sergeant's name. but without re-
veaiing any military information it
may be said that before the war the
sergeant was rated as one of the top
guns at a well-known trap-shooting
club in the States.
There is not much trap shooting
just now in France. They are not
cracking away the live birds, either.
Field sports. such as they may be, are
confined entirely 10 flushing Fritzies
out Of their dugouts, and busting them
on the rise But the sergeant got his
pigeon shooting just the same.
The particular front in which the
sergeant operates is infested with
German spies. Every day or SO they
nab one or two at work, and by be-
ing on the job twenty-four hours a
day they have managed more or less
TO keep the nuisance in check. But a
fortnight ago, headquarters began to
realize that the boche snipers were
getting the upper hand again.
All sorts Of things began To hap
pen, A tramp" battery. ono of those
particular guns that whisks up, slams
a few at the Fritzies, then slides out
on the jump. found itself being shell
ed the instant 1t lined up for shot.
Again. every time there was a troop
movement. the movement was antici-
pated BY the ooche Besides that. Il
was found that whenever a body OF
our men got together fer any purpose
whatever the Germans shelled them
with everything they had. big guns
included
Now the Hun doesn't use his biz
gun unless he knows what he's shoot =
ing at. How he learned. however. was
pretty evident Some one back of our
lines was tipping him off.
An evidence OF this came one night
when the German big guns opened on
the Y, NJ c. A. just back of the front
line trenches Every night. just at a
certain hour. the Red Triangle hut
or rather the tent the y. NJ. c. A
was using as A hut--was filled wit h
soldiers on their way To the trenches
and apparently the boche knew this.
At any rate, exactly at the hour the
German guns opened n terrific fire, the
gunners laying down a box barrage
of shrapnel and high explosives
Fortunately the troops had moved Ii
little earlier that night for during the
fire the Red Triangle tent was destroy
ed. one OF the secretaries was wound
ed and the other had a narrow escape
that when this took place the c. O.
knew II could not be due to chance.
Along with the other things that were
happening IL was pretty evident that
someone behind the lines was sending
information to the enemy
The signal service sergeant was the
first to detect how II was done. His
squad was repairing signal wires back
of the trenches. The sergeant halted
in his work and gazed skywards. y
pigeon was going over head. The SER
geant watched IT idly. calculating as
| he stood there how far he'd lead il
with twelve gauge. three and half
drains of powder and an ounce and a
quarter OF No. S, chilled Then, with
a sigh. he went to laying wire again
A few minutes later the sergeant
stopped again Another pigeon had
risen from the wood behind and, after
circling the tree tops, winged its way
overhead. Again the sergeant "Ied it,
reminiscently with this bygone twelve
gauge but a few minutes later when
third pigeon rose from the wood the
former trap-shooter tarried no longer
A half hour later he bolted into the
quartermaster's departing mt. clicked a
salute and spoke hurriedly.
Gimme a shotgun" he demanded.
Shotguns are a regular part OF GER
| tain quartermaster's supplies. Soon
| the sergeant might have been stand
ing behind hedgerow gazing toward
the nearby wood, Presently he was
seen to stiffen, at the same time muir
muring Pull" The twelve gauge
swung briefly in an arc; it cracked
and a crumpled ball OF feathers came
| tumbling toward the earth. To make
| sure, the sergeant gave 1t a second
barrel Just before it hit the earth.
| 1t was pretty clever shooting The
| bird was high. going over fast, anc
quartering. Kill" inurmured the ser,
geant methodically, as he retrieved the
fallen game
| That afternoon, the sergeant GO
four other birds. With these in hi.
hand he stopped in at the "Y' hut or
his way to the c. O.'s dugout
| See that" he inquired. displaying
| aAc aAectHooH VI 8dtue-
| Attached to a log OF each pigeor
was a code message In German hand
writing.
| A short time later a. detachment O.
military police got the owner Of tn,
pigeons. In his blouse and sabots h,
looked like any Of the peasants till
Ing the fields behind the lines. On be.
Ing stripped, however. he proved to b,
q German underohicer. Since hi,
capture. the nightly bombardment o
the ~" huts and other places wher,
soldiers congregate has been more o.
| less haphazard. The Fritzies stil
chuck heavy stun at them. but thank,
TO the ex-pigeon shot, the sergeant
they are not scoring as frequently a
formerly
It's bum cards they're bringing In
says the sergeant