The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1918-11-22

: but was in for it then, and the bes
could do was to go through with i
: But was all in when we reached tn
hospital. The first thing saw whe
: we got in the door was another negro
also from Barbados, and as tall an
: thin as Jim had once been short an,
: fat. This black boy and l made
: great team, but | never knew wha
: his name was. / always called hin
: Kate, because night and day he wa
!: whistling the old song, kate, Kate
Meet Me at the Garden Gate" or word
: to that effect. have walked up man,
!: a night and heard that whistle jus
: about at the same place as when hat
: fallen asleep. 1t would not have beer
so bad If he had known all of it.
l took Swatts' broom and cleaned
up, and then asked where the coal oil
wood was. This got great laugh. Il
was quite humorous to the men who
had shivered there for weeks, maybe
but to me it was about as funny as a
cry for help. l got wood though, be-
fore l had been there long.
There was great big cupboard
that looked more like a small house,
built against the wall of the hospital
| barracks in one corner of the room,
and not far from the stove. Kate was
| the only patient able to be on his feet,
| so | thought he would have to be my
| chief cook and bottle washer for q
while; and, besides, there was some
thing about him that made him look
pretty valuable. l had not recognized
| his whistling yet, so Slim looked to be
! the right name for him.
| "Slim, what's that big cupboard
| for?"
How'd / know? Nuthin in It,"
"Slim, that would make a fine box
| for coal or wood. wouldn't itf"
"Um. Whar de coal an wOod?"
''I'm going out and take observa-
lions, Slim. Take the wheel while I'm
U-boats" So I sneaked out the door
and began looking around.
If you look at the sketch l have
made, it will not take you long to see
that next to us was vacated Russian
barracks. And it did not take me
much longer to see 1t, too. Back to
the hospital and Slim.
''Sim, what barracks are next to
us7"
Russian burrucks. only dey amt
dere now. Been sick"
"And you mean to tell me you don't
know where to get wood?"
Sick men been in dem burrucks."
"Sick men here, aren't there? Let's |
CO."
That did the trick The black boy |
would watch from the hospital win
dows until he saw the coast was clear.
then we would slip into the barracks
next door, and he would watch again.
When there was no sentry near
enough to hear US, crash and out
would come dividing board from the
hunks. When we had an armful |
apiece, and had broken them up to the
right lengths, all we needed was a lit
tie more watching, and then back to
the hospital and the big cupboard.
Later on, Our men told me they used
to watch the smoke that poured from
the hospital chimney all the time and
wonder where on earth we got the
wood.
We got the same kind of food in the
hospital that was served in the other
and / would not have had
any more than l used to, except that
some of the twenty-six pa
tents could not eat their share, and
then, of course, it was mine. One day, '
though, we all had extra rations. {
Two Russian doctors came to visit
is each day, and once they were fool
sh enough, or kind enough, to ask if {
We had received our rations-we had {
received them earlier than usual and S
hey were finished at the time. Of c
course, l said no, so they ordered the ]
Russian in the kitchen to deliver t
rations to us, which was
lot quite three loaveS of bread. We
we're that much ahead that day, but 1t I
would not work when l tried the trick /
gain.
One day a German doctor came to t
he hospital barracks. He would not /
ouch anything while he was there
lot even open the door. All of the Q
,atients had little cards attached to L
heir beds-charts of their condition. S
When the German wanted to see these a
harts the Russian doctors had to hold a
hem for him.
l was having a great time at the {
ospital, wrecking the barracks next I
DOR each day for wood, along with
late, and getting little more food /
ometimes, and was always nice and n
arm. / thought myself quite pet. Il
Compared to what l had been up g
gainst, it seemed like real comfort. a
tut the more food | got, the more / e
-anted. And it was food that brought Il
lie down, after all. Il
Across from US was a barracks In k
-hich there were English officers, and "
Dmehow it seemed to me that they II
lust have had drag. Every once in 1
while / saw what looked like vege- II
tbles and bags of something that was Of
dead ringer for brown flour. So CT
Id Slim, or Kate, as was calling him a,
Y then, and with him on guard, | I'll
leaked out. Of
After two or three false starts, got
yer our barbed wire and their barbed CT
ire, and in through window. fl
There / saw carrots And graham til