Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1918-04-18
x-continued.

CHAPTER x-continued.
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We had q sergeant In our battalion
named Warren. He was on duty with
his platoon In tho 6re trench n after.
noon when orders came up from the
that he had been granted seven
days leave for Bllghty. and would be
relieved at five o'clock to proceed to
England.
He was tickled to death at these
welcome tidings and RECALLED his more
or less envious mates beside him on
the fire step with the good times In
store for him. He figured 1t out that
In two days time he would arrive at
Waterloo station, London, and then
seven days bliss!
At about five minutes to five he
started to adget with his rifle. and
then suddenly springing up on the fire
step with a muttered, I'LL send over
q couple Of souvenirs to Fritz SO that
he'll miss me when I leave" he stuck
bis rifle owe the top and fred two shots
when "crack" went a bullet and he
tumbled of the step, fell into the mud
at the bottom Of the trench, and lay
still in a hsdd!ed heap with a bullet
hole In his forehead.
At about the time he expected to ar
rive at Waterloo station he was laid
to rest in a little cemetery behind the
lines. He had gone to Blighty.
I In the trenches NJ can never tell
Il ia not safe to plan very far ahead.
After "stand down" the lei sit on
the IRE step or repair to their respec-
tve dugouts and wait for the rum IS
sue" to mate1alize. Immediately fol-
lowing the rum comes breakfast,
brought up from the rear. Sleeping Is
then In order unless some special work
turns up.
Around 1 :30 dinner shows up,
When this Is eaten the men try ia
amuse themselves until "tea" appears
ut about four o'clock, then "stand to-
and they carry on as before.
While in rest blllets Tommy gets ul
about six In the morning, washes up
answers roll call, is inspected by his
platoon officer, and has breakfast Al
B:45 he parades (drills) with his COM
pany or goes on fatigue according ia
the orders which have been read out
By the orderly sergeant the night pre-
yious.
Between II 80 and noon he Is dis
missed, has his dinner and is ION his
own" for the remainder Of the day
unless he has clicked for a digging OF
working party, and 80 1t goes on from
day to day, always "looplng the loop
and looking forward to peace ant
Blighty.
Sometimes. while engaged in .
Scootie" hunt, you think. Strange Il
say, but It is a fact, while Tommy Il
searching his shirt serious thoughts
come to him. Many q time, when per
forming this operation, I have triet
to figure out the outcome Of the wal
and what will happen to me.
Ny thoughts generally ran In TILL
channel:
VIII I emerge safely from the mex
attack II I do will I skin through tn
following one, and 10 ONT While you
mind IL wandering into the future l
IL likely to be rudely brought to eartl
by q Tommy %interrupting with, "Whati
good for rheumatism"
Then you have something else Il
think Of. VIII you come out Of THU
war crippled and tied into knots will
rheumatism, caused BY the wet ant
mud Of trenches and dugouts7 70,
give 1t up as q bad Job and general!
saunter over to the nearest estamine
to drown your moody forebodings in
glass Of slckening French beer or t
try your luck at the always presen
game Of "house." You can hear tn
sing.song voice Of q Tommy droninl
out the numbers as he extracts tn
little squares Of cardboard from tn
bag between his feet.