El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-03-13
BURIED BY 4
GERMAN SHELL
Corporal Holmes Is Sent
Back to French Watering
Place for a Rest.
Continued from Page -

Ny heart stopped beating ana 1 went
out again.
When 1 came to the next time it
was still dark and somebody was
lifting me onto a stretcher. My first
impression was OF getting q long
breath. 1 gulped it down, and with
every grateful inhalation I Ielt iny
ribs painfully swapping back into
place. On. lady, DIDN'T 1 Just eat
that air up.
And then having got filled Up with
the long-denied oxygen 1 asked:
where's the others
Agent no hothers,' was ihe brief
And there weren't. Later : recon
structed the occurrences Of the nigat
from what 1 was told by the resculng
Taking Account of Stock
A big shell had slammed down on
US, killed Bonsie, the man in the
middle. The shell was -dud. that
is. it didn't explode. If it had there
wouldn't have been anything whas-
ever left OF any of US. As il was. cur
overhang caved in. letting sandbags
and earth down on the remaining
man and myself. The other man was
buried clean under. He had life in
him stiIl when he was dug out, but
went west in about 10 minutes.
The fourth man was found dead
from shrapneL 1 found. too, that the
two unwOunded men who had gone
back with Mr.. May had both been
killed on the way in. So out Of the
u men who started on the suicide
club" stunt I was the only one left;
Blinky was still inside my tunic, and
laid the luck all to him.
Back in the hospital ! was found
to be suffering from shell shock:
Also my heart was pushed OUT Of
Not n Bone Broken.
There were no bones broken,
though I was sore all over and sew
eral ribs were pulled around so that
it was like a knife thrust at every
breath.
Besides that my nerves were shat
tered. I jumped a foot at the slight
est noise and twitched good deal.
At the end of the week l asked the
NJ O. if I would get Blghty- and he
said he didn't think so-not directly.
He rather thought that they would
keep me in hospital for a month or
two and see how I came out The
officer was a Canadian and had
sense of humor and was most affable.
I told him if this jamming wasn't
going TO get me Blighty I wanted 10
90 back to duty and get a real one
He laughed and tagged me for
beach resort at Ault-Onival, on the
northern coast Of France
Happy at French Resort.
I was there week and had a bully
time. The place had been fashion
able watering place before the war.
and when / was there the transient
population was largely wealthy Bel
gians- They entertained good
deal and did all they could for the
pleasure Of the 1000 boys who were
at the camp.
The Y. N. c. A. had a huge tent and
spread themselves in taking care OF
the soldiers. There were entertain
ments almost every night-meving
pictures and music The food was
awfully good and the beds comfort
able, and that pretty nearly spells
heaven TO a man down from the
front
Best OF all. the bathing was fine
and il was possible to keep the COO
ties under control-more or less. 1
went in bathing two and three times
daily. as the sloping shore made II
just as good at low tide as at high
I think that glorious week at the
beach almost made the hardships or
worth while. Ny chum- Sergt- Wells,
who had a quaint Cockney philos-
ophy, used to say that he liked to
have the stomach ache because it felt
so good when It stopped On the
same theory I became nearly con-
WINGED that a month in the trenches
was good fun because il felt so good
TO get out.
A the end OF the week I was better
the NJ o. to tag me for BliEhty. He
wouldn't So I sprung the same pro-
position on him that had on the doc
tor at the base-to send me back to
duty if he couldn't send me to Eng
land. The brute took me at my word
and sent me back to the bait
I rejoined on the SOmme again just /
as they were going back for the sec
ond time in that awful part Of the
line. Many of the old faces we're
gone. Some had got the wooden cross
and some had gone to Blighty.
sure was glad when old Wellsie
honDed out and grabbed me.
Darby" he said. Hi sye. an me
fhinkin' as 'ow you was back in
Blighty An ere ye are. yer blinSin'
old self or is II yer bloomin' ghost.
7 arsks We. Strike me pink Hank,
I'm glad"
And he was. At that I did feel
more or less ghostly. 7 seemed to
have lost some Of my confidence. I
expected to go west on the next time
IN And that's a bad way to feel out
-here.-Copyrigh by the Boston
Post
Continued TOm8rrOw.l