The Washington herald., 1918-03-06
"OVR THE TOP"
By ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
CopyrEhted by Arthur Guy Empey.
Copyrighted by Arthur Guy Empey.

of dawn, a few yards in front OF me,
could make out a brick wall. Against
this wall was a dark form with a
white square pinned on its breast. We
were supposed to aim at this square.
To the right of the form l noticed a
white spot on the wall This would
be my target.
Ready, Aim! Fire."
The dark form sank into a huddled
heap. My bullet sped on its way. and
hit the whitish spot on the wall; l
could see the splinters fly. Someone
else had received the rifle containing
the blank cartridge. but my mind was
at ease, there was no blood of q Tom
my on my hands.
"Order-Arms! About-Turn! Pile
Arms! Stand-Clear."
The stacks were reformed.
"Quick-March! Right-Wheel." and
We left the scene of execution behind
US.
1t was now daylight After march
ing about five minutes, we were dis
missed with the following instructions
from the officer in command:
Return, alone, to your respective
companies, and remember, no talking
about this affair, or else it will go
hard with the guilty ones"
We needed no urging to get away.
did not recognize any Of the men on
the firing squad, even the officer was
a stranger to me.
The victims relations and friends in
Blighty will never know that he was
executed; they will be under the i'm
preston that he died doing his bit for
King and country.
In the public casualty lists his name
will appear under the caption "Acci-
| dentally Killed" or Died"
The day after the execution I re-
ceived orders to report back to the
1 line, and to keep a still tongue in my
head.
Executions are a part of the days
| work but the part we hated most of
all. think-certainly the saddest. The
British War Department is thought
by many people to be composed of
! rigid regulations all wound around
| with red tape. But it has a heart,
| and one of the evidences of this is the
considerate way in which an execution
is concealed and reported to the rela-
tives OF the unfortunate man. They
never know the truth. He Is listed in
the bulletins as among the accident
| ally killed"
In the last ten years have several
tlines READ stories in ma ga zines of
coWards changing, in a charge, to he
roes. l used to laugh at It. 1t SEEM
ed easy Tor story-writers but 1 said,
Men aren't made that way." But
oyer in France l learned once that
the streak Of yellow can turn all
white. picked up the story, bit by
bit, from the captain of the COM
pany, the sentries who euarded the
poor fellow, as well as from INV own
observations. At first I did not real
ize the whole of his story, but after
week Of investigation it stood out
as clear in my mind as the mountains
OF my native West in the spring sun
shine. 1t impressed me so much that I
wrote 1t all down in rest biIlets on odd
scraps of paper. The Incidents are. as
l say, every bit true; the feelings Of the
man are true-I know from all under
went In the fighting over in France.
We Will call him Albert Lloyd. That
wasn't his name, but II will do:
Albert Lloyd was what the world
terms a coward. ~
In London they called him a Stacker.
His country has been at war nearly
eighteen months. and still he was not
in khaki.
he mad no good reason for not en-
listing, being alone in the world. hay-
ing been educated in an orphan asy-
lum, and there being no one dependent
upon him for support. He had no
sood posltion to lose. and there was
no sweetheart to tell him with her
lips to 60, while her eyes pleaded for
him to stay.
Every time he saw a recruiting serg-
cant, he'd stink around the corner
OUT OF sight, with terrible fear gnaw-
Ing at his heart. When passing the
big recruiting posters. and on his way
to business and back he passed many,
he would pull down his cap and look
the other way. to get away from that
awful finger pointing at him. under the
caption. Your King and Country
Need YOU" or the boring eyes Of Kit
chener, which burned into his very
soul. causing him to shudder.
Then the Zeppelin raids--during
them, he used to crouch in corner
Of his boarding -hou3e cellar. wbIn,-