Tombstone epitaph., 1918-09-22
(COLtinued from last weenL
 CHAPTER VII.

panfes. or our own company oniN l2 men remained. Presently others strag- gled fin until there We 20 of us as sembed. There is eager questioning everywhere as each nan attempts to learn abou, his comrade or acquaint- ance. Few questions can be answered however. as each man had thought only of himself in that flight.
 Driven by hunger We approached the village. The first thing we did was to hasten to the wells and drink. We drank as If We wanted to fill our selves up with enough water to last us the rest of our lives. Only here and there were we able to find anything 70 eat. A few be,fs were left in the gar dens and we ate them eagerly. without waiting to wash or clean them.
 Where is our company? Nobody knows. We are the company. we 20 men. And our officers Somewhere surely" said soldier. somewhere in a homh-proof corner"
 Bu. wha; were we to do? No one could decide Presently a noncommis- stoned officer of the field gendarmes approached on horseback It is inc duty Of this particular class of defend CTS of the fatherland 10 round up slackers behind the front
 You are pioneers" he called to us roughly. What are you doing here," Then he asked us innumerahle ques- tions. which we answered as well as we could
 Where are the others?" he asked.
 ''Over there" said young Berlin eoldier. and pointed to the battlefield.
 "Tha others are dead or perhaps prisoners. Several others have man aged 10 save themselves and are some where. perhaps"
 Never mind" the noncommissioned officer said roughly. The conversation had become disagreeable 10 hirn. Wait here. until come back. Where are the of.icers:"
 Again no one could answer. What are their names: shall find them. Perhaps they are in vitry.-
 We told him the names of our off. cers. He gave us Identification papers so that We might he able to prove to others inquring why We were waiting where we were.
 ''i hope his horse falls and he breaks his neck" said one of our men.
 We entered one of the houses which had been r"hhed as were all the others, threw ourselves down upon The mat fresseS to sleep. seep. sleep. How long we slept no one knew We only knew that ir was night and that some Of our company had aroused us. These were newcomers who had been huntin: for ms for a long time.
 Come along. The captain Is ont side and he is very angry. He has gathered i1 of his men together and is cursing like the very devil because ne could net locate you.'
 Sleepy. and entirely indifferent 10 the future. we Jeff the building We knew that we would he sent into action again but no longer cared. had never before seen among body of soldiers such an atmosphere of absolute indif- ference
 We came upon the captain. He saw Us approach minus our heaicear. our uniforms torn into shre,is and without guns and kHapsacks.
 Why are you running around herer hc rOarsi. That was our reception.
 Nobody answered Nobody cared Nothing could be worse than what we had been through. hui although every one among us felt keenly the injustice of the captains attitude We all re mained silent
 Where is your eGuipment?-Lost- Lost. This has been nice business. The state eqnips you. you rebel. If all were like you"
 He raved on for 8 while after this fashion, this brave fellow. who. without any action on his own part permitted the rebels to retreat while he defend ed his fafherland in Vitry. 4.26 kilo meters behind the battle line.
 We selected guns from those lying around us in heaps and soon were ready 10 fight again.
 We stood around half asleep. lean ing on our guns. and waited to be led once more to the slaughter. shot fell in our midst. It struck a color sergeant and smashed his right hand. He cried out from the pain. His hand was quickly bandage6. He was the first.
 An eyewitness told us how this had happened. He had rested his hand O the gun barrel in the same manner as did all the others except that his hand partly covered the muzzle. The orders provide that the gun be locked if loaded. Turning to the color ser geant. who was writhing with pain. the captain roared at him: '1 shall report you for punishment for your gross careIessness and for mutilating yourself in the field"
 The color sergeant, a noncommis- stoned oficer. realized that his military career was at an end. We all felt for him. During the months preceding this incident he had always associated him