The Raymer enterprise., 1918-07-18

| II. L. y. ~ ull0Weu 10 nunt the nuns
on the western front.
This was In May. 1917.
By August /, most OF US were full.
fedged pilots, actively engaged at vari-
Gus parts OF the line ln daily conflict
with the enemy.
BY December u, every man jack OF
US who had met the enemy In France,
with one exception. had appeared on
the casualty list. The exception was
III. X. Boysen, an American, who at
last report was fighting on the Italian
front still unscathed. Whether his
good fortune has stood him up to this
time don't know, but II II has would
be very much surprised.
or the others, five were killed In ac-
tion-three Americans, one Canadian,
and one Engllshman. Three more were
in all probability killed In action al
though officially they are listed merely
us missing" One OF these was an
American. one Canadian, and the
third a Scotchman. Three more. two
OF them Americans, were seriously
wounded. Another, a Canadian, Is a
prisoner In Germany. ! know nothing
Of the others.
What happened to me Is narrated In
these pages. | wish. instead. l could
tell the story OF each OF my brave COM
| rphpc fnr pnt nnn ~ fha,n tt.,v ,Jnp,pn1
am sure, without upholding the best
traditions OF the X. +. c. Unfortunate
ly, however, OF the eighteen who
sailed on the Meganlc last May.
happened to be the first to fall into
the hands Of the Huns. and what befell
my comrades after that, with one e1-
ception, | know only second hand.
The exception was the case OF poor
brave Paul Raney-my closest chum-
whose last battle witnessed from my
German prlson-but that is story !
shall tell In Its proper place.
In one way, however, think the
story OF my own "big adventure" and
my miraculous escape may. perhaps.
serve a purpose as useful as that OF
the heroic fate OF my less fortunate
comrades. Their story. 1t Is true, might
inspire others to deeds of heroism,
but mine, hope, will convey the
equally valuable lesson OF the folly
OF despair.
Many were the times In the course
OF my struggles when 1t seemed abso.
lutely useless to continue. In hostile
country. where discovery meant death,
wounded. sick, famlshed, friendess,
hundreds OF miles from the nearest
neutral territory the frontier of which
was so closely guarded that even II
got there II seemed too much to hope
that l could ever get through, what
was the use Of enduring further
agonyl
And yet here l am. In the land Of
liberty-although In a somewhat OBJ
scure corner Of 1.-THE little town Of
Momence, Ill., where l was born-not
very much the worse for wear after all
I've been through. and. as write these
words not eight months have passed
since my seventeen comrades and I
sailed from Canada on the Meganlc.
Can 1t be possible that l was spared
to convey a message Of hope to others
who are destined for similar trials?
am afraid there will be many Of them
Years ago heard OF the epItaph
which Is said to have been found on
child's grave:
"If was so soon to be done for
What, o Lord. was | ever begun for?"
The way II has come to me since
returned from Europe Is:
III. o Lord, I was to be done for.
What were my sufferings eer begun
fori"
Perhaps the answer lies In the sug-
gestion have made.
At any rate, II this record of my ad-
ventures should prove instrumental In
sustaining others who need encourage
ment, | shall feel that my sufferlngs
were not In vain.
II Is hardly likely that anyone will
quite duplicate my experiences, but
haven't the slightest doubt that many
will have to go through trials equally
nerye-racklng and suffer dlsappoint.
ments just as dIsheartenlng.
It would be very far from the mark
to imagine that the optimism which /
am preaching now so gIibly sustained
me through all my troubles. On the
contrary, | am free to confess that |
frequently gave way to despair and
often, for hours at time, felt so de-
jected and discouraged that I really
didn't care what happened to me. In.
deed, | rather hoped that something
would happen to put an end to my
misery.
But despite all my dependency and
hopelessneSs, the worst never hap.
pened, and | can't help thinking that
my salvation must have been designed
10 show the way to others.
CHAPTER II.