The Robesonian., 1918-09-16
lover the Top
By An American Soldier
Who Went
ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
Machine Gunne, Seroing In France
1Copyngnt, 1917, BY Arthur Guy Hmpsy)

tape. But It has heart, and one Oh
the evidences of this Is the considerate
Iway In which an execution is concealed
and reported to the relative of the un-
fortunate man. They never know the
truth. He is listed in the bulletins as
among the accidentally killed"
In the last ten years I have several
times read stories In magazines OF
towards changing, in a charge, to he
rOes l used to laugh at 1T. 1t seemed
easy for story-writers, but / said,
men aren't made that way.P But over
I'm France I learned once that the
streak of yellow can turn all white. 1
picked up the story, bit by bit, from
the captain Of the company, the SEN
tries who guarded the poor fellow, as
well as from my own observations. At
first did not realize the whole of his
story, but after a week of investlga-
ton 1t stood out as clear in my mind
as the mountains of my native West IN
the spring sunshine. 1t impressed me
so much that I wrote it all down in
rest billets on scraps Of odd paper.
The incidents are, as I say, every bit
true; the feelings Of the man are true
flghting over In France.
We will call him Albert Lloyd. That
wasn't his name. but It will do:
Albert Lloyd was what the world
terms a coward.
In London they called him Stacker.
His country had been at war nearly
leighteen months, and still he was not
I'm khaki.
He had no good reason for not en-
listing, being alone In the world, hav-
ling been educated In an orphan asy-
|lum. and there being no one dependent
upon him for support. he had no good
position to lose. and there was no
sweetheart to tell him with her lips
to 60. while her eyes pleaded for him
ito stay.
Every time he saw a recruiting SER
lgeant he'd stink around the corner out
Of sight. with terrible fear gnawing
at his heart. When passing the big re-
cruiting posters, and on his way to
business and back he passed many, he
would pull down his cap and look the
other way from that awful finger
pointing at him, under the caption,
"Your King and Country Need You;''
or the boring eyes Of Kitchener, which
burned into his very soul, causing him
to shudder.
Then the Zeppelin raids-during
them, he used to crouch in a corner OF
his boarding-house cellar, whimpering
like whipped puppy and calling upon
the Lord to protect him.
Even his landlady despised him, al
though she had to admit that he was
"good pay"
He very seldom read the papers, bu,
one momentous morning the landlady
put the morning paper at his place be
fore he came down to breakfast. TAX
ing his seat he read the flaring head
line, Transcription Bill Passed." an(
nearly tainted. Excusing himself, hi
stumbled upstairs to his bedroom
with the horror Of it gnawing into hi:
yitals.
Having saved up few pounds, h
decided not to leave the house, and t,
sham Sickness so he stayed in his room
and had the landlady serve his meal
there.
Every time there was knock at tn
door he trembled all over, imagining
was policeman who had come to tax
him away to the army.
One morning his fears were realized
Sure enough, there stood pOlicema
with the fatal paper. Taking it in hi
trembling hand he read that he, Albel
Lloyd, was ordered to report himse
to the nearest recruiting station fl
physical examination. He reported In
mediately, because he was afraid |
disobey.
The doctor looked with approx
upon Lloyd's six feet Of physical pc
fectiOn, and thought what a fl
guardsman he would make, but exa1
ined his heart twice before he pass
him as physically fit;" it was beatil
so fast.
From the recruiting depot Lloyd w
taken, with many others, in charge
a sergeant to the training depot at
dershOt, where he was given an out
VI hHukl, duu UFeW his OlQcr oQu
ment. He made fine-looking soldi
except for the slight shrinking In !
shoulders and the hunted look in
eyes.
At the training depot it does I
take long to find out a mans charact
and Lloyd was promptly dubt
"windy." In the English army "wint
means cowardly.
The smallest recruit in the barra
looked on him with contempt, and '
not slow to show it In many ways.
Lloyd was a good soldier, lear
quickly, obeyed every order promp
never grOused at the hardest fatig,
He was afraid to. He lived in dea
fear Of the officers and "noncoms" Q
him. They also despised him.
One morning about three NOR
after his enlistment Lloyd's comp
was paraded, and the names picked
for the next draft to France were r.
When his name was called, he did