The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-08-22


tie pleasure with his business. The
censor won't let one tell the SER
geant's name; but, without revealing
any military information, it may be
said that before the war the sergeant
was rated as one of the Top guns at
a well-known trap-shooting club in
the States.
There is not much trap shooting
Just now in France. They are not
cracking away at he live birds, either.
Field sports, such as they may be, are
confined entirely to flushing Fritzes
out of their dugouts, and bursting
them on the rise But the sergeant
got his pigeon shooting just the same.
The particular front in which the
sergeant operates is infested with Ger
man spies. Every few days, or so,
they nab one or two at work, and by
being on the job twenty-four hours a
day they have managed more or les.
to keep the nuisance in check. But
fortnight ago headquarters began to
realize that the boche snipers were
getting the upper hand again.
All sorts of things began to Zap
pen. A tramp" battery, one Of those
particular guns that whisks up, slams
a few at he -Fritzies, then slides out
on the jump, found itself being
shelled the instant it lined up for a
shot. Again, every time there was q
troop movement, the movement was
anticipated by the boche. Besides
that, it was found that whenever q
body of our men got together for any
purpose whatever the Germans shelled
them with everything they hai. big
guns included.
Spy Behind the Lines
Now, the Hun doesn't use his big
guns unless he knows what he's shoot.
ing at. How he learned, however.
was pretty evident Some one back
of our lines was tipping him Oft.
An evidence of this came one night
when the German big guns opened on
the Y. M. G. A. just back of the
front line trenches. Every night just
at certain hour, the Red Triangle
hut-or rather the tent the Y. M. C.
A. was using as a hut-was filled with
soldiers on their way to the trenches
and apparently the boche knew this.
AT any rate, exactly at the hour the
German guns opened a terrific fire.
the gunners laying down a box bar
rage of shrapnel and high explosives
Fortunately the troops had moved
a little earlier that night, for during
the fire the Red Triangle tent was
destroyed, one of the secretaries was
wounded and the other had narrow
escape from death. The point is, how
ever, that when this took place the
c. o. knew it could not be due to
chance. Along with the other Things
that were happening, it was pretty
evident that some one behind the lines
was sending information to the en-.
envy.
The Signal Service Sergeant was
the first to detect how it was done.
His squad was repairing signal wires
back OF the trenches. The sergeant
halted in his work and gazed skyward.
A pigeon was going overhead. The
sergeant watched 1t idly, calculating
as he stood there how far he'd lead IL
with a twelve guage, three and a half
drains Of twelve gauge, three and a
half drains Of No. 5, chilled. Then,
with a sigh, he went to laying wire
again.
A few minutes later the sergeant
stopped again. Another pigeon haG
arisen from the wood behind, and, af-
ter circling the tree tops, winged its
way overhead. Again the sergeant
lied it" reminiscently with his bygone
twelve guage. But few minutes la
ter, when third pigeon rose from the
wood, the former trap shooter tarried
no longer. A half hour later he bolt
ed into the Quartermaster's Depart
ment clicked salute and spoke hur-
riedly.
Gimme shotgun" he demanded.
Shotguns are regular part of GER
tain Quartermaster's supplies. Soon
the sergeant might have been seen
standing behind hedge row gazing
toward a nearby wood. Presently he
was seen to stiffen, at the same time
murmuring Pull" The twelve gauge
swung briefly in an arc; it cracked
and a crumpled ball of feathers came
tumbling toward the earth. To make
sure, the sergeant gave it a second
barrel just before it hit the earth.
Four Pigeons with Messages
1t was pretty clever shooting The
bird was high, going over fast, and
uuartering "Killi" murmuroJ tho
sergeant methodically, as he retrieved
the fallen game.