The weekly Alaska citizen., 1918-04-29

I felt the Ice cold water about me and yet it seemed I did not sink. Bodies floated past me and at dis tance I could see men and women still struggling in the water. I made no effort to keep afioat, but still l drifted on and on. I tried to reason it out in my own mind but could not think. It seemed had lost all fear of death, all sense of pain and every other human emotion. knew 1 had no lifebelt, and still I was aware that something was bearing me up while all the rest were sinking. Fin ally I concluded that l must be dead and that death had led me out of the land of the living but had kept me unconscious of the fact. I drifted on and on and the water ceased to feel cold nor did It even feel unpleasant. Dead bodies came drifting by me with their glassy eyes staring at me and with mouths wide agape. Presently my baby came drifting by with out stretched hands. attempted to swim toward it but was unable to make any headway. I swan and struggled until I was completely exhausted. l paused for a few seconds and looked at the helpless child still there with outstretched hands. saw innumera- ble small fishes come darting up to it and nibble at it's bright eyes for a few moments and then dart away.
 Soon both eyes were gone and still those tiny hands were stretched to- ward me SO pitifully. As I looked I saw there was no flesh on the little fingers and l could see now that the soaked clothes only held the skeleton of my child with few pieces of rotting flesh. It drifted nearer and nearer. At last it came within reach and raising that little fleshless hand it patted me lovingly on tire cheek
 Then the horrible picture disappear ed and I found myself sitting before the low fire which burned upon the hearth. The room was cold but my brow was wet with drops of ice cold precipitation. A feeling of great re- lief came over me when I at least realized that it was only a dream, but somehow it left me strangely af- fected. At last I realized what it would have meant to me if my wife and my babe had been among those which had been sent down into the cold waves of the Atlantic At last it dawned on me that for every wife and for every babe that those murdering imps of hell had wiped from the face of the earth there were hearts that would ache just as much as mine would ache had my wife and babe been among them. hurriedly arose and turned up the low burning light. Then I rushed in to where Nell and our baby boy were sleeping and soon had Nell awake
 Nell, I'm going to enlist tomor- row." I told her. She sat up and started at me sleepily for few moments. "Enlist?" she said at last. You are going to enlist?" Then she leaped out of bed and had her arms about my neck before I realized that she had understood what had said to her. She rested her head on my shoulder and began to cry. "Now. Nell, don't cry like that" I said in an effort to comfort her. It'll be alright; we have laid away enough to take care of you and the boy until return. and will take out enough insurance that you will be provided for in case I don't return"
 "Oh. Billie, Billie. it's not that Pm worrying about myself. Pm so glad that you are going. I can take care of myself alright. I don't care any thing about money. What is money compared to what our boy would lose if you staid at home and piled up money while all the others went
 over there to fight for liberty? I'm almost ashamed to tell you now, but I was so afraid that you were not going and I couldn't bear to think that some day when our boy has grown up he would hear his father called a stacker. knew you weren't, Billie; knew you weren't when l looked at that photograph of your father in his captains uniform. Oh, Billie, of course I hate to see you go, too, but God will take care of you and I know you'll come back to me some day, and if you don't I'll know that you died like a man and your boy will never be ashamed of his father like he would if you had stayed at home."
 Then again I felt another change come into my heart and I knew that I was a man. I knew that now could look every man in the eyes without that sense of shame that had burned there ever since I had seen those first volunteers off without me when their country called.
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