Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1918-04-19

WV "''"k np""o tfth utt ohfftf Whb y
stranger 10 me.
The Victims relations and friends In
Blighty viii never know that he was
executed; they will be under the i'm
preston that he died doing his BIT for
King and country.
In the public casualty lists his name
VIII appear under the caption "Acci-
dentnlly Killed" or "Died."
The day after the execution I re-
celyed orders 10 report back TO the
line, and to keep still tongue IN my
hcnd.
Executions are part Of the days
work. hut The part We hated most OF
all. ] thlnk-certnlDly the sndiest. The
British war department Il thought ~
many people 20 be- composed of rigid
regulations nll wound around with red
tape. But II hns heart. and one OF
the evidences of this IL the consldernte
way In which an execution IL concealed
and reported to thg relative Of the un-
fortunate man. They never know the
truth. He II listed In the bulletins as
among the incidentally killed"
In the Inst ten years ! have severni
times read stories In magazines OF
towards changing, In charge. 10 he
roes. used TO laugh at II. II seemed
easy for dory-wrlters. but ! said.
"Men aren't made that way." But over
In France ! learned once that the
streak Of yellow can turn all white. I
picked up the story. bit by bit. from
the captain OF the company, thP sen
tries who guarded the poor fellow, AZ
well as from my own observations. At
first | did not realize the whole OF his
story. but after a week Of inyestlga-
tion II stood out ms clear In my mind
as the mountains OF my native West In
the spring sunshine. II impressed me
so much that | wrote II all down in
rest blllets on scraps OF odd paper.
The incidents are. us say. every bit
true: the feelings OF the man are true
i know from all underwent In the
lighting over In France.
We viii call him Albert Lloyd. That
wasn't his name. but II viii do:
Albert Lloyd was what the world
terms coward
In London they called him n Stacker.
His country had been nj war nearly
eighteen months, and still he wns not
In khaki.
He had no good reason for not en-
listing. being alone In the world hay-
Ing 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 go. while her eyes pleaded for him
to stay.
Every time he saw a recruiting SER
geant he'd stink around the corner out
OF sight. with a terrible fear gnawing
OF his heart. When passing the big re-
crulting 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 ut 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 corner of
his boarding-honse cellar. whimperlne
Ike whipped puppy and calling upon
the Lord to protect him.
Even his landlady dcsplsed him. al
though she mad 20 admit that he was
good pay
lie very seldom read the papers, but
one momentous morning the landlady
put the morning paper ut his place be
fore he came down to breakfast. TAX
ing his seat he read the flaring head.
line. "Conscription Bill Passed" and
nearly tainted. Excusing himself, he
stumbled upstairs to his bedroom
with the horror Of II gnawing into his
vitals.
Having saved up few pounds, he
decided not to leave the house, and to
sham sickness, so he stayed In his room
and had the landiady serve his meals
there.
Every time there was a knock at the
door he trembled all over, imagining II
was a policeman who had come to tak'
him away to the army.
One morning his fears were realized