Jackson County journal., 1919-02-07


but to me it was about as funny as a
cry for help. I got wood though, be-
fore had been there long.
There was a great big cupboard |
that looked more like a small house,
built against the wall Of the hospital |
barracks in one corner of the room, +,
and not far from the stove. Kate was |
the only patient able to be on his feet,
so l thought he would have to be my
chief cook and bottle washer for a
while; and, besides, there was some
thing about him that made him look
pretty valuable. I had not recognized
his whistling yet, so Slim looked to be
the right name for him.
"Slim, what's that big cupboard
for?"
How'd know? Nuthin' in it."
'Slim, that would make fine box
for coal or wood, wouldn't it?"
"Um. Whar de coal an wood?"
I'm going out and take Observa-
tiOns, Slim. Take the wheel while I'm
gone, and keep your eye peeled for
U-boats." So I sneaked out the door
dNu began looking uFOuuu.
If you look at the sketch I have
made, it wifi not take you long to see
that next to us was vacated Russian
barracks. And it did not take me
much longer to see it, too. Back to
the hospital and Slim.
slim, what barracks are next to
us?"
Russian burrucks. only deg amt
| dere now. Been sick"
"And you mean to tell me you don't
know where to get wood?"
Sick men been in dem burrucks."
Sick men here, aren't there? Let's
CO."
That did the trick The black boy
would watch from the hospital win
dows until he saw the coast was clear,
then we would slip into the barracks
next door, and he would watch again
When there was no sentry near
enough to hear us, crash! and out
would come dividing board from the
hunks. When we had an armful
apiece, and had broken them up to the
right lengths, all we needed was lit
tie more watching, and then back tt
the hospital and the big cupboard
Later on, our men told me they uSe(
to watch the smoke that poured from
; the hospital chimney all the time ans
, wonder where on earth we got th'
wood.
5 We got the same kind of food in tn
: hospital that was served in the othe
barracks, and l would not have ha'
: any more than / used to, except tina
sometimes some of the twenty-six pa
l then, of course, it was mine. One day
t though, we all had extra rations.
t Two Russian doctors came to visi
us each day, and once they were foo
ish enough, or kind enough, to ask
n we had received our rations-we ha
r received them earlier than usual an
r they were finished at the time. Q
u course, / said no, SO they ordered tn
Y Russian in the kitchen to Geiive
:. twenty-eight rations to us, which Wa
l not quite three loaves Of bread. w
o were that much ahead that day, but
S would not WOrI when l tried the trio
e again.
One day q German doctor came
q the hospital barracks. He would n
! touch anything while he was there
lt not even open the door. All Of tt
l patients had little cards attached
III their beds-chartS Of their conditiO
l When the German wanted to see the
II charts the Russian doctors had to no
~ them for him.
~ | was having great time at Il
~ hospital, wrecking the barracks ne
60 door each day fer wood, along wi
a. Kate, and getting a little more TO-
sometimes, and was always nice al
warm. / thought myself quite a p
p Compared to what l had been
:. against, it seemed like real comic
~ But the more food 1 got, the more
" wanted. And it was food that brOug
~ me down, after all.
20 Across from us was a barracks
which there were English officers, a
~ ~ somehow it seemed to me that tn
80 a while l saw what looked like We,
- tables and bags of something that W
:. dead ringer for brown -four. SC
-, told Slinl or Kate, as was calling b
- by then, and with him on guard.
-. Sneake0 out.
After two or three false starts,
or. over our barbed wire and their bart
or wire, and in through a window.
nm There I saw carrots! And grah
no flour!
EST I took all I could carry, to divide
If. with Kate, and then started eati
he so as not to waste anything. It v
len certainly some feast-the only tn
ro. besides mud bread and barley cot
nd and shadow" soup that I had to
md in Germany. Then l started back
a the hospital. l got over their bari
hat wire all right, and Kate gave me
i'm go-ahead for our entanglements,
vas Just as / was going over them sen