The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-01-10

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Z The English Lion was roaring, and
his growls could be heard all along the
western front. No doubt many a Ger
man general was stirring ~uneasily in
his large concrete shell-prOof dugout,
Elos behind the German front line, as
the ever-increasing laundering a
reached his ears.
We had a closeup view Of his ma
1esty, the king Of beasts, and to us he
was q sorry-looking specimen. Patches
OF hide were worn away, while In his
tail were two big knots. If these knots
had have been labeled II would have
been easy to read "Neuve Chapelle"
and "Gallipoli." The memory and
pain OF these two disasters no doubt
Increased the intensity Of his thunder.
The British bombardment Of the
German lines was on, a bombardment
which lasted over eight days and
nights. 1t was the forerunner Of the
Big Push, or Battle Of the Somme."
Atwerl and I were sitting In a dug
out or the support trench. Atwell was
a great, big, lovable fellow, and was
my mate. We both had been detailed
10 the divisional intelligence depart
ment. and were engaged upon "spy
work"
Atwell, although Of a naturally
CHEEKY disposition, occasionally re-
lapsed into fits of dependency.
In the light from a stump of a can
die / was making out my previous
days report to turn into brigade
headquarters. Occasionally the en-
trance to the dugout would light up
with q red flare as a shell burst In the
near vicinity. Atwell was sitting on
his pack, with his back leaning against
the wet and muddy wall of the dugout.
The rays from the candle lighted up
his face.
Finishing my report, I got out a
flag" lighted 1t, and with an uneasy
feeling listened to the roar OF the hell
outside. A long-drawn sigh caused
me to look in Atwell's direction.
Never In my life have / seen such a
detected and woe-begone ~countenance.
This, In a way, angered me, because
i. myself, right then, had a feeling of
impending disaster, a sort Of unknown
dread, perhaps intermingled with a
far-away longing for the fields and
flowers at home. 1 wanted to be
cheered, and AtwelI's face looked like
d morgue.
Forcing a smile / slapped Atwell on
the knee and said:
Come out o. your trance. We've
both got a good chance for Blighty
with this bombardment on"
Atwell looked I'm my direction, and
In q tone Of voice which from him l
had eve heard before, answered:
"Yank, I've been out since IA. I've
buried many a mate and I've seen
many q lucky bloke on q stretcher
bound for Blighty, and never gave it
a thought. but right now / feel as II
my stay In the trenches will be short.
I've had something on my mind since
September, 1914, and It's been worry
ing me pink. I'm goin' to tell you the
story, and I'll give you my oath that
you're the first one that's ever heard
1t from my lips; but I've got to have
your promise that you'll not judge me
too harshly. I've just got to get It
out o. my system"
Just then a signing moan could be
heard overhead. 1t was one of our
''nine-point-two" shells aimed In the
direction Of Berlin. We both instinc-
lively turned our eyes toward the en-
trance Of the dugout and waited for
fhe burst. Nothing happened.
Another bloomin' dud," CALCULATED
Atwell. "a few more hundred pounds
gone to seed." and then again the
gloomy look spread over his counte-
nance. I was getting aevvUus and IN
easy. Trying to hide my fear. ! said:
"For tn love o. Mike. Atwell, crack
a smile. Give us that story Of yours.
DR. else Ill go b~ughouss. You had bet
ter get 1t or or your chest, because
I'm thinking that Fritz will o be
replying to u straf1ng, and If an
yight-inch shell ever hits this dugout
they'll Eeed no wooden crosses for
as. because III names will appear In
der the caption Missing"
With another sigh escaping from
his lips, which sent q cold shlver up
and down my spinal column. he lighted
q fag and started In. This Is what he
told ne:
1T was back In September. 1914.
You know ! came out with the first
hundred thousand, the time when all
the fighting was done In the open.
The Germans were smashing every
thing before them In their drive on
Paris. Our regiment was one Of the
few opposed to Won Nuck. 1t was q
case OF hold them for q few hours and
then re~treat-nlwayS retreat. We
didn't even have time to bury nj
dead The grub was rotten, and we
were 3ast about fagged ont, dead tired.
With ~ prospect of : relief ipr rest n
1gnnk of m. 4MaA-L-L --