Baxter Springs news., 1919-01-24


The rest Of the crew weakly asSented
and Curly went after Jerry's brother
In about twenty minutes he returned
with him. Jerry's brother came ovel
and sat on the firestep next to me. He
sat silent for n few minutes, and then
in n thick, piping. high-pitched voice
spoke:
$50 you want to ear about Jerry. d
you? They called him ',Aunted Jerry!
but he weren't 'aunted; he could Just
see could see into the future
could sort o. tell what was agoin' q
'appen. Il could talk to the dead
and they told I'm. = always nd
spirits around 'lm-ghosts. you call
'em, but there amt no such thing 81
ghosts - they're souls awanderin'
around; they're about us now
slowly eased down the frestep away
from him.
"Jerry used to talk to the dead; q
would sit in q cemetery At night while
In rest billets, and receive messages
from them what can't speak no more.
sometimes. lyte at night, ! can 'eaE
far aw'y, voices calm to me, but a.
yet cawn't understand 'em, but ] win
Il WILL"
Ny blood began to curdle.
Curly Wallace, placing his hand on
the speakers knee. softly said:
"Righto, mate, we know you can
see far beyond us, but tell rs Of Aunt
ed Jerry and the pome o wrote the
day before g clicked It at the lone
tree"
Jerry's brother nodded In q compre-
hending way, and reaching into the
pocket of his tunic drew out creased
and muddy piece cf paper, which he
opened out upon his knee, and then, In
an unnatural. singsong voice, which
sent shivers through rs, recited the
following poem:
Between the lines. in No Mans Land.
With foliage gone. and trunk that's
torn,
A lonely sentry takes his stand,
Silently watching from morn to morn.
On starlIt nights, when moon 10 bright.
And spreads its rays OF shostiiEe
beams;
Against the sky, that tree Of blight
A CHASTITY hangman's gibbet SeeHaA
When night Is black, and wind's faint
sigh
Through It's shelltorn branches means.
A call to men, "To die, to die!"
They answer II with groans and groana.
But obey the call, for "more and more. I"
And Death sits by and grins and grins.
And watches the fast-growing score.
The harvest Of his sentry's wilma
There they lie huddled. friend and foe.
Ghastly heaps, English. Hun and
French
And still those piles forever grow.
They are fed by the Men Of the
Trench"
No wooden cross TO mark their fall,
No tombstone theirs. no caTven rocks.
Just the Lone Tree with it, grim call.
Which forever mocks and mocks.
When Jerry's brother had finished.
a dead silence ensued. I nerv0uSly
lighted a fag. and out Of the corner
Of my eye noticed that Sailor Bill was
uneaslIy squirmlng on the firestep.
Letting out sigh, which seemed to
whistle between his teeth, our guest"
carried on:
"Jerry weren't much at cheerful
writing, because e 'ad q calling.
Even back 'ome in Bllghty, e weren't
much for lights nor fun. e took AZ.
ter our mother. The neighbors called
'er 'aunted, too, but she weren't. She
could see things, like Jerry.
"This ere lone tree sentinel Jerry
writes about was an old tree In No
Mans land, about 'undred yards from
our front-line trench. II was pretty
we'll knocked about by bullets and
shell fragments. It made q pretty good
guide post, stlckln' sort o. lonely like
up gainst the skyline at night. Re
connoitering patrols and bombing par
ties used 1t to show 'em the wye
back to their trenches, because,
y know, out there in the blackneSs
It's easy to lose your wye. unless
you ave spirits a.guldln' you.
"LOts Of times English and German
patrols would meet near the lone
tree. and many a 'and-t0-'and fight
would tyke place around It's roots.
AT that part o. the line It were
pretty 'Ot, what with the rife and ma-
chine-gun firing. The only time there
would be lull In the firing was when
o accommodating patrol was out IN
front, and then, as you know, y0u
couldn't fire for fear Of O lifting your
own blOkes. All around the lone tree
were scattered many bodies, mostly
English and German. Some Of 'em
'uu been a-lyin' there for weeks, and
when the wind were a-blowin' from the
German lines towards US It were sort
Of unpleasant In our front line.
"Every time the captain would eal1
Ior soldiers for q accommodating pa
troll, 'Aunted Jerry, as you call I'm.
always put Is bloomin' nyme on the
list. II got so that after q while .
never asked II e wanted to 60; the
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