Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-22

A'ei6 iuh "ostiy, anu tney re just De-
ginning again. l got circular from
an importin' house only the other day
and wrote in to get their prices.
Funny thing, too. They had Sunder-
beeke stuff. Sunderbeeke. That's
about forty kilometers southeast of
Dunkirk."
Been there. have your" 1 suggests
Il should say l had" says Bucky.
That's where we got our first dose
of front-line work. They brigaded
us with the Trenches, in reserve at
the start, but then we were moved up
to take over what was supposed to be
a quiet sector. Maybe it was once,
but after some of our boys got to
cuttin' loose at everything they saw
the boches got busy-snipers. machine
guns. trench mortars. We sure stirred
'em up.
'Rummy hole. this Sunderbeeke
spot. Couldn't have been much Of a
town to begin with, but after a couple
Of years of bombardment 1t was a
mess. Not a whole buildin' left, and
the town hall and such places were
just piles of brick. Great shell holes
in the street. And every night regular
at 1880 the Huns gave it forty minutes
of straflng, just to show they could
still register on it, expect. At that
there was folks Twin there still. Just
stickin' around. What they could
find to do. or what they lived on is by
me. / remember one old guy special.
Say. he was bird, he was
Bucky stops to indulge in a chuckle.
Then he goes on. "Crawled out Of a
cellar one day when / was out with q
salvage detail. A tall. thin. whiskered
old relic. His toes was stickin' out of
his shoes. his shirt looked like it was
made out of a window shade. and his
hands were like claws. Yet he's
wearin' battered silk lid, IL you
please. and a long black coat. Carried
a gold-headed cane, too Almost as
II he'd been got up for a masquerade.
'Howdy, grandpop.' says I. Where's
the party at" And blamed IL he don't
come back at me in straight English.
He amt sore or anything at my
guyin' him. Says how glad he Is to
see us Americans on the job at last
and that now ne knows the Huns will
be driven back where they belong.
"Yea-uh! had quite a chat with the
old boy. Queer old scout. Just as
dignified in them buds as IL he'd had
on full evenin' dress. Told me how
he'd been right there, ever since the
Huns begun THROWN shells into the
place. Said he had a couple OF sons
in the muss' but he hadn't heard from
either Of 'em in over year. He'd
lost the old lady. too. Piece OF shrap-
mel through the window. He'd been
gassed once himself, but had got over
1t. And when i asks how he scrapes
up enough to live on he just lunches
his shoulders. One doesn't live says
he, 'one endures.' Didn't look like
he'd had a square meal for months.
"well, / kept seem him around every
day or SO. Once I carted out half a
loaf Of white bread to him. Say, you
should have seen them old eyes Of his
shine. His claw fingers trembled so
he could hardly grab 1t. He stops
only long enough to take Off his old
silk lid, and beg my pardon polite.
and then he squats right down In the
doorway Of the nearest deserted hoase
and goes to it. Hungry! Say. hope
! never work up an appetite like that.
Afterwards l used to sneak out
other stun to nina little bag Of
sugar, a knuckle Of ham, q tobacco
tin full Of butter. I almost got kissed
for the butter. You Americans are
wonderful people, says he. didn't
deny IL I Am told hi goes ON. that