Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-06-29

forth in transactions between Amer
lean soldiers and the citizens OF Eu-
rope. The shopkeepers of Mont
NEEDY had lot Of German money
not lot. either, but more than they
had of any other money. SO the
doughboys got back handfuls of
marks and pfennigs in change and
went on their way rejoicing. More
souvenirs!
Uptown was the "Deutches the
alter an der Westfront." A new
show was going on inside-a good
show now. The old one had been
playing there for four years and it
was a rotten performance. The
world had stood it as long as it
could, then it had legged" the ac-
tors and the whole stock company
was beating it somewhere off
through Belgium.
But this new one was a peach.
The sounds that came through the
wide open windows on the second
floor made folks on the street stop
in their tracks, and shuttle their
feet. Above the ragtime lit of
piano came the roar of an American
soldier chorus. Take me to dat
Darktown Shutters BALL" Four SOL
diers leaning comfortably over the
withered flower boxes on the bal
cony rails sang the song out into
the street.
A red-haired boy from Alabama
was up there at big grand piano,
swaying himself and his fingers up
and down the keys, and the chorus
was crowded around him five rows
deep. He was a wizard, that red
haired boy. He sent thrills up and
down your back and made you stand
around and shake your shoulders
when you know you ought to be
examining this German theater and
marveling at it.
Had a Great Dinner.
The trench mortar battery officers
invited me to dinner that night.
Their billet-hostess had joyfully as
scented to a proposal that included
the turning over of her dining room
and her table service for the evening,
the cooking of the dinner and the
usual cleaning up processes. All
they were to furnish was the food,
which in Montmedy was the main
thing, the other details merely trail
ing along as pleasant accompani-
ments, but not necessities.
And so we dined in not a little
state in delivered Montmedy, on the
second floor of the big house on the
left and down the hill, about two
blocks above the 'Deeutches The
alter an der West Front" On clear,
still nights a few months ago the
billet hostess and her husband and
daughters could probably have heard
the sweet chorus of "Hi-le, Ho-1o,"
from the stage down there, and
caught the faint. perfume of lin
burger as the skinny Dutchman hit
the fat Dutchman in the stomach
with a board.
1t was great dinner. There was
tender steak, fresh from the quar-
termaster, and fried potatoes, fresh
from the commissary, and baked
beans, fresh from the cans. And
there were coffee and white bread
and jam made of whole strawberries.
With the dishes being cleared
away and everybody fixed with the
fresh cigarette, the billet hostess
tiptoed into the dining room with a
scared smile and fairly flew at the
opposite wall with outstretched
arms, as though she wanted to get
there before somebody tagged her
and made her ct"
They had been standing around
like that all morning, while the men
were clearing out the telephones
and office equipment and packing up
the understanding in the corners
out of the way of the rush and
hustle, watching and waiting.
Like a Vacation Jaunt.
1t was peace weather, too, with a
cloudless sky and brilliant sunshine
that warmed you through and made
beautiful sharp etchings of the roads
and the valleys below and the au-
tumn-tinted woods On the hills.
Right at the start the trip to the
Rhine was assuming the nature of
vocational jaunt through a New
England countryside, let us say-in
the "feel" of the thing, if you get
the meaning. Same scenery, same
sort of roads that you had been see
ing during months of trips around
rural France. But this was the 9TH
er side of a world that had been
divided for four years-divided as
though by great wall, so that
neither side could look over and see
what the other side was doing. Here
suddenly was the other side, with
the wall moving ahead somewhere
before you, disclosing the hidden
land mile by mile. There would be
several days of it and you would
live in towns where there were good
beds, the people would probably be
glad to see you and you would stay
overnight and NOVA on comfortably
next day to the next town.
Men in Fine Fettle.
Exhilaration grew out of this
combination of circumstances. The
foot soldiers felt it. On their backs
were the same heavy packs they
had carried on night marches
through rain and mud toward
morning that would bring a battle
when no prospect stretched before
them but more night marches and
more battles, more rain and more
mud; but this was bright, sunny
daylight, and there lay ahead good
billets, sound sleep, leisurely going
and the River Rhine.
So they were fine-looking bunch
as they swarmed through the valleys
and over the hills-fresh-faced,
clear-eyed, with a pep" instead of
slog to their gait.
At noon they reached Montmedy,
the hating place for the day,