Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-04-14
CHAPTER xvI1-(continued.)

his company. u
CHAPTER xvII-(Continued.)
NO" he said, drawing away, Il
forgot. l haven't any money. We're
all dead broke!!" He tried, to pull
himself together and look like a
man. Hfg .
But the coffee cup came close 20
his. lips again and the rough mother
" hand stole about his shoulders to
support him:
THAT'S ali right!"' she said in a
low, ma~tter-of-fact tone. You dont
need money here. son, you've GO
home, and I'm. your, mother tonight.
Just drink this and then come IN
down on .my bed and get a wink OF
sleep. You'll be yourself again in a
little while. That's it, son! You've
hiked a long way. Now forget it and
take comfort"
So she soothed him till he surely
must be dreaming again, and Won
dered which was real, or IL perhaps
he had a fever and hallucinations.
He reached a furtive hand and felt
of the pine table. and the chair on
which he sat to make sure that he
was awake, and then he looked into
her kind gray eyes and smiled.
She led him into the little impro-
vised room behind. the counte and
tucked him up ION her cot with a big
warm blanket.
That's all right now, SON" SHE
whispered don't you stir till you
feel like it. I'll. look after you and
your friend will let you know il there
is any call for you. Just o rest
He thanked her with his eyes, too
weary to speak a word, and SO he
dropped into a blessed sleep.
When he awakened slowly to- CON
sciousness, again there was a smell In
1.-The. air of more coffee, delicious cof-
free. He wondered IL it was the same
cup, and this only another brief
phase of his own peculiar state. Per
haps he had not been asleep atnall
but had only closed his eyes and
might, and there were candles lit be-
yond the barricade of boxes. He
could see their flicker through the
cracks, and shadows were falling
here and there grotesauely on the bit
of canvas that formed another wall
There was some other .odor on the
air. too. He shifted delightcdly like
a little child. something sweet and
al1uring, reminding onc. Of the days
and pies out of the wen. No
doughnuts, that vas it,: Doughnuts'
Not doughDuts' just behind tbs
trenches: How could that be?
He stirred and raised up on n ell
bow t o look about him.
There were two other cots in thu
room. arranged neatly with folded
blankets. A box in between held g
few simple toilet articles. a tin basir
them %greedily. When had he had q
pood wash What 1uXIIrTs.
He dropped back on the cot and al
at once became aware thai there
were strange sounds in the air above
the building in which he lay. strange
and deep. yet regular and with a GER
tain booming monotony as il the.
had been going on a long time, and
he had been too p~reoccupied to take
dsefzed his heart. This, then. was tht
tsound OF battle in the distance! H
was here a, the front at last: Anc
\ that was the sound of enemy shells
How strange it, seemed: How il
gripped the zoul with the audaci;S d
it all. How terrible. and yet how ex'
citing to be mere at last: And YET HI
had an unready feeling. Something
was still undone To prepare him 10,
self that was crying on. for God. Hi
material self had sensed the dough
nuts that were.fsyfng 70 near TO him
and he looked up eagerly TO welcome
whoever was coming iiptoing in II
see IL he war awake, with a nice ho'
plate OF them foE him TO eat.
He swung 70 sitting posture, and
received them and the cgp of ho'
ichocolz.s that s~eco,apanied then
whore mother Fsd D-o1sssed them i,
.h~ rrnsaA i've -snAH ~ ~ mgr f0ys ga ~,
and natural IT 1ss 20 fail into IN,
ways of this gracious housefzoid
Woph one cal ftthatz II seemed s
like n hGraes
While he vzs Arnx. his oudd;
slipped in afaSItpG< $1epe6iY>
Great news, sCssDFaaee W<fse 10,
a new captain And, ON eors Te,
a peach. He mt IN our a0sSs frs
LON! You oushtsa haze sem pkox GN
up lat the headquarters Boy, y0asl
a-croAked. 1t raj rief11"
Cameron finished the last precious
tbite of his third hot 5d0ugfsput with
Ia gulp Of joy: Il
whats become -of wurtzg" hs
asked anxiously.
Canned, I guess" hazarded tn
private. II did hear they took him
to q s~anitarinn, nervous breakdown
Ifhaye had one for fair II he'd stayed
with this outfit much longer: I on
Itly5 wish they'd have taken his s,lttle
l1Ipet along with him This @ts no place
for little Harold and he'll find Il ou1
now he's got real captain. Good.
night How .d'you 'spose he ever go
This commission. anyway? We'll; nov
lsre you eld top? Feelin' better
tInSsM thszia fx YOU =; here