The Ely miner., 1926-10-29

tfeies Of the earthen wall. The light
had disappeared. but the murmurs
continued. Evidently the soldiers
were moving, probably at work. He
surmised that the saphead had been
driven further; in that ease he would
come on them from the rear and sur.
prise them. Inch by inch he made his
way, the friable earth crunbling un-
der his hands, though his nails were
torn and bleeding. At last the work
was accomplished A thin partition
remained between himself and the
sap; he could hear the murmurs dis
tfnctly, and could breathe the fresher
air. He took a bomb In his hand, and
with the other forced away the last
OF the barrier.
He sprang forward. He found him.
self confronting two Germans. One
was young officer holding torch,
the other-a girl
Edwardes, with his arm poised In
the act of throwing, stood petrified
He had not withdrawn the firing pin.
He could not hurl the bomb now.
The German, for his part, stood as
il petrifed, and the girl remained with
her mouth open, staring at him. Then,
with a scream, she ran before her
lover But Edwardes did not throw
the bomb.
"A truce, kameradi" cried the Ger
man suddenly. II am a Saxon. I
speak English"
Edwardes lowered his arm slowly.
The Saxons and the Canadians had
preserved semblance of good feeling
during the conflict; he knew the man
would not act treacherously.
"You will let this girl goY' asked
| the soldier. ''Then we fight it out to-
| gether'
''She can CO." answered Edwardes,
"but you are my prisoner"
The German smiled and raised his
| arm. Listen! !" he said.
The Canadian only then became
aware that the continuous reverbera-
tion Of the cannon, which had been In
his ears for hours, had ceased. He
knew what that meant. And In mo-
| LuCdb tiS SlOuh0 dDoNc tICih
1t shook under the footsteps of thou
sands of men, rushing toward each
other In the fury of battle.
"If I am your prisoner" said the
Saxon, "where can you take me when
your men are beatenY
''They can't be beaten"
! listen then. We go out after the
! fight, and If my men have won, you
are my prisoner. If yours have won,
am your prisoner"
'If our side wins, you are my pris.
oner," answered Edwardes. "Mean.
while-let the girl go!"
'But where can she go now" asked
the Saxon.
Nowhere! The three must wait there
till the conflict ended. Edwardes was
disarmed by the presence Of this girl
who had stolen In to meet her lover
Throw down your revolver" he
commanded.
The Saxon, with a shrug, obeyed
They watched each other Overheard
the sounds had lessened They ceased
The dull boom of the cannon began
again.
"We have taken your trenches
said the Canadian.
March before mel Take the CIR
on your arm. You will not be harmed
They will let her go. You are for
after the war;"
"May I tell herr"
! Edwardes bowed his head slightly
and heard the German translate. The
girl looked at him incredulously for 8
moment; then she flung her arms
about her lovers neck and embraced
him. She clasped her hands agair
and looked imploringly at the Cana
dian.
"It's all right" said Edwardes. '1
have-Ich habe Elm fraulein," he ex
planned clumsily, thinking of Milly.
The Saxon smiled at him. "You un
derstand, you are taking me to free
4 dom and yourself to Imprisonment? 2
he asked
| "Our men hold your trenches" an
SWSlCu LuWoI uCS, III q IOlc llidt du
mitted no denial. Yet, as the pair pre-
ceded him along the sap, there came
into his heart the faintest fear that
the attack had been repelled.
| But he only squared his shoulders
and crouched behind the two, and fol
lowed them toward that gleam Of day
light that became slowly stronger
| Overhead sounded the cannon, louder
more insistently.
They reached the entrance to the
sap. No one was visible. Dead men
and broken arms lay heaped in piles
Edwardes raised himself and stared
about him. What had happened? Had
/ the trench been taken or-were the
enemy still in possession?
He saw his own doubts on the Sax
on's face. The two looked at each
/ other silently. The girl was standing
| little distance away.
And it was thus, in their ignorance,
in their pathetic helplessness, that
their fate came to them in the form
! of the scattering shrapnel. Edwardes
and the Saxon fell together. With a
last effort he raised himself upon his
arm and, staring at the uninjured girl,
motioned imperatively toward the dis
tance.
And he fell back, seeing the Saxon's