New Britain herald., 1926-12-29

| by, laughed a sardonic laugh Jim neither saw the devil nor heard him i laugh; and yet this evil spirit of : chance and coincidence, with his 1 diabolical sense of humor, had just 1 slipped another one of his jokers | into the pocket of the man from h. diana. That's why he laughed. The boom Of guns now grew loud CT and the bursts more frequent. From where he stood Jim could see great clouds of earth flung into the air as a shell plowcd it's way into the ground. The world around him seemed bursting with the terrible sound. The air grew opreSsive and Jim. for the first time realizing what a narrow shave he had had himself, grew faint as his imagination pie tured himself lying there on the ground instead of poor John Powell.
 Powell with his "hunch" that something was going to happen. Well, it had, and Jim was going 10 keep his promise. If it was the last thing on earth he did, he'd get those letters off.
 And so Jim Elwell. covering his eyes to hide the awful sight of that grewsomc thing at his feet, turned and slowly began again to climb the hill to the crater's edge. ....
 When he reached it he hunted around for ten minutes for some sign of his companions. But not a trace could he find of one of the four The big shell had done it's work completely. Where his men had been was gaping hole, and that was all. They probably lay bur jed beneath tons of dirt.
 And so he turned and started back down the hill, stumbling along, cry ing. ...
 Jim Elwell never even heard the crashing roar of the second shell that was hurled at their position. It tore another big hole out of the hill side at a spot not more than fifty or sixty feet away. Why he wasn't blown to atoms was just a miracle of Providence.
 But there are some things that are as bad as death and worse. Right then and there a strip in the fabric of Jim Elwell's brain split, the threads snapped and the ends curled up.
 Whether they ever would be found and tied together again was Somc- thing that time and time alone might tell. But time reveals no se- crcts until that hour strikes that is set hy the hand of a SureWorklng destiny. ....
 Back home in the little town Of Camdenyillc. Indiana. they thought Jim Elwcll safe in the hospital at Naux. But that happiness that had come to them on the day of the armistice was to turn to bitterest grief.
 sedan. last battle of the war, and Jim Elwcll smashed - gone to join the ranks of the living dead men.
 On the day that America was giv- ing itself over 10 the frenzy of joy with which it greeted the news of the armistice and the end of the war. q pretty Red Cross nurse from New York stood at the bedside of bed Number 3S in an American army hospital in the city of Metz It was the afternoon of November II. She was looking down at new patient, man who had been brought in that morning.
 And although that which she te- held had become sadly familiar to Ter during the months since she had come overseas to do her bit, yet this mans pitibale condition brought the tears yelling into her eyes.
 While she stood there, leaning over the figure that lay there on ths bed with closed eyes, the hospitalh chief surgeon, a man who had letN q wealthy practice in New York ta lend a helping hand, came in the room and approached the bed. In his hand he carried q small packge.
 He smiled at the nurse. Here are some letters and pictures belong ing 10 this patient Miss Downing" he said. extending the package. "Better put them under his pillow
 Miss Downing took them. Tell me, Doctor" she asked, with a little catch in her voice, who is he and