The Washington times., 1931-10-15
NoU Continue
CHAPTER w

5 A thick-Set sergeant WIN
! ruddy face elbows his way to-
ward us. Over Kosole, who
stands nearest him. he pours
a flood of German words.
Ferdinand winces. it so aston
ishes him.
| "He talks the same as we dol"
he says to Bethke in amaze
ment; what do you make OF
that, now?"
The fellow speaks German
better and more fluently even
than Kosole himself. He ex-
plains that he was in Dresden
before the war. and had many
friends there.
I'm Dresden?" asks Kosole,
even more staggered. why.
/ was there once myself for
a couple of years"
The sergeant smiles as
though that identified him
once and for all. He names
the street where he had lived.
"Not five minutes from mel"
exclaims Ferdinand eXcitedly.
"Fancy not having seen one
another! You will know Widow
Pohl, perhaps, at the corner,
Johannis Street? My land
lady"
But the sergeant does not
know her and in exchange sub
mits Zander, a clerk in the
treasury, whom Kosole in his
turn cannot recall. Both Of
them, however. remember the
Elbe and the castle, and their
eyes light up with pleasure.
Ferdinand seizes the sergeant
by the arm. why, man-you
talk German like a native!
30 you've been in Dresden, eh?
Man, but what have we two
been fighting about?"
OFFERS HIS FAGS
The sergeant laughs. He
doesn't know, either. He takes
out a packet of cigarettes and
offers it to Kosole, who reaches
for it eagerly-there is not a
man of us but would willingly
give his soul for good cigar
ette. Our own are made from
beech leaves and dried grass,
and even those are only the
better sort. Valentin Laher de-
clares that the ordinary ones
are made of seawed, and Valen-
tin is a connossieur of such
things.
Kolsole blows out the smoke
lingeringly. with relish. We
sniff enviously. Laher changes
color. His nostrils quiver.
"Give's a draw" he says i'm
p1oringly to Ferdinand. But
before he can take the cigar
cite another American has Of
fered him a packet Of Virginia
tobacco. Valentin looks at him
incredulously. He takes it and
smells it. His face lights up.
Then reluctantly he returns the
tobacco. But the other de-
clines it and points energeti-
cally at the cockade on Laher's
forage cap, which is sticking
out from the top of his haver.
sack.
Valentin does not understand
him. HE wants to exchange the
tobacco for the cap badge" ex-
plains the sergeant from Dres-
den. But Laher understands
that even less. This spanking
tobacco for a tin cockade? The
man must be balmy. Valentin
would not swop the packet for
a commission. He offers the
cap, badge and all, to the Amer
icaI1, and with trembling hands
greedily fills his first pipe.
Realization at Last
And now we realize what is
eXpected-the Americans want
to exchange. It is apparent that
they have not long been in the
war; they are still collecting
souvenirs, houlder straps,
badges, belt buckles, decora-
tionS. uniform buttons. In ex-
change we stock ourselves with
soap, cigarettes, chocolate and
timed meat. They even want
lis to take a handful of money
for our dog-but we draw the
line there; let them offer what
they will, the dog stays with us.
On the other hand, our wounded
bring us luck. One American,
with so much gold in his mouth
that his face looks like a brass
foundry, is anxious to get some
pieces of bandage with blood on
them, in order to be able to
demonstrate to the folk at home
that they actually were made
of paper. He is offering first
rate biscuits and, better still, an
armful of real bandageS in eX-
change. With the utmost salts
faction he carefully slows the
rags away in his pocketbook.
especially those belonging to
Ludwig Breyer, for that is
actual lieutenant's blood, you
see. Ludwig must write on it
in pencil the place. his name
and regiment, so that everyone
in America may see the thing
is no fake. He is unwilling at
first-but Willy persuades him,
for we need good bandages
sorely. And besides, the bis
cults are an absolute godSend to
him with his dySentery.
But Arthur LedderhoSe
makes the best coup. He pro