Imperial Valley press., 1937-04-18

just a friendly incident between
two human beings, one who was
in the guardhouse for getting
drunk, the other a loyal recruit
who knew little about military
technique.
4 4 4 4 4
LEARY started his six
" months in grim silence. He
toiled from daybreak until night
fall, lifting heavy shells onto trav-
cling platforms and counting the
days until he would be free.
Then he would kill Second Lieu
tenant Buck.
His viewpoint, his enthusiasm
and his patriotism changed rap
idly. This new country he had
adopted was not just A man
tried his best and a sallow-faced
officer, too yellow to fly Spad,
could frame him for six months!
OLeary cursed as other men
cursed. Each day famed the
flames of hatred as the time ap-
preached when he should meet
Buck.
He pictured the cowardly Of
ficer shrinking as he gazed into
the muzzle of a private's auto
matte; he could see him falling in
agony as steel ripped through his
body.
Four more months!
FROM the dark recesses of the
protective shed there came a
binding flash of smoke and fire
thunder of bursting shells. Fran
tic prisoners and guards, duty
now forgotten, ran for their lives.
OLeary dropped a projectile
and turned to fee. But the pas
sageway was narrow, and the
terrified men pushed him back
ward against the tram which
moved past him. He clung on
desperately, pulled his body to
the platform and wondered why
the cars moved so fast
A protruding girder struck him
on the head as the wheels of the
heavy tram sped through the
shed entrance and into the glar-
ing sunlight. OLeary lay very
still, unconscious of the blood
which spattered down over his
temple.
But the cool fresh air and the
wind whipping about his face
soon brought him to his senses.
The tram was racing pell-mell
down a valley and into an Amer
ican transport camp which hous-
ed trucks, supplies and hundreds
of replacement troops.
O'Leary saw the control car
ahead-saw it was empty-and
realized that the tram, with fif-
teen cars of death, was plunging
toward an unsuspecting camp!
This would be rich! Tons of
dynamite-dynamite sent to the
front for special mission
would burst like lightning into
the most important supply CEN
ter of the war sector!
Around the curve, nearer the
camp, he would leap to safety.
He would watch the destruction
of men who had sworn to fight
for the Stars and Stripesi
Two guards jumped aside as
the tram, without warning sig
nal, roared through the canton
ment gates.
In a moment there would be
explosions and groans the
groans of many second ieuten-
antsl O'Leary hoped that all the
second lieutenants of the army
were encamped there so that they
could all die the same death.
| bul Iilt udI do-ilc lldu DtcH
a guard what of them?
There were many of them down
there, men like himself. who
hadn't had a chance-who loved
their country and who probably
were misunderstood-by second
lieutenants.
| OLeary leaped to his feet and
went racing across the piled up
boxes of dynamite.
| He must reach that control
car!
He tugged at the levers. applied
the brakes.
Slowly he felt steel bands grip
ping into wheels-cars coming to
a grinding stop.
Fifty feet ahead was the end
of tram tracks. In another mo-
ment hundreds of men would
have been blown into eternity.
O'Leary climbed from the con-
, troll car. He was spent and ex-
hausted, but exalted. He had done
one decent thing for a country