The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1944-08-31

he was first in bed, and when Mrs.
Wrinkle put out the light and fol-
lowed him, they lay beside each 9TH
er in the darkness. Neither of them
spoke and neither slept. Each had
too much to think about, and what
each thought seemed to shut out
the other. Once Mrs. Wrinkle muir
INJURED, Il can't believe it, I can't
believe it yet" But that was all.
Mr.. Winkle found his imagination
running away with itself until his
mind was possessed of a nightmare.
He saw himself packed into a
troop transport. He had seen pic
lures of how it was done. The
hunks, one on top of another in many
tiers, with only a narrow aisle be-
tween, made the men look like sar-
dimes. Across the ocean the ship
throbbed. And then in the night
there was dull, jarring thud. The
ship shuddered. 1t began to list.
Its engines stopped. Flames rose
and men pushed and fell and
screamed and struck and jumped.
Mr.. Winkle was in the water, which
was covered thickly with oil. The
oil caught fire and the flames raced
toward him. His face and hands
were scared. He ducked under the
surface to get away from 1t. The
water came rushing into his mouth
and nose, down his throat and into
his lungs
He tried to blot out this picture.
But 1t came again, and made him
cold all over. He was bathed in
perspiration. He began to shake
slightly and found he couldn't con-
troll it, no matter how much he
tried.
AT that he learned how far Amy's
reformation had gone, and how real
1t was, and that she was good-heart-
ed all along as he always knew, and
that now he was to become a sol
dier, she was willing to express her
feelings about it, even If only silent
ly.
Without a word, Mrs. Wrinkle
turned in the bed beside him. She
slipped soft warm arm under his
neck and put the other over his
chest, and held him tightly. She
seemed to understand.
Mr.. Wrinkle was ashamed that she
did, but greatly comforted, too.
The President of the United States,
To Wilbert George Wrinkle,
Greeting: Having submitted your
self TO a local board composed of
your neighbors for the purpose of
determining your availability for
training and service in the armed
forces of the United States, you are
hereby notified that you have now
been selected for training and serv-
ice n the Army.
Mr.. Winkle had never before re-
ceived communication from the
President, and it filed him with
new kind of CONSERVATION.
Following his prominent newspa-
per appearance and the gathering
of the people of Maple Avenue, he
would look very foolish indeed II
he were turned down and returned
home after being sent to the Induc-
tion Center.
He understood that, even though
accepted, he had the privilege of
returning home for a week to put
his affairs in order before leaving
again for good. But his fellow
draftees had all announced their in
tention of waving the weeks fur
Tough, and now he followed suit.
He had heard the jokes to the eff
feet that if you could breathe or
were warm, the Army would ac-
cept you, and though he didn't like
to believe them, he prepared for
going away and staying away.
AS precaution against a drastic
circumstance, Mr.. Winkle made his
will, ceremony that not even Pc
nelope regarded as happy one.
He finished the few jobs he had
in the shop and would take no more.
He packed away his tools in grease
and oil, and tackled up heavy pa