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ATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
TfIELdSTSHOT-
In this story Mr. Psimer, the
noted war correspondent, has paint
ed war as h# has seen It on many
battlefields, and between many na
tions Hla Intimate knowledge of
armies and armaments has enabled
him to produoe a graphic ploture of
the greatest of all wars, and hie
knowledge of conditions has led
him to prophesy an end of armed
conflicts- No man Is bettsr quali
fied to write the story of the final
world war than Mr. Palmer, end
he has handled his subject with a
master hand.
(Continued from Yesterday.)
Between him and tbe faces of the
Browne—-yes, the actual, living, terrl-
We Browns —above the glint of their
rifle barrels, was no obstacle that
could stop a bullet, though not more
than three feet away was a crater
■»de by a shell burst. The black cir
cle of every muzzle on the crest
seemed to be pointing at him. When
were they going to shoot? When was
he hp be executed? Would he be shot
In many placee and die thus? Or would
the very first bullet go through his
heed? Why didn't they fire? What
were they waiting for? The suspense
wee unbearable. The desperation of
overwhelming fear driving him in irre
sponsible impulse, he doubled up his
legs and. with a cat’s leap sprang for
the crater.
A blood-curdling burst of whistles
passed over his head as a dozen rifles
cracked. This time he was surely
killed! He was in some other world!
Which was It, the good or the bad?
p
A Blood-Curdling Burst of Whistles
Passed Over His Head.
The good, for he had a glimpse of blue
sky. No. that could not be, for he
been alive when he leaped for the
crater, and there he was pressed
against the soft earth of its bottom.
He burrowed deeper blissfully. He
was the nearest to the enemy of any
man of the 128th, and he certainly
had passed through a gamut of emo
tions in the half-hour since Eugene
Aronson had leaped over a white post.
• *•***.
“Confound it! If we'd kept on we'd
have got them! Now we have to do
it all over again!" growled Fracaese
distractedly as he looked around at
the faces hugging the cover of the
shoulder —faces asking, What next?
each in its own way; faces blank and
white; faces with lips working and
eyes blinking; faces with the blood
rushing back to cheeks in baffled an
ger. One, however, was half smiling—
Hugo Mallln's.
"You did your share of the running,
I’ll warrant, Mallin!” said Ffacasse
excitedly, venting his disgust on a
particular object.
“Yes, sir,” answered Hugo. “It was
very hard to maintain a semblance of
dignity. Yes, sir, I kept near you all
the time. Wasn’t that what you wanted
me to do, sir?”
Three or four men burst Into a hys
terical laugh as if something bad bro
ken In their throats. Everybody felt
better for this touch of drollery except
the captain. Yet, possibly, it may
have helped him in recovering his
poise Sometimes even a pin-prick
will have this effect.
“Silence!” he said In his old man
ner. “I will give you something to
joke about other than a little setback
like this! Oet up there with your
rifles!"
He formed the nucleus of a flrlng
llne under cover of the shoulder, and
then set the remslnder of his com
pany to work with tbelr spades mak
tng a trench The second battalion of
the 12*tb, which faced the knoll, was
also digging at the base of the slope,
snd another regiment In reserve was
deploying on the plain. After the fail
ure to rush the knoll the Gray com
mander had settled down to the busi
ness of a systematic approach.
And what, of those of Fracasse’s
men who had not run but had dropped
in their tracks when the charge halt
ed? They were between two lines of
fire. There was no escape. Some of
the wounded had a mercifully quick
end, others suffered the consciousness
of being hit again and again: the dead
were bored through with bullet holes.
In torture, the survivors prayed for
death; for all had to die except Peter
kin, the pasty-faced little valet’s son.
Peterkin was quite safe, hugging the
bottom of the shell crater under a
swarm of hornets. In a surprisingly
short time he became accustomed to
the situation and found himself raven
ously hungry, for the strain of the last
12 hours had burned up tissue. He
t;pok a biscuit out of his knapsack and
began nibbling It, as became a true
rodent.
CHAPTER X.
Marta’s First Glimpse of War.
As Marta and the children came to
the door of the chapel after the reci
tation of the oath, she saw the civil
population moving along the street In
the direction of the range. There was
nothing for Ma-’a to do but start
homeward. The bought that her
mother was alone . de her hasten at
a pace much more than the pro
cession of people, whose talk and ex
clamations formed a monotone audi
ble In Its nearness, despite the continu
ous rifle-fire, now broken by the pound
ing of the guns.
"It’s all done to beat tbe Grays, Isn’t
It, Miss Qalland? They are trying to
take our land,” said Jndky Werfher
as Marta parted from him.
’’Yes, It is done to beat the Grays,"
she answered. “Good luck, Jacky!”
Yes, yes, to beat the Grays! The
same Idea —the fighting nature, the
brute nature of man—animated both
sides. Had the Browns really tried tot
peace? Had they, in the spirit of her
oath, appealed to justice and reason?
Why hadn’t their premier before all
the world said to the premier of the
Grays, as one honest, friendly neigh
bor to another over a matter of dis
pute:
“We do not want war. We know
you outnumber us, but we know you
would not take advantage of that. If
we are wrong we will make amends:
if you are wrong we know that yon
will. Let us not play tricks in secret
to gain points, we civilized nations,
but be frank with each other. Let us
not try to Irritate each other or to in
fluence our people, but to realize how
much we have In common and that
our only purpose Is common progress
and happiness.”
At the turn of the road In front of
the castle she saw the gunners of the
batteries making an emplacement tor
their guns In a field of carrots that
had not yet been harvested. The roots
of golden yellow were mixed with the
tossing spadefuls of earth.
A shadow like a great cloud In mad
flight shot over the earth, and with the
gunners she looked up to see a Gray
dirigible. Already It was turning
homeward; already It had gained Its
object as a scout. On the fragile plat
form of the gondola was a man, seem
ingly a human mite aiming a tiny toy
gun. His target was one of the Brown
aeroplanes.
“They’re in danger of cutting their
own envelope! They can’t get the an
gle! The plane Is too high!” ex
claimed the artillery commander. Both
he and his men forgot their work In
watching the spectacle of aerial David
against aerial Goliath. “If our man
lands with his little bomb, oh, my!”
he grinned. “That’s why he is so
high. He’s been waiting up there.”
“Pray God he will!" exclaimed one
of the gunners.
“Look at him volplane—motor at
full speed, too!”
“Into it! Making sure! Oh, splen—
O!" cried the artillery commander.
A ball of lightning shot forth sheets
of flame. Dirigible and plane were
hidden in an ugly swirl of yellowish
smoke, roiling out into a purple cloud
that spread into prismatic mist over
the descent of cavorting human bodies
and broken machinery and twisted
braces, flying pieces of tattered or
burning cloth. David hae taken Goliath
down with him In a death grip.
An aeroplane following the dirigible
as a screen, hoping to get home with
Information If tbe dirigible were lost,
had escaped the sharpshooters In the
church tower by flying around the
town. However. It ran within range of
the automatic and tbe sharpshooters
on top of the castle tower. They failed
of tbe bull’s-eye, but their bullets, rim
ming the target, crippling tbe motor,
and cutting braces, brought the crum
pling wings about the helpless pilot
The watching gunners uttered "Aha!”
of horror and triumph aa they saw him
fall, gliding this way and that, In the
agony of slow descent.
“Come, now!” called the artillery
commander. "We are wasting pre
cious time.”
entering the grounds of tbe Galland
house, Marta bad to pasa to one side
of the path, now blooked by army
wagons and engineers' materials and
tools. Soldiers carrying sandbag*
THE AUGUSTA HERALD, AUGUSTA, GA
were taking the shortest cut, tram
pling the flowers on their way.
“Do you know whose property this
Is?" she demanded in a burst of au
ger.
“Ours—the nation’s!” answered one,
perspiring freely at his work. “Sor
ry!” he added on second thought.
Already parts of the first terrace
were shoulder-high with sand-bags and
one automatic had been set in place,
Marta observed as she turned to tbe
veranda. There her mother sat in her
favorite chair, hands relaxed as they
rested on Its arms, while she looked
out over the valley In the supertran
quility that comes to some women
under a strain —as soldiers who have
been on sieges can tell you—that some
psychologists interpret 'one way and
some another, none knowing even
their own wives.
"Marta, did any of the children
come?” Mrs. Galland asked in her
usual pleasant tone. So far as she
was concerned, the activity on the
terrace did not exist. She seemed ob
livious of the fact of war.
Marta’s monosyllable absently an
swering the question was expressive
of her wonder at her mother. Most
girls do not know their mothers much
better than psychologists know their
wives.
“Marta, whatever happens one
should go regularly about what be
considers his duty,” said Mrs. Galland.
“They have been as considerate aa
they could, evidently by Colonel Lan
stron’s orders,” ehe proceeded, nod
ding toward the Industrious engineers.
"And they’ve packed all the paintings
! 'i' ' ,
She Looked Up to See a Gray Dirigible.
and works of art and put them in the
cellar, where they will be safe.”
The captain of engineers In com
mand, seeing Marta, hurried toward
her.
"Miss Galland, isn’t it?” he asked.
"1 have been waiting for you. I —I —
well, I found that I could not make
the situation clear to your mother.”
“He thinks me in my second child
hood or out of my head,” Mrs. Galland
explained with a shade of tartneas.
“And he has been so polite In trying
to conceal his opinion, too,” she added
with a comprehending smile.
The captain flushed In embarrass
ment.
“I* —I can't speak too strongly,” be
declared when he had regained his
composure. "Though everything seems
to be safe here now, It may not be in
an hour. You must go, all of you.
This house will be an inferno as eoon
as the 63d falls back, and I can't pos
sibly get your mother to appreciate
the fact, Miss Galland.”
"But I said ttfat I did appreciate it
and that the Gallands have been in
Infernos before—perhaps not as bad
as this one that Is coming—but, then,
the Gallands must keep abreast of the
times,” replied Mrs. Galland. “I have
asked Minna and she prefers to re
main. I am glad of that, i am glad
now that we kept her, Marta. She Is
as loyal as my old maid and the butler
and the cook were to your grand
mother in the last war. Ah, the Gal
landa had many servants then!”
"This Isn't like the old war. This
place will be shelled, enfiladed! And
you two ” the captain protested des
perately.
“1 became a Galland when I mar
ried," said Mrs. Galland, “and the
Galland women have always remained
with their property in time of war
Naturally, I shall remain!”
"Miss Galland, It was you—your In
fluence I was counting on to—” The
captain tuned to Marta In a final ap
peal
Mrs Galland was watching her
daughter's face Intently.
"We stay!" replied Marta, and the
captain aaw la the depths of her eyes,
a cold bhie-blaek, that further argu
ment was useless. ______ __
Now came the sweep of a rising roar
from the sky with the command to at
tention of the rush of a fast express
train past a country railway station.
Two Gray dirigibles with their escort
of aeroplanes were bearing toward the
pass over the pass road. The auto
matic and the riflemen In the tower
banged away to no purpose, but the
central sections of the envelope of the
rear dirigible had bean torn in shreds;
it was buckling. Clouds of blue shrap
nel smoke broke around its gondola.
A number of field-guns joined forces
with a battery of high-angle guns in a
havoc that left a drifting derelict; the
remainder of the squadron had com
pleted its loop and was pointing
toward the plain.
From a great altitude, literally out
of the blue ( of heaven, high over the
Gray lines, Marta made out a Brown
squadron of dirigibles and planes de
scending across the track of the
Grays.
The Gray dirigibles, stern on, were
little larger than umbrellas and the
planes than swallows; the Brown diri
gibles, side on, were big sausages and
their planes specks. To the eye, this
meeting was like that of two small
flocks of soaring birds apparently un
able to change their course. But
imagination could picture the fearful
clash of forces, whose wounded would
find the sufccor of no hospital except
impact on the earth below.
Marta put her hands over her eyee
for only a second, she thought, before
she withdrew them in vexation—
hadn't she promised herself not to be
cowardly?—to see one Brown dirigible
and two Brown aeroplanes ascending
at a sharp angle above a cloud of
smoke to escape the high-angle guns
of the Grays.
"We’ve got them all! No lips sur
vive to tell what the eye saw!” ox
claimed the engineer captain, his
words bubbling with the Joy of water
in the sunlight. “As 1 thought," he
continued In professional enthusaism
and discrimination.
With high-power binoculars glued to
his eyes, he then led to see If the
faint brown line of Dellarme’s men
were going to hold or break. If it
held, he might have hours in which
to complete his task; if it broke, he
had only minutes.
Marta came up the terrace pnth
from the chrysanthemum bed in time
to watch the shroud of ehrapnel smoke
billowing over the knoll, to visualize
another scene in place of the collision
of the squadrons, and to note the cap
tain’s exultation over Fracasae’s re
pulse.
"How we must have punished them!”
he exclaimed to his lieutenant. "How
we must have mowed them down!
Lanstron certainly knew what be was
doing.”
“You mean that he knew how we
■hould mow them down?’’asked Marta.
Not until ehe spoke did he realize
that she was standing near him.
"Why, naturally! If we hadn't
mowed them down his plan would
have flailed. Mowing them down was
the only way to hold them back,” he
said; and seeing her horror mode
haste to add: "Miss Galland, now you
know what a ghastly business war is.
It will be worse here than there.”
"Yea,” she said blankly. Her color
lesa cheeks, her drooping underllp c n
vlnced him that now, with a little
■how of masculine authority, he would
gain his point
"You and your mother most go!” ha
■aid firmly.
This was the very thing to whip
her thoughts back from the knoll. He
was thunderstruck at the transforma
tion: hot color in her cheeks, ayes
aflame, lips curving around a whirl
wind of words.
“You name the very reason why I
wish to stay. Why do you want to
save the women? Why shouldn't they
bear their share? Why don't you want
them to see men mowed down ? Is
It because you are ashamed of your
profession? Why, I ask?"
The problem of dealing with an
angry woman breaking a shell fire of
questions over his head had not been
ready solved In the captain’s curricu
lum like other professional problems,
nor was it mentioned In the official
Instructions about the defenses of ths
Galland bouae. He aimed to amlls
soothingly In the helplessneee of man
in presence of feminine fury.
“It Is an old custom.” he was say
ing. but she had turned away.
“Lanny's plan—mow them down!
mow them down! mow them down!”
she went on, more to herself than to
him.
Was there nothing for her to do?
Could she only look on in a fever of
restlessnees while action roared
around her? The sight of several au
tomobile ambulances In the road at
the foot of the garden stilled the
throbs of distraction In her temples
with an answer. The wounded! They
were already coming In from the Held.
She hurried down the terrace steps.
The major surgeon in charge, sur
prised to find any woman in the vi
cinity, was about to tell her so auto
matically; then, in view of her Inten
sity, be waited for her to speak.
"You will let ue do eometblng for
them?" Marta asked. “We will make
them some hot soup.”
He wae Immediately businesslike.
No less than Dellarme or FracasHe or
Lanstron or Wssterllng, he had been
preparing throughout bis professional
career for this hour. The detail of
caring for the men who were down
had been worked out no less system
atically than that of wounding them.
“Thank you, no! Ws don't want to
waste time," he replied “We must
gat them sway with all speed so that
the ambulances may return promptly,
it’s only a fifteen-minute run to the
hospital, where every comfort and ap
pliance are ready and where they will
be given the right things to eat."
“Then we will give them some
“Why Do You Want to Save tho
Women?”
wine!” Marla persisted.
"Not If we can prevent It! Not to
start hemorrhages! The field doctors
have brandy for use when advisable,
and there Is brandy in all the ambu
lances.”
Clearly, volunteer service was not
wanted. There wns no room at the
immediate front for Florence Nightin
gales in the modern machine of war.
“Then water?”
The major surgeon aimed to be par
tleut to an earnest, attractive young
woman.
"We have sterilized water —we have
everything,” he explained. "If we
hadn’t at this early stage I ought to
be serving an apprenticeship In a vil
lage apothecary shop. Anything that
means confusion, delay, unnecessary
excitement Is bod and unmerciful.”
Marta was not yet at the end of her
resources. The recollection of the dy
ing private who had asked her mother
for a rose In tbe lest war flashed Into
mind.
"Yon haven’t any flowers! They
won't do any harm, even If they aren’t
sterilized. The wounded like flowers,
don't they? Don’t you like flowers?
Look! We’ve millions 1”
"Yes, I do. They do. A good idea.
Bring all the flowers yon want to.”
The major surgeon’s smile to Marta
waa not altogether on account of her
suggestion. "It ought to help anybody
who was ever wounded anywhere In
the world to hßve you give him a
flower!” he waa thinking.
Hbe ran for an armful of hlosaoma
and waa back before the arrival of the
first wounded man who preceded the
stretctiors on foot. He was holding
up a hand bound In a white flmt-aid
bandage which had a red spot In tho
center. Those hit. In hand or arm. If
the surgeon’s glance justified It, were
sent on up the road to a potnt a mile
distant, where transportation In requi
sitioned vehlclen was provided. These
men were triumphant In their cheer
fulness. They were alive; they had
done thetr duty, and they had the
proof of it in the coming souvenirs of
Bears.
Some of the forme on stretchers had
peaceful faces in unconsciousness of
their oondltkm. Others had a look of
wonder, of pain, of apprehension In
their consciousness that death might
be near. The single word "Shrapnel!”
by a hospital-corps corporal told the
story of crushed or lacerated features.
In explanation of a white cloth cover
ing a head with body uninjured.
Many of the wounded looked at
Marta evem more than at the flowers.
It wae good to see the faoe of a wom
an, her eyes limpid with sympathy,
and It was not what she said but the
way she spoke that brought smiles In
response to hers. For she was no
solemn ministering angel, but high
spirited, cheery, of the sort that the
major surgeon would have chosen to
distribute flowers to the men. Every
remark of the victim* of war made Its
distinct, and Indelible Impression on
the gelatin of her mind.
“I like my blue aster better than
that yellow weed of yours, Tom!”
“You didn't know' Ed Schmidt. got It?
Yes, he was right next to me In the
line.”
“Hay, did you notice Dellarme’s
smile? It was wonderful.”
“And old Bert Stransky! I heard
him whistling the wedding march as
he fired."
"Miss, I’ll keep this flower forever!”
“They say Billy Lister will live —his
cheek was shot away!”
“Once we got going I didn’t mind.
It seemed like as If i‘d been fighting
for years!"
"Hole no bigger than a lead-pencil.
I’ll be back In a week!"
“Yes; don’t these little bullets make
neat little holes?”
"We certainly gave them a surprise
when they came up the hill! I won
der If we missed the fellow that
Jumped Into the shell crater!"
"Our company got it worst!”
"Not any worse than ours, I’ll wa
ger!"
"Oh —oh—can’t you go easlsr?
Oh-h-h—” the groan ending In a clench
ing of the teeth.
"Hello, Jake! You here, too, and
going In my automobile? And we've
both got lower berths!”
"Bh-h! That poor chap's dying!”
Worst of all to Marta was the case
of a shrapnel fracture of the cranium,
with the resulting delirium, In which
the sufferer’s Incoherence Included
memories of childhood scenes, mo
ments on the firing-line, calls for his
mother, and prayers to be put out of
misery. A prod of the hypodermic
from the major surgeon, and “On the
operating table In fifteen minutes” was
the answer to Marta’s question if the
poor fellow would live.
Until dark, in groups, at Intervals,
and again singly, tlie wounded were
coming in from a brigado front In the
region where the rifles were crackling
and the shrapnel clouds were hanging
prettily over the hills; and stretchers
were being slipped into place In the
ambulances, while Marta kept at her
post.
“We shan’t have much more to do at
this station," said the major surgeon
when a plodding section of Infantry In
retreat arrived.
CHAPTER XI.
At the Galland House.
Every unit engrossed in his own i
work! Every man taught how a weak
link may break a chain and realizing
himself a« a link and only a link! The
captain of engineers forgot Marta’B ex
istence as an error of his subordinates 1
• aught his eye, and he went to caution
the axmen to cut closer to the ground,
hb stumpH gave cover for riflemen. For
the time being he had no more interest
In the knoll than in the wreckage of
the- dirigibles which were down and
out of the fight.
After all, the knoll was only a single
point on the vast staff map- only one
of many points of a struggle whose
progress was bulletined through the
siftings of regimental, brigade, divi
sion and corps headquarters in net re
sults to the staff. Bartow and Lau
stron overlooked all. Their knowledge
made tho vast map live under their
eyes. But our concern is with the
story of two regiments, and particu
larly of two companies, and that is
story enough, if you would grasp the
whole, multiply the oonflict on the
knoll by ten thousand.
There had been the engrossment
of tmnscoiuleut emotion In repelling
the charge. What followed was like
some grim and passionless trance with
triggers ticking off the slow-imsslng
minutes. Dellnrme aimed to keep
down tho fusillade from Frucasse’a
trench and yet not to neglect the fair
target* of the reserves advancing by
rushes to the support of the 138th.
Hein forced, the gray streak at the bot
tom of the slope poured In a heavier
fire. Above the steady crackle of bul
lets sent and the whistle of bullets re
ceived rose the cry of "Doctor! Doc
tor I” which meant each time that an
other Uro<wn rifle had been silenced.
The litter bearers, hard pressed to re
move the woundod, loft tho dead. Al
ready death was a familiar sight—an
article of exchange In which Del
lartne’s men dealt freely. The man
at Btransky's side had been killed out
right. He lay face down on his rifle
stock. His cap had fallen off. Stran
sky put It back on the man's head,
and the example was followed in other
cases. It was a good Idoa to keep lip
a show of a full line of caps to the
enemy.
Suddenly, as by command, the tire
from the bane of the knoll ceased alto
gether. Dellnrme understood at once
what this meant—the next step In tho
course of a systematic, Irresistible ap
proach by superior numbers. It, was
to allow the ground scouts to advance.
Individual gray spots detaching them
selves from the gray streak began to
crawl upward In search of dead spaces
where the contour of the ground would
furnish some protection from the
blaze of bullets from the crest.
"Over their heads! Don't try to hit
them!" Dell nr mo passed the word.
"That’s it! Spare one to get a
dosen!” said Stransky, grinning In
ready comprehension. He seemed to
be grinning every time that Dellarme
looked In that direction. He was
plainly enjoying himself. Hie restless
natnre had found sport to its taste.
The creeping scouts must have sig
naled back good news, for groups be
gan crawling slowly after them.
“Over their beads! Encourage them!”
Dellarme commanded.
After they had advanced two or
three hundred yards they stopped,
shoulders and bauds exposed In silhou
ette, and began to work feverishly
with their spades.
"Oh, beautiful!” cried H Iran sky.
“That baby captain of ours has some
brains, after all! We'll get them now
and we’ll get them when they run!”
But they did not run. Unfalteringly
they took their punlahment while they
turned over the protecting nod In the
midst of their own dead and wounded,
in a few minutes they had droppvd
spades for rifles, and other aectlone
either crawled or ran forward pre
cipitately and fell to the task of Join
ing the Isolated beginnings Into a
single trench
Again Dellarme looked toward regi
mental headquarters, his fixed, cheery
smile not. wholly masking the appeal
in bln eyes The Gray* had only two
or three hundred yards to go when
thev should make their next charge In
order to reach the crest. But his men
had fifteen hundred to go In the val
ley before they were out of range.
After their brave resistance facing the
enemy they would receive a hall of
bullets In tbelr backs. This was the
time to withdraw If there were to be
assurance of a sass retreat. But there
was ro signal Until there was, he
muet remain.
The trench grew; the day wore on.
Two rifles to ons were now playing
against bis devoted oompany, which
bad hgd neither food nor drink since
early morning. As he scanned his
thinning line he saw a look of blood
leanness and hopelessness gathering
on the set faces of which he had grown
so fond during this ordeal. Some of
the men were crouching too much lor
effective aim.
“See that you Are low! Keep your
heads up!” he called. "For you?
homes, your country and your Godt!
Pass the word along!”
Parched throat after pa robed throat
repeated the message hoarsely and
leaden shoulders raised a trifle and
dust-matted eyelashes narrowed sharps
ly on the Bights.
"For the man in us!” growled Strsn*
sky. "For the favor of nature at birth
that gave us the right to wear trou
sers Instead of skirts! For the Joy
of hell, give them hell!”
"For our homes! For the man In
us!” they repeated, swallowing the
words as If they had the taste of
stimulant.
But Dellarme knew that it would
not take much to precipitate a break.
He himself felt that he had been on
that knoll half a lifetime. He looked
at his watch and It. was five o'clock.
For seven hours they had held on.
The Grays’ trench was complete th*
breadth of the slope; more reserve*
were coming up. The brigade com
mander of the Grays was going to
make sure that the next charge sua
ceeded.
At last Dellarme's glance toward
regimental headquarters showed tho
flag that was tbe signal tor with*
drawal. Could he accomplish It? Tbd
first lieutenant, with a shuttered arm
had gone on a litter. The old aea>
geant was dead, a victim of the colon
nlal wars. Used to fighting savage eat.
emies, he had been too eager In eIN
posing himself to a civilized foe. Hd
had been shot through the throat
"Men of the first, section,” Dellanad
called, "you will slip out of line with
the greatest care not to let the enenu|
know that you are going!”
“Going—going! Careful! Men a#
the first section going!” the parched
throats repeated in a thrilling whlspeik
"Those who remain keep increasing
their fire!” called Dellarme again-.
"Cover the whole breadth of th*
trench!”
Every fourth man wormed himself:
backward on his stomach until he wa#
below the sky-line when his stiffens®
limbs brought him to hie feet and bn
started on a dead run down into thn
• alley and toward a cut behind an*
other knoll across the road from thg
Galland house. The others followed at
intervals.
Once across a road and up three s»
tics of steps of the other garden ter*
rice, behind a breastwork of sand
bags, the company rested. Most of
them had fallen asleep on the ground
after finishing their rations, logs of
men In animal exhaustion. Some of
those awake were too weary to give
to each other more than a nod and
mile. They had witnessed too much
horror that day to talk about it. Bui
Stransky foraged.
Marta, coming out on the veranda,
saw him.
"You are tired! You are hungry!”
he said with urgent gentleness,
"Come in!”
Me followed her into the house and
dropped on a leather chair before a
hilling table In a room |>al:eted with
oak, wondering at her and at him?elf.
No woman of Marta's world hrd ever
spoken In that way to him But It
v.as good to eit down. Then a maid
with a sad, winsome face and tender
eyes brought him wine and bread and
cold meat and Jam. He gulped down
a glassful of wine; he ate with great
mouthfuls In the ravenous call of
healthy, exhausted tissues, while th*
maid stood by to cut more bread.
’’When It comes to eating after fight
• > *
Ho looked up when the first pangs
of hunger were assuaged. Enormous,
■ roadshouldered, physical, his cheeks
’ashed with v.lne, his eyes opened
v.lde and brilliant with the fire that
was In his nature —eyes that spoke th*
red business of anarchy and war.
“Say, but you’re pretty!”
Springing up, he caught her hand
and made to kiss her In the bras lines*
of impulse. Minna struck him a sting
ing blow In the face. He received it
ns a mu*.tiff would receive a bite from
a imp, and she stood her ground, her
eyes challenging his fearlessly.
"So you are like that!” be said
thoughtfully. “It was a good ona, and
you meant It, too.”
"Decidedly!” she answered. "Tberali
more where that came from!”
Then little Clarissa Eileen catered
and pressed against her mother**
skirts, subjecting Stransky to child
hood's scrutiny. He waved a finger
at her and grinned and drew his eyegf
together in a squint at the bridge off
hts nose, making a funny taoe that
brought a laugh. *
“Your child?” Stransky asktd Minnd
"Yes.”
"Where’s her father? Away Aghft
tog?”
"T don’t know where he ill”
"Oh!” he muaed. “Waa that Mb*
for him at the same time as for mef*
he pursued thoughtfully.
“Yes. for all of your kind.”
"Mm-m!" came from between hi*
lips as he rose. "Would you mind hold
ing out your hand?” he asked with a
gentleness singularly out of keeping
with hts rough aspect. ’
“Why?” she demanded.
“I've never studied any books of ett*
quUte of polite society, and I am a
poor sort at making speeches, anyhow.
But I want to kiss a good women’*
hand by way of apology. I never
klaaed one In my life, but I’m getting
a lot of new experiences today. Will
you?”
She held out her hand at arm's
length and flushed slightly ae ha
pressed his Hpe to it _ _ _
(To b* continued Tomorrow ,) y
USE HERALD WANT ADS.
FIVE