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Show - 4 engineer with traaalta wer accurately mapping th range of vantage point a arroaa Ih at ream. Hiephena regiment was encamped on a little plateau above a bend In th river. To th east lay a thickly wooded neck of Isml-- to tb went th elream cut through a hill. Arroea a stretch of bottom land In front epread a little village near which bad bevn th bridge the troopa had crossed, Tb bridge Behind EGuns r j waa now a mas of ehapeleea masonry, engineers having blown It up as soon aa tbs last soldier waa over. The crossing of th Marn at that point would be no eaay task. Even Htephen could see that, and h hankered more than ever to tak part in the lighting. Hut b knew hla desire wa futile. Duty would lend other men to the firing line; duty would forre lilm to ml dough ahll they th a AlliX SMHLL BRISCOE Ummmmmmmhmmm u'cpyriahl, The Frank A. Mumwy Co) J Htephen Harrow paused In hla work to ltoln to th pulsing of th taltl. Th rasping rlfl voile) sounded from a point nearer at hand and he knew that there had been changes lu th ol-tloof the batteries, too. Ye. 11 troopa wer retreating cavMain. From the hill be could alry already trussing the Marne. Well, that had been th regular thing nine th English eipedltlonary force bad bumped Into the Herman legion at Mon, tar to th north In Stephen could hardly recall bow many day had passed alnc this It atrady retirement had begun. aeemed to him that It had been going on for month year. II had been dlaappolnted In th campaign from tb very outset from th day be bad accepted the king's shilling to fight for th union Jack. Neither event nor hla part In them bad com np to bla expectations. lu the II ret place b had been tranaferred to the commissary department to mil dough and baka bread Inatead of fight Ing. and then b had teen tho army hurled hack toward Tarla In th Initial battle and since then th English had been retreating to new positions aa a matter of dally routine. Hut bitter a th conatant retirement was to tho men In tb battlo Intel, It was doubly ao to Stephen if mixing dough dl-ta- n Hel-glu- 4 t J battled. At dawn the Herman guns opened fire, grumbling Ilk a tired sleeper awakened too early; then for th first time In wreka of artlv campaigning, Htephen aaw a real battle begin. Th commissary wagons were bark of a ridge hardly a half mile behind the line of rlfie pita, and from the top of the bill he could the whole battle-fiel- d In th bend of the river. Th Infantry swarmed Into th trenches, each man working diligently with hla bayonet to "dig himself In' deeper, using plank, branches of trees, or any other material at band to construct overhead coverings aa a pro tectlon from shrapneL A group of staff officers galloped the length of th lines, then the English batterlea went Into action, firing at regular Intervals aa they tried out th range. swelled to Th cannonading steady pulsing roar that aniwered the throb of Herman howitzers masked In th hills beyond tb river and soon the black spurt of smok from high explosive sheila mingled with the whit cotton ball of bursting shrapnel. All morning 8tephen watched the Hermans attempting to fore their way across the river. lie paused In hla work to see an they had an opportunity English battery knock a pontoon of turning on their pursuers, but h bridge to pieces, and manrelmt when was everlastingly mixing dough with tho Germans went doggedly to work out a chance of feeling th kick of to rebuild It, while tbelr guns concentrated a deadly firo on the pieces rifle again! hla shoulder. which had caused the damage. Now they were retreating again. Infantry in small detachments wa ' From both aides h heard the throbcrowing th bridge over the Marne, bing of cannon and the smaKhlng rifle and the tops of the hills beyond were volleys like the sound of hall on dotted with whit pufTs of amok glsns skylight For miles up and which marked bursting shrapnel. A down the river the battle waa In progregiment moved past toward a pool' ress, and at every point the German tlon on the river bank, and Stephen onslaught waa equally determined studied It rasually. The pontoon bridge was completed Somehow the bearing of th men again, and ghost-grathousands cheered him. They were grimmer, poured over It leaner, dirtier than when they landed Cavalry battalions swam their In France, but they were still full of horses across the stream, and under fight and confidence. the eheltcr of the high banka the Every man aeemed waiting Imps kaiser's legions massed themselves tiently for the day when he should for an attack. turn bis face, north and help even the They waited while their artillery core wtth the Herman. drenched the English position with And the time for the atand waa near shrapnel, then surged out front under at hand, they believed, and Stephen cover In gray hordes, and with a rip did too. The Imperiled left wing rest- like the tearing of tough cloth, the Ined against the forts of Paris; the river fantry cut loose, the racket swelled by provided a strong line of defense, and the wicked snarl of machine-gunto retreat farther meant severing com which were spraying the advancing tminlcatlons with the capital. Yes, lines with bullets JVithout doubt, the allies were about Into the little village, now deserted to wtop and tight Its Inhabitants, poured a German Rut the thought deepened Stephen's by column: and as the English shells gloom. plumped down among the houses, thin lie was a tall man of twenty-eight- , plumes of smoke which thickened with s Jaw that Jutted forward at a and grew blacker appeared at a pugnacious angle, and he yearned for dozen points. Rut the Germans did not hesitate. Through the burning town they swept, while other columns advanced on each side, and across the river the living stream still flowed. In the fields the solid masses spread out fanwtse and charged up the slope toward the trenches. Now they were at the foot of the hill, and Stephen could no longer see the ones directly In front of where he stood; but on each side he had a good view of their onward rush, little flashes of light glinting from bayonets fixed for the ly y . ' i s steel-jackete- ! I t i r charge. Machine-gun- i and rifles took heavy The ground the Germans passed over was carpeted with writhing or motlqnless figures; but ever they closed their rauka and went on. Tho attack seemed Irresistible tholr numbers hardly diminished. up the hill 'the Germans faltered as an enfilading battery plowed red furrows through their ranks; but it was only for a moment; then they pulled themselves together and surged upward. At the edge of the hill Stephen saw the English clambering out of the trenches and heard the final volleys that withered the charging host and, above the thudding of cannon and the spitting rattle of rifles, the deep shout of the Infantry as they met steel with steel. Back down the slope rolled the rod line of battle! Stephen caught the imperative call of bugles commanding the English to retire to the trenehes and watched the i i ? . ' . f , I y re-for- : ! In the Path o Battle m Jarboe d go-n- ow, t!l at first bother It a as th . men or bora that he beard, atood up, tottering a Hula, but a r clutching la bis band bis blust b aaw, rushing ioB Tba lto him, home, mor horses than law bis Ilfs be bad ever soon and, nw.uuM on them, men, different from anr that b bad ever behold. Did k ,! for the tricolor? Did b know ,J, only under th tricolor might Hn, be found? High abovo bla jtiiowbrJ ba bold th bluett. Porhapa It as only fata, perhsp, a th Cod to about prior w were rising, but th man aba aw th baby band and tb blue or flowers waa the mao of r. a'iuj. don word and there waa a sudden bah of all tba pounding boo? Iiendie down from bla borse, tb man of took tb blossoms, and on hi lips M a word tbe childish ran had avr beard spoken In a tongue he could sot p. thirndmr, understand: "Kalserblumen! "llonneur, Patrl, Hlolro," The vo llant words rested curiously upon tU baby llpa, but In an Instant tb nt(. lect before which tb entire world u trembling understood. th sain In every heart-f- or which every man must lay dost hla Ilf, whatever helpless atom ba might leave behind him. There wer order quick and clear and then tb pounding hoofs on, but around tb fields jf ur Honor-Glory-Fathe- rland was a doubt cordon comCrequett posed of tb flower of tb army, tba emperor's personal staff. It was their to obey, whether It might b a phalanx of fellow creature that was to be mowed down, whether It might b a conflagration lighted by their oa torches that was.to be etayed. Tb August moon waa well past the full, only a little crescent of gold that gray-haire- dry-eye- hr s heavy-heade- d field-piece- s short-live- short of ammunition. There had been a bungle somewhere, and the word had been wigwagged that unless ammunition arrived soon the troops would be helpless. It was then that Stephen qualified as a man in an emergency. The ammunition wagon was overturned, one The Bearing of the Men Cheered Him. of its horses was down with a broken au opportunity to take a hand when leg; but nearby stood a big wheeled trough. In which dough for the camp tho big battle started. He knew how Its horses ha.l alender his chances were of ever bakery was mixed. not been touched as yet by the rain thora but the line, firing reaching of shells. ough appreciation of the situation didn't make It easier to bear didn't Promptly Stephen took command of the situation. woothe his resentment against the fate No officer was near, and the men that kept him mixing dough while followed him as promptly as they alothers cid the real work of war. and again storm for- ways will a natural leader whether he If I only had a chance!" he Germans to ward or not. Willing the attack, I only to be flung wears shoulder-strap- s wouldn't mind walloping thought. kettles the rest of my life, if I could back. A third time they hurled them- hands ripped a passage through a take just one crack at them. Tomor- selves upon the English, but this time hedge which surrounded an adjoining field, while others hastily transferred row or next day the boys will be hav- they were more quickly cheeked. Another battery had been brought boxes of cartridges from the ammuniing It out with Kaiser Bill and I'll into position and the gray forces broke tion wagon to the camp bakery be wrestling with a camp oven. For a moment he was sflent as he halfway up the hill broke and re- trough. When the gap was open Stephen watched the infantry deploying along coiled in confusion, took the reins, the driver of the amwaved arose A of ; his caps he nodded head. then victory yell the. river.; Yes," he said, "theyre going to stop from the British lines, then again the munition wagon swung up beside men burrowed in the holes they had him, and they drove through the and fight and right here." His belief was soon justified by the dug as the storm of shrapnel was re- hedge. Shells were bursting around them. Any moment one might bit the activities of sappers and engineers. sumed. The Infantry was put to work "digStephen swung his hat and cheered wagon? There was more than half a mile of ging themselves in along the south too; but secretly he was aflame with "bank of the river. Battery after bat- revolt because he could not take an open country, swept by bullets, to be tery wheeled into position on the hills; active part In the fighting. A great, crossed. It was his first experience the signal corps was running wire possibly a decisive, battle was on, under fire; but he did not hesitate. There was no time even to thltk of i along the lines for field telephones; i and be was a mere spectator. Half-wa- ( !lld d p s toll. L II realiied be should be nixing being sored to analyia bla amotion. fcav Tb tnco up on tb plateau must dough, for th men la tb trench surrender must or they must fed b would b hungry. Tby cartridge disand tb lots of that bill ao they could fight again. aster! aa back to b even tak turned Ilut Tb pace of tb heavy draft horse up hla work tbr cam a about. Men waa alow cruelly alow and tb need th wer about among running 1 They had not gon I wagon, horse wer being harnessed; af hast wa vlial before from bullet hundred a sum wer yardi vehicles of tb already the Herman Infantry were whining moving away, bemoment past, and Htephen stood up to lash For a Htephen stared wildered; then, after a glance toward the lumbering animals. Now they wer only a quarter of a tb west, b, too, broke Into a run. but Stephen's driver waa backing the mil from th English tranche, trace when b arrived, and started th bullets wer flying thick, and Br th tem with a about and a awing of shrapnel was dotting tb stop with Katbryn bis whip as bla comrada leaped to th fleecy, whit belli! Now they wer at th bulletwwept seat of tha big oven. Th crest of a bill to th west waa awarmlng with summit, with only a hundred yard to lSI5ZSZ52SZS25ZSZ52525252S3ZSZS3i gray-tiafigures. Tb English wer go! storm th (Copyright, Tb Frank A. Muay Co.) through Could pasa lln bad Tb before them. they fleeing unscathed? lead been broken by a force which had of Under th yellow August sunlight Htephen yelled encouragement to th field lay deserted; her a ecytb charged up the steep banks along tb the laboring horses, swung bla whip leaning against a halfcompleted stark, Marn. Whether th German could hold In an effort to urge them to greater ther a alrkl rusting on th atubbl. lb position under th fir of th Eng- speed. The man beside him suddenly Th twilight fell upon deserted lish batteries and could cut off the slumped In his seat, and quietly alld hearth wher women, with trembling fore entrenched on th llltl plateau off to the ground. finger, rooked their scanty meals. Htephen felt a shock and bla left Th round, full moon looked down shoulder went numb; his rsp waa iiwun scattered home wher only th dashed from his head; something children slept, where th women wept warm was running down his wrists and shuddered and watted. and making th reins slippery. For th men had marched away unOne of the horse lurched In Its der th brilliant. Haunting colors. stride, but he lashed It on to a quiver Non bad been too old to go, non Ing, last effort. Only a hundred feet too young Tbelr lips bad shouted th then! to raueous notes, tb valiant words On horse went down; the other llonneur, Fatrie, Glolrs but every was thrown to one side. The twist ry was wet. every heart heavy with overturned th wsgon. spilling cases despair and terror. of cartridges on the ground. Iilbl had watched them go, th tiny There waa a sensation of flying staff In hla clenched fingers beating through spare, and blackness swal- tint to th brav music, to th hurlowed Htephen! rying feet, but. In tb nameless let He amok to find himself lying on ror that had descended upon th land, the trampled grass near the trcuches. h to th old grandmother's clung swathed in bandages, very stiff and hand and. when all were gon fahelpless and weak. Th sound of th ther. uncle, brother h flung himself guns had receded. English guns wer sobbing upon th ground. Th womslamming shells Into th rear ranks an, left alone In tb world aav for of Yon Kluck's army, which waa al- the small grandchild, watched with ready beginning Its retreat to the eyes too old for tears until there was north. no longer even n cloud of dual upon Horn on leaned over him a the horizon; then h turned and hobman who wore the straps of a bled into the empty house, leaving colonel. the child still lying there upon th "So this Is the chap who drove half lonely road. a mile through hell to bring the carBefore th hearth h sat, teeing "Well, If he the long procession of all th others tridges. a voice said hadn't Its hard telling what would who, under that Mm tricolor, had have happened today. Holding this marched out. away from her life, hill Is all that saved us never to return. Hours later, when Several days later In a field hos- lllbl came In. hla little tragedy all forpital Stephen, with the petulcnre of a gotten, hla face reflecting only tho English Batteries Went Into Actio sorely wounded man. Interviewed the of the summer day, he wae yet to be decided; but, meantime, brisk, capable young physician who golden glory found her sitting there, her the vicinity was no place for a com was dressing his wounds. shriveled lips muttering prayers for "You think they'ft take me In one mlssary train. those already dead, for those about to At the foot of the ridge a road ran of the active regiments when I get out die. Into her shaking hands he thrust east and west, and the wagons took of here!' he asked, They put mo his offering a nosegay of bluets, the It at the top speed of their lumbering In the commissary where a chap has color of the sky, of field popples, a horses, camp kettles sloshing and no chance to get Into the fighting. It's flume of red. and mullein, white with splashing. Iron ovens clanging aa they tough. the dust of the road th tricolor that The surgeon nodded approval and had Jumped over the stones. taken from them grandfather, A cloud of dust appeared in front, understanding. He knew what It was husband and aons. father, and the wagons turned aside Into a to remain behind the guns dressing A choking sob slipped across her shallow ditch while a battery whirled wounds, when he would have prelips and ah flung the flowers from by, gun after gun; the rattling cais- ferred to be making them. on to the hearth, wher the red petals In a sons, and after them cavalry, all "Yes, be said, "it ts tough to be of th popplea lay In mimicry of the desperate hurry to save the Infantry tied down where you can't grab a gun fire that might never again blaze and wade In. As for your being abl from rout thereon. At the same time the air aeemed Day a passed; only a few Blbl suddenly full of shrieking things that could not count them. Mere Croquette burst with thunder-clapand scattered would not. The blades death? The Germans had brought of grain lay prone upon the ground, guna across the Marne, and they bad ungarnered by the hands that were too the range. tiny, the hands that were too old. When the battery and cavalry had There were others, of course. In that the commissary wagons passed, deserted land, as lonely aa these two, turned back Into the road and raced but there were no other quite so on In an effort to get beyond the zone helpless a child of sis, a grandam of of fire; but disaster quickly overtook eighty-six- . Indoors, the woman could them. A shell struck a heavy vau, sit and pray. Out of doors, the only the vehicle following it toppled over child played with hla flowers bluets, Into a ditch In an effort to drive past bits of the sky, popples, red as blood, the wreck, and the road waa blocked, and mullein, a dried and ghastly white. while German continued to The poppies drooped and rake the train from end to end. fell to the earth, the mullein crumbled Every shell added to the confusion. to dust, only the bluets were left. The road quickly became a litter of And then there dawned the day of smashed wagons and dead horses. horror. Fbr hours of light and darkDrivers were cutting loose the aniness the roar of cannon had filled the mals and riding away. It was obviousuniverse, for hours of light and darkly Impossible to extricate the train, ness the grandmother had knelt quivand Htephen was about to follow the and trembling before the cruciering example of his fleeing comrades when fix. At daybreak the low horizon around a turn came a black ammunistretched a long line of fire and tion wagon. Its driver laRhlng his smoke; flames licking up the parched horses. fields with the hovels that stood in mass of Plump into the plled-utheir midst, black smoke creeping like wreckage it drove! a pall across the sky. Stephen reached the scene as the lu tho gray light before the sun had driver, who hnd been hurled from his risen Mere Croquette stood in the seat, staggered to his feet, and from doorway and watched the oncoming his blasphemous comments he learned devastation, a foeman that feet, howthe reasons for the others haste. The ever young and agile, might not outinfantry on the plateau was running Every Shell Added to the Confusion. to get transferred to the Infantry, Im rather sure theyd be glad to get a hundred thousand like you." You think so?" Stephen spoke eagerly. "I'm going to make application as soon as I can. I sure would like to get Into just one battle." A slow grin overspread the doctors face, and he ran his eyes over Stephen as though taking an Inventory. That's too bad," he said dryly; and youre not likely to be able to have a chance soon. You've a hole through your right thigh, a bullet in your left shoulder, a superficial furrow of the sealp, the calf of your right leg was drilled twice, and you have three minor flesh wounds. Youve been mentioned in dispatches for that ammunition stunt of yours, and the chance are you'll land a nice decoration that many a staff officer would give hig left leg for. Yes, fts tough you never had a chance to get into a battle. Saving Belgian Beets. Many of the Belgian beet sugar factories are operating, notwithstanding the war. The manufacturers, it is announced, state that they have no expectation of making any profits, but they are doing a great work in that they are saving $0,000,000 worth of beets and are providing employment and a livelihood for their hands. distance, that no human hand might stay. Clutching Bib! by the wrist, she the house and closed the door. Better to die crouched before the cross, with suppliant hands upon Its succoring feet, than to be caught creeping and crawling through the fields of matted grain. For a little time Bibl lay quiet in her arms, listening to the roar, watching the light that even now was redder than any rays of sunlight that had ever' flooded the windows of his home. Soon, though, he grew restless and slipped awuy from tho feeble hands that, with the passing of nil things earthly, had almost forgotten to hold him. Out of doors the horizon was still only a line of red and black, and Bibl could not know that It was a score of miles nearer to bis home than it had been a short hour before. Here and there above tho broken grain there waved a tiny flag of blue. Upon his baby lips fragments of llonneur, Gloire, Patrie, he ran to and fro gathering his beloved bluets. Tired, stifled by the heat, the source of which he could not understand, he sat down at the edge of the road. And now there was a new sound in the air not the deadly roar of the cannon that had thundered for two- whole days, not the rush of flame, but a steady, rhythmic throb that, with every instant, grew nearer and louder. Ribi's mind, already confused by the difficult breaths he drew, could not g - Watched th Oncoming Devastation. preceded by the aun. a few houra the rising of It looked down upon a scorched and smoldering territory. To the north, to the south, to the east and west it stretched, but In the center stood Itibla home, the small thatched cottage, surrounded by its Held of grain, trampled, perhaps, a little under the feet of its zealous defenders fallen here and there but sheltering everywhere clusters of blossoms blue as heaven Itself, Blbl'a bluets, the "Kalserblumen beloved by the man of war. MAKES ATTACK ON DESSERT Ohio Newspaper Classes It Among the Undesirable Superfluities of Human Life. A man has come to this country from abroad to advocate vegetarianism. He Is a hale and hearty fellow who has never practiced anything but vegetarianism. It Is a good thing and we are In favor of everybody not eating any meat who doesn't want it. But there are other reforms Just as good. We might discard the dessert and fare better. The reason for resorting to dessert is to enable one to eat more than he ought to eat. For Instance, after eating roast beef, potatoes and bread, can a man resist a piece of pie? Morally he ought to, but physically he couldn't. Eating too much is materialism In Its worst form, and It does more to blunt the senses and to squelch noble aspiration than any of the other habits, and the dessert Is its guardian angel. So dessert is a superfluity, If one has had enough of the piece do resistance et cetera, and the superfluities are the danger points of than enough is a moral, social, physical III. Socrates was against the dessert when he prayed: O God, grant me what I need and no more." Ohio State Journal. life-Mor- Squirrel Wisdom. The squirrel knows better than to depend on luck from day to day to bring him his food in the season when that food is to be found only In storage, says the Cleveland IMain Dealer. The squirrel has a lesson to teach his proud but Bhorter-slghtebrother of the human race. All the fall the bushy tailed fellow, what time he could Bpare from eluding the guns of hunters licensed by law, gathered nuts from tree and ground and put them away safely for the winter use. He knew, somehow, that a long season was at hand when nuts could not be found, when It would be lmpoeslUe' to roam at large in search of provender. |