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Show VENTURERS' CLUB IdUNeTTrom the lives LpLE LIKE YOURSELF! "Dead Man's Dole' By FLOTD GIBBONS Famous Headline Hunter ') EVERYBODY: Sri Francia of Brooklyn, N. Y., says In his letter to Jhe's not so good at composing a story. Well-Jot Well-Jot bad at it by a long shot, Luigi, but the point Is don't have to be good at composing your yarn. J n iS for Adventurers not writers. 've got to admit that Lulgi's yarn has all the elements of Tture story. First, look at the setting. Tripolitania, North ttaZsra a small town 60 miles Inland from the city of Tripoli -rawed of about 3,000 Bedouin Arabs, and four regiments of Sy Luigi Francia was fighting In one of those Infantry "to June. 1913, and that was an adventure In Itself. . were constantly attacked at night by marauders," he ui we had many, many casualties. It was no fun getting U t slug trom a Mauser rifle. No matter how slight the j Kidom healed. Tetanus set In, and then you died." is were getting so frequent around Aln Zara and casualties ,j8Vy that the commandante of the garrison decided something kdone about it. The regiments were issued extra ammunition trve supply of food, and the word went out that they were going , counter attack on the Arab tribes that had been doing all the Captured by the Arabs. weeks of preparation, the Italians were ready for a surprise One hot June night. Lulgi's regiment got orders for a mass 1 md s square of soldiers was thrown about the camp. Luigi, corporal major, was sent with 15 men on a scouting expedition The Chief Told Luigi to Shave the Dead Man. meed post in the deseri When they sighted the Arabs, they :ve the alarm so that the regiments could close in. guess," says Luigi, "that we figured wrong. About twelve 1 night, we were the surprised ones, with a horde of Arabs : all around us, yelling Allah! Allah! and shooting as they adit ad-it happened so quickly that we were surrounded and about a 1! us taken prisoners. foe hardships we endured at their mercy are unprintable, nonth, there were but 30 of us left. The others died from lii some starved. Others were butchered outright. The rest had to pump water, wash the Arabs' filthy clothes, eat grass-n grass-n ind drink stinking water in dirty sand wells." Ordered to Shave a "Corpse." ie day, there came a diversion in the routine of that Arab camp, ib came to the Italians and asked if any of them could shave, said that he could. The Arab led him to the chiefs tent, and a pallet lay the chiefs brother, stiff and cold. The chief gave szor and a little soap and told him to prepare the dead man irted shaving him," says Luigi, "while outside, a thousand yed to Mahomet, their prophet. I was so skinny from malnu-i malnu-i k nervous that I could hardly hold the razor straight, but I st I was almost through when the razor slipped, jabbed Into neck, and to my surprise, the BLOOD BEGAN TO FLOW." ugi knew then that the man wasn't dead. He told the aid the chief put his hand on his brother's heart, but he it feel any beat. Then Lulgl told him to get a mirror. U H in front of the man's mouth and it clouded. That 1 He wasn't dead. 8 us prisoners," says Luigi, "was a young man who knew I called him, and he pronounced the man to be suffering from and said he could cure him. I don't know what he did, but J?s he had him up and walking around again." Food and Freedom His Reward. those three days, Luigi and the young doctor had a pleasant The chief culled them into his tent and told them they had Mother's life. He was thankful, and to show that he meant nose two poor half-starved prisoners, gave them money, put 1 "mel, and told them that they could go. With a supply of a prba full of water, they set out across the desert, the old ;isigs ringing in their ears. ' them two days to get out of the desert. The first place j s an Italian outpost at Cubelia, about 90 miles from And there, as they approached, they were almost killed tone gun bullets fired by their own comrades to whom, f y yellow Arab garments, they looked more like enemies Bything else. fnmandante of that post listened to their story in amazement, bm b"k to Tripoli. There, after receiving medical attention, 'ought before the chief In command at the Presidio, and had eith aU Ver again Both ot tnem were given a sbc months' ' Pay, and well many a soldier would go through that over again for that sort of a break. Copyright.T-WNU Service. |