Show FRENCH BIG WAY INTO TRENCHES OF THEIR FOES wounded officers tell of fierce hand to hand fight with bombs WIVES RISK THEIR LIVES meet soldier husbands at front just for a kiss or a word as they pass through a town pathos in many reunions by RENE ARCOS correspondent of 0 chicago dally daily news near the french front two wounded french officers haio hac given roo me an account of the recent fighting near berry au bac they came and pounded on the door of this wayside inn 12 kilometers 72 miles behind the firing line late at night the proprietress prie etress fearing that gendarmes gen darmes had come to arrest her for selling drinks after eight did not answer at first farst but new pounding kicking and shouting caused her to change her mind there entered a second lieutenant and an adjutant both wounded one supporting the other one was wounded in the arm and one in the leg the second lieutenant was gay and looked well but how shall 1 I 1 describe the poor adjutant A rough beard filled the hollows of his bis cheeks and his pale blue eyes ayes shone with fever ile he fell moaning into a chair and seemed to lose consciousness until a plate of steaming soup was placed under his nose wounded soldiers tell stories wine and the warmth of the room gradually re animated him and he be gan io to relate his exploits doth both boffl cers belonged to the same regiment of infantry and both were wounded the day before the lieutenants first words were you cannot imagine how strange it seems to see 0 9 civilian again for three months I 1 have seen nothing but french and german soldiers and I 1 had b begun agun to believe that there was not a civilian left in the world these men had been fighting virtually every day and night in the last two months their trenches had been advancing steadily at the rate of about fifty yards a week they had bad attacked the german trenches hundreds of tinier timea and been attacked an equal number of times projectiles had bad torn their uniforms uniform their regiment digging underground had bad here and there burst into the midst of 0 the german trenches the other evening a section of their comrades composed of 50 man men had been surprised and captured the adjutant could not get over this those lazy rascals fell asleep despite the music of the shrapnel he said eald it Is true they had not slept for several days and nights before attack the german trenches tho the lieutenant enact then related how he be and his companion were wounded toward ten on the preceding evening it was decided to attack the german trenches the french silently left their underground converts coverts and crept forward they were discovered when a few yards from their goal but it was tas too late ate und and the germans were overwhelmed wo saw them chem running like rats into their hole said the lieuten lieutenant atit having advanced 60 50 yards at one stroke it was necessary for us to hold this precious gain naturally the german trenches were arranged for defense toward the french trenches now the french 1 set to work to make the trenches defensible from the other side sacks of cement were hastily brought dipped into water and laid end to end along the trenches and packed with dirt the french then desired to rest a little but the germans wishing to win back the lost loat position before the french completed the defenses poured out of their earthworms earthworks earth carth works and advanced hurl grenades a as a foes advance dont don t speak a word ord ordered our captain keep still bring up some boxes of preserves quietly and wait the germans came forward at a dog d 0 9 trot lit in compact masses walt repeated the captain dont lire a single shot we are going to play a little game of massacre lot let each man take two grenades and keep well hidden bidden behind the sacks when the germans were wera only a few yards away the captain shouted at the top of his lungs use all the grenades you wish my children the terrible bombs bursting in the ranks caused unbelievable carnage they yelled like pigs clayed alive said the lieutenant placidly it did not take long to clean them up but several of them fired back at us while retreating this Is how we two were caught gives password tiles these little hotels close behind the lines present an ever changing va clety biety of war pictures besides wounded soldiers there are others who come on errands and who want a solid meal before returning to the trenches here also are refugees from villages v under fire and women come to try and see their husbands who are wounded or stationed in the ille neighborhood Tran transport automobiles automobile s stop before the door the chauffeurs buy each other drinks and depart with faces somewhat redder than before yesterday I 1 saw a noncommissioned officer carefully confiding the password to an automobilist who desired to continue along the road near by was another noncommissioned officer hugging a little child with exuberant joy while his wife who had bad just arrived stood bathis by this soldier had not seen his little family for three months and wished to have everyone share his pleasure he turned ilia his beaming countenance right and left and as ills his eyes mot met mine he said 1 it la Is ino fine to see ones little world again I 1 asked myself when I 1 beni wen away avay if I 1 should ever see this little doll again I 1 how wives meet their husbands while ills his wife told him all the small happenings of the last months lie ho continued to klas kiss hlf 1114 diminutive heir soma wi wives ves who come far to see pee their husbands aro are less lucky for tho the regulations are aid very strict however conjugal love inspires some ingenious ruses auses there Is a young woman here who Is tho the wife of ah an officer on the line knowing the difficulty of ap preaching the lines I 1 did not conceal from her that her enterprise seemed doomed to failure but she smiled quietly and assured me that never the less she would see her husband after enjoying my astonishment she explained that her ter husband had written her that lie he goes almost dally daily to to carry orders on horseback 15 kalo meters nine miles behind the lines she had only to go to a certain village and wait between six and nine 0 clock in the morning in a church where lie he would go dally daily until he saw her they could thus meet and nobody would be the wiser 1 I am leaving for this village at four tomorrow morning said tide the young woman 1 I do not dare to go to bed tonight for fear I 1 should oversleep lives in cellar eight weeks last night there was in the dining room a family of ragged taciturn peasants from some untenable farm near the front beside them a solitary young woman ate without appetite she was from reims helms where she had been living in a cellar for eight weeks in a countenance of a cadaverous pallor shone two blinking eyes with reddened llda from the sleeves of her black dress issued white fleshless arms on which the valna stood out like cords her whole appearance bore witness to terrible debility and her hearing bearing still breathed dread As she bent down to rearrange her skirt with her hand her wedding ring fell and rolled away 1 I am so thin it wont stay on my finger any more she said insignificant though the incident was it was more moving than I 1 can say eay |