Show I I rr 1 OVER ri THE TOP t Ja y ml GUllY ey r Jf 1 Macl Machine ne Gunner Serving in France France f Copyright 1917 by br Arthur Our Guy EmpeT Empey i A. w EMPEY LEARNS HOW THE TOMMIES AR ARC ARr FED IN THE v LINE FRONT-LINE TRENCH AND BACK OF OF IT Synopsis Fired Fired by the sinking of the with the loss of j American lives Ilves Arthur Guy Empey Empe an American living in Jersey City goes to England and enlists as a private in the British army After a short experience as ns a recruiting officer in London he is sent to trainIng training training train train- ing quarters In France where he first hears the sound of big guns and makes the acquaintance of cooties tootles After a brief period of training Empey's company is sent into the line front trenches where he takes takes takes' f his first turn on oa the fire step while the bullets whiz overhead 1 T- T A c CHAPT CHAPTER R VI VL Continued i 5 J After dinner I tried to wash out the dixie with cold water and a rag and learned another maxim of the I trenches trenches It It cant can't be done I slyly i watched one of the older men from another section and was horrified to toBee Bee see him throw Into his dixie four or f five double handfuls of mud Then he c poured in some water and with his e hands scoured the Inside and out l' l I thought he was taking an awful risk Supposing the cook should have seen seenI I 1 him I After half an hour of unsuccessful unsuccessful f efforts I returned my dixie to the cook shack being careful to put put put-on on the cover and returned to the billet Pretty soon the cook poked his head heady y- y In Jn the door and shouted Hey Yank come out here and clean your your dixie I I protested that I had wasted a half- half hour on it already and had used up my only remaining shirt in the at at- F tempt With a look of disdain he exclaimed ex- ex ex exclaimed claimed Blow me your shirt I Why i n in didn't you use mud Without a word in reply I got busy f. f With with the mud and soon my dixie dine was 7 bright and shining J Most of the afternoon was spent by bythe if Y the men writing letters home I used f my spare time to chop wood for the Ef cook and go with the quartermaster to tot t t- t draw coal I got back just In time to toN tos s j. j N Issue our third meal which which- consisted it of hot tea I rinsed out my dixie and returned It to the cookhouse and went back to th the billet with an exhilarated feeling that my days day's labor was done I had fallen asleep on the straw when once again the cook appeared in the thedoor door of the billet with Blame BlIme me you r Yanks Tanks are lazy Who in a goin to tor draw the water for the tea Do you think Im I'm a t to to toWell Well r Im I'm not not and he left I filled the dixie with water from an old squeaking well and once again lay down in the straw CHAPTER VII w I Rations Just dozing off Mr Lance Corporal s butted In In Tommys Tommy's eyes a a. a lance corporal iso is isone isone o one degree below a private In the corporals corporal's eyes he be is one degree e above a general He ordered me to go with him and help him draw the next days day's rations also told me to take my waterproof f. f Every evening from each platoon or machine-gun machine section a lance corporal and private go to the quartermaster sergeant at the company stores and andr r 4 draw rations for the following day t The quarter as the quartermaster i 4 sergeant js called receives dally daily from the orderly room captains captain's office a f slip showing showing the number of men entitled entitled entitled en en- titled to rations so there Is no chance i of putting anything over on him Many arguments take tl place between the t quarter and the platoon noncom but butI I fc the former always wins out Tommy says sas th the quarter got his Job because he was a burglar in civil life i Then I spread ad the waterproof sheet I on the ground while the quartermasters quartermaster's ter's batman dumped the rations on it The corporal w is smoking a fag I I carried the rations back to the billet The corporal was still smoking a fag How I envied him But when the issue commenced my envy died and I realIzed realized realized real real- that the first requisite of a noncommissioned noncommissioned noncommissioned non non- commissioned officer on active service Is diplomacy There were 19 10 men in our section and they soon formed a semicircle around us after the corporal had called out Rations up The quartermaster sergeant had given a slip to the corporal on on which was written a list of the rations Sitting Sitting Sitting Sit Sit- ting on the floor using a wooden box as a table the issue commenced On the left of the corporal the rations were piled They consisted of the following following following fol fol- fol- fol lowing Six l loaves aves of fresh bread each loaf of Df a different size perhaps one out of the six being as flat fiat as a pancake the result of an army service corps man placing ng a box of bully beef on it during durIng during dur dur- ing transportation Three tins of Jam one apple and the theother theother theother other two plum Seventeen Bermuda onions all different dif dlf- Afferent Af- Af ferent frent sizes A piece of cheese in the shape of a n wedge r Two pound one tins of butter A handful of raisins A tin of biscuits or as Tommy calls them Jaw breakers A bottle of mustard pl pickles kles I The bully bully ully beef spuds condensed milk fresh m meat t bacon and chie rations a can filled with meat vegetables bles and greasy water had been turned over to the company cook to tomake tomake tomake make a stew for next days day's dinner He also received the tea sugar salt pepper pepper pepper pep pep- per and flour Scratch Scratching ng his head the corporal studied the slip Issued to him by the quarter Then in a slow mystified voice he read out ont No 1 section 19 men Bread loaves six He looked puzzled and soliloquized in a musing voice Six loaves nineteen men Lets Let's see that's three tInee in a loaf for fifteen men men men- well to make it even four of f you'll have to muck In on one loaf The four that got de a howl but to no avail The avail The bread was dished put out Pretty soon soon from a far corner of the billet three indignant Tommies accosted accosted accosted ac ac- ac- ac the corporal with What do you call this a loaf of bread Looks more like a sniping plate The corporal answered Well dont don't blame me I didn't I-didn't bake it somebody's got t to get it so sh shut t tup up until I dish out these blinkin ra ra- ra- ra Then the corporal started on the Jam Jam three tins tins apple apple one plum two Nineteen men three tins Six in a tin makes twelve men men for two tins seven in the remaining tin He He passed around the jam and there was another riot Some didn't like apple while others who received plum were partial to apple After a awhile awhile while while- differences were adjusted and the issue went on Bermuda onions seventeen The The- corporal avoided a row by saying sayIng sayIng say- say Ing that he did not want an onion and andI I said they make your breath sm il so soI soI soI I guessed I would do without one too The corporal looked his gratitude Cheese p pounds two l y t r N. N z z 2 Taking Provisions to the Front it k The corporal borrowed a jackknife corporals are always a borrowing and sliced the cheese each cheese each slicing bring bringing ing lag forth a pert remark from the onlookers onlookers onlookers on on- lookers as to the corporals corporal's eyesight Raisins ounces eight By this time the corporals corporal's nerves had gone west and in despair he said That t the raisins were to be turned over overto overto overto to the cook for duff plum pudding This decision elicited a a little grousIng grousing grousing grous ing but quiet was finally restored Biscuits tins one With his borrowed jackknife the corporal opened the tin of biscuits and told ev everyone to help themselves themselves-nc themselves themselves-no- no nobody body responded to this invitation Tommy is fed up with biscuits Butter tins two Nine In one ten in the other Another rumpus Pickles mustard bottles one Nineteen names were put in a steel h helmet the last one out winning the pickles On the next issue there were on only y 18 names as the winner is eliminated eliminated eliminated until every man in the section has won a bottle bottle The raffle raffie is closely watched because Tommy is suspicious when it comes to gambling with his rations At the different rent French estaminets in hi the village and at the canteens Tommy Tommy Tommy Tom Tom- my buys fresh eggs milk bread and nd pastry Occasionally when he Is flush he Invests In Ina a tin of pears or apri apri- cots His pay Is only a shilling shilling- a day 24 cents or a cent an hour Just imagine thing imag ine me d a cent an hour for being under fire not fire not much chance of getting rich out there When he goes into the fire trench front line Tommys Tommy's menu takes a tumble He carries in his haversack what the government calls emergency or iron rations They are not supposed to be opened until Tommy dies of star star- They consist of one tin tia of bully beef four biscuits a little tin which contains tea sugar and cubes concentrated beef tablets These are only to be used when the enemy establishes a curt curtain ln of shellfire shell shellfire shellfire fire on the c communication trenches thus preventing the carrying in In of rations or when in an attack a body of troops has been cut off from Its base of f supplies The rations are brought brought up at night by the company transport This is a section of of- the company In charge of the quartermaster sergeant composed of men mules and limbers two- two wheeled wagons which supplies Tommys Tommy's Tommys Tommy's Tommy's Tommys Tom Tom- mys my's wants while in the front line They are constantly under shell fire The rations are unloaded at the entrance entrance entrance en en- trance to the communication trenches and are carried in by men detailed for that purpose The quartermaster serge sergeant nt never goes poes into the line front tr trench He doesn't have to and I have never heard of one volun volunteering to todo todo todo do so The company sergeant major sorts the rations and sends them in Tommys Tommy's trench rations consist of all the bully beef he can eat biscuits cheese tinned butter sometimes 17 17 men to a tin jam or marmalade and occasionally fresh bread ten to a loaf When it is possible he gets tea and stew When things are quiet and Fritz Is la behaving like a gentleman which seldom seldom seldom sel sel- sel- sel dom happens Tommy has the opportunity opportunity opportunity of making dessert This is trench pudding It is made from broken biscuits con condensed milk Jam Jama jam jam- a little water added slightly fi flavored ored with mud put mud put Into a canteen and cooked over a little spirit stove known as Tommys cooker A firm in Blighty mighty widely advertises these cookers as ns a necessity for the me men men-in In the trenches Gullible people buy them them ship ship them to the Tommies who immediately upon upon receipt of same throw them over the parapet Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Some Some- times a Tommy falls for the ad and uses the cooker In a dugout to the disgust disgust disgust dis dis- gust and discomfort of th the other oth-er oc oc- This mess is stirred up In a tin and allowed to simmer over over the flames from the cooker until Tommy decides that It has reached sufficient consistency He takes his bayonet and by means of the handle carries the mess up In the front trench to cool Alter After ter it has cooled off he tries it Generally one or two Tommies in a section n have Iron cast-Iron stomachs and the tin Is soon emptied Once I tasted trench pudding but only once In addition to the regular ration Issue Issue Issue Is Is- sue Tommy uses another channel to enlarge his his menu nu In the English papers a Lonely Soldier column Is run This is for forthe forthe the soldiers at the front who are supposed supposed supposed sup sup- posed to be without friends or reI rela rela- a- a tives They write to the papers and their names are published Girls and women In England answer them and send out parcels of foodstuffs cigarettes ciga I candy etc ete I have known known- a a. a lonely soldier to receive as many as five parcels and eleven letters In one week m Empey realizes for the first time tirre how death lurks In the trenches when a comrade falls by his side He tells about It In Inthe Inthe inthe the next Installment I TO 10 R lIE CONTZ CONTINUED I |