Show cr RAIM UTAH OVER THE TOP Jay By An Amy Amer Ath lj Gy ey WIler 0 X o Went U U pent Machine Gunner Serving in France f Copyright 1917 by bl Arthur Guy Ony Empey Empel CHAPTER 25 i g The presence of the R. R A. A M M. C C. C men did not seem to disturb the Ole raiders because because because be be- cause many a joke made In an undertone undertone undertone under under- tone was passed along the column as to who would be first to take a n ride on one of ot the stretchers This was generally followed by a wish that if It you were to be the one the wound Would mould uld be a cush cushy Blighty mighty one The stretcher bearers no doubt hoping that If It they did have to carry anyone to the rear he would be small and light Perhaps they looked at me when wishing bec because I co could ld feel an aD i uncomfortable boring sensation between between be be- tween my shoulder blades They got their wish all nil right Going up this trench about every sixty yards or so we would pass a lonely lonely lonely lone lone- ly sentry who in a whisper would wish us the best o 0 luck mates We Ve would blind at him under our breaths that Jonah phrase to us sounded very ery ominous s. s Without any casualties the minstrel l troop arrived at at Suicide ditch the line front-line trench Previously a wiring party of the Royal Engineers had cut cuta a lane through our barbed wire to o enable en- en able us to get out oat Into No Mans Man's Land Crawling through this ibis lane our party arty of twenty took up an extended- extended order formation about one yard apart We Ve had a tap code arranged for our movements mo while in n No Mans Man's Land because for various reasons it Is not safe to carry carryon on a heated conversation a few yar yards s In fr front nt of Fritz lines The officer was on the right of the theline theline theline line while I was on the extreme left Two taps from the right would be passed down the line until I received I them then I would send back one tap The officer in receiving this one tap would know mow that his order had gone gone down Clown the whole line had naci been understood understood under under- stood and that the party was ready to obey the two tap signal Two taps meant that we were to crawl forward slowly slowly and and b believe belleve me very slowly slowly- for or five fie yards ards and then thel halt aIt to await further instructions Three taps mei meant nt when you arrived within striking distance distance distance dis dis- dis- dis tance of ot the German trench rush it and inflict as many casualties as possible possible possible pos pos- sible secure a c couple uple of of prisoners and then back to your our own lines with the speed clutch open Four taps meant I have gotten you ou Into a position from which It It Is Impossible for me to extricate extricate cate you so you OU are on your own on After getting Tommy Into a mess on the western front he Is generally told that he Is on his own This means Save your skin In n any way possible Tommy loves to be on his own behind the lines but not during a trench raid The star shells fr from m the German lines were falling frilling in front of of us therefore therefore there there- there there- fore we w were re safe After about twenty hven twenty ty minutes we entered the star shell zone A star shell from the German lines fell about five yards in the rear and to the right of ot me we hugged the ground and held our breath until it burned out The smoke from the star shell traveled along the ground and crossed over the middle of our our line Some Tommy sneezed The smoke had I I gotten up his nose We crouched on the ground cursing the offender under our breath iu and d waIt waited d the volley that generally ensues when the Germans have heard a n noise In No Mans Man's Land Nothing happened We received J two t tins taps P. P and crawled forward slowly for five yards no doubt the officer believed believed be be- what Old Pepper had said Personally Personally Personally Per I believe that that part of ot the German trench Is unoccupied By beIng being be be- ing careful and remaining motionless when the star shells fell behind us we reached the German barbed wire without without with with- out mishap Then the fun began I 1 Iwas Iwas was scared scaled stiff as asIt Jt it is ticklish work cutting your our way through wire when about thirty feet In front of or you there Is a line of Boches looking out Into No Mans Man's Land with their rifles lying across the parapet straining every sense to see or or hear what Is going on in In No Mans Man's Land because at night Fritz never knows knowS' when a bomb with his Isis name and number on It will come hurtling through the air all aimed alme 1 In the the direction of Berlin The fhe man on th the right one man In the center and myself myself my my- self on the extreme left were equipped with wire cutters These These are are Insulated with soft rubber not ot because the German German German Ger Ger- I man wires are charged with electricity but to prevent the cutters rubbing against the barbed wire lre stakes which fire are of Iron and making a noise which Ii may warn the Imn Inmates tes of the trench that someone Is getting getting fresh fresh In their front flout yard ard There Is s only one wn way to cut a barbed wire without noise and through costly experience Tommy has hns become an nn expert In doing this You must grasp the wire about two lathes Inches froth from the Else stake slake in your right hand huud and cut between the stake and your our hand If It you cut a n wire Improperly a loud twang will ring out on on the night air all like the snapping of a banjo string Perhaps this this' noise can be heard only for fifty or seventy five yards but In Tommys Tommy's mind It mikes makes a loud 1 noise In Berlin We had cut cue a lane about halfway through the wire acre when down the center center cen cen- ter of our lur line twang I went an Improperly Improperly Im lm properly cut wire We crouched down cursing under our breath trembling allTer all allver allver ver Ter our knees lacerated from the J strands of the cut barbed barbe 1 wire on the ground waiting t for r a challenge and the inevitable volley of rifle ride fire tire NothIng Nothing Noth Noth- ing happened I suppose the fellow who cut the barbed wire Improperly was fiS the one who had sneezed about half halt an hour previously pre What we wea a wished 1 him Mm would never make his new year a happy one The officer in my opinion at the noise of the wire should have ha given the tap four-tap signal which meant On your own get back bacle to your trenches as quickly as possible but again he must have ha relied on the spiel that Old Pepper Pepper Pepper Pep Pep- per ha had 1 given us in the dugout Personally Personally Personally Per I believe that that part of the German trench Is unoccupied Anyway Anyway Any Any- way we got careless but not so careless careless careless care care- less that we sang patriotic songs or orI made mad any unnecessary noise I During the intervals of falling star shells we carried on with our wire cutting cutting cutting cut cut- ting until at last we succeeded In getting getting get get- ting through the German barbed wire At this point we were only ten feet from the German trenches If It we were discovered we were like Uke rats In a trap Our way was cut of off unless we ran along the wire to the narrow lane we had cut through With our hearts In our mouths we waited for the three- three tap signal to rush the German trench Three taps had gotten about halfway down the line Hue when suddenly about ten to twenty German star shells were fired all along the trench an and l landed In the barbed wire In rear rear of us turnIng turn turn- Ing lag night Into day and silhouetting us against the wall of light made by the flares In the glaring light we were confronted by the following unpleasant scene All along the German trench at at about three-foot three Intervals stood a big Prussian guardsman with his rifle at atthe atthe atthe the aim and then we found out why we had not been challenged when the man sneezed an and 1 the barbed wire had been improperly cut About three feet In front of the trench they had constructed constructed constructed con con- a single fence of barbed wire and we knew e our chances were one thousand to one of returning alive We could not rush gush their trench on account account account ac ac- ac- ac count of this second defense Then Ip I Iy y s al d i a Z p f In In front of me the challenge Halt given ghen In English rang out and one of the he finest things I have ever heard on the western front took place From the middle of our line some Tommy answered the challenge with I Aw go to h h l. 1 It must have been the man who had sneezed or who had Improperly cut the barbed wire he wanted to show Fritz that Hint he lie could die game Then me the volley Machine Machine Ma Ma- chine guns were turned loose and several several sev sev- eral bombs were thrown In our rear The Boche in front of me was looking down his sight This fellow might have under ordinary circumstances been handsome but when I viewed him from the front of his rifle he ha had 1 the goblins of childhood Imagination relegated relegated rele rele- gated to the shade Then came ensue a u flash In front of me the flare nare of his rifle rifle and and 1 my head seemed to burst A bullet had hit lilt me tae me meon on the loft let side side of nf mv my face about half nn an I Inch from my e eke e smashing th the n cheekbones cheek hek bones hones I put my hand to my face and fell I forward biting the ground and kicking my feet I thought I was dyIng dying dy dy- dy- dy ing but hut do you know my past life lite did not unfold before me the way It does In novels The blood was streaming down Iowa my tunic and the pain was awful When I came to I said to myself Emp old boy you ou belong In Jersey City and you'd better get back there as QuicklY as possible The bullets were cracking overhead I crawled a few feet teet back to the German German Ger Ger- man barbed wire and in a stooping position position po po- position guiding myself by the wire I went down the line looking for the lane lone we had cut through Before reaching this lane I came to a limp form which seemed like a bag of ot oats hanging over the wire In the dim light I could see that Its hands were blackened and knew it was the body of one of ot my mates I put my hand handon on his head the top of which had been blown off art by a Q bomb My fingers ers sank Into th the tM i hole I pulled polled my hand band backo back o full of blood and brains then I went crazy with fear and horror and rushed along the wire until I came to our lane I had Just turned down this lane when something inside of ot me seemed seemed- to say Look around I did so a bullet bullet bullet bul bul- let caught me on the left shoulder It did not hurt much just felt as ns If someone someone someone some some- one had punched me In the back and then my left went side numb My arm was dangling like a rag I fell forward In a n sitting position But all the fear had left me and I 1 was consumed with rage and cursed the lie German trenches With my right hand I felt In my tunic for my first-aid first or shell dressing In feeling over my tunic my hand came in contact with one of f the bombs which I carried Gripping It I pulled the pin out with my teeth and blindly threw It towards the German trench I must must have been out of my head because I Iwas Iwas ti was only ten feet from the trench and took a chance of being mangled If It I the bomb had failed to go Into the trench I would have been blown to f. f bits by the explosion of my own bomb 3 By the flare fiare of the explosion of or the bomb which luckily landed In their trench I saw one big Boche throw up his arms and fall backwards while his Ills rifle flew Into the air Another one wilted and fell forward across cross the sandbags then sandbags then blackness l Realizing what a foolhardy foolhardy and and risky Isky thing I had done I was again seized u with a horrible fear I dragged myself v y to my feet and ran madly down the lane through the barbed wire stumbling bUng bling over cut wires tearing my uniform uniform uni uni- i form and lacerating my hands and legs Just as ns I was about to reach No Mans Man's Land again that same voice 1 seemed to say Turn around I r did so when crack another bullet caught me this time in the left J er about one half Inch away awny from the other wound Then It was taps In forme m. m s C The lights went out When I came to I IVas was Vas crouching ina In Ina a hole in No Mans Man's Land This shell hole was about three feet deep so that It brought my head a few inches below the level of the ground How I reached this hole I r will never know Germ German n i typewriters were traversing back 1 and nn forth forth In In No Mn Mans Man's Land Land the but but- lets biting the edge of ot my shell hole and throwing dirt all over me Overhead shrapnel was bursting I I could hear the fragments slap the ground Then I went out once more i When I came to everything was silence and darkness In No Mans Man's Land I Iwas 1 was soaked with blood and a big flap from the wound In my cheek was hanging hang bang bangIng ing over my mouth The blood running running running run run- ning from this flap choked me Out of or the corner of ot my mouth I would try and blow It back but It would not 0 move I reached for my shell dressing t tand and tried with one hand to bandage e my ray face to prevent the flow I had hadan hadan an nn awful awful horror of bleeding to d death and was g getting very faint You would have laughed if you had seen my ludicrous attempts at bandaging with one hand The pains In my Voun wounded j shoulder were awful and I was getting sick at the stomach I gave up the bandaging stunt as a bad job and then f a fainted When I 1 came to hell was vas let loose An Intense bombardment was on and andon andon on the whole my position was decidedly decided decided- ly Iy unpleasant Then suddenly our barrage ceased The silence almost hurt but not for tor long because Fritz t turned loose with shrapnel machine M guns and rifle fire Then all along our Hue camera came cheer and our boys came r rover over the top In a charge The first wave was composed of Jocks They were a magnificent sight kilts flapping In the wind bare knees showing sad and their bayonets glistening In the first wave that passed my shell sheIl hole hale one of the Jocks au an Immense fellow v about six feet two Inches In height Jumped il right over me On the right and left of me several soldiers In colored kilts r were huddled on the ground then over overcame came the second wave also Jocks One young Scottie when wIlen he he came abreast of my shell hole leaped Into 4 the air his rifle shooting o out t of his j hands landing about six feet In front of him bayonet first and stuck In Inthe the gr ground und the butt trembling This Im lIDo Impressed pressed me greatly TO BE DE CONTINUED |