Show f The Enemy Ene Within or t Rounding Up Spies on o ohe the he Western Front r t. t I i I By By Sergeant Arthur Guy Empey w Author of Over the Top j i First Call Can Etc 0 Mr Empey's I t teen Months in t Line Trenches of the British Army in France Copyright 1817 b- b by The McClure McClore y Z Newspaper Syndicate S 9 9 i We were In rest billets In the little French village of S S- S about ten kilos from the line front trench Number Num Num- l a ber Twos Two's gun crew were sitting on the ground In a circle around their machine ma machine nia- nia eh chine ne gu gun while a iI sergeant ergeant newly returned from a course in mai machine machine ma ma- i chine gunnery at St. St Omer nier was expounding expounding ex ex- pounding the theory of or s scientific machine machine ma ma- chine gunnery He himself had never r I a actually been under fir fire with a machIne machine machine ma ma- chine gun but from the theoretical point he sure could throw out the book stun stuff I must confess that his flow of eloquence passed over my head hen I like a Zeppelin and find I noticed I an uneasy squirming squirming- among the rest of our er crew w. w Happy Houghton who was sitting next to me leaned over and with his hist t 1 eye on the sergeant whispered In my ear Blame BUme me Yank Tank isn't It It the way way he chucks his weight about I agreed with Happy Across from me me sat They key Honney with our mascot Jim In his lap Every now and then Jim would take his hind leg and furiously scratch at ata ata ata a spot behind his ear Honney noticIng noticing no no- this action would teach reach under I. I his his armpit and also s scratch ratch Sailor Bill was was intently watching Jim Jinn and Honney he too too too- started scratching I In a minute or so Hungry Hung Foxcroft started t d on a cootie hunt and I had irresistible desire t to lean back ai against the barrel casing of the gun and anal also scratch Isis itIs it Is one of the chief Indoor sports ori on the western front especially durI during dur dur- I ing lag a monotonous lecture by some officer officer or noncom for one of th the up fed-up listeners to start scratching himself This generally causes the whole gang to do the same the instructor ed It is just like a minister in the midst of a very dry sermon suddenly stopping stretching himself and yawnIng yawning yawn- yawn Ing lug this this' action causing the rest of the congregation to do likewise As As' the whole circle scratched our t sergeant instructor commenced to shift his weight from one foot to the theother theother theother other in an uneasy manner We all gazed at him intently latently and each began to scratch furiously Sure enough the sergeant gave in and started unbuttoning unbuttoning un un- buttoning the front of his tunic to get at some real or imaginary cootie A n nudge dge went the rounds of the circle We had hoo accomplished our p purpose The sergeants sergeant's mind took an awful drop from the science of machine gunnery gunnery gunnery gun gun- nery to that of catching that particular particular l lar i cootie We W const constantly glanced glance l at our wrist r watches Fifteen minutes more and the lesson lesson would be over The sergeant sergeant sergeant ser- ser geant was becoming confused and was trying to flounder through the rest of his talk We had had no mercy on him but kept up the scratching At last In desperation the sergeant said You men men have actually been under fire Are with machine guns several times t Cant Can't one of you relate some Incident of how through some ruse you put it oer o'er over oh on the Boches Ik They Ikey Y Honney grasping this golden opportunity to break up the lecture hd slyly winking at us started in inland land jand told how a certain guns gun's crew located located located lo lo- and put out of action a German machine gunner by playing a tune on their gun which the German tried to imitate thereby indicating to them by f sound the exact location of the German German Ger Ger- man gun which was later put out of action by con concentrated machine-gun machine fir fire from their section i Of course we all listened very In- In tautly but It was an old story to us because we were the guns gOn's crew which j Bad accomplished the feat that ion Hon j ney was Iwas describing but anything was Si better than listening to that song sing Ironing of book knowledge which the sergeant had been pumping into us for for the last hour and a 8 half The sergeant glanced at his watch and dismissed us We dismounted our gun gun un put pot it in Its box aid stored It t ta a away way fu our billet bUlet then we ve i d ed d under an apple tree in the or- or blard Hard ard and while the rest of us Indulged In d in a n shirt hunt Hungry un went I IJ J after atter our ration of tea Hungry was WIlS I s sure rc on the Job when It came to eating eat eat- v ing Pretty soon he returned with a n one fourth full lull of tea ten two tins of ja Jan a loaf of bread a n large piece of cheese and a tin of apricots which h he be 1 had id bought at a a n nearby French es- es He ne dished out our rations not t forgetting a generous share for tor t himself After we had ad finished out rt came e the Ine inevitable fags a n few puffs from each main man and the ball of conversation con con- yer started rolling Sury t t Wallace cleared his bis throat and star rt a d In f Remember that hat village we pa passed sed r sp aur arr march up UIl the thi- lino line linoS S i f jl j- j I ift l l c about tW two weeks ago you know theone the theone theone one where that big church With all aU the shell holes in it was right on the corner corner corner cor cor- ner where we turned to the left to take the road at St St. A A 7 T TWe We all remembered It and turned Inquiring Inquiring Inquiring In In- quiring glances In Curlys Curly's direction Well this morning when I went down with the quarter quartermaster sergeant to draw coal I met a fellow at division headquarters who told me mea mea mea a mighty Interesting story of how he and another fellow rounded up a couple couple cou cou- pIe of spies This bloke through modesty and to cover up his own good work tried to make me believe that it was only through a lucky chance that he stumbled stumbled stumbled bled over the clue which lead to the spies' spies arrest but Im I'm a and I know you'll all agree with me that it was not so much luck as it was clever thinking Im I'm not much at telling a astory astory astory story but Im I'm going to try and give it as far as I can remember just the way he handed It to me It seems that this fellow who told me the story and another chap had been detailed to the divisional intelligence intelligence intelli intelli- gence department and were hanging around division headquarters waiting for something to happen Now v heres here's the story as he reeled it off t to me About three kilos behind division headquarters was as the old French village vil vil- village lage of B n nOne One of our important roads ran through it This road was wa greatly used by our troops for bringing up supplies and ammunition for the front line It was also used by large numbers of troops when relieving battalions battalions battalions bat bat- in the fire sector Of course on account of this road being in range of the German guns it could only be used at night otherwise otherwise otherwise other other- wise the enemy airmen and observation observation tion balloons would get wise and It would only b be a short time before the road would be shell shelled d thus causing many casualties Fr th the last ten days days' reports had been received at division headquarters that every time troops passed a certain certain certain tain point on this road marked by an anold anold anold old church they were sure to click heavy shell fire from the Boches On nights when no troops passed through there would be very little shelling if any but if 11 a battalion or brigade happened happened happened hap hap- to to come this way they suffered from heavy shell fire Upon re receipt of 01 the first two or three of these reports we put it down as a strange coincidence but when the fifth report of this nature reached us it was evident to us that a spy was wasat wasat wasat at work and that in some mysterious way the Information of the m movements of our troops were communicated ted by him to the enemy Myself and another bloke who had been working with me for the last two weeks were assigned to the task of ot discovering and anal apprehending thIs this spy To us it seemed an impossible Job as as there here were no clues to work upon As is usual our general Old Pepper called us In and said sald There Is a spy working In the village of B B- B go get him U Foolishly I butted in and asked for further information I got it all right With a lowering look which made me rue tremble he roared Go and dig up your own clues What are you with the Intelligence department department department de de- de- de for Intelligence department It ought to be called the brainless d de dee- if you two are a sample of the rest rest Somehow or other othe we didn't stop to argue with Old Pepper At this point Sailor Bill butted in BlIme me hes he's just like an admiral we had bad in our navy this Old Pepper A chorus of Oh shut up youre you're in inthe inthe inthe the army now cut off Bills Bill's story We We knew Sailor Saltor Bill BUl If he ever got started started started start start- ed talking navy nothing short of a gas attack could stop him Sailor Bill with an indignant glance around the circle relapsed Into silence Curly Wallace exclaimed To ell with your admiral do you want to hear this story If you do shut hut up and let me e tell it Go on Curly never mind hes he's harmless ejaculated Happy Houghton Hough- Hough ton i Curly carried on with Getting our packs and drawing three days' days rations we started hiking 11 s f 43 s. s l i M H Hooked to th the Plow and Carried on en onor kand His I Work or it ft for tor the village of 01 B n- n nWe We arrived d there theio about four In the afternoon and after putting our packs and rations In Inan inan inan an old od barn which V wg we intended to us use as our billet during our stay in the vii vil village lage las we wo left on a general tour of In ln- ln There were about three hundred bundred I civilians in the p place pace a e who preferred to brave braye th the dangers of shell fire as there I or I f Nj q tt I was a rich harvest to be reaped from th the sale of farm produce beer and wines to the troops billeted all around Two French saloons were still open and did a thriving busi busi- ness Occasionally a shell would burst burstIn In the village but the civilians did not seem to mind it just carried on with their farming and business as usual We decided to make a thorough search of all aU houses barns and buildIngs buildings buildings build build- ings for concealed wires and did so but with barren results Nothing suspIcIous suspicious suspicious sus sus- was found This search wasted wasted wasted wast wast- i ed five days and we were in despera despera- tion Watch and question as we would not a single clue came to light During this time two large bodies of troops had passed through and each time they were heavily shelled with dire results U On the sixth night of our assignment assignment assignment assign assign- ment utterly disgusted I being in charge had decided to chuck up the whole business and report back to Old Pepper that we had made a mess out of the investigation My partner pleaded with me to stick it out a couple couple couple cou cou- of days more and after he gave me a vivid description of what Old Pepper would hand out to us I decided ed to stick k it out for six months If necessary To celebrate this decision my side kicker offered to blow to several several sev sew eral rounds of drinks Now this fellow fellow fel fel- fellow low had never during my acquaintance acquaint acquaint- ance with him offered to spend a hapenny hapenny hapenny ha penny so I quickly accepted his offer and we went to the nearest estaminet Sitting around a long table drinking drinking drink drink- ing French beer and smoking cIgarettes cigarettes cigarettes cigar cIgar- ettes was a crowd of soldiers laughing laughing laugh laugh- ing joking arguing and telling stories U We sat down at the end of the table and In a low tone tried to work Impossible theories as to how the spy if it there was one one one-by by this time we were doubtful doubtful could could get the information information t tion on back to the German batteries Right cross across across from us were two soldiers arguing about farming Suddenly Suddenly Suddenly Sud Sud- denly my side-kicker side pinched me on the knee and whispered 4 Listen to what those two fellows across th the table from us are saying It sounds good I I listened for about a minute and then paid no further attention At that time farming in no noway way Interested me I wanted to catch that spy and started devising impossible theories as asto asto asto to the ways and means of doing so At last up in disgust My partner partner partner part part- ner was was was' still attentively listening to the two across the table from us Another Another Another An An- other poke in the knee from my partner partner partner part part- ner and I was all all attention One of the fellows across the way was talking Well I dont don't see why this French blighter should change hor horses es in his plow every afternoon Ive Ive I've watched him for several days Now in In Inthe the morning he uses two grays and then about two in the afternoon he either hooks up two blacks or r a gray and a black French ways may be different but this frog-eater frog Is very partial to the colors of his team He works the grays all alI morning and then changes them In the afternoon Now Now figure it out for yourself He starts work with the two grays about six o'clock in the morning works the two beggars up till tin noon That's six hours straight Then he sticks them In the stable lays off for two l hours ours and in the afternoon about two o'clock the new relay of animals comes on and works up till four Now anybody with any brains in fn th their lr knows that is no way to keep horses in condition working one t team a n over six hours the and other team only two hours I know because we have been farmers in our family back In Blighty for generations I 1 was all excitement and a great hope surg surged d through me that at last we had fallen on the clue that we were looking for Restraining my eagerness eagerness eager eager- n ness ss as much as possible I addressed the fellow who had Just spoken Well mate mat I I dont don't like to Intrude Into your conversation but been a farmer all my life and I dont don't see anything queer in the actions of this French farmer I He answered Well blame blime me there might be a reason Jeason for this blighter doing this but I cant can't figure it out at all If you can explain it go ahead ohead I I answered Well V ell perhaps if 11 I you can give a little more details about I It it would be easy enough to explain AY Who ho Is the farmer and where is his hi's farm located He swallowed the bait all right and Informed me that the farmer was plowing a field on a n hill about five hundred yards west of the church at a point where our troops were being shelled Buying a round of drinks I nudged my partner and he came in on the conversation The two of us by adroit qu questioning got the exact location loca loca- W tion n of It the he t. t e field and a description of the me farmer I pretended to be sleepy py and yawning got up from the table saying sayIng say say- Ing that I was going goin to turn In tn and left My partner soon followed d me Upon reaching our billet we outline outline our plan We decided that next morn morning morn ing trig we w old get up at daybreak and scout MOUt the field to see if there was a n hiding place Sure Sur enough along one edge |