Show 4 JUL ANT WHO V le 4 V 4 MAGO E a N FRAKE I 1 OIB lif by I 1 CHAPTER continued adjust as an he finished peaking speaking the wel wet tome pup pup ot of A tc gua gun in rear rang out ut aad and the front line et the onrushing germans seemed to melt away aay they wavered but once again came rusting onward down went nt their second line the machlup arn nai man taking ii awful toll of lives 11 then again they tried wed to advance but to aia machine gun mowed theu thea down cropping dropping their rifles and bomb bombs they broke and I 1 ed in a wild rush back to heir trent the cheers of D they were forming again r another attempt when to 1 the rear q D company cam came a mighty cheer the e ammunition had arrived aad with a battalion of scotch to t ra enforce re force them tem they were saved the unknown gunner had come to tto the rescue 0 o the nick of f time with the re enforce ments it was an sy isy tusk task to take the third german gerwan ne e gafter after the attack waa was over the cap fin and heo thee h eo of his lite noncommissioned cers wended their way back to the where the machine gua gum had one its deadly work lie he wanted to chank the cunner gunner in the name neme of D kompany kompany for his ills magnificent deed they arrived at the gun and in awful tight fight met their eyes llod had reached the froat front line each ench after his company had left it A range company was nimbly crawling p the trench ladder they were re fore auts going over they were ottlee and they mad a magai desat lit fit in their brightly colored kilts and re knees jumping over the trench lloyd raced osos hofts no mans land unheeding the aln n of bullets leaping over dark forms 0 91 the ground some ef of which lay jay still balc others called out to afia as re te speeded eded post paie ile came te to the german froat front lite but t it as deserted except for heap beeps R dead and mounded a grim tribute ft 0 the nork of hlo his company good old company leaping trea chea and ping for breath lloyd could see lit ht ahead of f him his coir piny pany in a ad d ended aap sap of a communication each rich and across the opec away in ont at of them a mass of germans gemans pre ing for a it charge why dida t D pany fire on them why were wore they i strangely silent what were they citing aorl then he knew their am n alo was exhausted exha uste filut lot hat was that on his right tight A chino gun why it open flo fl 9 o d d therol them lie would make that ns s rew crew do their duty rushing Ilu thing er e to the gun he saw why it bad not ened ned fire scattered around its base j six lz still forms they had brought reir ir CUD gun to consolidate the captured kidlon kIt lon but a german machine gun id it decreed they would never fire aln to lloyd loyd rushed to gun gum and grasp p the he tri traversing handles trained it the he germans he ile pressed the flit thumb pee ce but only a sharp click was the alt the gun was ua loaded then i realized his helplessness ile ie did it know how tr tf load the gun oh liy Y he ot attended tended the machine in n course la in england hed bren ered the chance but with i A blu bluh b of line tile he remembered that he had bad been wald aid ahe fh nickname of the machine neri had frightened him they we e caell the suicide dub club now ib ause cause of this fear flar his fits company auld ld be destroyed les troyed the mea men of D corn com ny y have to die because he be bart ert lloid had been afraid of a ie ir hta his khama shame he to cried illo a y at away he could die with ith them 1 to his feet he be stumbled the he body of one of the gunners enticed a it faint taint moan A gleam flop ope nihed th ough augh him perhaps man could tell him how to 1 4 gun StOOP stooping 1119 over the body he ly elk ol it and ne soldier opened beyes eyes seeing lloyd he close clow awn 1 and in a faint voice P arild ald get away you blighter leave me alone I 1 con t want any coward around arouni lae tho the words cut lloyd like alk a knife but he be was desperate dei taking the re tolver out of the bolster of tho dying man men he pressed the cold anjule to the soldiers head and replied yen yes it ic to lloyd the coward of company D but ao to help me n god if it you dont tell me how to load that gun III pat put a bullet through your bralon A sunny mile smile came ever the countenance of the dying man and he ald mild in a faint whisper good old boy I 1 I 1 knew you wouldn t disgrace our company lloyd interposed for god gods a sake alike if you want to save that company you are ao so of tell me how to avid that dd d d sun aunt I 1 As it if reciting a lesion lesson in school the soldier replied la in a weak intsons voice insert tag tog end ef of belt in feed block with left hand pull belt left front pull crank handle back on an roller let go and repeat motion gun Is now loaded to fire are calob automatic safety latch and press gun ie Is now firing if run gun stops ascer tain fain position of crank handle dut but lloyd waited for no more veth wild joy at hi his heart he took a belt from one ot at the ammunition boxe boxes lylas lying beside the gun and followed the dying mans instructions then he pressed the and a burst of f fire rewarded his efforts the gun was working training it on the germans he shout shou 1 cd ed for joy as their front rank went down traversing the gun back and forth along the mass of amans he saw theca them break and run baer to tae the corer cover of their trench leaving their dead and wounded behind het had saved his company he lloyd the coward had done his bit releasing the he looked at the watch on his wrist ue he was still 11 at IS 8 W pinar a bullet sang through the air and lloyd fell forward across the gun A thin trickle of blood ran down his face from a little black round hole in his forehead 0 0 0 0 the rho sentence of the court had been duly carried out the captain slowly raised the limp form drooping over the gun and wip lot me the blood from the white face recognized it as lloyd the coward of 0 1 coraa company iny reverently Ilc covering thi th fate face with his handkerchief he turned to his noncoms non coms and la in a voice husky with emotions addressed them boye boys its lloyd the deserter he has hag redeemed himself tiled the death of a hero bero w died that his matec mates live that afternoon niter atter noon a solemn procession w ended its way toward the cemetery in the front a stretcher as carried by two sergeants across the stretcher the union jack was carefully spread behind the stretcher came a captain and forty three men all that were left of 0 D company arriving at the cemetery they halt bait ed in front of an ola ol a grave all about them wooden crosses wre were broken and trampled into the ground A grizzled old sergeant noting this destruction muttered under his breath curse the enn ardly blighter who bo wrecked those crosses I 1 if I 1 could only get tb th ee se two handi around his neck his trip anest et would be short the corpse on the stretcher seemed to move or it might have been the wind folds of ane union jack CHAPTER preparing f ajr births the big push rejoining atwell after the execution I 1 had A hard time trying to keep my secret from him I 1 think I 1 must have lost at least ten pounds worrying over ove the affair at ab seea in the evening 1 it wn wax our duty to patrol sll all 1 MA ir 4 04 ft i V Z fa f A pe A 41 V A over the top in a charge aiom 1 ana 4 frontline marons mahln iota note of f unusual occurrences and an ar stating resting anone an oa who should to r appear to be acting in a suspicious 11 man ner we slept during the day behind the lines there was wa great ac c chrity supplies and ammunition pour log in and long columns of t boope con stanlly passing f nere ere preparing for ih ahw big m n e the forerunner 0 of t the ball batt e i f the lie somme or ilia push the never stream of 11 supplies ammunition and gun guns four ing into the front lines mad made a mighty spectacle one that cannot be described bed it has ba to be witnessed with your own ees ei to appreciate iti its vast ness at our part ef of te its line the influx index of like lle never ended it looked like alk a huge make snake slowly crawling forward never a hitch or break a wonderful tribute to the etem xylem and effi efficiency clency of groat great contemptible little army of AV five millions of men huge fifteen inch luck guns a snaked along foot by foot by powerful steam tract tors then a loot long ila line of four point five batteries batte riM each gun drawn by alx six horses then a it couple of nine point two howitzer howitzers pulled by immense caterpillar engines IN hen one of these would pasi me with if its mighty monster la in tow a flush of pride would mount to my ray face because I 1 could plainly read oa on the name plate made la a V U 8 A and I 1 would remember that it if I 1 wore a name plate it would ais aiso read from the U S A then I 1 would atop stop to t think how thia and straggly that mighty stream would be b if it all the made blade in U 8 13 A part parts of f it were m then would come hundred hundreds of IS la bers and 0 8 1 wagons drawn by leek sleek well fed mules ridden by leek sleek well fed inen men ever smiling although althou eh grimy with sweat and covered with the fine white dust of ebb marvelously rrell made french roads what a report the gran geran nan airmen must have taken back to th their e ir division commanders and thia this tream stream li to slowly but surely getting bister and bluer bigger every day and the puce Is always the lame same no slower no faster but ever onward ever forward three weeks before tho tbs aig push of july I 1 as a jhc battle of the somme haa has been called started exact duplicates itea teA of the german trench trenches were due dug about thirty kilos behind our lines the layout of f the trenches was wa taken take from airplane photographs submitted by the hoyal royal flying corpa corps the trenches were correct to the toot foot they showed deg outs saps maps barbed wire defenses and danser spot battalions that were to co over lo 10 the first wares waves were seat sent back foa 03 three days to study these trenches tren chea en an sage in practice attacks and cd hire have night maneuvers each man waa required te make a map of the tb trenches and familiarize a mili malli arize arlis himself with the names and location of the parts hit bil battalion was to attack in the american army non commit stoned officers are put through a casa of map making or road sketch ln and during my elx sit year years cerrice service in the united states cavalry I 1 bad had plenty of practice in tola work therefore mapping these trenches was a compare easy task for me each maa man hid had to submit bis his map to the company aun andr r to be passed upon and I 1 was lucky enough to have mine selected as belor being stridently rora stAi dently authentic to use us la in tha the attack no photographs or maps are allowed to leave 1 france but in this case it appealed to me as a valuable Talu able ouren tr ol 01 the great war and I 1 managed to smuggle it through nth at this time it carries to military importance as the british lines I 1 am happy to say have flues been advanced adran ced beyond this point so in to having baying it in ray my pos poe semiOn isloa I 1 ami sim oot not breaking any regulation or cautions of the british army amy the whole attack was rehearsed and rehe aDea until we yve heartily cursed the one wh had conceived tho idea the trenches were named accor according altic to a system which made it very simple for tommy to find and even in the dark any point in the german lines these imitation trenches or trench models were well guarded from observation by numerous allied plane plants which constantly circled above them no german airplane could approach within ob serration distance dit tance A restricted strict ed area was will maintained and DO no chilian was allowed within three miles so we felt ure sure thit that we bad a treat great surprise in store for feitl frit BE CONTINUED 1 |