Show A BATTLE OF TODAY by edgar wallace tho conditions in east have been such that during tho odthe campaign DO word pie tin e has been produced of tho battles that have been fought in manchuria below wo give from the pen of a great war correspondent a graphic and wonderfully realistic sketch of two stages of a battle clr wallace hai pieced together the scraps 0 information that have been allowed to pass iho and from has constructed his sketch 1 BEFORE are of bolts appeals for help to comrades to adjust wayward equipment tho steam of cooking and the scent of wood fires permeating the fresh morning air already a column of men are on the move a long snaky calmun of men threading a way through the camp A mounted orderly goes leisurely along the strip of muddy road toward tho generals quarters A soldier stops in tho act of running andily rag through to throw him a jest and tho orderly waves his hand in reply thero Is a great packing of equipment on little two wheeled wagons there is no excitement no haste only an insistent business waiting to march soldiers fall into line little compact men with a settled look of anxiety on their faces they are not anxious as to tho result of alio coming battle only anxious that they should please the men who wll presently inspect them down in the generals tent there has been a gathering of the great officers A map lies on the frozen ground with a stone at each corner to prevent the wind folding it one of the officers says something and the others their heads here asks one pointing to a cross marked on the map the short stout man witla old baby face nods then they all part with the four word of farewell so it happens that what Is happing at this camp Is happening also in camps well out of sight and the advance begins an alert enemy holding a twenty mile line has chown out scout outpost and advance party and is alive to the coming there Is a hollow snapping in the air a whistling walling eerie noise of rifle bullets and then little smoke balls bursting on the sky line A cloud of dark coated men gallop from tho shelter of a hill back to the comparative safety of tho well held earthworms earthworks earth works opening the fight suddenly a smoke ball comes into being above them a crack liko a crack of thunder a savage patter of iron on the earth and somo there aro in that galloping host who spring from falling horses some that como limping painfully back and somo that lie a heap of red rags on the unsullied face of tho snow black specks on the skyline a thunder of guns from tho earthworms earthworks earth works a deafening roar of musketry two unexpected puffs of smoke ironi a hill to tho left and a buglo calls retire tho day has begun well the ene pays first line Is untenable 2 AFTER take one dead man one man done to death violently one man whose has been wrenched from his body without a second of grace outstretched on the frozen ground with a bitter wind whirling the snow dust over the tense belll face he lies that once was a breathing thinking man hands halt clenched defy the nang clouds and the acs that but do not sec look upwards take this one man this fragment this smallest and least considerable pawn in the great game multiply him by fifty thousand him as the of your fancy dictates into ten thousand horrid shapes embellish i our awful picture with the unprintable details of battles remembering always that tho bullet does not always hill cleanly and that bursting shrapnel and one pound automatic guns create a havoc that can only be imagined by people who have served on coroners juries and you havo formed in your mind something like the battlefield of mukden the men who run where the victorious army have passed whery the retreating army have retired panicky and demoralized with ducking of heads and cd glances oyer shoulders when men havo whimpered and sobbed in their rage and fear the dormant fears of childhood responding to the knowledge of the death behind where men running for cover have suddenly squealed like frightened horses and tumbled over and over like rabbits on this deserted battlefield there lies the silence of the grave the things that lie so still seem part of the white earth on which they lie so closely cuddled to tho earth they lie there Is yet for the horizon is ablaze guhr r r r r of rifle alro comes borno on the cold north wind it will bo hours yet before the willo tho wisp lanterns of the search parties come over the plain separating the quick from the dead composing those poor limbs digging great trenches and clearing away in the darkness of the night the awful work of day ax the patient vultures before they come the lantern men with their bamboo stretchers the birds will have arrived abr the birds will drop out sky and stand in a contemplative circle waiting great beastly i birds with sleek black coats and beady eyes they will wait for they are patient till quivering limbs are still till every sign 0 life has they do their work they will wait days it needs be but their wait will be almost fruitless for long before carrion can take on courage the burning regiments will have cleared tho ground leaving only tho horses and the dumb beasts who have fallen victims to the disputes of men war has its glorious aspects playing of bands waving of bullion fringed flags and cheering of crowds glory of war war is glorious when a man without tear and with the love of his country swelling his heart and the mad lust of battle thrilling his every nerve goes swaying forward to the alre trench with the touch of his comrades elbow at his own and the blister lne barrel of his rifle in the ono hand and the sweating stock in the other war Is glorious when tho on bishing battalions sweep back the defending alno and buforo the straight line of tho attacker breaks tho enemy from his hold but this this dead fire of war these lees ot glory this aftermath of victory Is not glorious it is only pm tul you must ride to tho horizon to find out which side has won you must get ten thousand miles away to correctly estimate the work these poor wrecks have done here on the ground of their sacrifice every man whatever be his uniform is a victor death has set its seal unora their achievements |