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Show HAUNTED RIFLE IM TRENCHES j German Gun, Captured in Abandoned Dugout, Brings Trouble to New Owner, the Latter Believes. An officer in the European trenches writes : I have heard many ill omens applied ap-plied to certain towns or villages. There is one on the tower Albert, for Instance ; while certain dugouts are always unducky. It is a bad omen in some parts of the line to stumble over a grave. During the late offensive a certain young oflicer found in a captured trench a German sniper's rifle with two small ivory disks let into the stock. He kept it in his dugout, intending to take it back to billets when they vacated va-cated the trench. One morning he brought it out in the trench to clean, and Fritz thereupon started strafing, so that he had to retire again to his dugout. Next day the same thing happened, and whenever he brought the rifle out of the dugout shells would begin to come over. Finally the thing got so on his nerves that he refused to let any one touch the rifle. It is probably still in the dugout, for it is certain that the legend was handed on to the next occupants. |