I 1A/ 6D AN AMERICAN SOIMR WHO WENT * * MIIHJMIYMPLY MACHINE: GUNNER.tflMNGIN F7WCE ?1*7 BY armu* urt inpct i; CHAPTER XXII. Punishments and Machine-Gun 8tunta. Boon after my nrrlval In France; In fact, from my enlistment, I had found ithat In the British army discipline Is very strict. One has to be very care 'ful In order to stay on the narrow path | of government virtue. There are about seven million ways I of breaking the king's regulations; to keep one you have to break another. The worst punishment Is death by a firing squad, or "up against the wall," as Tommy calls It. This Is for desertion, cowardice, mu tiny, giving Information to the enemy, looting, rape, robbing the dead, forcing a safeguard, striking a superior, etc. Then comes the punishment of sixty Ifour days In the front-line trench with out relief. During this time you have I to engage In all raids, working parties Ijn No Man's Land, and every hazardous undertaking that comes along. If you J live through the sixty-four days you 'are indeed lucky. This punishment Is awarded where there Is u doubt as to the willful guilt of a man who has committed an of fence punishable by death. Then conies the famous field pun jishment No. 1. Tommy has nicknamed It "crucifixion." It means that a man ? is spread-eagled on a limber wheel, | two hours a day for twenty-one days. During this time he only gets water, bully beef and biscuits for his chow. You get "crucified'' for repeated minor offenses. Next in order is field punishment No. 2. I This Is confinement in the "clink, without blonkets, getting water, bully jbeef and biscuits for rations and doing all the dirty work that can be found. This may be for twenty-four hours or tweuty days, uccordlng to the gravity of the offense. Then comes "pack drill" or default ers' parade. This consists of drilling, ? mostly at the double, for two hours with full equipment. Tommy hates this, because It Is hard work. Some times he fills his pack with straw to .lighten It, and sometimes he gets caught. If he gtts caught, he grouses at everything In general for twenty one days, from the vuntage point of a Umber wheel. Next cmnes "O. B." meaning "con flneU to barracks." This consists of staying In billets or barracks for twen ty-four hours to seven days. You also get an occasional defaulters' parade nnd dirty Jobs around the quarters. The sergeant major keeps what Is known as the crime sheet. When a tnan commits an offense, he Is "crimed." that Is. his name, number nnd offense is entered on the crime sheet. Next day at 0 a. m. he goes to the "orderly room" before the captain, *vho either punishes him with "C. B." or sends him before the O. O. (officer commanding battalion). The of the company can only award "O. B. Tommy many a time has thanked the king" for making that provision In his regulations. To gain the title of a "smart soldier. Tommy has to keep clear of the crime Bheet, and you have to be darned smart to do It. I have been on It a few times, most ly for "Yankee Impudence." During our stay of two weeks In rest billets our coptaln put us through a course of machine-gun drills, trjlng out new stunts nnd theories. After parades were over, our guns' crews got together nnd also tried out some theories of their own In reference to handling guns. These courses had nothing to do with the advancement of the war, consisted mostly of causing tricky Jams In the gun, and then the rest of the crew would endeavor to lo cate as quickly as possible the cause of the stoppage. This amused them for a few days and then thlugs come to ? standstill. One of the boys on my gun claimed that he coujd J>lny_a tune YhUe the T REPORT all the news happen ings that come to your attention to this office. It will be appreciated for every piece of news will make the paper more interesting for you as well as others. We want and with your help will print all THE NEWS if'tfh wns srrttjnny^nrlng.^ffna-^!!!^! nce again we went up the line and took over the Hector In front of O wood. At this point the German trenches ran around the base of a hill, on the fop of which was a dense wood. This wood was Infested with machine puns, which used to traverse our lines at #111, and sweep the streets of a little village, where we were hllleted while in reserve. There was one pun In particular which used to get our goats, It had the , exact range rit our "elephant" dugout >n trance, and every morning, about the time rations were being brought up, Its bullets would knock up the dust on the road ; more than one Tommy went West or to Itllghty by running Into hem. This gun got our nerves on edge, ind Fritz seemed to know It, because he never gave us an hour's rest. Our reputation ns machine gunners was at stake; we tried various ruses to locate and put this gun out of action, but each one proved to be a failure, and Fritz became a worse nuisance than ever. He was getting fresher and more careless every day, took ull kinds of liberties with us ? thought he was ln vlndlge. Then one of our crew got a brilliant Iden and we were all enthusiastic to put It to the test. Here was his scheme: When firing my gun, I was to play my tune, and Fritz, no doubt, would fall for It, try to Imitate me as an added Insult. This gunner nnd two others would try, by the sound, to lo cate FrTtz and his gun. After having got the location, they would mount two machine guns In trees, In a little clump of woods to the left of our ceme tery, and while Fritz was In the middle of his lesson, would open up nnd trust to luck. By our calculations, It would take at least a week to pull off the stunt. If Fritz refused to swallow onr bait, It would he Impossible to locate his special gun, and that's the one we were after, because they ull sound alike, a slow pup-pup-pup. Our prestige was hanging by n thread. In the battalion we had to en dure all kinds of Insults and fresh re marks as to our ability In silencing Fritz. Even to the battalion that Ger man gun was n sore spot. Next day, Fritz opened up as usual. I let hlra fire away for a while and then butted In with my "pup-pup-pup pup-pup-pup." I kept this up quite a while, used two belts of ammunition. Fritz had stopped firing to listen. Then he started In ; sure enough, he had fallen for our game, his gun was trying to Imitate mine, but, at first he made a horrible mess of that tune. Again I butted In with a few bars and stopped. Then he tried to copy what I had played. He was a good sport all right, because his bullets were going away over our heads, must have been firing Into the nlr. I commenced to feel friendly toward'hlm. This duet wont on ror five flays. Fritz was n good pupil nnd learned rapidly, In fuct, got better than his teacher. I commenced to feel Jealous. When he had completely mastered the tune, he started sweeping the road again and we clicked It worse than ever. But he signed his death warrant by doing so, because my friendship turned to hate. Every time he flred he played that tune nnd we danced. The boys In the battalion gave us the "ITa ! Ha I" They weren't in on Our little frameup. The originator of the ruse nnd the other two gunners had Fritz's location taped to the minute; they mounted their two guns, and also gave me the range. The next afternoon was set for the grand flnule. Our three guns, with different eleva tions, hnd their fire so arranged, that, opening up together, their bullets would suddenly drop on Fritz like a hailstorm. About three the next day, Fritz start ed "pup-pupping" that tune. I blew a sharp blast on a whistle. It was the sig nal agreed upon ; we turned loose nnd Fritz's gun suddenly stopped In the middle of a bar. We had cooked his goose, nnd our ruse hnd worked. After firing two belts each, to mnke sure of our Job, we hurriedly dismounted our guns nnd took cover In the dueout. We knew whnt to expect soon. We didn't have to wnlt long, three salvos of "whizz-bangs" cnme over from Fritz's nrtlllery, a further confirmation that we had sent that musical machine-gun ner, on his Westward-bound Journey. That gun never bothered us again. We were the heroes of the battalion, our captain congratulated us, said It WlPT'nfHr pHrrp cr ?wk. irira, mniie quently, w? were all puffed up over tiie stunt There are several ways Tommy uses to disguise the location of his machine (Tun and get his range. Some of the most commonly used stunts are as fol lows : At night, when he mounts his gun over the top of his trench and wants to get the range of Fritz's trench he adopts the method of what he terms ! "getting the sparks." This consists of tiring bursts from his gun until the bullets hit the German barbed wire. He can tell when they are cutting the wire, because n bultet when it hits a wire throws out a blue electric spark. Machine-gun fire Is very damaging to wire and causes many u wiring party { to go out at night when It Is quiet to repair the damage. To disguise the flnre of his gun at night when firing. Tommy uses what Is railed a flare protector. This Is a stove- ; pipe arrangement which fits over the barrel casing of the gun and screens \ the sparks from the right and left, but not from the front. 80 Tommy, always resourceful, adopts this scheme: About three feet or less In front of the gun he Showing How Fritz la Fooled. drives two stakes Into the ground, nhou? five feet npiirt. Across these stakes he stretches n curtain made out of empty sandbags ripped open. He soaks this curtain In water and flres through It. The water prevents It catching lire and effectively screens the flare of tlie tiring guu from the enemy. _ hound Is b valnaMe asset In locating a machine gun, but Tommy surmounts this obstacle by placing two machine Kuns about one hundred to one hun dred and fifty yards apart. The gun on the right to cover with Its flre the sector of the left gun and the gun on the left to cover that of the right gun. This makes their flre cross; they are flred simultaneously. Ry this method It sounds like one gun firing and gives the Germans the Impression that the gun Is firing from a point midway between the guns which are actually firing, and they ac cordingly shell that particular spot. The machine gunners chuckle and say, "Fritz Is a brainy boy, not 'alf he ain't." Rut the men In our lines at the spot being shelled curse Fritz for his Igno rance and pass a few pert remarks down the line In reference to the ma chine gunners being "windy" and afraid to take their medicine. ! CHAPTER XXIII. j ________ Gas Attacks and Spies. Three days after we had silenced Fritz, the Germans sent over gas. It did not catch us unawares, because the wind had been made to order, that Is, It was blowing from the German trenches toward ours at the rata of about five miles per hour. Warnings had been passed down the trench to keep a shnrp lookout for gas. We had a new mnn at the periscope, on this afternoon In question; I was sitting on the fire step, cleaning my rifle, when he called out to me: "There's a sort of greenish, yellow cloud rolling along the ground out In front. It's coming ? " But I waited for no more, grabbing my bayonet, which was detached from the rifle, I gave the alarm by banging an empty shell case, which was hang ing near the periscope. At the same instant, gongs started ringing down the trench, the signal for Tommy to don his respirator, or smoke helmet, as we call It Gas travels quickly, so you must not lose any time; you generally have about eighteen or twenty seconds In which to adjust your gas helmet. A gas helmet Is made of cloth, treat ed with chemicals. There are two win dows, or glass eyes. In it, through which you can see. Inside there Is a rubber covered tube, which goes In the mouth. You breathe through your nose; the gas. passing through the cloth helmet. Is neutralized by the action of the chemicals. The foul air is exhaled through the tube in the mouth, this tube being so constructed that it pre vents the inhaling of the outside air or gas. One helmet is good for five hours of the strongest gas. Each Tommy carries two of them slung around his shoulder in a waterproof canvas bag. He must wear this bag at all times, even while sleeping. To change a de fective helmet, you take out the new one, hold your breath, pull the old one olT, placing the new one over your head, tucking In the loose ends under the collar of your tunic. For a minute, pandemonium reigned in our trench ? Tommies adjusting I their helmets, bombers running here ; and there, and men turning out of the | dugouts with fixed bayonets, to man the fire step. lie-enforcements were pouring out of ' the communication trenches. Our gun's crew were busy mounting the machine gun on the parapet nnd I bringing up extra ammunition from the dugout. German gas Is heavier than air and soon fills the trenches nnd dugouts, where it has been known to lurk for two or three days, until the nlr Is purl lu d by means of large chemical spray* ?1*8. We had to work quickly, as Fritz generally follows the gas with an In fantry attack. JL Company man on our right was too slow in getting on his helmet ; he Hank to the ground, clutching at hit* throat, and after a few spasmodic twisting!! went West (died). It was horrible to see him die, but we were powerless to help him. In the corner of a traverse, a little, muddy cur dog, one of the company's pets, was lying dead, with his paws over his nose. It's the animals that suffer the most ?the horses, mules, cattle, dogs, cats and ruts ? they having no helmets to suve them. Tommy does not sympa thize with rats In a gas attack. At times gas has been known to travel, with dire results, fifteen miles behind the lines. A gas, or smoke iielmet, as it Is called, u t the best is a vile-smelling I thing, and it is not long before one gets a violent headache from wearing it. Our elghteen-pounders were burst ing in No Man's Land, In an effort, by the artillery, to disperse the gas clouds. The fire step was lined with crouch ing men, bayonets fixed, and bombs near at hand to repel the expected at tack. Our urtlllery had put a barrage of curtain fire on the German lines, to try I and break up their attack and keep back re-enforcements. I trained my machine gun on their trench and Its bullets were raking the MTMWt Then over they came, bayonets glis tening. In their respirators, which have a large snout In front, they look ed like some horrible nightmare. All along our trench, rifles and ma chine guns spoke, our shrapnel was burstliig over their heads. They went down In heaps, but new ones took the places of the fallen. Nothing could stop that mad rush. The Germans reached our barbed wire, which had previously been demolished by their shells, then It was bomb against bomb, and the ntertaining. lie had an utter contempt for danger, but was not fool hardy. At swearing he was a wonder, A cavalry regiment would have been proud of him. Though born in Eng land, he had spent several years In New York. He was about six feet one, and as strong as an ox. We took up our quarters In a large dugout of the royal engineers, and mapped out our future actions. This dugout was on the edge of a large cemetery, and several times at night in returning to it, we got many a fall stumbling over the graves of English, French and Germans. Atwell on these occasions never indulged in swearing, though at any other time, at the least stumble, he would turn the air blue. A certain section of our trenches was held by the Royal Irish rifles. For several days a very strong rumor went the rounds that a German spy was in our midst. This spy was supposed to be dressed in the uniform of a British staff officer. Several stories had been told about an officer wearing a red band around his cap, who patrolled the front-line and communication trenches asking suspicious questions as to loca tion of batteries, machine-gun emplace ments, and trench mortars. If a 6hell dropped in a battery, on a machine gun or even near a dugout, this spy was blamed. The rumor gained such strength that an order was issued for all troops to immediately place under arrest anyone answering to the description of the spy Atwell and I were on the qui vlve. We constantly patrolled the trenches at night, and even in the day, but the spy always eluded us. One day while In a communication trench, we were horrified to see our brigadier general, Old Pepper, being brought down it by a big private of the Royal Irish rifles. The general was walking in front, and the private with fixed bayonet was following In the rear. We saluted as the general passed us. The Irishman had a broad grin on his face and we could scarcely believe our eyes ? the general was under arrest. After passing a few feet beyond us, the general turned, and said In a wrathful voice to Atwell: "Tell this d ? n fool who I am. He's arrested me as a spy." Atwell was speechless. The sentry butted in with: "None o' that gassln' out o' you. Back to headquarters you goes, Mr. Fritz. Open that face o' yours again, an' I'll dent in your napper with the butt o' me rifle." The general's face was a sight to be hold. He was fairly boiling over with rage, but he shut up. Atwell tried to get in front of the sentry to explain to him that it really *as the general he had under arrest, but the sentry threatened to run his bayonet through him, and would have done It, too. So Atwell stepped aside, and remain^ silent. I was nearly bursting with suppressed laughter. One word, and I would have exploded. It is not exactly diplomatic to laugh at your general in such a predicament. The sentry and his prisoner arrived at brigade headquarters with disas trous results to the sentry. The joke was that the general had personally issued the order for the spy's arrest. It was a habit of the gen eral to walk through the trenches on rounds of inspection, unattended by any of his staff. The Irishman, being new in the regiment, had never seen the general before, so when he came across him alone In a communication trench, he promptly put him under ar rest. Brigadier generals wear a red band around their caps. Next day we passed the Irishman tied to the wheel of a limber, the be ginning of his sentence of twenty-one days, field punit foment No. 1. Never before have I seen such a woebegone expression on a man's fuce.