OVE
THE
TOP
By An Ameocasa
loHIerWlboWeEiit
Arthiuir Guy
Emapey
Machine Gunner, Serving in France
Copyright 1917, by Arthur Guy Empy
EMPEY GIVES A DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK ON OBSER-
VATION POST DUTY.
Synopsis. Fired by the sinking of the Lusitania, with-the loss of
American lives, Arthur Guy Empey, an American living in Jersey City,
goes to England and enlists as a private in the British army. After a
short experience as a recruiting officer, in London, he is sent to train
ing quarters In France, where he first hears the sound of big guns and
makes the acquaintance of "cooties." After a brief period of training
Empey's company is sent into the front-line trenches, where he takes
his first turn on the fire step while the bullets whiz overhead. Empey
learns, as comrade falls, that death lurks always in the trenches.
Chaplain distinguishes himself by rescuing wounded men under hot
fire. With pick and shovel Empey has experience as a trench digger
in No Man's Land. Exciting experience on listening post detail.
CHAPTER XVI Continued.
11
"I came out with the first expedi
tionary force, and, like all the rest,
thought we would have the enemy
licked in jig time, and be able to eat
Christmas dinner at home. Well, so
fary I have eaten two Christmas din
ners in the trenches, and am liable to
cat two more, the way things are
pointing. That is, if Fritz don't drop
a whizz-bang on me, and send me to
Blighty. Sometimes I wish I would
get hit, : because it's no great picnic
otft here, and twenty-two months of it
makes you fed up.
"It's fairly cushy now compared to
what it used to be, although I admit
this trench is a trifle rough. Now.
we send over five shells to their one.
We are getting our own back, but In
the early days it was different. Then
yon had to take everything without
reply. In fact, we would get twenty
shells in return for every one we sent
over. Fritz seemed to enjoy it, but
we British didn't; we were the suf
ferers. Just one casualty after an
other. Sometimes whole platoons
would disappear, especially when a
Jack Johnson' plunked into their
middle. It got so bad that a fellow,
when writing home, wouldn't ask for
any cigarettes to be sent out, because
he was afraid he wouldn't be there to
receive them.
"After the drive to Paris was turned
back, trench warfare started. "Our
general grabbed a map, drew a pencil
across it, and said, 'Dig here.' Then
fce went back to his tea, and Tommy
armed himself with a pick and shovel
and -started digging. He's been dig
ging ever since.
"Of course we dug those trenches at
night, but It was hot work, what with
the rifle and machine-gun fire. The
stretcher bearers worked harder than
the diggers.
"Those trenches, bloomin' ditches, I
call them, were nightmares. They were
only about five feet deep, and you used
to get the backache from bending
down. It wasn't exactly safe to stand
upright, either, because as soon as
your-napper showed over the top a
bullet would bounce off it, or else come
so close it would make your hair stand.
"We used to fill sandbags and stick
them on top of the parapet to make it
higher, but no use; they would be
there about an hour and then Fritz
would turn loose and blow them to
bits. My neck used to be sore from
ducking shells and bullets.
"Where my battery was stationed a
hasty trench had been dug, which
the boys nicknamed 'Suicide ditch,'
and, believe me, Yank, this was the
original 'Suicide ditch.' All the others
are imitations.
"When a fellow went Into that
trench it was an even gamble that he
would come out on a stretcher. At one
time a Scotch battalion held it, and
when they heard the betting was even
money that they'd come out on
stretchers, they grabbed all the bets
In sight. Like a lot of bally idiots, sev
eral of the battery men fell for their
game, and put up real money. The
'Jocks' suffered a lot of casualties, and
the prospects looked bright for the
battery men to collect some easy
money. So when the battalion was re
lieved the gamblers lined up. Several
Jocks' got their money for emerging
safely, but the ones who clicked it
weren't there to pay. The artillery
men had never thought it out that
way. Those Scotties were bound to
be sure winners, no matter how the
wind blew. So take a tip from me,
never bet with a Scottle, 'cause you'll
lose money.
"At one part of our trench where
a communication trench joined the
front line a Tommy had stuck up a
wooden signpost with three hands or
arms on it. One of the hands, point
ing to the German lines, read, To Ber
lin;' the one pointing down tbs eom
municatlon trench read. To Blighty,'
while the other said, 'Suicide Ditch,
Change Here for Stretchers.'
"Farther down from this guide post,
the trench ran through an old orchard.
On the edge of this orchard our bat
tery had constructed an advanced ob
servation post.. The trees screened it
from the enemy airmen and the roof
was turfed. It wasn't cushy like ours,
no timber or concrete re-enforcements,
just walls of sandbags. From it a
splendid view of the German lines
could be obtained. This post wasn't
exactly safe. It was a hot corner,
shells plunking all. around, and the
bullets cutting leaves off the trees.
Many a time when relieving the sig
naler at the 'phone, I had to crawl on
my belly like a worm to keep from
being hit.
"It was an observation post sure
enough. That's all the use it was. Just
observe all day, but never a message
back for oui battery to open up. You
see, at this point of the line there
were strict orders not to fire a shell,
unless specially ordered to do so from
brigade headquarters. Blime me, if
anyone disobeyed that command our
general yes, it was Old Pepper-
would have court-martialed the whole
expeditionary force. Nobody went out
of their way to disobey Old Pepper in
those days, because he couldn't be
called a parson; he was more like a
pirate. If at any time the devil should
feel lonely and sigh for a proper mate,
Old Pepper would get the first call.
Facing the Germans wasn't half bad
compared with an Interview with that,
old firebrand.
"If a company or battalion should
give way a few yards against a su
perior force of Boc-hes, Old Pepper
would send for the commanding offi
cer. In about half an hour the officer
would come back with his face the
color of a brick, and in a few hours
what was left of his command would
be holding their original position.
"I have seen an officer who wouldn't
say d n for a thousand quid spend
five minutes with the old boy, and
when he returned the flow of language
from his lips would make a navvy
blush for shame.
w tai .ftna!gjyZgi:
"What I am going to tell you Is how.
two of us put it over on the old scamp,
and got away with it. It was a risky
thing, too, because Old Pepper wouldn't
have been exactly mild with us if he
had got next to the game.
"Me and my mate, a lad named Har
ry Cassell, a bombardier in D 238 bat
tery, or lance corporal, as you call it
in the infantry, used to relieve the
telephonists. We would do two hours
on and four off. I would' be on auty
in the advanced observation post,
while he would be at the other end of
the wire in the battery dugout signal
ing station. We were supposed to send
fhrough orders for the battery to fire
when ordered to do so by the observa
tion officer in the advanced post. But
very few messages were sent. It was
only in case of an actual attack that
we would get a chance to earn our
two and six a day. You see, Old Pep
per had issued orders not to fire ex
cept when the orders came from him.
And with Old Pepper orders is orders,
and made to obey.
"The Germans must have known
about these orders, for even in the day
their transports and troops used to
expose themselves as if they were on
parade. This sure got up our nose,
sitting there day after day, with fine
targets in front of us but unable to
send over a shell. We heartily cussed
Old Pepper, his orders, the govern
ment, the people at home, and every
thing in general. But the Boches
didn't mind cussing, and got very care
less. Bllrae me, they were bally in
sulting. Used to, when using a certain
.ual, throw their caps into the air a
a taunt at our helplessness.
"Cassell had been a telegrapher in
civil life and joined up when war was
declared. As for me, I knew Morse,
learned it &t the signalers' school back
in 1910. With an officer in the obser
vation post, we could not carry on the
kind of conversation that's usual be
tween two mates, so we used the
Morse code. To send, one of us would
tap the transmitter with his finger
nails, and the one on the other end
would get it through the receiver.
Many an hour was whlled away in this
manner passing compliments back and
forth.
"In the observation post the officer
used to sit for hours with a powerful
pair of field glasses to his eyes.
Through a cleverly concealed loophole
he would scan the ground behind the
German trenches, looking for targets
and finding many. This officer, Cap
tain A by name, had a habit of
talking out loud to himself. Some
times he would vent his opinion, same
as a common private does when he's
wrought up. Once upon a time the
captain had been on Old Pepper's staff,
so he could cuss and blind in the most
approved style. Got to be sort of a
habit with him.
"About six thousand yards from us,
behind the German lines, was a road
in plain view of our post. For the last
three days Fritz had brought compa
nies of troops down this road in broad
daylight. They were never shelled.
Whenever this happened the captain
would froth at the mouth and let out
a volume of Old Pepper's religion
which used to make me love him.
"Every battery has a range chart on
which distinctive landmarks are noted,
with the range for each. These land
marks are called targets, and are num
bered. On our battery's chart, that
road was called Target 17, Range
6000, 3 degrees 30 minutes left. D 238
battery -consisted of four '4.5' howit
zers, and fired a 35-pound H. E. shell.
As you know, H. E. means 'high ex
plosive.' I don't like bumming up my
own battery, but we had a record in
the .division for direct hits, and our
boys were just pining away for a
chance to exhibit their skill in the
eyes of Fritz.
. "On the afternoon of the fourth day
of Fritz contemptuous use of the road
mentioned the captain and I were at
our posts as usual.v Fritz was strafe
ing us pretty rough, just like he's doing
now. The shells were playing leap
frog all through that orchard.
"I was-carrying on a conversation
in our 'tap' code with Cassell at the
other end. It ran something like this:
"'Say, Cassell, how would you like
to be in the saloon bar of the King's
Arms down Rye lane with a bottle of
Bass in front of you, and that blonde
barmaid waiting to; fill 'em up again?'
IMPBOVED UMrCRM INfERHATJOIfAi
swirsaiooL
The next Installment relates
how two artillerymen "put one
over" on Old Pepper.
One of the Big Guns Barking.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Use for Clothespins.
Clothespins make an excellent play
thing for babies. They can be used for
babies or soldiers, or to make fences,
trees, log houses and many other inter
esting things. Playthings that can be
taken apart and put together again are
good to have; also blocks with which
the child can build all kfnds of objects
engines that he can push along the
floor, balls to bounce and throw, doll
: carriages, washing sets, etc. Dolls with
' clothes that button and unbutton and
. come off may be used to teach the chil
dren how to dress and undress thMA
Mlvea.
LESSON
(By REV. P. B. FITZWATUK. u. u..
Teacher of English Bible n the
Moody Bible Institute of Chlcagro.)
(Copyright. 1918. Western Newspaper Union.)
m-. . ,
LESSON FOR MAY 5
JESUS SETS NEW STANDARDS OF
LIVING.
LESSON TEXT Mark 10:1-31.
GOLDEN TEXT Seek ye first the king
dom of God. and His righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you.
-Matthew .6:33.
DEVOTIONAL READING Ephesiana
6:10-20.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR
TEACHERS Genesis 1:27 : 2:18-25; Exodus
20:2-17: Matthew 18:1-14; 19:16-30; Luke 18:
15-29.
PRIMARY TOPIC Jesus and the chil
dren. LESSON MATERIAL Mark 10:13-16.
MEMORY VERSE Suffer the little
children to come unto Me, and forbid
them not. Mark 10:14.
JUNIOR TOPIC How God would have
us live.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Exodus 20:
2-17: Leviticus 19:11-18: Matthew 22:34-40.
I. Regarding Marriage (vv. 1-12).
The question touching divorce, which
the Pharisees temptingly put to Christ,
brought forth teaching which exhibits
marriage in its true light.
1. Shquld not be degraded by di
vorce (vv. 1-6).
Divorce was not instituted by God.
The marriage relationship is indis
soluble. Moses suffered divorce, lim
ited and regulated it. Its existence,
its practice, is indicative of the coarse
ness and perverseness of man. Sin is
its real cause.
2. Marriage is God's p.imal law (vv.
G-9).
The Ideal law of life for the sub
jects of the kingdom of marriage. This
Is proven by the fundamental fact of
sex. The union of the male and fe
male natures is physical, mental and
spiritual. In marriage, the male and
female natures are mutally comple
mented. God's intention is that man
should not be without the woman, nor
the woman without the man (1 Cor.
11:11).
3. Remarriage of the divorcer is
adultery (vv. 10-12).
The marriage relationship can only
be broken by death and sin. In view
of the fact that marriage is for life,
men and women should not enter this
relationship without very serious con
sideration. Divorce for other flian
marital infidelity does not give the
right to remarry.
II. Regarding Children (vv. 13-16).
The union of the male and female
natures, according to God's rhirpose,
lays the foundation for family life.
The Issue of such union is children.
In connection with the divine law of
marriage, it is fitting that Jesus should
set forth his estimate of "children and
Interest in them. The disciples con
sidered it beneath the dignity of the
Master to spend time writh the chil
dren. Those who think it beneath
their dignity to give attention to chil
dren should ponder well the words
of Jesus. This will give the disciples
proper consideration for work among
children, and also to the nurture and
discipline of their own children.
Christian men and women will regard
children as the property of the Lord,
and will esteem It a high and holy
privilege to train them for him. Due
attention to Christ's teaching regard
ing children would transform the home
life of society.
III. Regarding Riches (vv. 17-31).
1. The young ruler's question (v. 17).
This question reveals a void in his
heart. He was a young man with a
lovable character. The Savior's af
fections were enraptured by him. He
was moral, honest, earnest and cour
ageous. He had a wrong conception
of eternal life. He thought that eter
nal life could be obtained by good
works, Though he claimed to have
kept the law, he was conscious of
something lacking. He was willing to
do something to fill up that which was
lacking; therefore he came to Jesus
making Inquiry as to that lack.
2. Jesus' reply (vv. 18, 19).
He knew the young man's heart, and
put his finger on the weak spot. When
it came to parting with his posses
sions in order to help his. neighbor he
parted with the Lord, going away sor
rowful. This revealed the fact that
he was a covetous man, a violator of
the tenth commandment.
3. Lacking one thing and yet lost
(vv. 21, 22).
When the Lord pointed out to him
that the defect In his life was the love
of his money, he was unwilling to pay
the price. When the time came in
his life to choose between eternal life
and riches, he chose wealth and part
ed company with Christ, perhaps, for
ever. 4. The peril of riches (vv. 23-31)
The difficulty does not lie in the fact
(hat a man possesses riches, for a man
nay possess great riches and still Im
n heir of the kingdom. Wealth is a
nighty power. In itself it is good.
It will provide bread for the wid.w
and orphan, amelioration for the sTf.
fering. and send the Gospel of Christ
to the ends of the earth. Thft
step from possessing riches to trust
ing in them is a very short one. The
tendency of growing wealth Is to de
stroy the nobler life of the soul. Manj
of the most useful men in ancient and
modern times have been men ol
wealth; but they. like Abraham, chos
to live In tents, looking to the heav
enly city which hath foundations. As
long as a man possesses riches he is
afe. but as soon as riches posses the
nan he is in deadly peril.
- !
hdA'Vell Dress
Women' Will We&
mjL
ON BEING CORRECTLY SUITED.
The vagaries of spring suits are
many as suits go. Heretofore it has
been left to afternoon and other
dresses to give us unlimited variety to
choose from while the tailored suit
appeared true to form, in a few very
well defined styles. This season the
tailored suit is indulging many fan
cies of its own. There are suits with
very short coats, suits with Eton jack
ets, many suits with waistcoats and a
good many eccentricities in coats.
Skirts are nearly always plain, but a
few exceptions to this rule appear in
skirts to be worn with coats that are
high at the back an echo of the
bustle dress of last winter.
With this variety in styles to choose
from, it becomes easy to be correctly
and becomingly suited. The waistcoat,
which Is the most interesting feature
in the new suit styles, is made in as
many ways as suits themselves and is
becoming to almost everybody, but If
it proves unbecoming or unpractical
we can center attention on other new
features in the styles, as the uneven
length of coats at the bottom and the
abundance of braid trimming.
Two very conservative suits shown
In the picture will appeal to ;the wom
an whose taste cannot ' be diverted
from plain and practical ideas in tai
lored clothes. At the right there is
blue serge which we have always
with us, whatever else may come and
go trimmed with silk braid and but
tons. The coat is longer in the front
Other features of the new style's,
that can be gathered from any repre
sentative showing, reveal that Inch
shoes continue to be very high as com
pared to high shoes of a few seasons
ago. The fact that skirts have in en
lengthened a little has made no differ
ence. The very high shoe is more trim
than the moderately high shoe and
more practical. The uppers in these
shoes are of cloth just as often as of
kid. As fine kid is not the sort of
leather that is needed in the army
there Is no reason why the very high
shoe should not be worn with a clear
conscience. But cloth tops are just as
attractive and just as desirable as the
kid and maybe a little easier to keep
clean.
Oxfords and slippers will divide
honors with high shoes for street and
sports wear this summer. In all of
them toes are somewhat pointed but
not to the length of discomfort? Con
siderable decoration in perforations
appears on all styles of shoes as may
be, gathered from the group pictured
here wrhich includes a high walking
shoe, oxfords and a dress slipper. The
high shoes are In black kid with common-sense
Cuban heel. Wherever a
seam is required for joining the dif
ferent parts of the shoe, there perfor
ations occur. And the toes have a
small pattern that is purely decora
tive. The oxfords are In tan leather, fin
ished in much the same way as the
SUMMER STYLES IN SHOES.
and sides than at the back, being cut
with a point In front and at each side
in deference to present-day style. The
salt at the left has only one feature
that distinguishes it as distinctly of
this season, and that is the manner in
which it Is left open at the front
to the waistline. It is of beige gaber
dine and has a military suggestion in
its pockets with flap and belt fastened
v.-ith a small buckle. It will be noticed
lhat collars on the new suits are usu
ally high in the back and this one fol
lows this' rule. Below there is a small
r.ketch of a jersey suit with .a real
waistcoat which leads to the confes
sion that there is much camouflage in
this matter of waistcoats they are
usually merely front and nothing more.
Just a glance over the displays ot
footwear for summer brings home the
fact that women have taken more than
kindly to colored shoes. In fact it ap
pears that color in footwear promises
to become a permanent thing, as in
glovesand that the same colors are
to be used. Many shades of tan and
gray, often in combination with white,
russet and white shoes, if counted
would sum up as many pairs as there
are in black shoes.
high boots and the slippers are in
black and gray very smart for wear
with afternoon frocks and light sum
mer dresses.
New Linens.
. The new linens for household use
show a great deal more lace trimming
than has been the fashion in som?
time, and the favored lace seems to W
filet. Handsome towels of lin n hi
mask have strips of filet above the liem
and above the filet a delieate hand
embroidered pattern. Tea !"t!lS
show a filet edge with a line of lit''"
stitching an inch above, and a nlet
square in one corner with hand era
broidery trailing about it. An iru r'
esting card table cover is of wliite lin
en with a filet border and filet squares
at each corner showing the card sym
bolsheart, diamond, club and sp:nl'
each worked delicately into the filet
mesh. Lovely dresser sets have filet
trimming in butterfly pattern, ami to
match these there are guestroom tow
els trimmed with the butterfly filet