Nebraska Newspapers

    THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
The Enemy Within; or,
Rounding Up Spies on
the Western Front
By
Sergeant Arthur Guy
Empey
Author of "Over the Top,"
-First Call Etc
o-o-o
Mr. Empey's Experi
ences DuringHisSeven
teen Months in theFirst
Line Trenches of the
British Army in France
(Coprrlf bt, U17.br Th HcCloto Ncwiptpcr
Bjnl.cU)
-9
We were In rest billets tn the little
French vMiiko of S , nbout ten
kilos from the front-line trench. Num
ber Two's gun crew were rdttlng on the
ground In n circle around their ma
chine gun, while a sergeant, newly
returned from n special course In ma
chine gunnery at St. Omer. wns ex
pounding the theory of scientific ma
chine gunnery. He himself had never
actually been under fire with a ma
chine gun, but from the theoretical
point lie sure could throw out the
book stuff. I must confess that his
flow of eloquence passed over my
head like a Zeppelin, and I noticed
on uneasy squirming among the rest
of our crew.
Happy Houghton, who was sitting
next to me, leaned over, nnd with his
eye on the sergeant, whispered in my
car:
"IHlmo me, Yank. Isn't It arful the
way he chucks his weight about?"
I agreed with Happy.
Across frpm me sat Ikey Honney,
with our mascot, Jim, In his lap.
Every now nnd then Jim would take
his hind leg nnd furiously scratch at
n spot behind his ear. Honney, no
ticing this nctlon, would reach under
his armpit nnd also scratch.
Sailor Dill wns Intently watching
Jim and Honney; he, too, started
scratching.
In n mlnuto or so Hungry Foxcroft
started on n cootie hunt; and I hnd
an Irresistible desire to Icin back
against the barrel casing of the gun
and also scratch.
It Is one of the chief indoor sports
on the western front, especlnlly dur
lug a monotonous lecture by some ouT
ccr or noncora, for one of the fed-up
listeners to start scratching himself.
This generally causes the whole gang
to do the same, the instructor lnclud
cd. It is Just like u minister In the
midst of n very dry sermon suddenly
otopplng, stretching himself, and yawn
Ing, this nctlon causing tho rest of the
congregation to do likewise.
Ah the whole circle scratched, our
scrfteant Instructor commenced to
shift his weight from one foot to the
other In nn uneasy manner. We all
gazed at him Intently and each began
to scratch furiously. Sure enough,
the sergeant gave In nnd started un
buttoning tho front of his tunic to get
at some real or imaginary cootie. A
nudge went tho rounds of tho circle,
Wo had accomplished our purpose
Tho sergeant's mind took nn awful
drop from tho sclcnco of machine gun
nary to that of catching thut partial
lT cootie.
We constantly glanced at our wrist
batches. Flftocn minutes more and
tho lesson would bo over. The eer
flonnt was becoming confused, nnd was
trying to flounder through the rest of
tils talk. Wo had no mercy on him
(tut kept up tho scratching. At last
tn desperation, the sergeant said:
"You men havu actually been under
Ire with mnchlno guns several times
Can't one of you relate some Incident
of how, through somo ruse, you put it
over on the Bodies?"
Ikey nonncy, grasping this golden
opportunity to break up tho lecture,
and slyly winking nt us, started
and told how u certain gun's crew lo
catcd nnd put out of action n German
mnchlno gunner by playing n tuno on
their gun, which tho German tried to
Imitate, thereby Indicating to them by
sound the exact location of tho Ger
pian gun, which, wns later put out of
action by concentrated machine-gun
Arc from their soctlon.
Of course wo nil listened very In
tently, lint it was un old story to us,
because we woro tho gun's crew which J
had accomplished the fent that Hon
ney wns describing; but anything wns
better than listening to that sing-song
Ironing of book knowledge which tho
ergoant had been pumping Into us
for tho last hour and u half.
The sergeant glanced nt his watch
tnd dismissed us. Wo dismounted our
fun, put It In Its box aud stored It
uwny In our billet; then we reassem
bled under un applo tree in tho or
chard, and, while tho rest of us in
dulged In a shirt hunt, Hungry went
aftor our ration of tea. Hungry wns
sure on tho job when it came to eat
ing. Pretty soon he returned with n
flirlo one-fourth full of tea, two tins of
Jam, n loaf of bread, a largo pleco of
cheese, and a tin of apricots which ho
bad bought at a nearby French es
famluct. Ho dished out our rations,
not forgetting n generous share for
tolwself. Aftor w had finished, out
camo the Inevitable fngs, u fow puffs
from each roan, and the ball of con
versation started rolling.
Curly Wnllnco cleared his throat and
itnrtcd In with:
'Remember that village wo passed
('.rough on our march up the lino
about two weeks ago; you know, the
one where that big church with all the
shell holes In It was right on the cor
ner where we turned to the left to
take tho road at St. A ?"
Wo all remembered It and turned In
quiring glances in Cu-ly's direction.
"Well, this morning, when I went
down with the quarter (quartermaster
sergeant), to draw coal, I met n fellow
nt division headquarters who told me
mighty Interesting story of how ho
nnd another fellow rounded up a cou
ple of spies.
'This bloke, through modesty, and
to cover up his own good work, tried
to make me believe that It wns only
through n lucky chnnco that he stum
bled over the clue which lead to the
spies' arrest, but I'm n-thlnkln', nnd I
know you'll all agree with me, that It
was not so much luck as it was clever
thinking. I'm not much at telling a
story, but I'm going to try und give it,
ns far as I can remember, Just the
way he handed It to me.
"It seems thnt this fellow, who told
me the story, and another chap, had
been detailed to tho divisional Intelli
gence department, nnd were hanging
round division headquarters waiting
for something to happen.
"Now, here's tho story ns he reeled
It oft to me:
"'About three kilos behind division
headquarters was the old French vll-
age of It . One of our Important
roads ran through It. This road was
greatly used by our troops for bringing
up supplies and ammunition for the
front line. It, was also used by large
numbers of troops when relieving but-
nitons In the tire sector.
" 'Of course, on nccount of this rood
being In range of tho German guns, It
could only be used at night; other
wise the enemy nlrmen and observa
tion balloons would get wise and It
would only be n short time before the
rond would be shelled, thus causing
many casualties.
" 'For the Inst ten days reports had
been received nt division headquarters
that every time troops passed a cer
tain point on this rond, marked by nn
old church, they were sure to click
lenvy shell lire from tho Bodies. On
nights when no troops passed through
there would be very little shelling, If
nny, but If n battalion or brigade hap
pened to come this way they suffered
from heavy shell fire.
" 'Upon receipt of tho first two or
threo of these reports we put it down
as n straugu coincidence, but when the
fifth report of this nnturc reached us
it was evident to us that a spy was
nt work, and that in somo mysterious
wny the information of tho movements
of our troops were communicated by
him to the enemy.
" 'Myself and unother bloke, who
had been working with me for the last
two weeks, were assigned to tho task
of discovering und apprehending this
spy. To us It seemed un Impossible
Job, ns there were no clues to work
upon. As Is usual, our gcncrnl, "Old
Pepper," called us In, and said:
" "There Is a spy working In tho
vlllngo of B ; go get him."
'Foolishly, I butted in and asked
for further Information. I got It, nil
right. With a lowering look which
made mo tremble, ho roared:
""Go and dig up your own clues.
Whnt aro you with the Intelligence de
partment for? Intelligence department 1
It ought to bo called tho 'brnlnless de
partment' If you two aro a sample of
the rest."
" 'Somehow or other wo didn't stop
to arguo with "Old Pepper." ' "
At this point Sailor BUI butted in:
"BUme me, he's Just llko nn ndmlral
we had In our navy, this 'Old Pepper. "
A chorus of, "Oh, shut up, you're In
tho nrmy now," cut off Bill's story. We
knew Sailor Bill. If ho over got start
cd talking navy, nothing short of a gas
attack could stop him.
Sailor Bill, with an Indignant glance
nround tho circle, relapsed Into silence.
Curly Wnllace exclaimed:
"To 'ell with your admiral ; do you
want to hear this story? If you do,
tdiut up and let me tell It."
"do on, Curly, never mind; he's
harmless," ejaculated Happy Hough
ton.
Curly carried on, with:
"'Qettlng our packs and drawing
three days' rations, wo started hiking
Hooked to tho Plow, and Carried on
His Work.
It for tho vlllago of B . Wo arrived
there nbout four In tho nfternoon, nnd
nftor putting our packs and rations In
nn old barn which wo intended to uso
as our billet during our stay in tho vll
Inge, wo left on u general tour of in
spectlon.
"'Thoro were uhout threo hundred
clvillaus In tho place, who preferred to
brave tho dapgers of shell Are, us then
wns n rich harvest to be reaped from
the snle of form produce, beer nnd
wines to the troops billeted all nround.
Two ostnnilnctfl (French saloons)
were still open and did a thriving busi
ness. " 'Occasionally n shell would burst
In the village, but the civilians did not
seem to mind It; Just curried on with
their farming und business ns usual.
" 'Wo decided to make a thorough
search of all houses, barns and build
ings for concealed wires, und did so,
but with bnrren results. Nothing sus
picious was found. This search wnst
cd five days, and we were In despera
tion. Wntch nnd question as we would,
not u single clue came to light.
'"During this time two largo bodies
of troops had passed through and each
time they were heavily shelled, with
dire results.
"'On the sixth night of our assign
ment, utterly disgusted, I, being In
chnrge, hnd decided to chuck up tho
whole business und report back to
Old Pepper that we had made a mess
out of the investigation. My partner
pleaded with ine to stick It out a cou
ple of days more, and after he gave
mo a vivid description of what Old
Pepper would hand out to us I decid
ed to stick It out for six months, If
necessary. To celebrate this decision
my side-klcker offered to blow to sev
eral rounds of drinks. Now, this fel
low had never, during my acquaint
ance with him, offered to spend n ha'
penny, so I quickly accepted his offer
and wo went to the nearest e.stamlnet.
" 'Sitting around n long table, drink
ing French beer and smoking cigar
ettes, was a crowd of soldiers, laugh
ing, joking, arguing nnd telling stories.
"'We sat down at the nd of tho
table, and in n low tone tried to work
Impossible theories as to how the spy,
If there was out by this time wo
were doubtful could get the Informa
tion back to the German batteries.
" 'Right across from us were two
soldiers arguing about farming. Sud
denly my side-klcker pinched me on
the knee nnd whispered:
" ' "Listen to what those two fellows
ncross the table from us ure saying. It
sounds good."
" 'I listened for nbout n minute nnd
then paid no further attention. At
thnt time fnrmlng In no wny Interested
me. I wanted to catch that spy, and
stnrted devising Impossible theories ns
to the wnys nnd menns of doing so,
At last I gave up In disgust. My part
ner was still attentively listening to
Hie two ncross the table from us. An
other poke In the knee from my part
ner nnd I wns nil attention. One of tho
fellows across the wny wns talking:
"Well, I don't see why this French
blighter should chnngo horses In his
plow every nfternoon. I've watched
him for several days. Now, In tho
morning he uses two grays, and then
about two in the nfternoon ho cither
hooks up two blacks or n gray and n
black. French wnys may be different,
but this frog-enter is very partial to
the colors of his team. He works the
grays all morning nnd then changes
them In tho afternoon. Now, figure It
out for yourself, no starts work with
the two grays about six o'clock In the
morning; works tho two beggars up
till noon. That's six hours straight.
Then he sticks them In the stable, lays
off for two hours, and In the nfternoon
nbout two o'clock tho new relay of
animals comes on nnd works up till
four. Now, anybody with nny brains
In their nappers knows thnt Is no way
to keep horses In condition, working
one team over six hours and the other
team only two hours. I know, becnuso
wo have been farmers in our fnmlly
bnck In Blighty for generations."
1 'I wns all excitement, nnd a great
hopo surged through me that nt last
we had fallen on tho cluo thnt we wore
looking for. Restraining my enger-
ness as much ns possible I addressed
tho fellow who had Just spoken:
" ' "Well, mnte, I don't like to Intrude
Into your conversation, but I've nlso
been n farmer all my life and I don't
seo nnythlng queer in tho actions of
this French farmer."
"He answered: "Well, bllmo me,
there might bo u reason for this
blighter doing this, but I can't flguro
It out at all. If you con explain it, go
abend."
'"I answered: "Well, perhaps If
you can give a llttlo more dctnlls about
It, It would bo easy enough to explain.
Who Is the farmer, and where Is his
fnrni located?"
'"Ho swallowed the bait, all right,
and Informed mo thnt the farmer was
plowing n field on n hill nbout flvo
hundred yards west of tho church at a
point whero our troops were being
shelled.
" 'Buying n round of drinks, I
nudged my partner nnd ho camo In on
the conversation. Tho two of us, by
adroit questioning, got the exact loca
tion of tho Hold and a description of
tho farmer.
"'I pretended to bo sleepy, nnd,
ynwnlng, got up from tho table, say
ing that I was going to turn In, nnd
left. My partner soon followed me.
I'pon renchlng our billet, wo outlined
our plan. Wo decided that next morn
ing wo would get up at daybreak and
scout nround tho Meld to see If thero
was n hiding place.
" 'Suro enough, nlong ono edge of tho , through n lucky chnnco thnt wo stum
field ran u thick hedge. We secreted bled over the clue, so I guess "Old
ourselves In this and waited for de- Pepper" was right after nil.'"
velopments. j After finishing his story, Curly
' A f i.l.nnf civ- In mnnnlnn . , ...1 . ., .,.! ..!.. 1 .
.v .wvii tn iiiu tiivit uiu(,i buu
farmer nppoarod, driving two grays,
which ho hooked to tho plow, and car
ried on his work. To us there ap
peared nothing suspicious In his ac
tions. Wo watched him nil morning,
At noon ho unbooked tho horses and
went home. Wo remained in hiding,
nfrnld to leave, becauso wo wanted to
take no chancos of belnir seen lv tlm
j farmer. Wo had forgotten to bring
rations with us, so It wus u uilsernblo
wnlt until two o'clock, at which time,
the farmer reappeured, driving two
blocks, which ho hitched to the plow,
and carried on until four o'clock, nnd
then knocked off for the day. That
night troops came through and. ns usu
al, wero shelled.
" 'Next morning, at daybreak, we
again took our stations In the hedge.
this time bringing rations with us.
Tho farmer used the same grays In
the morning, but In the nfternoon he
appeared with n black and n gray, and
again knocked off nround four o'clock.
No troops came through that night,
tnd thero was no shelling.
" 'Next dny the farmer repeated the
previous day's actions two grays In
the morning nnd n black and n gray
In tho afternoon. "So troops, no shell
ing. " 'We were pretty sure that we had
him, but this arresting a spy on slim
evidence Is n ticklish mntter. We
didn't want to mnke a mess of the af
fair, or perhaps send nn Innocent mnn
to his death, so the following dny we
again took up our stntlons.
t$ure .
enough, It was two grays in the morn-
Ing. but In the nfternoon ho used two
blacks. That night troops came
through and were shelled. We had
solved the problem. Two grays in the (
morning mean nothing. The netual j
signal to the enemy was the change
of horses in the nfternoon ; two black?
meaning "troops coming through to
night, shell the rond ;" .u gray and a
blnci, "No troops exported, do not
shell."
"When It got dark and It wns safe
to leave the hedge, we Immediately re
ported the whole affair to the town ,
major (an English officer detailed In
charge of a French village or town 1
occupied by English troops) who. ae 1
compnnled by us nnd n detail of six
men with fixed bayonets, went to the
farmer's house that night nnd nrrest
cd him. He protested his Innocence 1
but we took him to military police
headquarters whero, after a grueling
questioning, ho at last confessed.
" 'It wns u mystery to us how this
farmer knew thnt troops wero com
Ing through, because he never made j
n mistake In his schedule. After fur
ther questioning he explained to us
"I Have a Good Mind to Send You
Back to Your Units."
that If wo searched In his cellar and
raised up an old flngstone with n
ring In It, wo would find n telephonf
sot. The other end of this set was
established In nn estnmlnet In a little
French village eleven kilos distant
Ills confederate was so situated or
village had to pass the door. At
troops march only nt night while in
the fire sector, his confederate could
snfely figure out that the passlnp
troops would be quartered In his vll
lr.ge until tho next night, when, undei
cover of darkness, they would start
for the next village, and would have
to pass tho point in tho rond by the
old church. Ho would Immediately
telephono this Information to the
farmer, who would change his horses
accordingly. The hill on which he
did his plowing could bo ensily ob
served from nn observation balloon
In tho German lines, nnd thus the sig
nal wns given to tho German artillery
M 'We still cnrrled on with our third
e'egree, nnd got further valuable Infor
mation from him.
"'If, In tho plowing, two gray
horses wero used on two consecutlvo
nftemoons, It mennt that the use of
the road had been indefinitely discon
tinued for troops nnd supplies.
' 'Under n strong gunrd, which con-
ceale,d Itself In tho hedge, tho farm-
ci was mado to use two grays for two 1 reat "dvantnge to small poultry pack
afternoons. Tho scheme worked. For , Jrs- Vucn-rn wl hive had to ship In
weeks afterward that road was only oss tlmn carload quantities have found
occasionally shelled, and our troops. 1,1111 wet-pneked poultry has spoiled in
nnd supply trains used It nt will. The ! snormous quantities because of slow
spy nt tho othor end wns rounded up ' :nsportntion resulting trom conges
nnd both wero taken to the base and I tlon 0,1 tho "ro,"lH- l'avwn enulp-
shot.
'"'We reported back to Old Pepper,
expecting to bo highly commended for
our work, nnd we were I don't think.
All tho blooming blighter said was:
""Well, you certainly took long
enough to do It. I have n damn good
mind to send you bnck to your units
for Incompetency nnd inefficiency."
" 'Wo saluted and left.
"'You see, wo didn't deserve nny
great credit, becnuso It was only
milieu lu uo unit unnuu
"Don't you think It was pretty nifty
work?"
Wo agreed that it wns.
After a few minutes more tho party
j broke up and turned in.
Confirmation.
No woman is really satisfied with
flw cninnlliiipnts linr mlrrnr nnva hor
unless they are reiterated by( eomo
man. Boston Truuacrlpt.
FARM
ERADICATE LICE AND MITES
Sodium Fluorld Makes ao Effectlvs i
Powder and Should Be Used Free- I
ly Use Kerosene.
(Prepared by tho United States Depart- i
mcnt of Agriculture.)
The free uso of an effective Hc
powder is nlwuys In order. Sodium
Uuorld makes an effective lice powder
n applying the powder bold the fowl
t the feet, head down, and work the
Dusting Chicken With Sodium Fluorld
a Most Effective Remedy for Lice
and Mites.
I powder well down Into the feathers.
1 k dust bath is essential in ridding tho
fowls of lice.
The free uso of kerosene or crudo
j petroleum on the roosts and in tho
' :rncks will exterminate mites.
I Whitewashing the Interior of tho
louse thoroughly once or twice a year
tielps to keep It sweet and clean.
FOWLS FOR BREEDING STOCK
Health and Vigor Must Be First Points
to Keep in Mind When
Making Selection.
Eggs may be perfectly fertile and
yet hatch unsatisfactorily, nnd the
Qrst consideration must be the produc
tion of hatching eggs with strong,
virile, well-nourished germs. This can
be dope only by a careful selection,
mating and management of the breed
ing stock nnd affording the eggs the
proper care after they are laid. Health
and vigor must be the first points to
keep In mind when selecting the breed
ers. The rule that good seed must be
! Includes the chicken crop as well as
those of gross nnd grain. The breed
ing llock should include only sound,
healthy, well-fed stock, and nil fowls
that have at any time suffered from
any serious Illness or show any faults
or defects, such as crooked back or
breast, hawk-bill or snake-head, pale
face, rattling in throat, foreign
growths upon any part of the body, leg
I weakness or string halt should be
1 promptly discarded.
CHILLING OF MUCH BENEFIT
Wet-Packed Poultry Arrives at Des
tination In Poor Condition Slow
Railroads Blamed.
(Prepared by tho United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
The chill room developed by the
Dnlted States department of agricul
ture for the preservation of poultry
ind eggs nnd to preparo them for
xnnsportutlon to market has proved of
ped with the small chill room
recommended by tho department havo
found that poultry dry-chilled and
properly packed arrived at Its destina
tion In good condition, while wet
packed fowls In the snme car were
In bad order. It has been found also
that the method recommended by the
lovcrnment requires less Ice than the
tee-packing process.
LEAVES MAKE GOOD LITTER
Not Advisable to Leave Them on Floor
Too Long Throw Sweepings on
Garden Patch.
Thero Is no litter better than leaves,
outsldo of clover or any of the dried
grosses, that fowls find nourishment
In. But do not ullow tho leaves to Ho
too long on tho floors, ns the fowls
pick nt them uutll they reduce ninny
to almost dust. Pnck away plenty in
barrels, as you must be sparing of
higher-priced scratching material, and
throw tho leaf sweep.ugs ou the gar-
GIRLS! LOIS OF
BEAUTIFUL ill
A small bottle of "Danderine"
makes hair thick, glossy
and wavy.
Removes all dandruff, stops itch
ing scalp and falling
hair.
To be possessed of n head of heavy,
beautiful hair; soft, lustrous, fluffy,
wavy and free from dandruff Is merely
a matter of using a little Dunderine.
It is easy and inexpensive to have
nice, soft hair and lots of It. Just get a
mall bottle of Knowlton's Danderine
now It costs but n few cents all drug
stores recommend it apply a little as
directed and within ten minutes there
will be an appearance of abundance,
freshness, fiufllness nnd an Incompara
ble gloss and lustre, and try as you
will you cannot find a trace of dandruff
or falling hair; but your real surprise
will be after about two weeks' use,
when you will see new hair fine nnd
downy nt first yes but really new
hair sprouting out all over your scalp
Danderine is, we believe, the only
sure hair grower, destroyer of dan
druff and cure for itchy scalp, and it
never falls to stop falling hair at once.
If you want to prove how pretty and
soft your hair renlly Is, moisten n cloth
with a little Danderine and carefully
draw it through your halrr taking on
small strand at n time. Your hair will
be soft, glossy nnd beautiful In Just
a few moments a delightful surprise
awaits everyone who tries this. Adv,
Deep Grief.
"And was the widow so Inconsol
able?" "Oh. yea. Why, they had to
bide her powder puff to keep her from
weeping."
ealth Talks
What Doctoi Pierce Has
Done for Humanity
BY DOCTOR CRIPPS.
It has always seemed to me that Dr.
Pierce, of Buffalo, N. Y., should be placed
near the top when a list of America'i
great benefactors is written. He studied
tnd conquered human diseases to a de
gree that few realize. Whenever he found
a remedy that overcame disease, he at
once announced it in the newspapers and
told where it could be bought at a Bmall
price. He did not follow the usual custom
of keeping the ingredients secret, so that
the rich only could afford to buy the
medicine, but openly printed the name of
etch root and herb he used. And so today
the names of Dr. Pierce and his medicines
are widely known, and they stand for bet
ter health and better citizenship.
One of this great physician's most sue
I eessful remedies is known as Dr. Pierce's
I Pleasant TeHets. These arc little, sugar-
coated pills, composed of Mayapple, leaves
I of aloe, root of jalap things that Nature
grows in the ground. These Pellets ar
safe because they move the bowels gently,
leaving no bad after-effects, as so many
pills do. Very often they make a person
who takes them feel like a new man or
i woman, for they cleanse the intestines of
bard, decayed and poisonous matter that
accumulates when one is costive. If you
' tre constipated, by all means go to your
druggist and get some of Dr. Pierce's
i Pleasant Pellets. They may prove to be
the very thing your system requires to
I make you well and happy.
Stop Losing Calves
You can Stamp Abortion Out
of YOUR HERD and Keep fit lit
Of tha use of
DR. DAVID ROBERTS'
"Anti 'Abortion"
Smill Exprnsi
Eaitly Appllcil Suro Results.
Used t uccctitully f r i.3 v.
Commit n. DAVIi ROnKttTS
about all ant lal allm In-
fnpin.dnn ru a r ..... I .. Kii ip
.nnf nf .III. Cnul.tl.N I. ...II ....
; vTCxmv hi
', Jtikr
nation on Abortion la Cowt. UK. DAVID RODF.RTS
, VETERINARY CO- IW Grnd Ae., Wiuktth-. VVUf.
' W. N. U., OMAHA, NO. 4-1919."
I jea patch.