THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
Jim A Soldier of
the King
By
Sergeant Arthur Guy
Empey
Author of "Over the Top,"
"First Call," Etc
o-o-o
Mr. Empey's Expcri-encesDuringHisSeven-teen
Months in theFirst
Line Trenches of the
British Army in France
(Copyright, 1917, The MrClnre Nempsper
11
Wo wcro mnclilne frnntiers of tho
Ijrltlsh nrmy st&tWiticd "Homowlicro In
France," and had JtiHt arrived at our
rest billets, after u weary mnrch from
the front-lino sector.
Tho Htablo wo hud to Bleep In wan
un old, ramshackle nffnlr, nbftolutcly
overrun with ratH, bljr, hlnck fellows,
who used to chew up our leather equip'
incnt; eat our rations, and run over
our bodies at nlKht. German pis had
no effect on tlieso rodents; In fact,
they seemed to thrive on It. Tho floor
Hjmco would comfortably accommodate
about twenty men lylriK down, but
when thirty-three, Including equip
ment, wero crowded Into It, It was
nearly unbearable.
Tho roof and walls were full of shell
holes. When It rained n constant drip,
drln, drip was In order. Wo wero so
crowded that if a fellow was unlucky
ouough (and nearly all of us In this
Instnnco wero unlucky) to sleep under
a hole, he had to grin and bear It.
It was llko sleeping beneath u shower
bath.
At one end of the billet, with n lad
der leading up to it, was n sort of
grain bin, with a door In It. This
pluco was tho headquarters of our
guests, the rats. Many n stormy cab
inet "meeting was held there by them.
Many n boot was thrown at it during
tho night to let them know that Tom
my Atkins objected to the matter un
der discussion. Sometimes one of
theso missiles-would ricochet, and land
on tho upturned countenance , of n
snoring Tommy, and for about half
an hour oven the rats would pauso la
admiration of ids flow of language.
Ou- tho night In question wo flopped
down in our wet clothes, and wero
soon asleep. As was usual, No. 2 gun's
crew wcro together.
Thu last tlmo we had rested In this
particular village, it was Inhabited by
civilians, but now it was deserted. An
order had been Issued, two days pre
vious to our arrival, that nil civilians
should move farther buck of tho line.
I had been asleep about two hours
when I was awakened by Sailor Hill
linking mo by tho shoulder. He wns
trembling llko a leaf, and whispered
to me:
JWnke up, Yank, tlds ship's haunt
ed. There's soincono nloft who's been
moonlug for tho last hour. Sounds
llko tho wind in tho rigging. I ain't
scared of humans or Germans, hut
when It comes to messln' In with spir
its It's time for mo to go below. Lend
your ear and cast your deadlights on
that grain locker, and listen."
I listened sleepily for n minute or
so, but could hear nothing. Coming
to tho conclusion that Sailor Hill wns
dreaming things f was again soon
asleep.
Pcrhnps fifteen minutes had elapsed
when I was rudely awakened.
"Yank for God's sake, como nboard
and listen t" I listened, nnd suro
enough, right out of that grain bin
overhead camo n moaning nnd whim
pering, nnd then n senrtclilng ngalnst
tho floor. My hair stood on end.
Illendcd with tho drip, drip of tho
rain, and tho occasloanl scurrying of
n rat overhead, that noise had a su
pernatural sound. I was really fright
ened; perhaps my nerves wero n trlflo
unstrung from our recent tour In tho
trenches.
I awnkeni'd Ikey ITonney, while Sail
or Hill roused Happy Houghton nnd
Hungry Foxeroft.
Ilungry's first words were, "What's
tlto matter, breakfast ready?"
In ns few words as possible wo told
uictn wliat lmd happened. Ily tho
light of a candle I had lighted their
faces appeared as white au chalk. Just
then tho whimpering started again, and
we wero frozen with terror. Tho ten
Blon wns relieved by Ikoy's voico:
"I admit I'm afraid of ghosts, but
that sounds llko n dog to me. Who's
going up tho lndder to Investigate?"
No ono volunteered.
I hud an old deck of cards In my
pocket. Taking them out, I suggested
cutting, tho low man to go up tho lad
der. They agreed. I was tho last to
cut. I got the aco of' clubs. Sailor
Ulll was stuck with tho flvo of d!a
ntonds. Upon this, ho Insisted that It
should be tho best two out of three
tuts, but wo overruled him, and hn was
auunlmously elected for tho Job.
. Wlth'n "So loug, mates, I'm going
aloft," ho started townrd tho ladder,
With the candle in Ids hand, stumbling
ove tho sleeping forms of many. Sun
dry grunts, moans, nnd curses follow
In Ids wnke.
An soon as ho started to ascend tho
ladder, j "tup-tnp-tnp" coidd be heard
from tti urnln bin. Wo waited In fear
and trembling tho result of ids mis
ilon. Hungry wns oncouruglng him
vlth "Clioero, mate, the worst Is yet
-jo come'
After many pauses lilli icn.lii'ti the
top of the ladder nnd opened the door,
Wo listened with bated breath. Then
he shouted :
"Hlnst my deadlights, If"lt ain't a
poor dog I Come alongside mate,
ycu'ro on u leo shore, nnd in a sorry
plight."
Oh, what a relief thoso words were
to Ufll
With the candle in one hand nnd a
dark object under Ills arm, Bill re
turned and deposited In our midst the
sorriest-looking" specimen of a cur dog
you ever set eyes on. It wns so weak
It couldn't stand, Hut that look In its
eyes Just gratitude, plain gratitude.
Its stump of a tall wns pounding
against my mess tin, and sounded Just
like n message In the Morse code. Hap
py swore that it was sending S. O. S.
Wo wero llko a lot of school chil
dren, every one wanting to help und
making suggestions ut the same time.
Hungry suggested giving It something
to eat, while Ikey wanted to play on
his Infernal Jew's-harp, claiming It was
a musldul dog. Ilungry's suggestion
met our approval, and there wns n
general scramble for haversacks. All
we could muster was some hard bread
and a big piece of cheese.
Ills nibs wouldn't eat bread, and also
refused the cheese, but not before snif
fing at It for u couplo of minutes. I
was going to throw the cheese away,
hut Hungry said ho would take it. I
gave It to him.
We wcro In n quandary. It wns evi
dent that the dog was stnrvlng and in
a very weak condition. Its coat was
lacerated all over, probably from the
bites of rats. That stump of a tnll
kept sending S. O. S. against my mess
tin. Every tap went straight to our
hearts. Wo would got something to
eat for that -mutt if we were shot for
it.
Sailor Hill volunteered to burglar
ize tho quartermaster's stores for u
can of unsweetened condensed milk,
and left on his perilous venture. He
was gone about twenty minutes. Dur
ing his absence, with the help of a
bandage und a capsule of Iodine, we
cleaned the wounds inude by the rats.
I have bnnduged many n wounded
Tommy, but never received tho amount
of thanks that that dog gave with its
eyes.
Then the billet door opened nnd Suit
or Ulll appeared. He looked like the
wreck of the Hesperus, uniform torn,
covered with dirt nnd flour, nnd u
beautiful black eye, but lie was smil
ing, and in Ids hand he carried tho
precious can of milk. W6 asked no
questions, but opened the can. Just ns
wo wcro going to pour it out Iluppy
butted in und said it should bo mixed
with water; he ought to know, because
his sister buck In Blighty had a baby,
mid she alwuys mixed water with its
milk. We could not dispute this evi
dence, so water wiis demanded. Wo
would not uso the water In our water
bottles, as it was not fresh enough
for our new mate. Happy volunteered
to get some from tho well, that Is, if
wo would promlso not to feed his roynl
highness until lie returned. We prom
ised, because Happy had proved that
he was an authority an the feeding of
hiilitcs. Hy this time the rest of tho
section wero awake anil were crowd
ing around us, asking numerous ques
tions and admiring our newly found
friend. Sailor Ulll took this opportun
ity to tell of Ids adventures while in
quest of tho milk.
"I had a fair wind, nnd the passage
was good until I camo alongside tho
quartermaster's shack, then tho sea
got rough. When I got nboard I could
hear tho wind blowing' through tho
rigging of tho supercargo (quartermas
ter sergeant snoring), so I was safe.
I sot my course duo north to the ra
tion hold, gnd got my grappling Irons
ou n cask of milk, und came about on
my lioinewnrd-bound passage, but
something was amiss with my wheel,
because I ran noso on Into him, caught
lil 1 1 on the rail, amidships. Then it
was repel boarders, nnd It started to
blow big guns. Ilia first shot put out
my starboard light, and I keeled over.
I was In tho trough of tho sen, but
soon righted, nnd then It wns n stern
chase, with mo in the lead. Getting In
to tho open scu, I made a port tack
and hove to In this cove with tho
milk safely In tow."
Most of us didn't know what ho was
talking about, hut surmised Unit bo
had got Into a mlxup with tho quarter
master sergeant. Tills surmlso proved
correct.
Just ns Hill finished his narration a
loud splash was heard, nnd Happy's
voire came to us. It sounded very far
oft':
"Help, I'm in tho well I Hurry up,
I can't Bwlml Then a few unintelli
gible words Intermixed with blub!
blub 1 and no more.
Wo run to the well und uwny
doa wo could hear nn owful splash
ing. Sailor Hill yelled down. "Look"
out below; stand, from under: bucket
coming I" With that ho loosed tho
wlndhiBs. In a few seconds a splut
tering voice from tho depths yelled to
us, "Haul away I"
It was hard work hauling him up.
Wo had raised him about ten feet from
tho wnter, when tho handle of tho
windlass got looso from our grip, nnd
down went tho bucket and Happy. A
loud splash camo to us, and, grabbing
tho liaudlo again, wo worked llko
Trojans. A valley of curses camo
from that well which would havo
shocked Old Nick himself.
When wo got Happy snfely out, ho
was n sight worth seeing. He did not
oven notlco us. Never said n word,
Just filled his water bottle from tho
water In tho bucket, and wont back
to tho billet. We followed, my mess
tin was still sending S. O. S. -nappy,
though dripping wot. silent
ly fixed up thu milk for t'tc dog. In
appetite the canine wn-i n ciu-jo nee
ond to Hungry Foxcroft. After hip
ping nil he could hold, our mascot
closed ids eyes and his tall ceased
wagging. Sailor Hill toolt a dry. flan
nel shirt from his puck, wrapped tho
dog In It nnd informed ns
"Me nnd my mnte are going below,
so the rest of you lubbers batten down
and turn In."
Wo ull wanted the honor of sleeping
with tfie dog, but did not dispute Sail
or HHPs right to the privilege. By
this time the bunch were pretty sleepy
and tired, and turned In without much
coaxing, ns it wns pretty ne,ar day
break. Next day we figured out that per
haps one of tho French klddle.t had
put the dog in the grain blit, und, In
tho excitement of packing up and leav
ing, had forgotten he was there.
Sailor Ulll was given the right to
christen our new mate. He called him
Jim. In u couple of days Jim came
around all right, and got very frisky.
Every man in tho section loved that
dog.
Sailor Hill was court-martialed for
his mlxup with tho "quartermaster-sergeant,
nnd got seven days field pun
ishment No. 1. This nieiiD; that two
hours each day for a week he would
be tied to tho wheel of a limber. Dur
ing these two-hour periods Jim would
bo nt Hill's feet, and, no matter how
much we coaxed him with choice mor
sels of food, ho would not lenve until
Hill was untied. When Hill was looso
Jim would have nothing to do with him
Just walked away in contempt. Jim
respected the king's regulations, nnd
had no use for defaulters.
At n special meeting hold by the
section Jim had the oath of allegiance
read to him. He barked his consent,
so we solemnly swore him In as a
soldier of tho Imperial British nrmy,
fighting for king und country. Jim
made a better soldier than any one
of us, and died for his king and coun
try. Died without n whimper of com
plaint.
From tho village we made several
trips to the trenches; each time Jim
accompanied us. The first time under
fire he put the stump of his tall be
tween his legs, hut stuck to his post.
When "carrying in" if wo neglectedto
give Jim something to carry, ho would
make such a noise barking that we
soon fixed him up.
Each day Jim would pick out a dif
ferent man of the section to follow.
He would stick to this mun. eating nnd
sleeping with him, until tho next dny,
and then it would ho some one else's
turn. When n mun had Jim with him,
it seemed as if his life. were charmed.
No matter what ho went through, he
would come out snfely. We looked up
on Jim as u good-luck sign, nnd be
lieve me, lie wns.
Whenever It came Ikey Honney'8
turn for Jim's company, he was oyer
Joyed, because Jim would sit In dlgnl-
fed silence, listening to tho Jew's-harp.
Honney claimed that Jim had a soul
for music, which was more than hi
would say about the rest of us..
Once, at daybreak, wji had to go
over the top in un attack. A man in
tho section nnmed Dalton wns select
ed by Jim as his mate In this affair.
Tho crew of gun No. 2 were to stay
In th trench for overheud fire pur
poses, nnd, If necessary, to help re
pel a probable counter-nttack "by the
enemy. Dalton wus very merry, and
hadn't the least fear or misgivings as
to his sufety, because Jim would be
with him through it nil.
In the attack, Dalton, closely follow
ed "by Jim, hud got about sixty yards
into No Man's land, when Jim was hit
in the stomach by n bullet. Poor old
Jim toppled over, and lay still. Dalton
turned urouud, and, Just as lie did so,
we saw him throw up his hands and
fnll face forward.
Ikey Honney, who wns No. 3 on out
gun, seeing Jim fnll, scrambled ovei
tho parapet, and, through that rnln of
shells and bullets, rnced to where JIra
wns, picked him up, nnd tucking lilra
under his arm, returned to our trench
in safety. If ho had gone to rescue a
wounded man in this way ho would
have no doubt been awarded tho Vic
toria Cross. But he only brought in
poor bleeding, dying Jim.
Ikey laid him on tho llrestep along
sldo of our gun, but wo could not nt
tond to hlm; because we had Important
work to do. So ho died like u soldier,
without a look of reproach for out
heartless treatment. Just, watched out
every movement until his lights burn
ed out. After tho attack, what was left
of our section gathered around Jim'a
bloodstained body. There wasn't a dry
eye in the crowd.
Next day wo wrapped him In a small
Union Jnck belonging to Happy, and
laid htm to rest, n Soldier of the King,
We put a little wooden cross ovet
his grave which rend :
PRIVATE JIM,
MACniNE-GUN COMPANY;
KILLED IN ACTION
APHIL 10, 1010.
A DOG WITH A MAN'S HEART.
Although tho section has lost lota
of men, Jim Is never forgotten.
Remove Mildew.
Tako any common soap, slzo accord
ing to area of material that is affected.
Cut soap in small pieces, add n little
water to it aud put on top of stove un
til dissolved. When about the consist
ency of cream tako from tho fire. Stir
in common salt and cover tho mildewed
fabric with tho mixture If ono nppll
cation does not sufllce, two will bo sure
to do tho work. After npplylng the
mixture, oxposo to tho sun for eonio
hours and then wnsh off.
Dally Thought
Groat men etand like solitary towers
In the city of God. Longfellow.
As in Days Gone By
i i
The plain nnd conservative apparel
that women allowed themselves In war
times has affected our coming spring
styles In two way. First, It has
brought hand-sewing and simplicity of
design Into more prominence thnn ever
on spring and summer frocks and It
has paved the way for a reaction In
favor of lovely color. As In the days
long gone by, when women had more
leisure for needlework than they have
allowed themselves recently, we nro to
havo numbers of simply designed,
beautifully made and finished, sheer
frocks for summer weather.
Imported voiles have soared to un
heard of prices nnd arc unreasonably
high. At $6 and $7 per ynrd they
have silks and sntins outdistanced.
But American mills will turn out fine
voiles, llnen-flnlshcd lawns, transpar
ent organdies, not Inexpensive, but not
prohibitive In price. Some of these
thin weaves suggest georgette and are
fairly close Imitations of it.
The very pretty frock shown in the
Simple, Effective
A saunter through the shops that
sell smart blouses is as fascinating to
women as walking through a garden of
flowers. One Is npt to lose one's head
amid the beauties ot the new hand
made lingerie blouses, there is so great
u variety of them and each presents
Its own enticing attractions. Color
bordered frills, tine pin tucks, real
fllot lace In edgings, Insertions nnd in.
set panels, coax money from us In one
direction; hemstitching, eyelet work,
real val laco and now embroideries,
drag It out in another.
There are n number of now models
that fasten nt the buck and one has a
choice between round, square and "V"
shaped necks. Thu high necked blouso
Is exceptional hut Uiero ar.o always a
few examples of this stylo, trim and
elegant looking. Sleeves have como
In for unusual consideration, n three
Hiarter length occnslonnlly attracting
attention beenuso It is so pretty but so
crently outnumbered by long sleevos.
Snno of the collar styles aro excep
tionally becoming and these may baj
found on the plainest blouses. A mod
el of white dlmlt.v has n wide group
V3
J
m
picture above Is n type of these new,
sheer hand-sewed dresses. Except for
parallel groups of hand-run tucks and
the Introduction of smocking In shoul
ders nnd at each "side of the front of
the skirt, It has no elaboration nnd
does not need anything more.- It has
no subtleties of construction; nil the
details of its making nro set forth In
the photograph, and tlfey are reassur
ing to the home dressmaker. Yet o
simple hatid-inude frock of this kind,
In sheer cotton or silk fabrics, Is sold
for a high price In the shops, com
manding something like a bundled ot
n hundred nud twenty-five dollars In
smart establishments.
With these light frocks piquant gir
dles of blagk velvet ribbon are worn.
Sometimes the ribbon is in n color and
occasionally it anntches the frock. Hut
black proves u wonderful spice to the
season's light nnd flowerlike colors. In
the girdle shown three crochet but
tons are set on the front and small but
tons of the same kind fasten the
bodice at the back.
Lingerie. Blouses
or pin tucks at each side of the other
wise plain front and ono of thoso long,
plain collars that rolls high across
tho back of the neck.
A new voile waist, pictured here, Is
an. example ot simple and effective de
sign, Imagine it in larkspur or azure
blue, with Its dots in graduated sizes
embroidered In silk of the same huo
or In white. Or think of It In pale
coral or orchid. It Is lovely In any ot
these and tho picture shows it to be
charming In white. Its round neck is
not collarless, there nre few blouses
thnt are. but the rollnr Is quite plain,
ending in points nnd lying Hnt to the
figure. Points appenr again on the
cuffs where the full sleeves are sot
Into them, nnd they turn back at the
wrist. The sleeves aro Interesting;
new In design.
Llngerlo mnde of lemon-colored
crepo .do chine Is trimmed with black
ribbon.
DOCTOR URGED
AN OPERATION
Instead I took Lydia E. Pink
ham's Vegetable Compound
and Waa Cured.
Baltimore, Md. "Nearly four year
i uuuerou irum organic troubles, ner-
, , i
vuuauvoa Him ae&u
cellos and every
month would have to
stay in bed most of
tho timo. Treat
ments would relieve
mo for a timo but
my doctor was al
ways urging me to
navo an operation.
My sister asked me
to try Lydia E. Pink-
h a m'a Vegetable
y Compound before
7 consenting to an
y operation. I took
fivo bottles of it and
( It has completely
cured me nrirl mv
work li a pleasure. I-tell all my friends
who have any trouble of this kind what
Lydia E. Pinkham'a Vegetable Com
pound has done for irK - Nellie B.
BmmNGiMM, 609 Calvertou Rd., Balti
more, Md.
It is only natural for any woman to
dread tho thought of an operation. So
many women have been restored to
health by this famous remedy, Lydia E.
Pinkhan'a Vegetable Compound, after
an operation nas been advised that It
will pay any woman who suffers from
uch ailments to consider trying it be
fore submitting to such a trying ordeaL
Why Lose
Your Hair
Tke Cause U
Dandruff aad
Itching;
The Remedy
Cuticura
AUdraiglttil BopM.OIntnunt2B455,TtjCTim.
8rapl -fh tr of "CntlcuM., Dit E, Bttton."
His Choice of Work.
She And would you be content to
live a life of complete Idleness?
lit Oh, no. I'd like to have enough
money so that I would bo kept busy
spending It. Boston Transcript.
Chronic Constipation is as danger
ous as disagreeable. Garfield Tea
Cures it Adv.
When a man looks into a mirror h
lmngtncs ho sees the reflection of a
hero.
. 5,p J"atJUtt etf , row bowtU eleii bt
Uktui Dr. Plrc'i Flemnt PtlUU and Toa'l
p ktiltbj-, w-illhy and win. Air.
But for the little men In the world
grent men would never be noticed.
Nebraska Directory
All kind-, nematltchlnc,
Plootlng, OorerMl nations all atylea.
NRnit. rr.KATlNfl A nnrrnw nv
tut rxwD uauaing
Omaha, Nebrait
THEPAXTON
HOTEL
Omaha, Nebraska
EUROPEAN PLAN
Koorqa rrom 11.00 up single, 7Scents up double.
CAFE PRICES REASONABLE
Turkeys, Geese, Capons, Ducks,
Rabbits, Etc. Wanted
We pay highest cash price. Mo
commission. PERRY & CO.,
413 S. 11th Street. Omaha, Neb.
Reference: Merchants-NatlODal
Hank, Omaha, o r anr Uxptesa Co.
THE CAR AHEAD
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ELECTRIC SERVICE on
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We repair and rropply
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