Adventure Magazine Cover, November 10, 1924 — page 48: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

46 train were empty. The cars were square, chunky affairs with doors opposite each seat, bearing upon the panels the Roman numerals III. They were third-class car- riages. Eight soldiers were loaded into each compartment and the bread and cans of jam and beans from the truck put into a freight car on the end of the train. The officer came hurrying across from the buvette and climbed into a first class compartment without a look in Eadie’s direction. ‘“‘Who’s the corporal here?” Eadie called, and a fat gray-haired man confessed that he was. “Ride in the chow car,” directed Eadie. “Brown,” he called to where Jake’s red head showed above a group that shoved their way into a compartment, ‘“‘ride in the chow car.” When the last man was aboard, he called to the conductor, ‘“‘Complet!” and the con- ductor bowed in acknowledgment. The sta- tion master thereupon blew upon a cow’s horn— “W heeeeeel”’ The engine tooted in response and the Station master waved slowly a red flag, at the same time chanting a sort of farewell. He was chanting ‘‘Attonsio-o-o-n!”’ and he so chanted and waved his red flag and made quite a ceremony of departure until the train had left the station. “There!” exclaimed Eadie thankfully, sit- ting down upon a pile of bread, “‘we’re off. Back to the outfit at last! Say, Jake, how come you became a member of my outfit so suddenly?” “Well,” said Jake grinning, ‘“‘you been sounding off what a swell outfit you be- longed to all the time so I thought I’d like to go to it, specially as I ain’t none too fond o’ my own.” “Did you decide to do it when the lieu- tenant asked who the men from the 76th were?” “Decide ——!”’ answered Jake. “TI give in my outfit as the 76th when we first come to hospital. If such a outfit as you claim yours is, is in the Army, I’d just as lief belong to it.” Here the fat corporal spoke up from where he sat on a case of beans. ‘‘Are you the two guys the looey got outta the mill?” “We are,’”’ said Eadie. “You didn’t know when you was well off,”’ remarked the corporal. Adventure ‘What do you mean?” cried the other two. ‘“‘Ain’t the scenery here swell?’ replied the other man. “Yes,” agreed the sergeant, ‘‘it is. tell us what you’ve got on your mind.” “Mostly it rains, though,’’ continued the corporal. ‘It’s —— when it rains here.”’ “I suppose it’s wet,’’ suggested Eadie. ‘““Yep,”’ agreed the corporal, “‘but it’s a —— of a lot wetter than you ever saw it.” Conversation languished by mutual con- sent.. Jake smoked some more of his black cigarets and ruefully discovered that his store was getting low. The train slowed to a halt and Eadie, looking out the open side door, found that they had stopped at a station. ‘‘What’s the name o’ this place?” asked Jake. | ‘‘Plessis-les-Orgerieux,” answered the ser- gent, reading from the sign. “T didn’t know you could speak this here language,”’ said Jake. ‘“‘Where’d you But learn 1t?”’ ‘‘My mother was born in this country,” answered the sergeant. ‘“‘What’s all the row?” aot the cars where the troops were. The ” corporal emitted what might have been a grunt or a chuckle, as the hearer pleased. “‘T hear singing,”’ said Jake, hand at ear. THERE was a sound of strife from “Hey fer the coneyac, hey fer the wine, Ho for the ma’m’selles, every one is fine. T’ —— with the goldfish, bully beef ’n’ beans; T’ —— with the Kaiser an’ the —— marines.” It needed no cupped hand to hear that chorus. The windows in the station shook. The station master did his little act with horn and flag, and after an interchange of salutes between him and the engineer, the train moved out again and the sound of singing was lost. The fat corporal had not stirred from his seat on the case. He sat hunched over, hands in lap, his gaze fixed on vacancy. He had deep lines graven in his face, lines that went from the nose to the corner of the lips, and always mean a melancholy tem- perament. The corporal had black hair, streaked with gray, and a gray black beard, some two or three days old. He had sad eyes and loose lips. CoOMmiclhoo © 5}