Argosy All-Story Weekly, August 9, 1924 — page 165: what you’re looking at

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

ian i fe SY By R. K. TARR tracted men of many nations and men from all known and unknown spots upon the globe. Though perhaps the men I mean particularly are more properly of one race—a race of waifs, of lone wan- derers, seed of pioneers, and sea rovers of all the ages. Yes, that must be it. Particu- larly the descriptive “lone,” for it made no difference to them what unit they joined, so that it promised action. They merely went to the nearest recruiting place— maybe mushing a team or humping bluey a thousand miles to get there—and signed up. So that there were Canadians in Anzac units, Yanks in the South African Scot- tish, Italians in the Royal Welsh. If you asked a man of the C. F. A. what part of Canada he came from, he would as likely name Frisco or Buenos Aires as any place; and the mention of “ the bush ” to an Aus- tralian trooper might call to his mind only Flatbush, or Shepherd’s Bush. A Royal B esceea ’S armies during the war at- Flying Corps officer might be from Rio or Calcutta, or from Winnipeg or Fiji or Rho- desia; but quite as likely he was from New York. Yes; there were Yanks everywhere. ‘There was one—at least—in the K. O. Y. L. I. This was in 1916. His name was Staunton—Billy Staunton—and he was from— No, from Ohio. II. ALL these men were young, when they first went in—perhaps not all of them in years, but there is a certain spark called “ the fire of youth.” Ask the youth why he was fighting, and he would answer—if you got him in the proper mood—‘‘ for my country, and my mother.” At the front, by some enchantment, all women took on the attributes of ‘“‘ my mother,” and as such became a race of divine beings inhabiting another and a better world, where, in- credible as it might seem, there were no 315 Conn Clooolkks nn