Life, 1917-04-05 · page 68 of 70
Life — April 5, 1917 — page 68: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines a WWI short story with advertising and literary promotion. **"An Incident of the Trenches"** is a satirical war story by R. Richard Schayer depicting Lieutenant Fitzhugh Throckmorton heroically sprinting through enemy fire back to his trench—only to discover his Colonel and fellow officers regard him coldly because "they had finished tea." The joke undercuts military heroics: despite his dramatic courage under fire, Throckmorton arrives *late to tea*, earning silent disapproval rather than commendation. This mocks both rigid military protocol and the contrast between battlefield danger and the trivial social conventions officers maintain. The page also advertises Eomeroy Silk Shirts ($5-$10) and promotes Life's "Shortest Story Contest," which received 30,000 submissions. Winners appear in an anthology selling for $1.25. The bottom illustration, "Easter 1917: The Same Old Bonnet," appears unrelated—likely a separate cartoon about Easter fashion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
An Incident of the Trenches I a gorse bush a hundred yards beyond his trench lay Lieutenant Fitzhugh Throckmorton of the King’s Own Rifles, asleep at his post. For hours he had lain there, searching the position of the enemy through his binocu- lars. Overcome by fatigue, he had nodded, drowsed, and finally slumbered. The sun hung low in the western mists when Throck- morton awoke. He glanced at his wrist-watch and sprang to his feet with an oath. Regardless of peril, he turned and sprinted toward his trench. His was not a nature to count the risk when duty, however delayed, called. y Ger- man sniper within range sent shot upon shot after the flying figure. The enemy’s trenches took up the hunt and fairly blazed with rifle and machine-gun fire. The bullets hummed in Throckmorton’s ears like a swarm of savage hornets. They snarled and bit at the turf about his feet $5.36,#7.5° up to $10, like a pack of wolves. ready to wear. Mater- ' | With a last desperate burst of speed, his clothing ials, workmanship with bullet holes, the Lieutenant gained his trench andfinishequalto leaped down to its cover. His face wearing an ex custom shirts at of mingled hope and d spair, he rushed to the bomb proof double the price dug-out where sat his Colonel and brother officers. They = looked up at him with cold eyes. One glance and Throck- Look for Gmery t | morton’s heart failed him. He was too late. at better-class hab- ; 1 They had finished tea. erdashers. Or write 2 H R. Richard Schayer. for dealer's name. ; J WM. Steppacher & Bro.Inc. Philadelphia ‘OW short can a short story be? problem, held recently a very ° interesting contest. A prize of $1,000 Stories from was offered for the best original story Tee. under 1,500 words in length, and second Life and third prizes of $500 and $250. In addition to these prizes, every story THE 81 PRIZE STORIES IN accepted by Life as good enough to “ LIFE’'S" SHORTEST STORY enter the competition was to be paid for CONTEST — at the rate of ten cents for every word With an Introduction by under 1,500 words which the author did THOMAS L.. MASSON not write! Thatis, a story ot 1,499 words Managing Editor of ** Life’’ would be worth 10 cents; a story of 500 Net $1.25 words would be worth $100, and so on. This unique contest aroused great interest among the best American short story writers. More than 30,000 MSS. were received by Life. Of these, 81 were selected as the best, and these are the stories which appear in this book. Eighty-one short stories, all under 1,500 words, vivid, unconventional, some by established writers and some by authors still unknown to the public, make this a book of unusual interest. Thomas L. Masson, the well known managing editor of Life and compiler of humorous anthologies, con- tributes an introduction. It cost Life more than $12,000 to collect these stories. The reader may have them for $1.25 net. By post, $1.36. LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY 17 West 31st Street, New York EASTER, 1917, THE SAME OLD BONNET comichooks.