Adventure Magazine Cover, June 20, 1925 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

4. Adventure “Well, now, I felt pretty sad. There was all that fightin’ goin’ on and me here ridin’ herd on draftees just landed and goin’ on guard every four nights, and tryin’ to make France a desert by drinkin’ up all the liquor in it. So feeling sad, I wanted comfort. “Well, along about then comes the little frog with the jerry latrine squad and I had a bright thought that I'd take one of ’em over and straighten out my stuff for in- spection, which would save me a lot of work. So I wandered over here with this squarehead. Well, I started to show him what I wanted done, you know, and makin’ signs like a chink tellin’ you how much the laundry was, and this bird sounds off in English. Not awful good, but still you knew what he was talkin’ about. ‘* “Make up the blankets,’ says I, showin’ him how, ‘an’ put the shoes under the bunk, and hang that towel straight, and whisk the brooma bit.’ Well, he was glad enough to do that instead of what he was supposed to do. ‘You fellars got good shoes,’ says he, putting mine away. ‘That’s a nice coat,’ pointing to Joe Shupps’ hangin’ on ‘the wall. ‘Try it on,’ I says for the fun of it. Sohetriesiton. Then the Old Nick comes out from under the bunk and whispers in my ear. “How'd yuh like to go out and have a ball of vin rooge?’ says I. ~ “*The police,’ he moans, e!”’ “they’d kill “Pll put you on a uniform,’ I says, ‘an’ you an’ me’ll go for a pasear down to the gate an’ back an’ you can have a drink, and then we'll come back an’ go to work.’ ” “You crazy boob!”’ interjected Oley. “Shut up!” directed Colburn. ‘No re- marks. Well, the jerry climbs into Shupps’ uniform and out we went. Of course, the frog had gone back to his stockade, and none of our gang knew this here jerry, so we got away strong. I expected to get burned for leaving camp while I was on guard, and that was all. I took the jerry along to get some dope from him about the war. He wasn’t part of the original plan.” ‘What plan?” asked Olsen. “Don’t interrupt now. He wasn’t part o’ the plan. Well, we went out the gate and I chewed the rag with Number Four a minute and told him to keep his ojo peeled for the O. D. because I knew he’d be just as happy as a bug on a hot stove watchin’ for the O. D. and tryin’ to see him in time to give me the office, and o’ course the O. D. would see him sneak off post to tell me, so I thought I was all set. , “Then we went down to that gin mill « on the corner. About then the fun began. There was a bunch of frogs in there, guys on leave, I guess, all in uniform, and all drinkin’ death to the Boche and readin’ out loud about the big fight, and my guy's hair stands right up straight. “Well, I got him into a chair and we had a couple of shots of wine, and I tried to get some dope out of him about how the war was fought. He ain’t got no ears for me, so I decided about then that Id better get out of there. I began to guess I had the old steer by the horns. Then over comes one o’ these frogs and allows some thing about camarade Américain, and let’s have a drink, and he pours us out some stuff he’s got In a canteen. » ‘““*Ray,’ he says, ‘death to the Books or somethin’ to that effect. Anyway, I heard the word Boche and my jerry friend let’s the frog have his glass right in the mush. Then he gives a warcry in Dutch. Well, now, I’ve been in the Bucket o’ Blood in Thomp- sonville when the Fourth Field was doin’ M. P. duty, an’ [’ve been in one or two bar- room cleanouts in my time, but that was the liveliest. “All I thought of was to get out and bein’ near the door I did, they all goin’ for the jerry anyway. He put a table under a few o’ their feet and lets another guy have our bottle, that set me back three francs, right about where he tucks his dinner, and then he comes along of me. I guess the wine kinda got to him, or he was just mad as “Well, we run allee same jackrabbits, with all the bottles in that part of France buzzin’ by our ears, an’ we got in the gate and the guard hollers like and shows his rifle to the frogs an’ so we got away. ‘Well, who comes in the barracks but the O. D. with a moan that they’re one jerry prisoner short. There’s only two shovin’ the cart and there ought to be three. Well, I rushes right out with the O. D. and the jerry’s got sense enough to change his clothes, and he just gets ’em swapped when in comes the whole gang inspecting ane catches him in the barracks. ‘Well, he says I had him in to police up around my bunk and so they had me in, and about then some bright lad picks up Shupps’ COMiCOOOkkS. CO