but you could see the red flashes once in a while when one of them lit
in a field near the road.

Every time one busted Joe would duck into a ditch. He had me doin it
pretty soon. The more we ducked the more we couldnt help it till we
was goin down the road like a couple of Rushin dancers. Then we broke
all the rules of the runners union an ran.

We didnt have no trouble findin the Captin cause we knew just where to
look. Just as we started to go down in his dug-out we heard a big one
comin and both landed together at the bottom. After a fellos face gets
broken in to goin down stairs that way its the easiest way. The Captin
was awful sore. He wanted to know what the this an that we meant by
comin in without knockin. That fello would want you to salute if you
had both arms shot off. I didnt say nothin. Just gave him the
Lootenants message.

That seemed to make him madder still. He pushed the papers around on
his desk an said didnt that one thing an another Lootenant know he
couldnt get fire without orders from regimental headquarters. An didnt
he know that regimental headquarters couldnt give any order till they
was asked for it by doboy headquarters. An why the this an that didnt
we go to the doboys if we wanted some fire.

Id like to have told him where to go to get some fire. I just saluted
tho, an said "Yes sir." Spirited. Thats me all over, Mable. Then we
went back to pass the buck to the Lootenant. The doboy oficers was all
sittin around tellin him how good the Inglish artilery was. A couple
of hours later when Joe an I was havin breakfast we heard the battery
fire about twenty shots. The doboys said it was lucky we didnt fire