o
ever went to war.

(Emma Gee is signaler's lingo for M. G., meaning machine gunner.)

It must not be inferred that our four months in England were all work
and worry. Personally, I derived great pleasure from them. We were
right in the midst of a lot of old and interesting places which figure
largely in the early history of England. Within a mile of our camp was
Saltwood Castle, built in 499 by the Romans and enlarged by the
Normans. It was here that the conspirators met to plan the
assassination of Thomas a Becket at Canterbury, only sixteen miles
away, and which we had ample opportunities to visit. Hythe, one of the
ancient "Cinque Ports," was but a mile or so distant, with its old
church dating from the time of Ethelbert, King of Kent. In its crypt
are the bones of several hundred persons which have been there since
the time of the Crusaders, and in the church, proper, are arms and
armor of some of the old timers who went on those same Crusades. Among
numerous tablets on the walls is one "To the memory of Captain Robert
Furnis, Commanding H. M. S. Queen Charlotte: killed at the Battle of
Lake Erie: 1813"--Perry's victory. About three miles away was "Monk's
Horton, Horton Park and Horton Priory," the latter church dating from
the twelfth century and remaining just about as it was when it was
built. Then there was Lympne Castle, another Roman stronghold; Caesar's
Plain and Caesar's Camp, where Julius is said to have spent some time
on his memorable expedition to England; and, within easy reach by
bicycle, Hastings and Battle Abbey where William the Norman defeated
Harold and conquered England. The very roads over which we marched
were, many of them, built by the Romans. Every little town and hamlet
through which we passed has a history running back for hundreds of
years. We took our noon rest one day in the yard of the famous
"Chequers Inn," on the road to Canterbury. We camped one night in
Hatch Park, where the deer scampered about in great droves. On Sundays
we could charter one of the big "rubber-neck" autos and make the round
trip to Margate, Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Deal and Dover.

[Illustration: _Photo by Western Newspaper Union_
French Hotchkiss Gun Firing at Aeroplane]

But, just the same, when we were told, positively, that we were going
to leave, there were no tears shed. We had gone over there to fight
and nothing else would satisfy us.

CHAPTER II

STRAIGHT TO THE FRONT

The Machine Gun S