ause you got to
be quick or youll get your self insted of a rat. Joe Mink had to spoil
it of course by blowin in dug outs. Hed have been all right if hed
picked old dug outs but he wasnt satisfied till hed found one with a
fello comin up the stairs. I dont see yet tho why there was such a
holler raised. The old thing didnt go off. It just caught the fello in
the stummick an knocked some wind out. He blacked Joes eyes an then
went to the Major. Joes back in the eschelon now groomin horses. Angus
MacKenzie has come up in his place so Im just as satisfied.

I guess were goin across pretty soon now. Then Ill be able to get a
helmet an a looger pistel an a pair of feel glasses. I guess the
Fritzes are gettin scared. I hope there not as scared as I am.

yours indefinitely
_Bill_

_Dere Mable:_

Since I rote you last I been over the top with the doboys, taken a
woods that I cant see why anybody wanted, an collected enuff soovenirs
to equip a South American army. Im ritin this from a Fritz dug-out in
the middle of the woods on Fritz oficers paper. If Id telefoned ahed
he couldnt have had things fixed up better for me. There was a lunch
out on the table an blankets an even clean underclose (if youll excuse
my menshuning them). They used to have electric lights here but
somebody soovenired the dinamo so they wont work.

The nite before we went over four more artilery runners came up. I ast
the Lootenant if they was plannin to send any doboys over to help us
in the attack. He said there had to be a lot of runners sos that when
two went back with a message an got killed he could send two more.
Always cheery an bright, the Lootenant.

The nite before the attack we went up to a tunnel thats dug right
under a hill an has got rooms in it an everything. Those fellos didnt
seem to care how many shovels they wore out. We got into it down a
long flight of steps in the pitch dark where I like to have broke my
neck. Then down a long passage feelin your way along the road. Every
four or five feet somebody would run into you an cuss you.

At last we came round a bend an there was all the doboys sittin in the
mud eatin supper an smokin. The only lights they had was pieces of
candle stuck up on there equipment. It looked like the whole army was
in that tunnel an all smokin at the same time. The Lootenant told us
to make ourselves comfortable then he disappeared into one of the
rooms off to the side.

About ten o'clock