o I
crawled after them havin nothin else to do.

After Id crawled till it seemed like I must be pretty near out of the
woods an the knees of my trousers I stood up. When I looked around for
the doboys there wasnt any. All I could hear was rivitin machines an
shells bustin all around me. An the bullets was criss-crossin thru the
bushes like a bunch of draggin flies. It seemed like a useless place
for an artilery fello to be in.

Well, Mable, Im goin to quit now cause one of the doboy runners is
goin back an I want to give him this letter. I am enclosin some mud I
picked up in Nobodies Land. It may help to give you some idear of the
country.

Yours to the last Fritz
_Bill_

_Dere Mable:_

I never thought Id be ritin such long letters that Id have to be
gettin them off my chest on the instalment plan. Ive sharpened my
pencil so ofen there aint hardly enuff left to hang onto. There
shellin the woods today. Every time one lands anywhere near the dug
out something seems to break the point.

Well, Mable, in my last letter I left myself standin all alone in the
middle of the woods lissenin to a lot of things flyin round my head
that arent in no bird book. I was beginnin to think wether, havin lost
the Lootenant an the Major, I hadnt ought to go back to my battery.
Duty before plesure. Thats me all over, Mable. Just then I heard
someone comin thru the woods.

That was the worst minit of my life except once when I had to make a
speech in High School. I decided if it was goin to be my last Id spend
it as private as I could so I stepped behind a bush. Whoever was comin
seemed to have the spring halt. Hed come a little way. Then hed stop.
Then hed come a little. I couldnt figger where I had any call to act
as a Fritz recepshun comittee so I started to crawl away. Just as I
stuck my head around the bush I saw something that made me lie down
agen so hard I bet the ground is still stamped with the eagels on my
buttons. It was only the end of a shoe passin thru the brush about
fifteen feet away. There are times tho when an old shoe can look worse
than your granfathers gost sittin on the end of your bed makin faces
at you.

[Illustration: "I STUCK MY HEAD AROUND THE BUSH"]

I lay there for what seemed like a couple of days. I didnt dare roll
over on my back for fear of makin a noise an I didnt dare stay on my
face for fear of somebody makin a pincushun out of me while I wasnt
lookin. I was tryin to think ou