time twenty-five more secretaries arrived from the
American Y. M. C. A. headquarters in England, and with this addition to
personnel, it was possible to make headquarters something more than a
table and a telephone. A fairly efficient supply and office staff was
built up and with the landing of two or three belated cargoes, "Y" folk
began to see a rosier period ahead. But transport difficulties made it
almost impossible to get stuff moved to the front, where the men needed
it most. 'When there are neither guns nor ammunition enough,' said the
British headquarters, 'how can we afford to take sleds for sending up
biscuits and cigarettes?'

"Nevertheless, by hook or crook, several convoys were pushed through to
Bereznik, each time reviving the hopes of the men in the outposts, who
thought at last they might get some regular service. Tom Cotton and
"Husky" Merrill, two football stars from Dartmouth, were in charge of
the "Y" points on the Dvina advanced front, and whatever success the "Y"
attained in that vicinity belongs primarily to their credit. They ended
an eventful career in the spring of 1919 by getting captured when the
Bolsheviks and Russian mutineers staged a coup d'etat at Toulgas and
captured the village. Their escape was more a matter of luck than of
planning. They paddled down the river in a boat. In their hasty exit
from the village, they left behind all their personal belongings.

"At Shenkursk the "Y" hut and stock also fell to the Bolos, but the
secretaries got out with the troops. The column which made the terrible
retreat from Shenkursk found the "Y" waiting for it at Shegovari, with
hot cocoa and biscuit. Despite the congested transport, the service on
this line was kept up all through the winter and spring, "Dad"
Albertson, "Ken" Hollinshead and Brackett Lewis making themselves mighty
effective in their service to the men on this sector. Albertson has
written a book, "Fighting Without a War," which embodies his experiences
and observations with the doughboys at the front.

"One of the best pieces of service performed by the "Y" during the whole
campaign was carried on at the time of the fierce Bolshevik drive for
Obozerskaya from the west in February and March. This drive cost the "Y"
two of its best secretaries, but service was maintained without a break
from the first day until the end when the Bolos retreated. Merle Arnold
was in the village running a "Y" post when the attack occurred and was
capt