The last mornin we fired the Lieutenant says I was battery agent. It
seemed kind of silly to me to bother about sellin stuff while we was
firin but thats the Lieutenant. He got away before I could ask him what
I was to sell. I bought a lot of pop and crackers and stuff and tried to
sell em to the fellos, while they was firin. The first sargent
wouldnt let me. I told him I was battery agent but not him. That fello
wont have to wear no steel helmut when he gets to France. I ate it all
myself.
[Illustration: "THE FIRST SARGENT WOULDNT LET ME"]
If the Lieutenant is goin to keep me as battery agent now were back Im
goin to ask him if I cant rig up a little office. I wouldnt be surprised
if they had me up in Washington pretty soon. Lots of the fellos say they
ought to send me somewhere. Im ritin up to N. Y. where theres a place
where they make sofa pillos with fellos goin over the top on em and gold
rings with your girls name on em free for a dollar twenty ($1.20).
The last week on the range we lived in pup tents. A pup tent Mable is
like the roof of a dog house without the house. They call em pup tents
cause no one but a very young dog would be fool enough to sleep under
one. There made out of a couple of pieces of stuff like what you make
porus nit underclothes out of. You button em together if theres any
buttons. It dont make much difference as far as keepin the rain out is
concerned. The only thing they do to the rain is to strain it.
I guess these pup tents we got is an old issue what was wished on us by
the Japaneze army. When an ordinary sized fello lies down in one (and
thats all you can do in em) hes out doors from the nees down. The Major
came round Sunday night. I guess he made a mistake and thought it was
Saturday. Theres a rule that Majors only come round on Saturday cause
they bother the men. The Major says "I guess well blow taps an hour
early tonight cause the men is all in." An I says back right out loud
"There aint anybody goin to get all in these things, you big overgrown
boob," only he happened to be away down the street and didnt hear me. It
didnt make no difference to me though. I said it anyway. High spirited.
Thats me all over, Mable.
Angus MacKenzie, the skotch fello, says that these is skotch pup tents.
The skotch he says dont ever wear nothin below the nees. I guess Angus
aint a pure skot though cause I heard him and Joe Loomis arguin this
mornin cause Angus had swiped Joes horse blanket to wrap round his legs.
It rained for three days before we left. You could have squoze water out
of my pistol, Mable. They say a fello is two thirds water anyway. I bet
I was 99 and ninety nine 100 per cent pure, eh Mable?
Monday mornin we hiked back to camp. They got us up so early I thought
they was blowin taps. The Lieutenant was awful sore. I guess a drop
of water came through his tent somewhere during the night and lit on
him. He looks at me and says "As you were, Smith." All I says was "Ill
never be again, Lieutenant."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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