of thanks instead of---- She did not complete the sentence.
It was soon after that that we went to visit Charlie Sands, Tish'snephew, at the camp where he was learning to be an officer. We called tosee the colonel in command first, and Aggie gave him two extra blanketsfor Charlie Sands' bed and a pair of knitted bedroom slippers. He wasvery nice to us and promised to see personally that they went to theproper bed.
"I'm always delighted to attend to these little things," he said. "Fineto feel that our boys are comfortable. You haven't by any chance broughtan eiderdown pillow?"
He seemed very regretful when he found we had not thought of one.
"That's too bad," he said. "I've discovered that there is nothing socomforting as a down pillow after a day of strenuous labor."
It was rather disappointing to find that the duties of his position kepthim closely confined to the office, and that therefore he had not yethad the pleasure of meeting Tish's nephew, but he said he had no doubtthey would meet before long.
"They're all brought in here sooner or later, for one thing or another,"he said pleasantly.
As Tish observed going out, it was pleasant to to think of CharlieSands' being in such good hands.
It was, however, rather a shock to find him, when we did find him, lyingon his stomach in a mud puddle with a rifle in front of him. We did notrecognize him at once, as a lot of men were yelling, and indeed just atfirst he did not seem particularly glad to see us.
"Suffering cats!" he shouted. "Don't you see we're shooting? You'll bekilled. Get behind the line!"
"I guess it won't defeat the Allies if you stop shooting for twominutes," Tish observed with her splendid poise. "But if you will takecharge of this homemade apple butter, which I didn't trust your colonelwith, we will go to your sitting room, or wherever it is you receivevisitors."
There was quite a crowd of young officers round us by that time and wewaited to be introduced. But Charlie Sands did not seem to think of it,so Tish put down the apple butter on the ground and said to one of them:
"Now, young man, since we seem to be in your way, perhaps you will takeus to some place to wait for my nephew." Then seeing that he lookedrather strange she added: "But perhaps you have never met. This is mynephew, Mr. Sands. If you will tell me who you are----"
"Williams is my name," he said. "I--Major Williams. I--I've met yournephew--that is---- Private Sands, take these ladies to the Y. M. C. A.hut, and report back here in an hour."
Tish did not like this; nor did I. As Tish observed later, he mighthave been speaking to the butler.
"He might at least have said 'Mister,' and a 'please' hurts no one," shesaid. As for giving him only an hour when we had come a hundredmiles--it was absurd. But war does queer things.
It had indeed strangely altered Tish's nephew. We were all worried abouthim that day. It was his manner that was odd. He seemed, as Tish saidlater, suppressed. When for instance we wished to take him back toheadquarters and present him to the colonel he said at once: "Who? Me?The colonel! Say, you'd better get this and get it right: I'm nothinghere. I'm less than nothing. Why, the colonel could walk right over meon the parade ground and never even know he'd stepped on anything. If Iwas a louse and he was a can of insect powder----"
"Now see here, Charlie Sands," Tish said firmly, "I'll trouble you toremember that there are certain words not in my vocabulary; and louse isone of them."
"Still, a vocabulary is a better place than some others I can think of,"he observed.
"What is more," Tish added, "you are misjudging that charming colonel.He told us himself that he tried to be a mother to you all."
She then told him how interested the colonel had been in the blankets,and so on, but I must say Charlie Sands was very queer about it. Hestopped and looked at us all in turn, and then he got out the dirtiesthandkerchief I have ever seen and wiped his forehead with it.
"Perhaps you'd better say it again," he said; "I don't seem to get italtogether. You are sure it was the colonel?"
So Tish repeated it, but when she came to the eiderdown pillow he heldup his hand.
"All right," he said in a strange tone. "I believe you. I--you don'tmind if I go and get a drink of water, do you? My mouth is dry."
Dear Tish watched him as he went away, and shook her head.
"He is changed already," she observed sadly. "That is one of thedeadliest effects of war. It takes the bright young spirit of youth andfeeds it on stuff cooked by men, with not even time enough to chewproperly, and puts it on its stomach in the mud, while its head is inthe clouds of idealism. I think that a letter to the Secretary of Warmight be effective."
I must admit that we had a series of disappointments that day. The firstwas in finding that they had put Tish's nephew, a grandson of a formerJustice of the Supreme Court, into a building with a number of othermen. Not only that but without so much as a screen, or a closet inwhich to hang up his clothing.
"What do you mean, hang up my clothes?" he said when we protested."They're hung up all right--on me."
"It seems rather terrible," Aggie objected gently. "No privacy oranything."
"Privacy! I haven't got anything to hide."
We found some little comfort, however, in the fact that beneath thepitiful cot that he called his bed he had a small tin trunk. Even thatwas destroyed, however, by the entrance of a thin young man calledSmithers, who reached under the cot and dragging out the trunk proceededto take out one of the pairs of socks that Aggie had knitted.
Charlie Sands paid no attention, but Tish fixed this person with a coldeye.
"Haven't you made a mistake?" she inquired. The young man was changinghis socks, with his back to us, and he looked back over his shoulder.
"Sorry!" he said. "Didn't like to ask you to go out. Haven't any placeelse to go, you know."
"Aren't you putting on my nephew's socks?"
"Extraordinary!" he said. "Did you notice that?"
"I'll trouble you to take them off, young man."
"Well," he said reflectively, "I'll tell you what we'll do: I'll takeoff these socks if he'll return what he's got on that belongs to me. Idon't remember exactly, but I'm darn sure of his underwear and hisbreeches. You see, while you good people at home are talking democracywe're practicing it, and Sands' idea is the best yet. He swaps an entireoutfit for a pair of socks. Even the Democratic Party can't improve onthat."
Tish was very thoughtful during the remainder of the afternoon, but shebrightened somewhat when, later on, we sat on the steps of a buildingwatching Charlie Sands and a number of others going through what MajorWilliams called setting-up exercises. She was greatly interested andmade notes in her memorandum book. I have a copy of the book before menow. The letter T, S, A and B stand respectively for Toes, Stomach, Armsand Back. I shall not quote all Tish's notes, but this one, forinstance, is illustrative of her thorough methods:
"Lying on B. in mud, H. flat on ground, L. rigidly extended: Rise L. inair six times. Retaining prone position rise to sitting position withoutaid of A., but using S. muscles. Repeat six times. [Note: Director useslanguage unfitting a soldier and a gentleman. Report to the Secretary ofWar.]"
She recorded the other movements with similar care, and after one isthe thoughtful observation: "Excellent to make Lizzie look less like abolster."
I find all of Tish's notes taken that day as very indicative of thethoroughness with which she does everything. For instance she made thefollowing recommendations to be sent to the War Department:
"That the camp cooks be instructed to use hemmed tea towels instead ofsacking, and to boil the dish towels after each meal, preferably withsoap powder and soda.
"That screens be provided between cots, to give that measure of privacynecessary to a man's self-respect.
"Large, commodious clothes closets in the barracks. A bag of camphor ineach one would serve to keep away moths. Also, that wearing apparelshould not be borrowed.
"All army blankets should be marked as to the end to go to the top ofthe cot. Sh
eets should also be provided, as blankets scratch and have atendency to keep the soldier awake.
"Soda fountains here and there through the camp would do a great deal toprevent the men in training from going to neighboring towns aftercertain deleterious liquids. [Should, however, be served by maleattendants.]
"Pyjamas should be included in every soldier's equipment. [CharlieSands had told us a startling thing. On inquiring what had become of theraw-silk pyjamas we had made him as a part of his army equipment heconfessed that he did