wo or three times he dropped in to say he expected
to be sent over, but each time something or other happened to keep him
within a trolley ride of Broadway. Once he was caught in a mumps
quarantine just as his division got sailing orders, and again he
developed some trouble with one of his knees. Finally Hartley threw out
that someone at headquarters was blockin' him from gettin' to the front,
and at last he got stuck with this dock detail, which he never got loose
from until he was turned out for good. Way up to the end, though,
Hartley still talked about getting over to help smash the Huns. I guess
he was in earnest about it, too.

Maybe they thought when they had mustered Hartley out that they'd
returned another citizen to civilian life. But they hadn't more'n half
finished the job. Hartley wouldn't have it that way. He'd stored up a
lot of military enthusiasm that he hadn't been able to work off on
draftees and departin' heroes. In fact, he was just bustin' with it. You
could see that by the way he walked, even when he wasn't sportin' the
old O. D. once more on some excuse or other. He'd come swingin' into the
general offices snappy, like he had important messages for the colonel;
chin up, his narrow shoulders well back, and eyes front. He'd trained
Vincent, the office boy, to give him the zippy salute, and if any of the
rest of us had humored him he'd had us pullin' the same stuff. But those
of us that had been in the service was glad enough to give the right arm
motion a long vacation.

"Nothing doing, Hartley," I'd say to him. "We've canned the Kaiser,
ain't we? Let's forget that shut-eye business."

And how he did hate to part with that uniform. Simply couldn't seem to
do it all at once, but had to taper off gradual. First off he was only
going to sport it two days a week, but whenever he could invent a
special occasion, out it came. He even got him a Sam Browne belt, which
was contrary to orders, and once I caught him gazin' longin' in a show
window at some overseas service chevrons and wound stripes. Course, he
wore the allied colors ribbon, which passes with a lot of folks for
foreign decorations; but then, a whole heap of limited service guys have
put that over.

When it came to provin' that it was us Yanks who really cleaned up the
Huns and finished the war, Hartley was right there. That was his strong
suit. He carried maps around, all marked up with the positions of our
different divisions, and if he c