hat I forgot about telling you about that little
girlie down in Texas. Well Al they isn't much to tell only that I got
another letter from her though I as good as told her I wished she
wouldn't write me no more but she wrote any way and she says she can't
forget me and theys no use asking her to and she wouldn't tell me where
it was we seen each other and they was no use me asking her. It looks
from her letter like she was getting in deeper every day and I don't
know what will be the end of it all and if she done anything to herself
on my acct. I would feel like a murder though of course a man can't help
how they look or what a girl thinks about them but still and all you
can't help from feeling like you was to blame.

I guess the best way to do is just not answer her letter and hope for
the best and hope she won't do nothing rash.

Well Al I started out to write you a long letter but I am to wore out
and I guess anybody would be after what we went through today. It was
the coldest day I ever seen so they picked it out for us to go on a 19
mile hike and if you could see the roads around here you would know what
that means and they can talk all they want to about how the men suffers
in France but I would rather go out in the middle of Nobody's Land and
start a mumblety peg game then take another of these dam hikes with the
weather a million below zero and the road full of rutts as big as the
grand canion.

If it hadn't been for setting a example to my command I believe I would
of pretended like I was sick and when you are sick they make somebody
else carry your junk and leave you ride in a wagon thats O.K. for a
private that don't care what the rest of them think of him but a
corporal has got to keep going and try to keep his men going and when
you got a bunch of sap heads like mine it keeps a man on the jump to
tend to them. Red Sampson was so bad that I had to keep after him all
the while and finely I pulled a good one on him I said "Sampson
everybody in the whole regt. is out of step but you." So the rest of
them give him the laugh but he can't take a joke no matter how good it
is so he says "I haven't heard that one since they fought with spears."
So I said "You get in step and show a little life or I'll spear you."

[Illustration: Yes you are a fine Wife and Mother running around town
and leave your Kid all alone (p. 134).]

Well its all over now any way and I don't suppose they will send us out
again till they