. . . . . . . . . . 21
"Built like the leg of a sailurs trowsers" . . . . . . . . . . . 22
"You paint a horse black and white stripes" . . . . . . . . . . . 24
"I spent mine doin Kitchen police" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
"I wish that hired girl could come down" . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
"A croquette is a French society woman" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
"I sat next to a Colonels wife" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
"Men hate to be watched while they are freezin" . . . . . . . . . 34
"I had a reputashun for a devil with the wimen" . . . . . . . . . 36
"It seemed to depres them awful" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
"If I catch one of those ailin enemies windin up your victrola" . 40
"Stuck my head out of the blankets" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
"When I looked in the tin mirror I thought I was starvin" . . . . 44
"They come round an watch you eat it" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
"Army food always runs" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
"He smokes cigarets something awful" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
"I poured some oil out of his lamp" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
"I even got mud in my hair" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
"The water comes through on me" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
"The last time I will take my pen in hand for you" . . . . . . . 58
"It wont be no use runin to the door" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Dere Mable

Love Letters of a Rookie

_Dere Mable:_

I guess you thought I was dead. Youll never know how near you was to
right. We got the tents up at last, though, so I got a minit to rite. I
guess they choose these camps by mail order. The only place there flat
is on the map. Where our tents is would make a good place for a Rocky
Mountin goat if he didnt break his neck. The first day the Captin came
out an says "Pitch your tents here." Then he went to look for someone
quick before anyone could ask him how. I wish I was a Captin. I guess he
thought we was Alpine Chasers. Eh, Mable? But you probably dont know
what those are.

Honest, Mable, if Id put in the work I done last week on the Panamah
Canal it would have been workin long before it was. Of course there was
a lot of fellos there with me but it seemed like all they did was to
stand round and hand me shovels when I wore em out.

The Captin appresheates me though. The other day he watched me work
awhile and then he says "Smith." He calls me Smith now. We go