es the coffee. He does it by puttin half in your cup an half
on your thumb. The other fellos has big spoons. I guess they are old
Lacross players. A big wad of food hits your plate splash an knocks it
squee gee. The other fello hits the other plate an knocks it the other
way. When you get it all its runnin out of one dish up your sleeve an
out of the other back into the food pans.

Army food always runs. Cooks love loose grub. There awful stupid. If
theres anything solid you get it in the pan with the rim on it. Then
they pour the soup on your cover.

When you sit down half what you got left spills out on the table. It
isnt so bad now cause everything freezes about as soon as it hits.

[Illustration: "ARMY FOOD ALWAYS RUNS"]

You ought to see us eat breakfast, Mable. We got so many overcoats and
things on that a fello dont get no elbow action. Some fellos eats with
there wool gloves. That aint a good scheme though. It makes things taste
like eatin peaches with there skins on.

The fello that invented our eatin tables must have been a supply Sargent
once. All the seats is nailed to the table. When you get a spoonful of
loose food up some fello puts his foot in your lap and leaves a couple
of pounds of mud there. I just brush it off tho on the next fello. Never
complain. Thats me all over.

Well Mable I got to shine my shoes now and go and eat offen china plates
with a nigger waiter. I dont eat with a nigger waiter, Mable. Its awful
hard to explain things to you sometimes. So now I will close.

Hoping you are the same
_Bill_

_Dere Mable:_

I been thinkin of you a lot durin the last weak, Mable, havin nothin
else to do. I been in the hospital with the Bronxitis. I guess I caught
it from Joe Loomis. He comes from there. Id have rote you in bed but I
dropped my fountin pen on the floor an bent it. Im all right now.

I got some news for you, Mable. The cook says we only drew ten days
supply of food last time. He says he guesses when we et that up well go
to France. Hes an awful smart fello the cook. Hes got a bet on that if
the allys dont buck up an win the Germans is comin out ahead. Max
Glucos, a fello in the tent, is refere. Were all eatin as fast as we
can. Perhaps we can eat it all in less than ten days. So maybe well be
gone, Mable, before I rite you from here again.

Theres a French sargent comes round once in a while an says the war is
goin to be over quick. He ought to know cause hes