76 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Courtesy of the American Red Cross 



"the finest soldier in ANY army" 



A "chunk of iron" from bursting shrapnel had buried itself in the flesh so close to his 

 heart that the surgeons said he could not survive ether, so he told them to cut away without 

 the "knock-out drops." "And he never wiggled a toe," testifies the nurse. 



is that if the Lord came on earth a second 

 time he'd find this country just like he 

 left it. 



"Oh, I don't know," chimes in a third. 

 "Some parts of it ain't so bad. You take 

 Ix the Pains (Aix les Bains), for in- 

 stance. Some o' my comp'ny went there 

 for 'leave' and they said it's just grand. 

 You're met at the depot with a automo- 

 bile and taken to the right hotel. Guv'- 

 ment car, of course. At night you put 

 your shoes outside the door and next 

 morning they're polished. And you can 

 have your breakfast in bed if you want 

 it. Oh, la-la, la-la I" 



"doc, i'm your man" 



The two enormous, open-windowed 

 tents are crowded to capacity, and dotted 

 all about the wide immaculate terrace are 



men in rolling chairs. Only one is in a 

 bed, and the nurse stops before him be- 

 cause she wants me to meet the boy known 

 to all the hospital as the finest soldier in 

 any army. 



"Tell her about yourself," she orders. 



"Why, there's nothing to tell," smiles 

 Arthur, "except that I was wounded 

 about a month and a half ago. They 

 kept me in a French hospital until day 

 before yesterday. They told me there 

 was nothin' doin' as far as I was con- 

 cerned. I said, 'You take me to some 

 one that can talk my talk and then we'll 

 see/ So they brought me here and the 

 doctor looks me over and says the reason 

 why they didn't cut was because the 

 chunk of iron was too close to my heart, 

 and so I couldn't stand to take ether. 

 'However/ says he, 'if you're game 



