Well Al we are looking for it now most any day and this may be the last letter you will ever get from your old pal and you may think I am kidding when I say that but 1 of the boys told me a wile ago that he heard Capt. Seeley telling 1 of the lieuts. that the reason we come in here ahead of time was on acct. of them expecting the Dutchmans to make their next drive on this section and the birds that we are takeing their place was a bunch of yellow stiffs that was hard of hearing except when they was told to retreat and Gen. Pershing figured that if they was up here when Jerry made a attack they would turn around and open up a drive on Africa and the bosh has been going through the rest of the line like it was held by the ladies aid and Gen. Foch says they have got to be stopped so we are elected Al and you know what that means and it means we can’t retreat under no conditions but stay here till we get killed. So you see I wasn’t kidding Al and it looks like it was only a question of a few days or maybe not that long but at that I guess most of the boys would just as leave stop a Dutch bayonet as to lay around in this he‑ll hole. Believe me Al this is a fine resort to spend 10 days at what with the mud and the perfume and a whole menajery useing you for a parade grounds.
Well Capt. Seeley wants us to get all the rest we can now on acct. of what’s comeing off after a wile but believe me I am not going to oversleep myself in this he‑ll hole because suppose Jerry would pick out the time wile you was asleep to come over and pay us a visit and they’s supposed to be some of the boys on post duty to watch all night and keep their eye pealed and wake us up if they’s something stiring but I have been in hotels a lot of times and left a call with some gal that didn’t have nothing to do only pair her finger nails and when the time come ring me up but even at that she forgot it so what chance is they for 1 of these sentrys to remember and wake everybody up when maybe they’s 5 or 6 Dutchmens divideing him into building lots with their bayonet or something. So as far as I am conserned I will try and keep awake wile I can because it looks like when we do go to sleep we will stay asleep several yrs. and even if we are lucky enough to get back to them rest billets we can sleep till the cows come home a specially if they give us some more of them entertainments like we had in camp.
Well Al before we got here I thought they would be so much fireing back and 4th up here that a man couldn’t hear themself think but I guess Jerry is saveing up for the big show though every little wile they try and locate our batterys and clean them out and once in so often 1 of our big guns replys but as Johnny Alcock says you couldn’t never accuse our artillrys from being to gabby and I guess we are lucky they are pretty near speechless as they might take a notion to fire short but any way a little wile ago 1 of our guns sent a big shell over and Johnny says what and the he‑ll can that be and I said its a shell from 1 of our guns and he says he thought they fired 1 yesterday.
Well as I say here we are with 10 days of it stareing us in the eye and the cuties for company and the only way we can get out of here ahead of time is on a stretcher and I wouldn’t mind that Al but as I say I want to be awake when my time comes because if I am going to get killed in this war I want to have some idear who done it.
In the Trenchs, May 14.
Friend Al: Well Al I got the supprise of my life today when Jack Brady handed me a letter that had came for me and that’s supprise enough itself but all the more when I opened it up and seen who it was from. Well it was from that baby in Cologne and I will coppy it down as it is short and you can see for yourself what she says. Well here it is:
Dear Mr. Keefe: Your letter just reached me and you can bet I was glad to get it. I sure will be glad to see you when you come to Cologne and I will be more than glad to show you the sights. This is some town and we sure will have a time when you get here. I am just learning to write English so please excuse mistakes but all I want to say is don’t disappoint me but write when you will come so I can be all dressed up comme un cheval. Avec l’amour und kussen.
You see Al they’s part of it wrote in
