"
"Why, I was never in San Francisco in my life," he said with a grin.
"But you said to those boys, 'I didn't see anything worse at the San
Francisco earthquake,'" I replied.
"Well, I didn't, for I wasn't there. I just gave them guys what they
was lookin' for in all its horrible details, didn't I? Ain't they
satisfied? Well, so am I, bo."
This story has a meaning all its own in addition to the fact that it
produced one of the bright spots in my experiences in France. That
eloquent secretary represents a type who will tell the public about
anything he thinks it wants to know about the "horrible details" of war
in France, and facts do not baffle his inventive genius.
One characteristic of the American soldier in France is his absolute
fearlessness about dangers. He doesn't know how to be afraid. He
wants to see all that is going on. The French tap their heads and say
he is crazy, a gesture they have learned from America. And they have
reason to think so. When the "alert" blows for an air-raid the French
and English have learned to respect it. Not so the American soldier.
"Think I'm comin' clear across that darned ocean to see something, and
then duck down into some blamed old cellar or cave and not see anything
that's goin' on! Not on your life. None o' that for muh! I'm going
to get right out on the street where I can see the whole darned show!"
And that's just what he does.
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