This   done,    the   little   company   of   officers


THE  LANDING  OF  PERSHING  5

walked  down  the  gang-plank,  talking  cheerily  of
their  satisfaction  at  meeting,  of  their  hard  work
on  the  ship,  of  the  weather,  and  what-not,  all
the  while  the  soldiers  on  the  decks  behind  them
waved  hands  and  handkerchiefs  in  a  general
overflow  of  well-being,  and  finally — set  foot  in
England !

One  may  not  go  too  far  in  describing  the
contents  of  a  general's  mind  without  some  help
from  him,  but  it's  a  fair  guess  that  if  General
Pershing  is  as  kin  to  his  kind  as  he  seems  to
be,  the  very  precise  moment  of  this  setting  foot
in  England  escaped  his  notice  altogether,  and
was  left  free  for  the  historian  to  embroider
how  he  pleased.  For  General  Pershing  was  in
the  act  of  being  led  to  the  salute  of  a  guard  of
honor  by  General  Campbell.  And  almost  im-
mediately after  that  precise  moment  the  Welsh
Fusiliers'  band  began  the  "  Star-Spangled  Ban-
ner," and  again  it's  a  good  bet  that  General
Pershing  and  his  staff  thought  not  a  thing
about  England  and  a  lot  about  home.
But  so  the  historic  moment  came,  and  so  it
went.  And  presently  the  American  vanguard  was
finding  its  places  in  the  special  train  to  London.
6  OUR  ARMY  AT  THE  FRONT

Perhaps  England  knew  that  a  great  hour  was
in  the  making,  for  her  rolling  green  hills  gave
back  the  warmth  of  a  splendid  sun,  and  her
hedgerows  and  wild  blooms  braved  forth  in
crystal  air.  Those  of  the  newcomers  who  saw
England  first  that  afternoon  thanked  their  stars
fervently  that  England  and  democracy  were  on
the  same  side.
