Part 8 (1/2)
On the whole the ent as the poles in civil life, agree very well But the saiment; the public school clique and the board school clique live each in a separate world, and the line of demarcation between the-outs, but we bring a new atarettes, the spoken English is above suspicion; in another, stinking of regie
Only in No 3 is there torlds blent in one; our platoon officer says that we are aof literary men and babies
”Stand-to!” (p 095)
I rose tothe sleep fro blow on the roof The impact caused me to take a pace forward, and my boot rested on Stoner's face
”Get out of it, you clu over Mervin, as presently afoot andover another prostrate form
”Stand-to! Stand-to!”
We shuffled out into the open, and took up our posts on the banquette, each in fighting array, equipped with 150 rounds of ball cartridge and entrenching tool handle on hip In the trenches ays sleep in our equipht the bayonets are always fixed
”Where's Z----?” asked Stoner, as we stood to our rifles
”In the dug-out,” I told him, ”he's asleep”
”'E is, is 'e?” yelled Bill, rushi+ng to the door ”Corease to your gun
The Geret shot in the open”
Z---- stumbled from his bed and blinked at us as he came out (p 096)
”Is it true, Bill, are they 'ere?” he asked
”If they were 'ere you'd be a lot of good, you would,” said Bill ”Get on with the work”
In the dusk and dawning we stand-to in the trenches ready to receive the enee Probably on the other side he waits for our co we stood for half a day
The dawn crept slowly up the sky, the firing on the left redoubled in intensity, but we could not now see the flashes from the rifles The last star-rocket rose froht in round between the trenches opened up to our eyes The ruined cottage, cold and shattered, standingHere and there on the field I could see grey, inert objects sinking down, as it were, on the grass
”I suppose that's the dead, the things lying on the ground,” said Stoner ”They must be cold poor devils, I al, a blackbird hopped on to the parapet, looked enquiringly in, his yellow billfrom side to side, and (p 097) fluttered away; a lark rose into the heavens warbling for so, then sank to earth again, finding a resting place ast the dead We could see the German trenches distinctly now, and could alht a rifle spoke Bill was firing again
”Nark the doin's, Bill, nark it,” Goliath shouted, ood people across the way”
”An if I do!”
”They may fire at you!” said monumental Goliath with fine irony
”Then 'ere's another,” Bill replied, and fired again
”Don't expose yourself over the parapet,” said our officer, going his rounds ”Fire through the loop-holes if you see anything to fire at, but don't waste aed in the sandbags, opened on the enemy's lines; a hundred yards of this front was covered by each rifle; we had one loop-hole in every six yards, and by day every sixth ent worker that he is, set about preparing breakfast (p 098) when stand-to was over In an open space at the rear of the dug-out he fixed his brazier, chopped soimental issue of coke ablaze
”I'll cut the bacon,” I said, producing the meat which I had carried with me