Part 27 (1/2)
We halted by the last house in the village, one that stood alh levelled to the ground Myin there,” he said pointing at the doors (p 266)
”Souvenirs?” I asked
”Souvenirs,” he replied
The two of us slipped away froround floor stood a table on which a dinner was laid; an active service dinner of soup made from soup tablets (2_d_ each) the wrappers of which lay on the tiled floor, some tins of bully beef, opened, a loaf, half a dozen apples and an unopened tin of _cafe au lait_ The dinner was laid for four, although there were only three forks, two spoons and two clasp knives, the latter were undoubtedly used to replace table knives Pryor looked under the table, then turned round and fixed a pair of scared eyes on me, and beckoned to me to approach I came to his side and saw under the table on the floor a human hand, severed from the arm at the wrist Beside it lay a web-equipe-finder and a Webley revolver, long of barrel and heavy of azine
”A souvenir,” said Pryor ”It must have been some ti”
”The shell ca at the , the side (p 267) of which was broken a little, ”and it hit one poor beggar anyway
nobody seems to have come in here since then”
”We'll hide the revolver,” Pryor reht”
We hid the revolver behind the door in a little cupboard in the wall; we cah the hand still lay on the floor What was the history of that house and of the officers who sat down to dinner? Will the tragedy ever be told?
I had an interesting experience near Souchez when our regi part of the line in that locality On the way in was a single house, a red brick villa, standing by the side of the communication trench which I used to pass daily when I went out to get water from the carts at the rear One afternoon I climbed over the side and entered the house by a side door that looked over the Geret for the enee to say, it had never been touched by shell fire; now and again bullets peppered the walls, chipped the bricks and se living-rooious pictures hung on the wall, (p 268) a grandfather's clock stood in the niche near the door, the blinds were drawn across the shattered s, and several chairs were placed round a big table near the stove Upstairs in the bedrooe pera carelessly on its coverlet, stood near the wall, the paper of which was designed in little circles and in each circle were figures of little boys and girls, hundreds of theay
Another stair led up to the garret, a gloomy place bare under the red tiles, soh the aperture in the roof I could see the British and Gerreen by an erratic hand, the hand of an idle child Behind the Gere of ----, with an i mine that vomited clouds of thick black smoke overeverywhere over the grass and the white lines; the greenish grey fumes of lyddite, the white smoke of shrapnel rose into e a road ran back into the ene over the tree-tops; no doubt vehicles of hich I could not see were arret for quite an hour full of the romance of my watch and when I left I took in in a cedar fra-out over the door In thewe found it smashed to pieces by a bullet
Daily I spent soarret on my way out to the water-cart; and one day I found it occupied Five soldiers and an officer were standing at e telescope fixed on a tripod and trained on the eneence Department had taken over the house for an observation post
”What do you want here?” asked the officer
Soldiers are ordered to keep to the trenches on the way out and in, none of the houses that line the way are to be visited It was a case for a slight prevarication My water jar was out in the trench: I carriedposition,” I said (p 270)
”You cannot stop here,” said the officer ”We've taken this place over Try some of the houses on the left”
I cleared out Three days later when on my usual errand I saw that the roof of my observation villa had been blown in nobody would be in there now I concluded and ventured inside The door which stood at the bottoht hold of the latch and pulled it towards led with it I had a sense of pulling against a detaining hand that strove to hide atowards me slowly and a pile of bricks fell ondark and liquid oozed out under my boots I felt myself slip on it and knew that I stood on blood All the way up the rubble-covered stairs there was blood, it had splashed red on the railings and walls Laths, plaster, tiles and beams lay on the floor above and in the midst of the jumble was a shattered telescope still moist with the blood of men Had all been killed and were all those I had arret when the shell landed on the roof? It was i on the strange things that (p 271) can be seen by hi between Souchez and Ypres As I entered I found Bill gazing mutely at some black liquid in a sootyhiantuan parcel frolish friend
”No milk, matey,” he answered, ”I'm feelin' done up proper, I am
Cannot eat a bite Tummy out of order, my 'ead spinnin' like a top
When's sick parade?” he asked
”Seven o'clock,” I said, ”Is it as bad as that?”