Combed Out

e good as though it

shal Von H

they looked like the huge paws of polar-bears. Many were caked with mud and wore tattered uniforms. Some limped or

the operating theatre-we took off his boots and tunic and made him sit down in front o

xt

t man" over and help him t

ht and cheerful, as well they might, for they were going to have a holiday, perhaps in England, but anyhow at the Base, where they would enjoy a r

oing to rejoin their units. They stopped outside the waiting-room for a few minutes and looked envio

th bandaged arm. He held a large, se

out o' yer arm?" said

nt bit, i

bit like that, in me knee or so

in a voice full of

es. Anything to keep out

re Blighty

ur

boots and threw his tunic over his sho

and had received permission to enter the theatre with the Britis

someone in a cheerful

the others. The room was dark except for the glow given out by the stove that lit u

poison the 'ole lot." And

man's as goo

n' earth. I see 'em do a thing or two, I tell yer-me an' my mate was in the line down Plugstreet way

Yer read it

if I

yer saw it

did it on arterwards. The nails was still there. An' what d'you

reckon the infantry wouldn't be much

y do-blow up their own mates wha

August, 1914, the war'd 'a

s all the danger an' gits all the rotten jobs. T

as a bloody sigh

o good arguin' wi' yer, yer wo

g the argument back to i

Germ

shell Poperinge-well, they never knew where the shells came from till they found it was a Belgian batt'ry 'id in a tunnel. They caug

ell us a

it's true

ch do y

bloody

, I'll tak

Base just enjoyin' theirselves. Then there's the 'eads what 'as servants to wait on 'em-d'yer think French or Duggie 'Aig ever 'as shells burstin' round 'em? Then there's the Conchies what 'as a easy time in clink-if I see a Conchy in civvy life, I'll knock 'is bloody 'ead orf, struth I will. And the civvies-gorblimy-when I was 'ome on leave they kep' on arstin' me, 'Ain't yer wounded yet?' an' 'When are yer goin'

the theatre, and the would-be destroyer of

of his neighbour who was drawing his breath in sha

re

me in the shoulder. Fritz was sending 'em over by the 'undreds, whizz-bang

a small, wiry, spiteful looking Cockney spoke. He had re

r a scholard-'e says, sarcastic like, 'I s'pose yer think yer goin' ter win the war!' I gets me rag out an' tells 'im ter mind 'is own bleed'n' business. I tells 'im if I catch 'im lookin' rahnd agin I'll kill 'im! We walks on a bit an

to kill a man after he's surr

! An' Fritz does the same to our blokes! It's

a few others like him. And I'm not the only one who's that way of thinking, I can tell you. We call ourselves sportsmen, but have we ever recognized that we got a brave enemy? Say what you like about Fritz, he may be a brute, but he's got some pluck-he's up against the world, he is. He'll be beaten in the end, that's a cert, but he's putting up a bloody hard fight. I didn't think much of him before I came out, but it's hats off to him now! But d'you think the civvies or the papers admit it? No bloody fear! The other day I saw a picture of the grenades we use-I think it was in the Graphic or one of these illustrated rags. It was headed, 'Ferreting Fritz out of his Funk Holes.' I know the man who wrote that hasn't been in the trenches himself! He's never seen a lot of Germans lying dead round their machine-gun after fighting to th

t 'appened when I was in the line. We 'ad a little dog wi' us an' one night she must 'a' strayed inter Fritz's trenches. The next mornin' she came back wi' a card tied round 'er neck an' on t

," shouted the

rapid succession. When the waiting-room was empty we went over to the Prep. and fetched the other Germans along. There were no wounded arri

he entrance of the waiting-room, curious to s

ey're glad to

e was a chorus of fervent "

fighting for them, Gott sei Dank! War was

he thinks of

sia answered: "Der's' nicht besser

u ever

renches a week ago and g

lly sporting of

doesn't have to lie in sh

n his arm. "Ich danke meinem Gott-I thank my God that I've never taken up a rifle during the whole w

ooting each other like this? The heads ought

icians and profiteer

they think of t

think much of them. He didn't believe stories of food-shortage in Englan

're satisfied wit

od food for months and months. Oh it was good to be out of the fighting. Yes, their treatment was perfect-except for the

ing a few buttons-but to rob a man of his marriage ring, that was very mean-eine Gemeinheit-his marriage ri

from him as long as they didn't take his life. He was safe

what town

enst

ything of the R

They behaved very well. "Die sind besser als di

errupted us and asked us to

y new arrivals. It was full once again and

ds were lit up by rows of hurricane lam

sh wounded were taking their places. Soon the benches round the stove wer

d a bandage round his head beg

woun

pit

d d

what we was-well-spoken like-didn' go arter no tarts-didn' do no swearin'. Yer never came acrorst a better mate'n what 'e was! We was goin' over the top when a shell busted in front of us. It blinded me for a moment and then when I could see agin-gorblimy-it must 'a' copped 'im in the stomach an' ripped it open-ugh!-'e was rollin' over wi' all 'is guts 'angin' out-ugh!-yer should 'a' 'eard 'im groan. 'Me own mate,' I says ter 'im, but 'e didn't rekkernize nothin' and then we 'ad to go on-yer can't st

her sound except an occasional sniff and a hasty

ll

and one man got biffed,* and then the next, and then the next all along the trench. We were packed together like sardines and had no cover at all fo

to blow. We didn't 'alf 'ave the wind up. You could 'ear the teet

ving once begun to tell their experiences, the men would not stop altogethe

d at first and then suddenly it struck me what had happened. I never had the wind up so much in all my life and I implored him not to report me. I don't remember what happened next, I was in such a state. But he did report me. I got a court martial and was sentenced to death for sleeping at my post. They put me into the guard-room and I expected to be shot the next day. It was a rotten feeling, I can tell you. I didn't think about myself so much as about the

ou're all right for to-day, anyhow.'

ot going to

heer up, all sorts of things m

thought of home mostly, but once or twice I thought of the kids in the school where I taught-to die like this after the send-off they gave me! Still, they wouldn't know, they'd think I was killed in an accident, and that was some consolation to me. And the next morning-I can't bear to think of it-nothing happened: that was just the terrible thing about it-nothing happened. The day passed and then another day. At times I longed to be taken out and shot, and once or twice I felt I didn't care about anything. I d

fty yards off. It had been knocked about pretty badly, but there were plenty of leaves left on it. I stared at it, trying hard to keep awake. But soon the trunk began to quiver, then it wobbled with a wavy motion like a snake. Then the leafy part seemed to shoot out in all directions until there was nothing but a green blur, and I fell back against the trench wall and my rifle clattered down. I pulled myself together, absolutely mad with fear, because I kept on thinking of the last time I went on guard and the court martial and the death sentence. I ground my teeth and stared at the tree again. But the trunk began to wobble with snaky undulations and the green blur grew bigger and bigger in sudden jerks, while I tried frantically and desperately to keep it small. But it got the better of me and all at once it obscured everything with a rush and I dropped forward and knocked my forehead against the steel plate. I pulled myself together and prayed for a Blighty or something that would get me out of this misery. I looked at my watch-O God, only five minutes had gone, one-twelfth of my time! I had a kind of panic then and I dashed my head wildly against the trench wall and I bit my lips-I almost enjoyed the pain. I looked through the hole. The tree was steady at first, b

ing out 'Next man' the last five minutes, but you won't take no bloody notice. Send us two or

across. When they had gone, we a

for me-no such luck. Then, high up in the air, I saw a big shell-fragment sailing along in a wide curve, spinning and turning. I looked at it-it was coming my way-Jesus Christ, perhaps I'd have some luck after all-and in any case a few more seconds would have passed by. It descended like a flash, I started back in spite of myself and held one hand out in front of my face. I felt a kind of numb pain in my right foot-nothing very bad. I looked down and, oh joy, I saw a big, jagged bit of shell imbedded in my foot. I tried to move it, but the pain was too great. Joy seemed to ca

n. Gradually the waiting-room emptied itself until at last there were only two men left sitting in f

ird time too, an' I've got the wind up about goin' up the line agin when I'm out o' dock. The thi

a big patch over his right ear. "If yer've got ter die

to a table. Then I went over to the Prep. to see if any mo

There was a roar and rumble of distant drum-fire. The trees behind the C.C.S.

ant came walking al

ed by me h

nt on-there'll be umptee