And over we went. Some did not reach the other side. There are tombs
opposite the station, each marked by a little wooden cross with a
tam-o'-shanter on top, which will be tended so long as any one of us is
left. How many? There was no time to count them just then.
At last we were in the station.
Here I concealed the men behind the parapet, with instructions to cut
loopholes and amuse themselves by potting at whatever was worth a shot.
At first they did not make much practice. Little by little, however,
they spotted places where the Huns offered a target, and then there was
sport.
Whenever a silhouette jerked into view, all my Chasseurs giggled for
glee. They arranged a sort of rotation between the best shots, and no
one would give up his turn to snipe. Pending developments, the more
indifferent marksmen watched their comrades' practice, and at each
"bull's-eye" a murmur of approval came from the spectators. One of
them, a youngster, could scarcely control his excitement. He had a
quick eye and, being often the first to catch a glimpse of something,
yelped like a boy on his first morning out after grouse. "Here's
stuff!" he cried. "Here's stuff!" His neighbour, a steady, unerring
killer, suspected of poaching propensities in civilian life, used
unconventional language under his breath at each exclamation. At last,
as the tyro uttered a shout a little louder than usual, he gave him
a vicious kick, bawling, "Hold your row!" The contrast between the
advice and the stentorian way in which it was imparted made everybody
smile--even the kicked one, who retorted, good-humouredly, "Keep your
nerve, mate, or you won't shoot straight!"
Noon. Upon my word, this little game seemed as if it could go on
indefinitely, for the Germans, their attention concentrated on the
village, which they kept riddling with bullets, had not "registered" us
yet.
I contemplated the bridge with longing, greedy eyes, for I felt mad to
get to the other side of it. At last I ventured to send a suggestion up
to my C.O. Back came the reply: "What's the sense of risking a bearer's
life to transmit unnecessary messages? Pocket your pluck and stay where
you are."
The time dragged awfully. What would introduce novelty into the
situation? I was just "fed up" with it.