Combed Out | Page 6

another bloke, I'd take me coat orf an' set about
'im me bleed'n' self! I wouldn' go an' arst millions an' millions ter die
fur me! I'd fight it out meself, like a man! That's me! That's 'ow I'd do it!
Act like a bleed'n' sport, I would--tell yer straight! Gorblimy--draggin'

us out 'ere inter this bloody misery--it makes me blood boil...."
This fulmination was interrupted by shouts of "Shut up" and "'Old yer
jaw" and "Put a sock in it" and "Let's get a bit o' sleep," but there was
no chance of further sleep. The air was heavy with the rank smell of
stale tobacco. Several men lit cigarettes and the ends glowed in the
darkness, each one illuminating a face as the smoke was drawn in.
Someone lit a candle and the bright flame dazzled us at first. Another
man got up and threw immense black shadows. The recesses of the tent
were full of murky gloom.
"Have a look what the weather's like!"
I raised the flap and peered into the outer darkness. A cold gust of wind
blew in carrying several snowflakes with it.
"It's snowing!"
"Jesus Christ, another day o' misery afore us--when will this life end!"
I began to dress. I picked up my towel and soap and loosened the flap
once again. I felt I had to go out and wash, for I had not washed at all
on the previous day, fearing the dirty, freezing water and the piercing
wind. I longed to remain in the warm tent, and for a moment I wavered.
Then, with an effort of the will I suppressed the strong temptation, and
squeezing through the tent-opening, I stepped out into the oozy mud.
The black night seemed to weigh heavily on the world. Only here and
there dull glimmering blurs showed that candles were burning in the
other tents.
An icy wind was blowing round me. I was in my shirt sleeves and
regretted not having thrown my great-coat over my shoulders. The cold
made me contract my muscles and draw my breath in sharply between
my teeth. I felt the snowflakes beat gently against my face. I folded my
arms across my chest and found a little protection from the gusts that
seemed to pierce me. My left foot had sunk deeply into the slush. I
pawed the mud with my right in order to find the duckboard. I touched
the edge and stepped firmly upon it. With an effort I dragged the other

foot from the slush. It came out with a loud, sucking squelch, but I felt
it was leaving my boot behind. I let it sink back again and then freed it
with a twist of the ankle.
I could not see the duckboard in the dense gloom. I walked along it
carefully, feeling the edge from time to time. I heard a rapid step
behind me--another man was going to wash; he must have grown
accustomed to the darkness, for he walked along without hesitation. He
slowed down as he approached me. I tried to go faster, but trod on the
extreme edge of the boards. I had to stop for a moment and the man
behind me became impatient and shouted:
"Get a bloody move on, for Christ's sake. It's too cold to wait out here
in this weather."
I stood aside to let him pass. He brushed roughly by, nearly pushing me
over. I uttered a curse and stepped back with one foot--it sank deeply
into the mud. I bent sharply forward to draw it out again, there was the
beginning of a squelch and then it suddenly slid out of the boot. I
ground my teeth and took a box from my pocket and struck a match,
although my numb fingers could hardly hold it. There was a splutter
and for a moment I saw a whirl of white snowflakes, a patch of
glistening mud, and a deep, funnel-shaped hole with my boot at the
bottom of it. The match went out, but I judged the direction accurately
and pulled my boot out of the ooze. I forced my frozen foot into it and
plodded on through the darkness.
The duckboards came to an end although the ablution benches were
another seventy or eighty yards away. Our Commanding Officer was a
keen sportsman and he had stopped the laying of duckboards so that all
energy could be devoted to the construction of a boxing-ring.
My feet were so cold that the pain was almost unbearable. I was
strongly tempted to turn back, but having got so far, I resolved to go on.
My teeth began to chatter. The man who had passed by me had already
reached the ablution shed and I could see a faint gleam from his candle