Contemptible | Page 9

was no time to rest and sleep, when rest
and sleep were the most desirable things on earth. Those men assuredly
knew all the agonies of a temptation to sell for a few moments' sleep
their liberty and lives.
During a halt the Subaltern threw himself so heavily in a cabbage patch,
that his revolver became unhitched from his belt, and when the halt was
over he lurched to his feet and on, without noticing its loss. Careless?
Perhaps, but one of his men lost his rifle and never noticed it, because
he was carrying a spade!

There was, however, one consolation. The Germans had for the time
been shaken off; although the noise of battle could still be heard
uncomfortably near on the left. But if one waits long enough, the
hottest sun must go to rest, and drag its horrible day with it. About six
o'clock the Battalion at last came up with its "Cookers" and transport.
Glory of glories, rest had at last been achieved! Never had bacon been
so welcome, never tea so desirable, so stimulating, so wonderful.
The Quartermaster-Sergeant had some terrifying tales for the Company
Mess about disasters on less fortunate parts of the line; but there was no
time to go into the matter, for the Battalion was ordered to parade
immediately. This was the last straw! The men had been looking
forward to, and longing for a good sleep that night. Every aching limb
of their bodies cried out for rest, and here they were going to be put on
outpost duty for yet another night. Imagine their state of mind! Is there
a word to cope with the situation? Assuredly not, though great efforts
were made! Darkness fell so swiftly that the Officers had scarcely time
to "site" the position of their trenches. Then the weary business of
entrenching began again. Have you ever heard the tinkering, tapping,
thudding sounds made by entrenching implements or spades? None of
the men who heard it that night will ever forget it. It will give them a
memory of energy, promoted by the desire for safety, clogged by heat
and fatigue.
At about eleven or twelve at night a fair cover had been made, and the
long-sought rest became possible at last--not, however, the sleep that
the Subaltern had been longing for all day, not complete oblivion to
body and mind, for the fear of surprise was upon him even in his sleep,
and he knew that if his precautions should prove insufficient, he would
have to answer for sixty good lives. In addition there was the cold of
the cloudless night, and the clinging wetness of the dew. These things
would not have allowed him to sleep, even if he could.
A fresh day began very similar to the last. There were no signs of the
enemy to the immediate front, so the work of entrenching continued. A
"fatigue party" went to draw rations, which were distributed at about
seven o'clock. This was their first introduction to "bully" beef and hard

biscuits. Also, wonder of wonders, a "mail" was distributed.
He was lying in the corn just beginning to eat a biscuit and read a letter,
when the voice of the Senior Subaltern called him from somewhere up
the line. Thinking that he had got another letter, or something of that
sort, he did not wait to put letters and rations in his haversack, but went
straight to his Senior. "A party of Uhlans, about 100 strong, have
broken through the line further up. We have got to prevent them from
taking us by surprise on this flank. So you had better take a couple of
sections to keep them off." Commands on the battlefield must never be
didactic and narrow. Tell a man what to do, give him his mission, and
how he will carry it out, the methods he will employ, are for himself to
determine.
He hurriedly collected his men and took up a position astride a road
that ran behind, parallel to the lines. In peace-time manoeuvres one had
generally been told the direction from which to expect the enemy,
hours before he actually came; now, when the great game was being
played in real earnest, he found that he had to guess. The Uhlans might
have come unsuspecting along the road, in which case the game would
be his; or they might come blundering along from somewhere in the
rear and enfilade him, in which case the game would most assuredly be
theirs. Fortunately, the Uhlans did not come at all.
Meanwhile a very rare and lucky circumstance was beginning to be
apparent. The enemy were actually attacking from the direction they
were expected! But this was only to be a rear-guard action, so he never
saw his rations or