ise--drrrrrrrr!--but their's was heavy, drrrrRURUrrrrRURU!-- My word,
that got on my nerves....

"No I was never hit. The nearest thing was when I was knocked down by an
exploding shell--several times that--you know. When you shout like mad
for the men to come and dig you out, under all the earth. And my word,
you do feel frightened then." Herbertson laughed with a twinkling motion
to Lilly. But between his brows there was a tension like madness.

"And a funny thing you know--how you don't notice things. In--let me
see--1916, the German guns were a lot better than ours. Ours were old,
and when they're old you can't tell where they'll hit: whether they'll
go beyond the mark, or whether they'll fall short. Well, this day our
guns were firing short, and killing our own men. We'd had the order to
charge, and were running forward, and I suddenly felt hot water spurting
on my neck--" He put his hand to the back of his neck and glanced round
apprehensively. "It was a chap called Innes--Oh, an awfully decent
sort--people were in the Argentine. He'd been calling out to me as we
were running, and I was just answering. When I felt this hot water on my
neck and saw him running past me with no head--he'd got no head, and he
went running past me. I don't know how far, but a long way.... Blood,
you know--Yes--well--

"Oh, I hated Chelsea--I loathed Chelsea--Chelsea was purgatory to me.
I had a corporal called Wallace--he was a fine chap--oh, he was a
fine chap--six foot two--and about twenty-four years old. He was my
stand-back. Oh, I hated Chelsea, and parades, and drills. You know, when
it's drill, and you're giving orders, you forget what order you've just
given--in front of the Palace there the crowd don't notice--but it's
AWFUL for you. And you know you daren't look round to see what the men
are doing. But Wallace was splendid. He was just behind me, and I'd
hear him, quite quiet you know, 'It's right wheel, sir.' Always perfect,
always perfect--yes--well....

"You know you don't get killed if you don't think you will. Now I never
thought I should get killed. And I never knew a man get killed if he
hadn't been thinking he would. I said to Wallace I'd rather be out here,
at the front, than at Chelsea. I hated Chelsea--I can't tell you how
much. 'Oh no, sir!' he said. 'I'd rather be at Chelsea than here. I'd
rather be at Chelsea. There isn't hell like this at Chelsea.' We'd had
orders that we were to go back to the real camp the