as right as rain." And then he tried to raise his right arm.

You saw a khaki cuff, horribly stained. A red rag hung from it, a fringe
that dripped.

* * * * *

Reggie opened his eyes and turned his face towards the stretcher that
slid into its grooves beside him.

"That isn't--Jimmy--is it?" he said.

I saw him move his left hand to find Jimmy's right. And I heard Jimmy
saying again (in a weak voice this time) that he was as right as rain.

We had got out of the range of the guns and the surgeons had done their
business with bandages and splints. They had taken Reggie first, then
Jimmy.

And so, lying beside Reggie, on his own stretcher and in his own
ambulance, he was brought back to Ghent.

The military hospitals were full, so we took them to the Convent de Saint
Pierre. And I went over to the Hotel de la Poste to fetch Viola.

I don't know what I said to her. I think I must have done what Jimmy told
me and said they were all right. _She_ never said a word till we got to
the Convent. (She told me afterwards that when she saw me coming in alone
she had been sure that Jimmy was killed. She didn't know about Reggie
yet, you see.)

This part of it is all confused and horrible.

We had to wait before we could see our surgeons at the Convent. The nuns
took us into a little parlour and left us there.

And I told her then what had happened. I can see her sitting in the nuns'
parlour, looking out of the window as I told her; looking as if she
wasn't listening. And I can hear my own voice. It sounded strange and
affected, as if I had made it all up and didn't believe what I was
telling her.

"He saved Reggie's life--do you see? at the risk of his own.

"At--the risk--of his own."

And still she looked as if she wasn't listening. It didn't sound as if it
had really happened.

And I feel--now--as if I had taken hours to tell her.

Then one of our men came to us. He drew back when he saw Mrs. Jevons, and
I followed him to the doorway. He said they were busy with Major
Thesiger. They hadn't started yet with Mr. Jevons.

And then--ages afterwards--one of the surgeons came and called me out of
the room. He said the Major would be all right. They'd got the bit of
shell out. But--there was Jevons's hand. They'd have to take it off.
They couldn't possibly save it. And it was going to be a beastly
business. They'd run out of anaesthetics. Thesiger had had the last
they'd got.

Yes