第94章

HOHENLINDEN TRENCH

A man broke quickly away from the throng of people pressing into the room. It was Francis. The Chief and Mr. Marigold were close at his heels.

"Des," cried Francis, "ah! thank God! you are all right!"Desmond looked in a dazed fashion from one to the other. The rapid transition from the hush of the room to the scene of confusion going on around him had left him bewildered. His glance traveled from the faces of the men gathered round his chair to the floor. The sight of Bellward, very still, hunched up with his face immersed in the thick black carpet, seemed to recall something to his mind.

"Barbara!" he murmured in a strained voice.

"She's all right!" replied his brother, "we found her on the bed in a room on the floor below sleeping the sleep of the just. The woman's vanished, though. I'm afraid she got away! But who's this?"He pointed to "Buzzer" Barling who stood stiffly at attention beside Desmond's chair.

"Ay, who are you, young fellow" repeated Mr. Marigold coming up close to the soldier. "Ask him!" said Desmond, raising his arm, "he knows!"The group around the door had broken up. Strangwise, his wrists handcuffed together, his hair dishevelled and his collar torn, stood there between two plain clothes men. And at him Desmond pointed.

Strangwise was staring at the straight, square figure of the gunner, awkwardly attired in one of Desmond's old suits.

Berling's frank, honest eyes returned the other's gaze unflinchingly. But Strangwise was obviously taken aback, though only for the moment. The flush that mounted to his cheek quickly died down, leaving him as cool and impassive as ever.

"Do you know this man!" the Chief, asked sternly, addressing Strangwise.

"Certainly," retorted Strangwise, "it's Gunner Barling, one of the Brigade signallers!"Mr. Marigold gave a keen glance at the soldier.

"So you're Barling, eh?" he muttered as though talking to himself, "ah! this is getting interesting!""Yes," said Desmond, "this is Gunner Barling. Have a good look at him, Strangwise. It is he who summoned these gentlemen to my assistance. It is he who's going to tell them who and what you are!"Turning to the Chief he added with a touch of formality: "May Gunner Barling tell his story, sir?""By all means," replied the Chief. "I am all attention. But first let this fellow be removed."And beckoning to two of his men; he pointed to the body of Bellward.

"Is he dead" asked Desmond.

The Chief shook his head.

"He drew a bead on one of my men as we came in," he answered, "and got a bullet through the chest for his pains. We'll have to cure him of this gunshot wound so as to get him ready to receive another!"He laughed a grim dry laugh at his little joke.

"Now, Barling," said Desmond, when Bellward had been borne away, "I want you to tell these gentlemen the story of the raid on the Hohenlinden trench."Barling glanced rather self-consciously about him. But the look of intense, almost nervous watchfulness on the face of Maurice Strangwise seemed to reassure him. And when he spoke, he spoke straight at Strangwise.

"Well," he said, "Major Okewood here, what I used to know along of my brother being his servant, says as how you gentlemen'll make it all right about my stoppin' absent if I tells you what Iknow about this orficer. Tell it I will and gladly; for it was all along of him that I spoiled a clean sheet of eighteen years'

service, gentlemen.

"When we was down Arras way a few months ago the infantry was a-goin' to do a raid, see? And the Captain here was sent along of the infantry party to jine up a lineback to the 'tillery brigade headquarters. Well, he took me and another chap, name o'

Macdonald--Bombardier he was--along with him as signallers.

"This was a daylight raid, d'ye see, gentlemen? Our chaps went over at four o'clock in the afternoon. They was to enter a sort o' bulge in the German front line wot they called Hohenlinden Trench, bomb the Gers. out o' that, push on to the support line and clear out that and then come back. The rocket to fetch 'em home was to go up forty minutes after they started.

"Well, me and Mac--that's the Bombardier--went over with th'

officer here just behind the raiding party. 0' course Fritz knew we was comin' for it was broad daylight, and that clear you could see for miles over the flats. First thing we knew Fritz had put down a roarin', tearin' barrage, and we hadn't gone not twenty yards before ole Mac. cops one right on the nut; about took his head off, it did. So me and the captain we goes on alone and drops all nice and comfortable in the trench, and I starts getting my line jined up.

"It was a longish job but I got the brigade line goin' at last.

Our chaps had cleared out the front line and was off down the communication trenches to the support. What with machine-guns rattlin' and bombs a-goin' off down the trench and Fritz's barrage all over the shop the row was that awful we had to buzz every single word.

"There was a bit of a house like, a goodish way in front, X farm, they called it, and presently the Brigade tells the Captain, who was buzzin' to them, to register B battery on to the farm.

"'I can't see the farm nohow from here,' sez the Captain. I could see it as plain as plain, and I pointed it out to him. But no! he couldn't see it.

"'I'll crawl out of the trench a bit, gunner,' sez he to me, 'you sit tight,' he sez, 'I'll let you know when to follow!""With that he up and out o' the trench leavin' me and the instruments behind all among the dead Gers., and our lads had killed a tidy few. It was pretty lonely round about were I was;for our chaps had all gone on and was bombin' the Gers., like they was a lot o' rabbits, up and down the support line.