Round one, Jack, Will, Sergeant Linham, Pearson, and Brandon were sitting. They were all moody and silent. A great battle had been fought, a great victory had been won; but there was no jubilation in their hearts. Darkness fortunately hid from them the terrible sights by which they were surrounded, but it could not shut out the sounds. Groans and cries and moanings for water were heard from all sides, and the lanterns bobbing about in different parts of the field showed where the doctors and ambulance-men were busy. For hours Jack and Will had wandered over the field, taking water to the wounded and often helping to place some shattered hero in a more comfortable position till the doctors--or death--should come to him. Later, they had eaten their ration of pork by the camp-fire, and now they sat gloomily looking into the flickering flames. Pearson sucked moodily at his pipe. ‘Hearts will be sore in England when the news of this day’s work is known,’ he said presently. ‘Ay, and hearts will be glad,’ growled Sergeant Linham; ‘the cry of the orphans will be drowned in the shouts over the victory. And so it ought to be. We’re soldiers, aren’t we, and it’s our trade to kill or be killed? Our relations know this, and must expect some of us to go.’ ‘That’s true,’ said Pearson. ‘And I want to know,’ said the sergeant, taking his pipe from his mouth--‘I want to know what difference does it make whether we go now, on the field of battle, or in a few years’ time in some hospital? Now, I want to know that.’ No one answered Linham, and, his beak-like nose looking more aggressive by the flickering light of the fire, he continued, ‘It’s better to die a soldier’s sudden death than to lie in bed for weeks like a mangy cur. A soldier’s death is a glorious one, though many a life was thrown away to-day.’ ‘How do you mean?’ asked Pearson. ‘Bad leading,’ said Linham solemnly; ‘we’ve been too long at peace. Our Generals are the bravest men on earth; but the way the poor Light Bobs were mishandled, charging up the hillside in a mob, and then left unsupported! Bah, we didn’t fight like that in India!’ Again there was a silence, so Sergeant Linham, knocking the ashes from his pipe, wrapped his cloak round him. ‘It would have been different if our old General that the colonel and I served under in India had been here. Now, I want to know what you think he’d ha’ done. I want--to--know’---- A faint snore finished the sentence. The sergeant had fallen asleep, an example which the others tried to follow; but they found it a difficult task. Fresh to the horrors of warfare, they could not get the recollection of the terrible sights they had seen out of their minds, and when at last they did drop into fitful slumbers it was only to go through again in their dreams the terrors of the day. It was a positive relief to Jack when, long before dawn, reveille aroused him.