Fighting with French: A Tale of the New ArmyStrang, Herbert
History
Fighting with French: A Tale of the New Army
Strang, Herbert
World War, 1914-1918 -- France -- Juvenile fiction
Running straight for some distance, the track at last made a sharp bend
to the right, then skirting another hedge parallel with the embankment.
The two men were on the point of turning with it when Kenneth, in the
rear, happening to look behind him over the hedge, caught sight of a man
about half a mile away, coming apparently from the direction of the
village where the Rutlands were billeted. Ginger came back at a low
call from his companion, and they stood together at the hedge, watching
the stranger, careful to keep out of sight themselves.
The man drew nearer. He was old and shabbily dressed. A small basket
was slung on his back. Every now and again he looked behind as if
fearful of being followed. They watched him eagerly, surprised, full of
curiosity and suspicion. His path ran along the hedge parallel with the
railway, and he was screened by it from the British lines.
He came on until he had almost reached the hedge behind which the two
Englishmen were posted. At this point there was a wide gap in the hedge
that covered him, and he turned off sharply at right angles towards the
railway. Kenneth instantly guessed that he had done this to avoid
observation through the gap, that he would pass round the end of the
hedge near the embankment, and follow the track by which Ginger and he
had recently come.
As the man turned, Ginger caught Kenneth by the sleeve. His eyes were
bright with excitement. He seemed about to speak, but Kenneth hastily
clapped a hand over his mouth. Watching the man until he was on the
point of turning the corner, Kenneth drew Ginger through a small gap in
the hedge parallel with the railway, and they waited there until the
stranger came up to it on the track they had just left, and began to
walk towards another hedge at right angles to it, which led back to the
embankment almost at the spot where they had watched through the night.
They followed him quietly. He was on the inner side of the hedge, they
on the outer. They saw that he was wading along the ditch towards the
railway. At the end of the hedge they stooped and peeped through a gap,
to see what was going on within a few feet of them. They heard a low
whistle, and were just in time to catch sight of the man disappearing
into a culvert that carried the ditch under the embankment.
Allowing him time to get through, they crawled through the hedge, up the
embankment, over the line, and approaching the culvert from above,
established themselves on top of the brickwork at the entrance. They
heard voices from below, within the culvert. Kenneth held his revolver
ready, Ginger gripped his bayonet. And there they waited for one or
other of the men inside to come out.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account