Somme, 1st Battle of the, France, 1916 -- Fiction; World War, 1914-1918 -- Fiction
But a light of understanding was dawning on Kentucky’s face and a wide
grin growing on his lips. “It’s one of the Tanks,” he said, and giggled
aloud as the Here We Are dipped her nose and slid head first into a
huge shell crater in ludicrous likeness to a squat bull-pup sitting
back on its haunches and dragged into a hole: “I’ve heard lots about
’em, but the seein’ beats all the hearin’ by whole streets,” and he and
Pug laughed aloud together as the Here We Are’s face and gun-port eyes
and bent-elbow driving gear appeared above the crater rim in still more
ridiculous resemblance to an amazed toad emerging from a rain-barrel.
The creature lumbered past them, taking in its stride the narrow trench
dug to link up the shell holes, and the laughter on Kentucky’s lips
died to thoughtfully serious lines as his eye caught the glint of fat,
vicious-looking gun muzzles peering from their ports.
“Haw haw haw,” guffawed Pug as the monster lurched drunkenly, checked
and steadied itself with one foot poised over a deep hole, halted and
backed away, and edged nervously round the rim of the hole. “See them
machine guns pokin’ out, Kentucky,” he continued delightedly. “They
won’t ’arf pepper them Huns when they gets near enough.”
Fifty yards in the wake of the Here We Are a line of men followed
up until an officer halted them along the front line where Pug and
Kentucky were posted.
“You blokes just takin’ ’im out for an airin’?” Pug asked one of the
newcomers. “Oughtn’t you to ’ave ’im on a leadin’ string?”
“Here we are, Here we are again,” chanted the other and giggled
spasmodically. “An’ ain’t he just hot stuff! But wait till you see ’im
get to work with his sprinklers.”
“Does ’e bite?” asked Pug, grinning joyously. “Oughtn’t you to ’ave ’is
muzzle on?”
“Bite,” retorted another. “He’s a bloomin’ Hun-eater. Jes’ gulps ’em
whole, coal-scuttle ’ats an’ all.”
“He’s a taed,” said another. “A lollopin, flat-nosed, splay-fittit,
ugly puddock, wi’s hin’ legs stuck oot whaur his front should be.”
“Look at ’im, oh look at ’im ... he’s alive, lad, nobbut alive.” ...
“Does every bloomin’ thing but talk.” ... “Skatin’ he is now, skatin’
on ’is off hind leg,” came a chorus of delighted comment.
“Is he goin’ to waltz in and take that redoubt on his ownsum?” asked
Kentucky. “No,” some one told him. “We give him ten minutes’ start and
then follow on and pick up the pieces, and the prisoners.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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