CHAPTER XIX
What They Learned on the German Telephone
The shock of the discovery was so great that Dennis lay paralysed, and everything seemed very black indeed, until a low murmur in English brought him to his senses at his elbow.
"Well, I'm hanged! This is a pretty nice ending to a glorious day!" muttered Captain Bob. "But I shouldn't mind so much if I only knew that Dennis had come out of it all right."
A hand grasped his own, and the speaker started as someone whispered in his ear: "Dear old chap, keep your hair on, and don't speak above your breath. Half these poor beasts understand English. Are you badly hit?"
Bob's fingers closed on his brother's like a vice.
"Thank God!" he murmured, "I'm not hit at all. I trod on an unexploded shell, and gave my leg an infernal wrench just as our fellows had to fall back. I couldn't move a yard, and got collared in consequence, and when it was dark they brought me along here. Where are you hurt, Den?"