Its explosion seemed to satisfy him for the moment, and passing his powerful arms under the commandant's shoulders, while Dennis lifted his legs, they walked carefully backwards down the slope again beneath a whistling hail of bullets.
CHAPTER VIII
In the Enemy Trenches
By great good fortune, when they reached the crumpled ruins of the cottage, they found two stretcher-bearers kneeling among the nettles, on the look-out for casualties. They had seen them coming, and the stretcher was already unrolled, and as they laid him upon it the wounded man motioned with his hand.
"Stand round me," he said in a husky whisper, speaking with difficulty. "Do not let them see who it is that is hit."
One of the brancardiers placed a pad under the commandant's ear, and passed a bandage round his neck.
"Tighter, tighter!" motioned the sufferer. "How is it going? For me, I do not mind if you pull my head off, provided we take the trench."