“See that?” said the Englishman. “Two days ago one of our best guns was there where those shells have fallen. How did they know just where it was stationed? We had not fired it. And it was ambushed from the airships. Pretty rotten work, eh?”
As he spoke, a snapping, long-drawn snarl punctuated by deeper roars told that the rapid-fire guns and the howitzers were awake along the English lines. A stir of preparation passed like a wave over the resting and lounging soldiers. Two great Zeppelins appeared overhead. They wheeled closer and closer. Even at so great a distance, the roar of their engines was terrific.
Zaidos turned and shook hands warmly with the soldier whose letter he had shared.
“Good-bye, and good luck!” he said heartily. “Hope we will meet some day again.”
“Good-bye to you!” cried his new friend.
Zaidos, calling Velo, jumped into the trench and ran along its uneven zigzags, on and on, the roar of battle sounding ever louder, until he reached the cook house, and turning into the arm leading to the First Aid Station, he raced into the room and reported to the doctor.
Velo was at his heels. Once more the evil in Velo’s soul was crying to him, shouting to him, “This is your day—this is your day!”
“I won’t forget,” commented Velo aloud; and Zaidos said “What?”
They buckled on their aid kits, seeing that they were supplied with everything. They wore orderly kits now. They contained chloroform in a case, a roll of wire gauze, a long rubber bandage, and a tin which contained vials of hypodermic solutions. These were only for the use of the field surgeons whom they chanced to meet and who frequently had to call on the Red Cross orderlies and stretcher bearers for supplies. Then in the next compartment was the hypodermic syringe, and beside it a flask for aromatic spirits of ammonia. There was a knife and a pair of surgical scissors. After having dropped his scissors a dozen times or so, Zaidos had taken the precaution to tie them to his pouch with a long, fine string.
There was gauze, eight packets of it; four first aid packets complete, six bandages, and two diagnosis tags and pencils. When there was time, it was sometimes advisable to tag the wounded men. It made them get moved quicker when the patient finally reached the operating room.