"You cannot go without dinner, you poor creatures! What of my rabbit? Since you have paid for it, take it with you. Are you going away on an empty stomach?"
"We cannot help it! Such are the horrors of war!"
We glance round the little house and take our departure, somewhat angrily, though we pass it off as though some one had played us a practical joke.
We muster in the dark.
"Number off in fours!"
Each man barks out his number. Then comes the command—
"Right wheel! Quick march!"
"Where are we going, sergeant?"
"Back to the grotto, to spend the night."
And to think of our poor stew! I now understand why the word "rabbit" is sometimes used to express a rendez-vous which comes to nothing.