'Surely you must be aware of it?' I replied.
He looked at me curiously, as though he were in doubt whether I was friendly disposed towards him.
'I wish you'd tell me exactly what you mean,' he said.
'Surely you are aware of what happened to you, and why you were sent to hospital, and why you are home on sick leave now?'
'To tell you the truth, I know precious little,' he replied. 'All I remember is the shriek of a shell, the noise of ten thousand thunders, absolute blackness, and then coming to consciousness in a hospital.'
'Then you don't know what happened between the noise of the ten thousand thunders and awaking in the hospital?'
'No,' he replied, 'I don't. I do remember inquiring, but I was told to be quiet, and when, on my becoming stronger, I was removed to the base, no one seemed to be able to tell me what had happened to me. I should be jolly glad to know. Perhaps you can tell me'; and there was a suggestion of a sneer in his voice.
'Yes,' I replied, 'I can.'
By this time there was a deathly silence in the room. In a way which I had not imagined I had changed the whole atmosphere of the place.
'As it happened,' I said, 'I had a curious experience myself, close to where you were. A shell had exploded not far from me, and I was half buried, besides receiving a tremendous shock. I managed to drag myself out from under the débris, however, and was in a confused kind of way trying to find my men. You know what an awful day that was; the Germans had located us to a nicety, and were sending tons of explosives on us. It was one of the hottest times I have ever known.'