A new tack soon threw us off the main lines. I occasionally turned round to look into the interior of the carriage, where the men were sleeping, livid beneath the swinging lantern, like corpses, I thought, at the bottom of a sunken submarine.
I stayed like this for a long time, half-awake and half-dreaming. In what direction were we going? To Maubeuge? Or Châlons? I remember a long stop in the middle of the night on a siding on the outskirts of Noisy-le-Sec.
Some of the men were awake, eating bread and cheese. I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Well, are you going to make up your mind to it?" Guillaumin asked me.
"To what?"
I yawned.
"To take a nap. Why you're so sleepy you can hardly stand up! Come along and lie down!"
"Where? There's no room!"
"What about my place?"