"Au revoir, Dagomert, old chap!"
We hurried along. The men had got their packs on, and were assembling without any more signs of emotion than when starting for an ordinary route march. The lieutenant's excitement was in striking contrast with the phlegmatic appearance of the rest. He was fussing and running up and down.
"Entrenching tools.... Entrenching tools in your belts! Cartridges where you can get at them!"
"Don't you worry!" murmured Lamalou testing the mechanism of his rifle.
Henriot came up at once.
"Made up their minds at last. Not a bit too early either."
He had a wild look in his eye. It pleased me to excite him still more:
"Things are not going badly you know!"
"What! What! Have you heard something?"