The corporal went on: "Probably a pal of yours, was he?"
"Yes, yes!"
"He looked a good sort, and an amusing fellow, I should say, wasn't he?" He insisted.
"One of the best?"
"A ripper!"
A posthumous reconciliation!
The halt here was prolonged. Coffee was made. The sun set in fiery splendour. Our arms were piled up at a short distance from a cross-road. The traffic there was intense: waggons, lorries, and batteries. We drew each other's attention to four armoured motor machine-guns, which were the object of a great deal of curiosity. They were the first in use, I believe, and were going southwards.
In the growing gloom, Guillaumin pointed out De Valpic to me, deep in conversation with an officer in the Dragoons. When the latter had hurried on, our friend came back to us.
"I've just seen my cousin De Montjezieu. It's ripping the way one comes across people!"