A shell burst and a dozen splinters whizzed past Bill's ears. He was down immediately another prostrate Moslem on the floor of the trench. In front of me Pryor sat, his head bent low, moving only when a shell came near, to raise his hands and cover his eyes. The high explosive shells boomed slowly in from every quarter now, and burst all round us. Would they fall into the trench? If they did! The La Bassée monster, the irresistible giant, so confident of its strength was only one amongst the many. We sank down, each in his own way, closer to the floor of the trench. We were preparing to be wounded in the easiest possible way. True we might get killed; lucky if we escaped! Would any of us see the dawn?...
One is never aware of the shrapnel shell until it bursts. They had been passing over our heads for a long time, making a sound like the wind in telegraph wires, before one burst above us. There was a flash and I felt the heat of the explosion on my face. For a moment I was dazed, then I vaguely wondered where I had been wounded. My nerves were on edge and a coldness swept along my spine.... No, I wasn't struck....
"All right, Pryor?" I asked.
"Something has gone down my back, perhaps it's clay," he answered. "You're safe?"
"I think so," I answered. "Bill."
"I've copped it," answered the Cockney. "Here in my back, it's burnin' 'orrid."
"A minute, matey," I said, tumbling into a kneeling position and bending over him. "Let me undo your equipment."
I pulled his pack-straps clear, loosened his shirt front and tunic, pulled the clothes down his back. Under the left shoulder I found a hot piece of shrapnel casing which had just pierced through his dress and rested on the skin. A black mark showed where it had burned in but little harm was done to Bill.
"You're all right, matey," I said. "Put on your robes again."
"Stretcher-bearers at the double," came the cry up the trench and I turned to Pryor. He was attending to one of our mates, a Section 3 boy who caught a bit in his arm just over the wrist. He was in pain, but the prospect of getting out of the trench buoyed him up into great spirits.