(Gust of wind. Confused clamor in the distance.
The First Subaltern: Do you hear?
The Second Subaltern: At this very moment the battle is being fought.
(Pause.
And what are we going to do now?
The Standard Bearer: First for a long time
We must march across the level plain.
The First Subaltern: And then they say we shall come upon a mountain
So high that it touches heaven, and out of heaven itself
Four rivers, as white as milk, descend to earth.