"Oh, the brutes, the savages!"
"So that's war, is it?"
And we both lapsed into silence, struck dumb by the same feeling of futile horror, and filled with the same rage. I saw a yellow gleam pass across the dark eyes of my friend—a reflection of the holocaust.
"And to think we can't prevent it!... That we're the weaker! Oh, Lord!"
"That'll come in time."
"Yes, that'll come ... and then they'll pay for it!"
We threw ourselves down on the straw heaped up behind the guns. A searchlight from Verdun swept the country at regular intervals, and the inky sky was lit up by the visual signalling. Huddled together we gradually fell asleep, a single sentry, wrapped in his cloak, standing motionless on guard.
Monday, August 24
It was still night when I was awakened and saw a dark shadow standing over me.
"Up you get!"