The Pomp of Yesterday
by Joseph Hocking · English · Gutenberg #25136 · 509,115 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The Pomp of Yesterday
Author: Joseph Hocking
Release date: April 22, 2008 [eBook #25136]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25136
Credits: E-text prepared by Al Haines
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE POMP OF YESTERDAY ***
E-text prepared by Al Haines
'THE POMP OF YESTERDAY'
by
JOSEPH HOCKING
Author of 'All for a Scrap of Paper,' 'Dearer than Life,'
'The Curtain of Fire,' etc.
"Far famed our Navies melt away,
On dune and headland sinks the fire,
Lo, all the pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre.
God of the Nations, spare us yet!
Lest we forget, lest we forget."
RUDYARD KIPLING.
Hodder and Stoughton
London ---- New York ---- Toronto
_JOSEPH HOCKING'S GREAT WAR STORIES_
ALL FOR A SCRAP OF PAPER
THE CURTAIN OF FIRE
DEARER THAN LIFE
THE PRICE OF A THRONE
THE PATH OF GLORY
'THE POMP OF YESTERDAY'
TOMMY
TOMMY AND THE MAID OF ATHENS
OTHER STORIES BY JOSEPH HOCKING
Facing Fearful Odds
O'er Moor and Fen
The Wilderness
Rosaleen O'Hara
The Soul of Dominic Wildthorne
Follow the Gleam
David Baring
The Trampled Cross
"Let us never forget in all that we do, that the measure
of our ultimate success will be governed, largely if not mainly,
by the strength with which we put our religious convictions
into our action and hold fast firmly and fearlessly to the faith
of our forefathers."
_Extract of speech by General Sir William Robertson._
_March 2, 1918._
CONTENTS
CHAP.
I THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST
II SIR ROGER GRANVILLE'S SUGGESTION
III THE STRANGE BBHAVIOUR OF GEORGE ST. MABYN
IV I MEET CAPTAIN SPRINGFIELD
V HOW A MAN WORKED A MIRACLE
VI PAUL EDGECUMBE'S MEMORY
VII A CAUSE OF FAILURE
VIII I BECOME AN EAVESDROPPER
IX EDGECUMBE is MISSING
X THE STRUGGLE IN THE TRENCHES
XI EDGECUMBE'S STORY
XII THE STRUGGLE ON THE SOMME
XIII EDGECUMBE'S MADNESS
XIV EDGECUMBE'S LOGIC
XV DEVONSHIRE
XVI LORNA BOLIVICK'S HOME
XVII A NEW DEVELOPMENT
XVIII A TRAGIC HAPPINESS
XIX A MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS
XX A STRANGE NIGHT
XXI COLONEL MCCLURE'S VERDICT
XXII EDGECUMBE'S RESOLVE
XXIII SPRINGFIELD'S PROGRESS
XXIV A STRANGE LOVE-MAKING
XXV 'WHY IS VICTORY DELAYED?'
XXVI 'WHERE DOES GOD COME IN?'
XXVII SEEING LONDON
XXVIII SUNSHINE AND SHADOW
XXIX CROSS CURRENTS
XXX THE MARCH OF EVENTS
XXXI EDGECUMBE'S RETURN
XXXII THE GREAT MEETING
XXXIII THE LIFTED CURTAIN
XXXIV MEMORY
XXXV AFTERWARDS
XXXVI EDGECUMBE'S RESOLUTION
XXXVII MAURICE ST. MABYN
XXXVIII A BOMBSHELL
XXXIX SPRINGFIELD AT BAY
XL MAURICE ST. MABYN'S GENEROSITY
XLI THE NEW HOPE
XLII AN UNFINISHED STORY
FOREWORD
It is now fast approaching four years since our country at the call of
duty, and for the world's welfare entered the great struggle which is
still convulsing the nations of the earth. What this has cost us, and
what it has meant to us, and to other countries, it is impossible to
describe. Imagination reels before the thought. Still the ghastly
struggle continues, daily comes the story of carnage, and suffering,
and loss; and still the enemy who stands for all that is basest, and
most degraded in life, stands firm, and proudly vaunts his prowess.
Why is Victory delayed?
That is the question which has haunted me for many months, and I have
asked myself whether we, and our Allies, have failed in those things
which are essential, not only to Victory, but to a righteous and,
therefore, lasting peace.
In this story, while not attempting a full and complete answer to the
question, I have made certain suggestions which I am sure the Nation,
the Empire, ought to consider; for on our attitude towards them depends
much that is most vital to our welfare.
Let it not be imagined, however, that _The Pomp of Yesterday_ is
anything in the nature of a polemic, or a treatise. It is first and
foremost a story--a romance if you like--of incident, and adventure.
But it is more than a story. It deals with vital things, and it deals
with them--however inadequately--sincerely and earnestly. The
statements, moreover, which will probably arouse a great deal of
antagonism in certain quarters, are not inventions of the Author, but
were related to him by those in a position to know.
Neither are the descriptions of the Battle of the Somme the result of
the Author's imagination, but transcripts from the experiences of some
who passed through it. Added to this, I have, since first writing the
story, paid a Second Visit to the Front, during which I traversed the
country on which Thiepval, Goomecourt, La Boiselle, Contalmaison; and a
score of other towns and villages once stood. Because of this, while
doubtless a military authority could point out technical errors in my
descriptions, I have been able to visualize the scenes of the battle,
and correct such mistakes as I made at the time of writing.
One other word. More than once, the chief character in the narrative
anticipates what has taken place in Russia. While I do not claim to be
a prophet, it is only fair to say that I finished writing the story in
August, 1917, when very few dreamt of the terrible chaos which now
exists in the once Great Empire on which we so largely depended.
JOSEPH HOCKING.
_March_, 1918.
CHAPTER I
THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST
My first meeting with the man whose story I have set out to relate was
in Plymouth. I had been standing in the harbour, hoping that the
friends I had come to meet might yet appear, even although the chances
of their doing so had become very small. Perhaps a hundred passengers
had landed at the historic quay, and practically all of them had rushed
away to catch the London train. I had scrutinized each face eagerly,
but when the last passenger had crossed the gangway I had been
reluctantly compelled to assume that my friends, for some reason or
other, had not come.
I was about to turn away, and go back to the town, when some one
touched my arm. 'This is Plymouth, isn't it?'
I turned, and saw a young man. At that time I was not sure he was
young; he might have been twenty-eight, or he might have been
forty-eight. His face was marked by a thousand lines, while a look
suggestive of age was in his eyes. He spoke to me in an apologetic
sort of way, and looked at me wistfully.
I did not answer him for a second, as his appearance startled me. The
strange admixture of youth and age gave me an eerie feeling.
'Yes,' I replied, 'this is Plymouth. At least, this is Plymouth
Harbour.'
He turned toward the vessel, and looked at it for some seconds, and
then heaved a sigh.
'Have you friends on board?' I asked.
'Oh, no,' he replied. 'I have just left it. I thought I remembered
Plymouth, and so I got off.'
'Where have you come from?'
'From India.'
'Where did you come from?'
'From Bombay. It was a long journey to Bombay, but it seemed my only
chance.' Then he shuddered.
'Aren't you well?' I asked.
'Oh, yes, I am very well now. But everything seems difficult to
realize; you, now, and all this,' and he cast his eyes quickly around
him, 'seem to be something which exists in the imagination, rather than
objective, tangible things.'
He spoke perfect English, and his manner suggested education,
refinement.
'You don't mind my speaking to you, do you?' he added somewhat
nervously.
'Not at all,' and I scrutinized him more closely. 'If you did not
speak English so well,' I said, 'I should have thought you were an
Indian,'--and then I realized that I had been guilty of a _faux pas_,
for I saw his face flush and his lips tremble painfully.
'You were thinking of my clothes,' was his reply. 'They were the best
I could get. When I realized that I was alive, I was half naked; I was
very weak and ill, too. I picked up these things,' and he glanced at
his motley garments, 'where and how I could. On the whole, however,
people were very kind to me. When I got to Bombay, my feeling was that
I must get to England.'
'And where are you going now?' I asked.
'I don't know. Luckily I have a little money; I found it inside my
vest. I suppose I must have put it there before----' and then he
became silent, while the strange, wistful look in his eyes was
intensified.
'What is your name?' I asked.
'I haven't the slightest idea. It's very awkward, isn't it?' and he
laughed nervously. 'Sometimes dim pictures float before my mind, and I
seem to have vague recollections of things that happened ages and ages
ago. But they pass away in a second. I am afraid you think my conduct
unpardonable, but I can hardly help myself. You see, having no memory,
I act on impulse. That was why I spoke to you.'
'The poor fellow must be mad,' I said to myself; 'it would be a
kindness to him to take him to a police station, and ask the
authorities to take care of him.' But as I looked at him again, I was
not sure of this. In spite of his strange attire, and in spite, too,
of the wistful look in his eyes, there was no suggestion of insanity.
That he had passed through great trouble I was sure, and I had a
feeling that he must, at some time, have undergone some awful
experiences. But his eyes were not those of a madman. In some senses
they were bold and resolute, and suggested great courage; in others
they expressed gentleness and kindness.
'Then you have no idea what you are going to do, now you have landed at
Plymouth?'
'I'm afraid I haven't. Perhaps I ought not to have got off here at
all. But again I acted on impulse. You see, when I first saw the
harbour, I had a feeling that I had been here before, so seeing the
others landing, I followed them. My reason for speaking to you was, I
think, this,'--and he touched my tunic. 'Besides, there was something
in your eyes which made me trust you.'
'Are you a soldier, then?' I asked.
'I don't know. You see, I don't know anything. But I rather think I
must have been interested in the Army, because I am instinctively drawn
to any one wearing a soldier's uniform. You are a captain, I see.'
'Yes,' I replied. 'I'm afraid my position in the Army is somewhat
anomalous, but there it is. When the war broke out, I was asked by the
War Office to do some recruiting, and thinking that I should have more
influence as a soldier, a commission was given me. I don't know much
about soldiering, although I have taken a great deal of interest in the
Army all my life.'
He looked at me in a puzzled sort of way. 'War broke out?' he queried.
'Is England at war?'
'Didn't you know?'
He shook his head pathetically. 'I know nothing. All the way home I
talked to no one. I didn't feel as though I could. You see, people
looked upon me as a kind of curiosity, and I resented it somewhat.
But, England at war! By Jove, that's interesting!'
His eyes flashed with a new light, and another tone came into his
voice. 'Who are we at war with?' he added.
'Principally with Germany,' I replied, 'but it'll take a lot of
explaining, if you've heard nothing about it. Roughly speaking,
England, France, and Russia are at war with Germany, Austria and
Turkey.'
'I always said it would come--always. The Germans have meant it for
years.'
'The fellow is contradicting himself; he begins to have a memory in a
remarkable manner,' I thought. 'When did you think it would come?' I
asked.
He looked at me in a puzzled way as if he were trying to co-ordinate
his thoughts, and then, with a sigh, gave it up as if in despair. 'It
is always that way,' he said with a sigh, 'sometimes flashes of the
past come to me, but they never remain. But what is England at war
about?'
'I am afraid it would take too long to tell you. I say,' and I turned
to him suddenly, 'have you done anything wrong in India, that you come
home in this way?'
I was sorry the moment I had spoken, for I knew by the look in his eyes
that my suspicion was unjust.
'Not that I know of,' he replied. 'I am simply a fellow who can't
remember. You don't know how I have struggled to recall the past, and
what a weary business it is.'
I must confess I felt interested in him. That he had been educated as
a gentleman was evident from every word he spoke, and in spite of his
motley garb, no one would take him for an ordinary man. I wanted to
know more about him, and to look behind the curtain which hid his past
from him.
'I'm afraid I must be an awful nuisance to you,' he said. 'I'm taking
up a lot of your time, and doubtless you have your affairs to attend
to.'
'No, I'm at a loose end just now. If you like, I'll help you to get
some other clothes, and then you'll feel more comfortable.'
'It would be awfully good of you if you would.'
Two hours later, he sat with me in the dining-room of a hotel which
faced The Hoe. His nondescript garments were discarded, and he was now
clothed in decent British attire. That he had a good upbringing, and
was accustomed to the polite forms of society, was more than ever
evidenced while we were together at the hotel. There was no suggestion
of awkwardness in his movements, and everything he did betrayed the
fact that he had been accustomed to the habits and associations of an
English gentleman.
After dinner, we went for a walk on The Hoe.
'It would be really ever so much easier to talk to you,' I said with a
laugh, 'if you had a name. Have you no remembrance of what you were
called?'
'Not the slightest. In a vague way I know I am an Englishman, and
that's about all. Months ago I seemed to awake out of a deep sleep,
and I realized that I was in India. By a kind of intuition, I found my
way to Bombay, and hearing that a boat was immediately starting for
England, I came by it. It was by the merest chance that I was able to
come. I had walked a good way, and was foot-sore. I had a bathe in a
pond by the roadside, and on examining a pocket inside my vest I found
several £5 notes.'
'And you knew their value?' I asked.
'Oh, yes, perfectly,' he replied.
'Did you not realize that they might not belong to you?'
'No, I was perfectly sure that they belonged to me, and that I had put
them there before I lost my memory, I can't give you any reason for
this, but I know it was so. I have just another remembrance,' he
added, and he shuddered as he spoke.
'What is that?'
'That I had been with Indians. Even now I dream about them, and I wake
up in the night sometimes, seeing the glitter of their eyes, and the
flash of their knives. I think they tortured me, too. I have curious
scars on my body. Still, I don't think about that if I can help it.'
'And you have no recollection of your father or mother?'
He shook his head.
'No memories of your boyhood?'
'No.'
'Then I must give you a name. What would you like to be called?'
He laughed almost merrily. 'I don't know. One name is as good as
another. What a beautiful place!' and he pointed to one of the
proudest dwellings in that part of the country. 'What is it called?'
'That is Mount Edgecumbe,' I said.
'Mount Edgecumbe,' he repeated, 'Edgecumbe? That sounds rather nice.
Call me Edgecumbe.'
'All right,' I laughed; 'but what about your Christian name?'
'I don't mind what it is. What do you suggest?'
'There was a scriptural character who had strange experiences, called
Paul.'
'Paul Edgecumbe,--that wouldn't sound bad, would it?'
'No, it sounds very well.'
'For the future, then, I'll be Paul Edgecumbe, until--my memory comes
back;--if ever it does,' he added with a sigh. 'Paul Edgecumbe, Paul
Edgecumbe,--yes, I shall remember that.'
'And what are you going to do?' I asked. 'Your little store of money
will soon be gone. Have you any idea what you are fit for?'
'Not the slightest. Stay though----' A group of newly-made soldiers
passed by as he spoke, and each of them, according to the custom of
soldiers, saluted me. 'Strapping lot of chaps, aren't they?' he said,
like one talking to himself; 'they'll need a lot of licking into shape,
though. By Jove, that'll do.'
'What'll do?'
'You say England is at war, and you've been on a recruiting stunt.
That will suit me. Recruit me, will you?'
'Do you know anything about soldiering?'
'I don't think so. I remember nothing. Why do you ask?'
'Because when those soldiers saluted me just now, you returned the
salute.'
'Did I? I didn't know. Perhaps I saw you doing so and I unconsciously
followed your lead. But I don't think I do know anything about
soldiering. I remember nothing about it, anyhow.'
This conversation took place in the early spring of 1915, just as
England began to realize that we were actually at war. The first flush
of recruiting had passed, and hundreds of thousands of our finest young
men had volunteered for the Army. But a kind of apathy had settled
upon the nation, and fellows who should have come forward willingly
hung back.
I had been fairly successful in my recruiting campaign; nevertheless I
was often disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm manifested. I found
that young men gave all sorts of foolish excuses as reasons for not
joining; and when this stranger volunteered, as it seemed to me,
unthinkingly, and without realizing the gravity of the step he was
taking, I hesitated.
'Of course you understand that you are doing a very important thing?' I
said. 'We are at war, and fellows who volunteer know that they are
possibly volunteering for death.'
'Oh yes, of course.' He said this in what seemed to me such a casual
and matter-of-fact way that I could not believe he realized what war
was.
'The casualty list is already becoming very serious,' I continued.
'You see, we are having to send out men after a very short training,
and thus it comes about that the lads who, when war broke out, never
dreamed of being soldiers, are now, many of them, either maimed and
crippled for life, or dead. You quite realize what you are doing?'
'Certainly,' he replied, 'but then, although I have forgotten nearly
everything else, I have not forgotten that I am an Englishman, and of
course, as an Englishman, I could do no other than offer myself to my
country. Still, I'd like to know the exact nature of our quarrel with
Germany.'
'You've not forgotten there is such a country as Germany, then?'
'Oh, no.' And then he sighed, as if trying to recollect something. 'I
say,' he went on, 'my mind is a curious business. I know that Germany
is a country in Europe. I can even remember the German language. I
know that Berlin is the capital of the country, and I can recall the
names of many of their big towns,--Leipzig, Frankfurt, Munich,
Nuremburg; I have a sort of fancy that I have visited them; but I know
nothing of the history of Germany,--that is all a blank. Funny, isn't
it?' and then he sighed again.
'As it happens,' I said, 'I have to speak at a recruiting meeting
to-night, here in Plymouth. Would you like to come? I am going to
deal with the reasons for the war, and to show why it is every chap's
duty to do his bit.'
'I'd love to come. My word! what's that?'
Away in the distance there was a sound of martial music, and as the
wind was blowing from the south-west the strains reached us clearly.
Evidently some soldiers were marching with a band.
'It's fine, isn't it!' he cried. He threw back his shoulders, stood
perfectly erect, and his footsteps kept perfect time to the music. I
felt more than ever convinced that he had had some former association
with the Army.
On our way to the recruiting meeting, however, he seemed to have
forgotten all about it. He was very listless, and languid, and
depressed. He was like a man who wanted to hide himself from the
crowd, and he slunk along the streets as though apologizing for his
presence.
'That's the hall,' I said, pointing to a big building into which the
people were thronging.
'I shall not be noticed, shall I? If you think I should, I'd rather
not go.'
'Certainly not. Who's going to notice you? I'll get you a seat on the
platform if you like.'
'Oh, no, no. Let me slink behind a pillar somewhere. No, please don't
bother about me, I'll go in with that crowd. I'll find you after the
meeting.' He left me as he spoke, and a minute later I had lost sight
of him.
I am afraid I paid scanty attention to what was said to me in the
anteroom, prior to going into the hall. The man interested me more
than I can say. I found myself wondering who he was, where he came
from, and what his experiences had been. More than once, I doubted
whether I had not been the victim of an impostor. The story of his
loss of memory was very weak and did not accord with the spirit of the
men in the anteroom, who were eagerly talking about the war; or with
the purposes of the meeting. And yet I could not help trusting in him,
he was so frank and manly. In a way, he was transparent, too, and
talked like a grown-up child.
When I entered the hall, which was by this time crowded with, perhaps,
two thousand people, I scanned the sea of faces eagerly, but could
nowhere see the man who had adopted the name of Paul Edgecumbe. I
doubted whether he was there at all, and whether I should ever see him
again. Still, I did not see what purpose he could have had in
deceiving me. He had received nothing from me, save his dinner at the
hotel, which I had persisted in paying for in spite of his protests.
The clothes he wore were paid for by his own money, and he showed not
the slightest expectation of receiving any benefits from me.
Just as I was called upon to speak, I caught sight of him. He was
sitting only a few rows back from the platform, close to a pillar, and
his eyes, I thought, had a vacant stare. When my name was mentioned,
however, and I stood by the table on the platform, waiting for the
applause which is usual on such an occasion to die down, the vacant
look had gone. He was eager, alert, attentive.
Usually I am not a ready speaker, but that night my work seemed easy.
After I had sketched the story of the events which led to the war, the
atmosphere became electric, and the cause I had espoused gripped me as
never before, and presently, when I came to the application of the
story I had told, and of our duty as a nation which pretended to stand
for honour and truth, and Christianity, my heart grew hot, and the
meeting became wild with enthusiasm.
Just as I was closing, I looked toward the pillar by which Paul
Edgecumbe sat, and his face had become so changed that I scarcely knew
him. There were no evidences of the drawn, parchment-like skin;
instead, his cheeks were flushed, and looked youthful. His eyes were
no longer wistful and sad, but burned like coals of fire. He was like
a man consumed by a great passion. If he had forgotten the past, the
present, at all events, was vividly revealed to him.
Before I sat down, I appealed for volunteers. I asked the young men,
who believed in the sacredness of promises, in the honour of life, in
the sanctity of women, to come on to the platform, and to give in their
names as soldiers of the King.
There was no applause, a kind of hush rested on the audience; but for
more than a minute no one came forward. Then I saw Paul Edgecumbe make
his way from behind the pillar, and come towards the platform, the
people cheering as he did so. He climbed the platform steps, and
walked straight toward the chairman, who looked at him curiously.
'Will you take me, sir?' he said, and his voice rang out clearly among
the now hushed audience.
'You wish to join, do you?'
'Join!' he said passionately, 'how can a man, who is a man, do anything
else?'
What I have related describes how I first met Paul Edgecumbe, and how
he joined the Army. At least a hundred other volunteers came forward
that night, but I paid little attention to them. The man whose history
was unknown to me, and whose life-story was unknown even to himself,
had laid a strong hand upon me.
As I look back on that night now, and as I remember what has since
taken place, I should, if power had been given me to read the future,
have been even more excited than I was.
CHAPTER II
SIR ROGER GRANVILLE'S SUGGESTION
When the meeting was over, I looked around for my new acquaintance, but
he was nowhere to be found. I waited at the hall door until the last
man had departed, but could not see him. Thinking he might have gone
to the hotel where we had had dinner, I went up to The Hoe, and
inquired for him; but he had not been seen. He had vanished as
suddenly as he had appeared.
I must confess that I was somewhat anxious about him, and wondered what
had become of him. He was alone; he knew no one but myself; he had
lost his memory; he was utterly ignorant of Plymouth, and I feared lest
something untoward should have happened to him. However, I reflected
that, as volunteers had been ordered to report themselves at the
barracks at nine o'clock on the following morning, I should find him
there.
I went to the house I was staying at, therefore, hoping, in spite of my
misgivings, that all would be well.
I had no opportunity of going to the barracks, however. Before I had
finished breakfast the next day a telegram arrived, ordering me to go
to Falmouth by the earliest possible train on an urgent matter. This
necessitated my leaving Plymouth almost before my breakfast was
finished. All I could do, therefore, was to scribble him a hasty line,
explaining the situation, and urging him to communicate with me at an
address I gave him in Falmouth. I also told him that on my return to
Plymouth I would look him up, and do all I could for him.
As events turned out, however, I did not get back for more than a week,
and when I did, although I made careful inquiries, I could learn
nothing. Whether he remained in Plymouth, or not, I could not tell,
and of course, among the thousands of men who were daily enlisting, it
was difficult to discover the whereabouts of an unknown volunteer.
Moreover, there were several recruiting stations in Plymouth besides
the barracks, and thus it was easy for me to miss him.
Months passed, and I heard nothing about Paul Edgecumbe, and if the
truth must be told, owing to the multifarious duties which pressed upon
me at that time, I almost forgot him. But not altogether. Little as I
knew of him, his personality had impressed itself upon me, while the
remembrance of that wild flash in his eyes as he came on to the
platform in Plymouth, and declared that he should join the Army, was
not easily forgotten.
One day, about three months after our meeting, I was lunching with
Colonel Gray in Exeter, when Sir Roger Granville, who was chairman of
the meeting at which Edgecumbe had enlisted, joined us.
'I have often thought about that fellow who joined up at Plymouth,
Luscombe,' he said. 'Have you ever heard any more about him?'
I shook my head. 'I've tried to follow him up, too. The fellow has
had a curious history.' Whereupon I told Sir Roger what I knew about
him.
'Quite a romance,' laughed Colonel Gray. 'It would be interesting to
know what becomes of him.'
'I wonder who and what he is?' mused Sir Roger.
'Anything might happen to a fellow like that. He may be a peer or a
pauper; he may be married or single, and there may be all sorts of
interesting developments.'
He grew quite eloquent, I remember, as to the poor fellow's possible
future, and would not listen to Colonel Gray's suggestions that
probably everything would turn out in the most prosaic fashion.
About five o'clock that evening our train arrived at a little roadside
station, where Sir Roger Granville's motor-car awaited us. It was a
beautiful day in early summer, and the whole countryside was lovely.
'No wonder you Devonshire people are proud of your county,' I said, as
the car swept along a winding country lane.
'Yes, you Cornishmen may well be jealous of us, although, for that
matter, I don't know whether I am a Cornishman or a Devonshire man.
There has always been a quarrel, you know, as to whether the Granvilles
belonged to Cornwall or Devon, although I believe old Sir Richard was
born on the Cornish side of the county boundary. In fact, there are
several families around here who can hardly tell the county they hail
from. You see that place over there?' and he pointed to a fine old
mansion that stood on the slopes of a wooded hill.
'It's a lovely spot,' I ventured.
'It is lovely, and George St. Mabyn is a lucky fellow. But _à propos_
of our conversation, George does not know which county his family came
from originally, Cornwall or Devon. St. Mabyn, you know, is a Cornish
parish, and I suppose that some of the St. Mabyns came to Devonshire
from Cornwall three centuries ago. That reminds me, he is dining with
us to-night. If I mistake not, he is a bit gone on a lady who's
staying at my house,--fascinating girl she is, too; but whether she'll
have him or not, I have my doubts.'
'Why?' I asked.
'Oh, she was engaged to his elder brother, who was killed in Egypt, and
who was heir to the estate. It was awfully sad about Maurice,--fine
fellow he was. But there was a row with the Arabs up by the Nile
somewhere, and Maurice got potted.'
'And George not only came into the estate, but may also succeed to his
brother's sweetheart?' I laughed.
'That's so. It's years ago now since Maurice's regiment was sent to
Egypt, and the engagement, so I am informed, was fixed up the night
before he went.'
'And is George St. Mabyn a good chap?'
'Oh, yes. He was a captain in the Territorials before the war broke
out, and was very active in recruiting last autumn. In November he got
sent to Ypres, and had a rough time there, I suppose. He was there
until two months ago, when he was wounded. He's home on leave now.
This war's likely to drag on, isn't it? We've been at it nine months,
and there are no signs of the Germans crumbling up.'
'From all I can hear,' I said, 'it was touch and go with us a little
while ago. If they had broken through our lines at Ypres, we should
have been in a bad way.'
'My word, we should! Still, the way our fellows stuck it was
magnificent.'
The car entered the drive just then which led to Sir Roger's place, and
after passing more than a mile through fine park land, we swept up to
an old, grey stone mansion.
'You possess one of the finest specimens of an Old English home that I
know, Sir Roger,' I said.
'Yes, I do,' and there was a touch of pride in his voice. 'I love
every stone of it,--I love every outbuilding,--I love every acre of the
old place. I suppose it's natural, too,--my people have lived here so
long. Heavens! suppose the Germans were to get here, and treat it as
they have treated the old French chateaux! Hallo, here we are!' and he
shouted to some people near the house. 'You see I have brought the
orator with me!'
We alighted from the car, and made our way towards three ladies who sat
in a secluded nook on the lawn. One I knew immediately as Lady
Granville, the other two were strangers to me. But as they will figure
more or less prominently in this story, and were closely associated
with the events which followed, it will be necessary for me to give
some description of them.
CHAPTER III
THE STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF GEORGE ST. MABYN
One was a tall, stylishly dressed, handsome girl, of striking
appearance. I had almost called her a woman, for although she was
still young, her appearance could not be called strictly girlish. She
might be about twenty-five years of age, and her face, though free from
lines, suggested a history. I thought, too, that there was a lack of
frankness in her face, and that she had a furtive look in her eyes.
There was nothing else in her appearance, however, which suggested
this. She gave me a pleasant greeting, and expressed the hope that we
should have a good meeting in the little town near Granitelands, which
was the name of Lord Granville's house.
'I have heard such tremendous things about you, Captain Luscombe,' she
said, 'that I am quite excited. Report has it that you are quite an
orator.'
'Report is a lying jade,' I replied; 'still, I suppose since the people
at the War Office think I am no use as a fighter, they must use me to
persuade others to do their bit.'
'Of course I am going,' she laughed, 'although, personally, I don't
like the Army.'
'Not like the Army, Norah!' It was the other girl who spoke, and who
thus drew my attention to her.
I was not much impressed by Lorna Bolivick when I had been first
introduced to her, but a second glance showed me that she was by far
the more interesting of the two. In one sense, she looked only a
child, and I judged her to be about nineteen or twenty years of age.
She had all a child's innocence, and _naïveté_, too; I thought she
seemed as free from care as the lambs I had seen sporting in the
meadows, or the birds singing among the trees. I judged her to be just
a happy-go-lucky child of nature, who had lived among the shoals of
life, and had never realized its depths. Her brown eyes were full of
laughter and fun. Her frank, untrammelled ways suggested a creature of
impulse.
'That girl never had a care in her life,' I reflected; 'she's just a
happy kid who, although nearly a woman in years, is not grown up.'
I soon found myself mistaken, however. Something was said, I have
forgotten what, which evidently moved her, and her face changed as if
by magic. The look of carelessness left her in a moment, her great
brown eyes burned with a new light, her face revealed possibilities
which I had not dreamt of. I knew then that Lorna Bolivick could feel
deeply, that she was one who heard voices, and had plumbed the depths
of life which were unknown to the other.
She was not handsome, a passing observer would not even call her
pretty, but she had a wondrous face.
'Do you like my name, Captain Luscombe?' she asked.
'It is one of the most musical I know,' I replied.
'I don't like it,' she laughed. 'You see, in a way it gives me such a
lot to live up to. I suppose dad was reading Blackmore's great novel
when I was born, and so, although all the family protested, he insisted
on my being called Lorna. But I'm not a bit like her. She was gentle,
and winsome, and beautiful, and I am not a bit gentle, I am not a bit
winsome, and I am as ugly as sin,--my brothers all tell me so.
Besides, in spite of the people who talk so much about Lorna Doone, I
think she was insipid,--a sort of wax doll.'
Just then we heard the tooting of a motor horn, and turning, saw a car
approaching the house.
'There's George St. Mabyn,' cried Sir Roger. 'You're just in time,
George,--I was wondering if you would be in time for our early dinner.'
Immediately afterwards, I was introduced to a young fellow about
twenty-eight years of age, who struck me as a remarkably good specimen
of the English squire class. He had, as I was afterwards told,
conducted himself with great bravery in Belgium and France, and had
been mentioned in the dispatches. I quickly saw that Sir Roger
Granville had been right when he said that George St. Mabyn was deeply
in love with Norah Blackwater. In fact, he took no trouble to hide the
fact. He flushed like a boy as he approached her, and then, as I
thought, his face looked pained as he noticed her cold greeting. They
were evidently well known to each other, however, as he called her by
her Christian name, and assumed the attitude of an old friend.
I did not think Lorna Bolivick liked him. Her greeting was cordial
enough, and yet I thought I detected a certain reserve; but of course
it might be only my fancy. In any case, they were nothing to me. I
was simply a bird of passage, and would, in all probability, go away on
the morrow, never to see them again.
During the informal and somewhat hurried evening meal which had been
prepared, I found myself much interested in the young squire. He had a
frank, boyish manner which charmed me, and in spite of his being still
somewhat of an invalid, his fresh, open-air way of looking at things
was very pleasant.
'By the way, Luscombe,' said Sir Roger, as the ladies rushed away to
their rooms to prepare for their motor drive, 'tell St. Mabyn about
that fellow we were talking of to-day; he'll be interested.'
'It's only a man I met with in Plymouth some time ago, who has lost his
memory,' I responded.
'Lost his memory? What do you mean?'
I gave him a brief outline of the story I have related in these pages,
and then added: 'It is not so strange after all; I have heard of
several cases since, where, through some accident, or shock, men have
been robbed of the past. In some cases their memory has returned to
them suddenly, and they have gone back to their people, who had given
them up for dead. On the other hand, I suppose there have been lots
who have never recovered.'
'The thing that struck me,' said Sir Roger, 'was the possibility of a
very interesting _dénouement_ in this case. I was chairman of the
meeting at Plymouth, where the fellow enlisted, and he struck me as an
extraordinary chap. He had all the antiquity of Adam on his face, and
yet he might have been young. He had the look of a gentleman, too, and
from what Luscombe tells me, he is a gentleman. But there it is; he
remembers nothing, the past is a perfect blank to him. What'll happen,
if his memory comes back?'
'Probably nothing,' said St. Mabyn; 'he may have had the most humdrum
past imaginable.'
'Of course he may, but on the other hand there may be quite a romance
in the story. As I said to Luscombe, he may have a wife, or a
sweetheart, who has been waiting for him for years, and perhaps given
him up as dead. Think of his memory coming back, and of the meeting
which would follow! Or supposing he is an heir to some estate, and
somebody else has got it? Why, George, think if something like that
had happened to your brother Maurice! It might, in fact it _would_
alter everything. But there are the motors at the door; we must be
off.'
He turned toward the door as he spoke, and did not see George St.
Mabyn's face; but I did. It had become drawn and haggard, while in his
eyes was a look which suggested anguish.
In spite of myself, a suspicion flashed across my mind. Of course the
thing was improbable, if not impossible. But, perhaps influenced by
Sir Roger's insistence upon the romantic possibilities of the story, I
could not help thinking of it. There could be no doubt, too, that
George St. Mabyn looked positively ghastly. A few minutes before, he
looked ruddy and well, but now his face was haggard, as if he were in
great pain.
Of course it was all nonsense; nevertheless I caught myself constantly
thinking about it on my way to the meeting. In fact, so much did it
occupy my attention that Lorna Bolivick, who sat with me in the car,
laughingly suggested that I was a dull companion, and was evidently
thinking more about my speech than how to be agreeable to a lady.
'St. Mabyn ought to be the speaker, not I,' I said. 'He has been to
the front, and knows what real fighting means.'
'Oh, George can't speak,' she replied laughingly; 'why, even when he
addressed his tenants, after Maurice was killed, he nearly broke down.'
'What sort of fellow was Maurice?' I asked.
'Oh, just splendid. Everybody loved Maurice. But he ought not to have
stayed in the Army.'
'Why?'
'Because,--because--oh, I don't know why, but it didn't seem right.
His father was old and feeble when he went away, and as he was the heir
he ought to have stayed at home and looked after him, and the estate.
But he would go. There were rumours about trouble in Egypt, and
Maurice said he wanted to see some fighting. I suppose it was his
duty, too. After all, he was a soldier, and when his regiment was
ordered abroad, he had to go. But it seems an awful shame.'
'What kind of a looking fellow was he?'
'I don't think I am a judge; I was only a kiddy at the time, and people
said I made an idol of Maurice. But to me he was just splendid, just
the handsomest fellow I ever saw. He had such a way with him, too; no
one could refuse him anything.'
'I suppose he was engaged to Miss Blackwater?'
The girl was silent. Evidently she did not wish to talk about it.
'Were the two brothers fond of each other?' I asked.
'Oh, yes, awfully fond. The news of Maurice's death almost killed
George. You see, it happened not long after his father's death. You
have no idea how he was cut up; it was just horrible to see him. But
he's got over it now. It nearly broke my heart too, so I can quite
understand what George felt. But this must be very uninteresting to
you.'
'On the other hand, it is very interesting. Did you tell me that
George St. Mabyn was engaged to Miss Blackwater?'
'No, I didn't tell you that.'
'Is he going to be?'
I knew I was rather overstepping the bounds of good taste, but the
question escaped me almost before I was aware.
'I don't know. Oh, won't it be lovely when the war is over! You think
it will be over soon, don't you?'
'I am afraid not,' I said; 'as far as I can see, we are only at the
beginning of it.'
'Have you reason for saying that?'
'The gravest,' I replied; 'why do you ask?'
'Only that I feel so ashamed of myself. Here are you going to a
meeting to-night to persuade men to join the Army, while some of us
women do practically nothing. But I'm going to; I told dad I should,
only this morning, but he laughed at me. He said I should stay at home
and stick to my knitting.'
'What did you tell him you were going to do?'
'Train as a nurse. But he wouldn't hear of it. He said it was not a
fit thing for a young girl to nurse wounded men. But if they are
wounded for their country, surely we women ought to stop at nothing.
But here we are at the hall. Mind you make a good speech, Captain
Luscombe; I am going to be an awfully severe critic.'
After the meeting, George St. Mabyn returned with us to Granitelands,
and Sir Roger, in talking about the men who had volunteered for service
that night, again referred to the meeting at Plymouth, and to the man
who had enlisted. He also again insisted upon the possible romantic
outcome of the situation. Again I thought I saw the haunted look in
George St. Mabyn's eyes, and I fancied that the cigar he held between
his fingers trembled.
Miss Blackwater, however, showed very little interest in the story, and
seemed to be somewhat bored by its recital. Lorna Bolivick, however,
was greatly interested.
'And do you mean to say,' she asked, 'that you don't know where he is?'
'I have not the slightest idea.'
'And aren't you going to find out?'
'If I can, certainly.'
'Why,--why,'--and she spoke in a childish, impetuous way--'I think it
is just cruel of you. If I were in your place, I wouldn't rest until I
had found him. I would hunt the whole Army through.'
'I should have a long job,' I replied. 'Besides, he may not have
joined the Army.'
'But he has,--of course he has. He could not help himself. It is your
duty to be with him, and to help him. I think you are responsible for
him.'
Of course every one laughed at this.
'But I _do_!' she insisted. 'It was not for nothing that they met like
that. Mr. Luscombe was meant to meet him, meant to help him. It was
he who persuaded him to join the Army, and now it is his bounden duty
to find him out, wherever he is. Why, think of the people who may be
grieving about him! Here he is, a gentleman, with all a gentleman's
instincts, an ordinary private; and of course having no memory he'll,
in a way, be helpless, and may be led to do all sorts of foolish
things. I mean it, Captain Luscombe; I think it's just--just awful of
you to be so careless.'
Again there was general laughter, and yet the girl's words made me feel
uneasy. Although I could not explain it, it seemed to me that some
Power higher than our own had drawn us together, that in some way this
man's life would be linked with mine, and that I should have to take my
part in the unravelling of a mystery.
All this time, George St. Mabyn had not spoken. He sat staring into
vacancy, and what he was thinking about it was impossible to tell. Of
course the thoughts which, in spite of myself, haunted my mind, were
absurd. If I had not seen that ashen pallor come to his face, and
caught the haunted look in his eyes, when earlier in the evening Sir
Roger Granville had almost jokingly associated the unknown man with
Maurice St. Mabyn, I do not suppose such foolish fancies would have
entered-my mind. But now, although I told myself that I was
entertaining an absurd suspicion, that suspicion would not leave me.
I looked for a resemblance between him and Paul Edgecumbe, but could
find none. Was he, I wondered, in doubt about his brother's death?
Had he entered into possession on insufficient proof? Many strange
things happened in the East; soldiers had more than once been reported
to be dead, and then turned up in a most remarkable way. Had George
St. Mabyn, in his desire to become owner of the beautiful old house I
had seen, taken his brother's death for granted, on insufficient
grounds, and had not troubled about it since?
'Promise me,' said Lorna Bolivick, in her impetuous way, 'that you will
never rest until you find this man again! Promise me that you will
befriend him!' and she looked eagerly into my eyes as she spoke.
'Of course I will,' I said laughingly.
'No, but that won't do. Promise me that you will look for him as if he
were your own brother!'
'That's a pretty large order. But why should you be so interested in
this stranger?'
'I never give reasons,' she laughed, 'they are so stupid. But you
_will_ promise me, won't you?'
'Of course I will,' I replied.
'That's a bargain, then.'
'When are you leaving this neighbourhood?' asked George St. Mabyn, when
presently he was leaving the house.
'To-morrow afternoon,' I replied. 'They are working me pretty hard, I
can tell you.'
'Won't you look me up to-morrow morning?' he asked. 'There's a man
staying with me whom you'd like to know. I tried to persuade him to
come to the meeting to-night, but he did not feel up to it. He is
convalescing at my place; he's had a baddish time. He could tell you
some good stories, too, that would help you in this recruiting stunt.'
'By all means,' said Sir Roger, to whom I looked, as St. Mabyn spoke.
'I can send you over in the car.'
The next day, about eleven o'clock, I started to pay my promised visit,
and passed through the same beautiful countryside which had so appealed
to me before. I found that St. Mabyn's house was not quite so large as
Granitelands, but it was a place to rejoice in nevertheless. It was
approached by a long avenue of trees, which skirted park lands where
deer disported themselves. Giant oaks studded the park, and the house,
I judged, was built in the Elizabethan period. An air of comfort and
homeliness was everywhere; the grey walls were lichen-covered, and the
diamond-paned, stone-mullioned windows seemed to suggest security and
peace.
'I wonder why he wanted me to come here?' I reflected, as the car drew
up at the old, ivy-covered porch.
CHAPTER IV
I MEET CAPTAIN SPRINGFIELD
I stood at the window of the room into which I had been shown, looking
over the flower-beds towards the beautiful landscape. Devonshire has
been called the Queen of the English counties, perhaps not without
reason. Even my beloved Cornwall could provide no fairer sight than
that which spread itself before me. For a coast scenery, Cornwall is
unrivalled in the whole of England, but for sweet, rustic loveliness, I
had to confess that we had nothing to surpass what I saw that day.
Mile after mile of field, and woodland, in undulating beauty, spread
themselves out before me, while away in the distance was a fringe of
rocky tors and wild moor-land.
At the bottom of the hill on the side of which the house stood ran a
clear, sparkling river, which wound itself away down the valley like a
ribbon of silver, hidden only here and there by trees and brushwood.
So enamoured was I that I stood like one entranced, and did not notice
the two men who had entered, until St. Mabyn spoke.
Captain Horace Springfield was a tall, dark, lean man from thirty to
thirty-five years of age, and from what I learnt afterwards, had spent
a great deal of time abroad. Although still young, his intensely black
hair was becoming tinged with grey, and his deeply-lined cheeks, and
somewhat sunken eyes made him look older than he really was. Although
he was home on sick leave, he showed no sign of weakness; his every
movement suggested strength and decision.
'Glad to know you,' he said; 'it's a degrading sort of business to go
round the country persuading men to do their duty, but since there are
so many shirkers in the country, some one's obliged to do it. We shall
need all the strength of England, and of the Empire, before we've done,
if this job is to be finished satisfactorily; the Germans will need a
lot of licking.'
'Still, our chaps are doing very well,' I ventured.
'Oh, yes, they are all right. But naturally these new fellows haven't
the staying power of the men in the old Army. They, poor chaps, were
nearly all done for in the early days of the war. Still, the
Territorials saved the situation.'
'You've seen service in the East?' I ventured.
'Yes, Egypt and India.'
'It was in Egypt that Captain Springfield knew my brother Maurice,' and
George St. Mabyn glanced quickly at him as he spoke.
'The country lost a fine soldier in Maurice St. Mabyn,' said
Springfield. 'If he had lived, he'd have been colonel by now; in fact,
there is no knowing what he mightn't have become. He had a big mind,
and was able to take a broad grasp of things. I'd like to have seen
him at the General Headquarters in France. What Maurice St. Mabyn
didn't know about soldiering wasn't worth knowing. Still, he's dead,
poor chap.'
'Were you with him when he died?' I asked.
'Yes, I was,--that is I was in the show when he was killed. It was one
of those affairs which make it hard to forgive Providence. You see, it
was only a small skirmish; some mad mullah of a fellow became a paid
agitator among the natives. He stirred up a good deal of religious
feeling, and quite a number of poor fools joined him. By some means,
too, he obtained arms for them. St. Mabyn was ordered to put down what
the English press called "a native rebellion." He was able to do it
easily for although he hadn't many men, he planned our attack so
perfectly that we blew them into smithereens in a few hours.'
'And you were in it?' I asked.
'Yes,' and then in a few words he described how Maurice St. Mabyn was
killed.
'It's jolly hard when a friend dies like that,' I said awkwardly.
'Yes,' was Springfield's reply, 'it is. Of course it is one of the
risks of the Army, and I am sure that Maurice would have gone into it,
even if he had known what would take place. He was that sort. In a
way, too, it was a glorious death. By his pluck and foresight he made
the whole job easy, and put down what might have been a big rebellion.
But that isn't quite how I look at it. I lost a pal, the best pal a
man ever had. His death bowled me over, too, and I wasn't fit for
anything for months. Poor old Maurice!'
I must confess that I was moved by the man's evident feeling. He had
not struck me as an emotional man,--rather, at first, he gave me the
impression of being somewhat hard and callous. His deep-set eyes, high
cheek-bones, and tall gaunt form, suggested one of those men who was as
hard as nails, and who could see his own mother die without a quiver of
his lips.
'Forgive me, Luscombe,' he said, 'I'm not a sloppy kind of chap as a
rule, and sentiment isn't my strong point. I have seen as much hard
service as few men, and death has not been a rare thing to me. I have
been in one or two little affairs out in India, and seen men die fast.
It is no make-belief over in France, either, although I have seen no
big engagement there. But to lose a pal is---- I say, shall we change
the subject?'
After this, we went out into the grounds, and talked of anything rather
than war or soldiering, and I must confess that Springfield talked
well. There was a kind of rough strength about him which impressed me.
That he was on good terms with George St. Mabyn was evident, for they
called each other by their Christian names, and I judged that their
friendship was of long standing.
After I had been there a little over an hour, and was on the point of
telling the chauffeur to take me back to Granitelands, George St. Mabyn
informed me that he and Springfield were going there to lunch. I was
rather surprised at this, as no mention of it had been made before, and
I wondered why, if they had arranged to be at Granitelands, I should
have been asked to visit them that morning. Still, I did not give the
matter a second thought, and before one o'clock St. Mabyn appeared in
the seventh heaven of delight, for he was walking around the grounds of
Granitelands with Norah Blackwater by his side.
I left soon after lunch, but before I went I had a few minutes' chat
with Lorna Bolivick.
'You will remember your promise, won't you?' and she looked eagerly
into my face as she spoke.
'What promise?'
'You know. The promise, you made about that man, Paul Edgecumbe. I
want you to promise something else, too.'
'What is that?'
'I want you to let me know when you have found him.'
'What possible interest can you have in him, Miss Bolivick?'
'I only know that I _am_ interested in him; I couldn't sleep last night
for thinking about him. It's--it's just awful, isn't it? Do you like
Captain Springfield?'
'I neither like nor dislike him. I only met him an hour or two ago,
and in all probability I shall never see him again.'
'Oh, but you will. You are a friend of Sir Roger Granville's, aren't
you?'
'Scarcely. I happen to have been brought into contact with him because
of this work I am doing, and he has been very kind to me. That is all.
I have never been here before, and probably I shall never come again.'
'Oh, yes, you will. Sir Roger likes you, so does Lady Granville; they
said so last night after you went to bed. I am sure you will come here
again.'
'I shall be awfully glad if I do, especially if it will lead to my
seeing you.'
'Don't be silly,' and she spoke with all the freedom of a child; 'all
the same, I'd like you to meet my father. He'd like to know you, too.
We only live about five miles away. Ours is a dear old house; it is
close by the village of South Petherwin. Can you remember that?'
'If I have to write you about Paul Edgecumbe, will that find you?'
'Yes. You needn't put Bolivick, which is the name of the house,
because every one who is called Bolivick lives at Bolivick, don't you
see? I shall expect to hear from you directly you find him. You are
sure you won't forget?'
I laughed at the girl's insistence. 'To make it impossible,' I said,
'I will put it down in my diary. Here we are. May 29,--you see there
is a good big space for writing. "I give my promise, that as soon as I
have found the man, Paul Edgecumbe, I will write Miss Lorna Bolivick
and acquaint her of the fact."'
'That's right. Now then, sign your name.'
I laughingly did as she desired.
'I am going to witness it,' she said, and there was quite a serious
tone in her voice. She took my pencil, and wrote in a somewhat crude,
schoolgirl hand,--'Witnessed by Lorna Bolivick, Bolivick, South
Petherwin.' 'You can't get rid of it now,' she said.
While she was writing, I happened to look up, and saw Norah Blackwater,
who was accompanied by George St. Mabyn and Captain Springfield.
'What deep plot are you engaged in?' asked Norah Blackwater.
'It's only some private business Mr. Luscombe and I are transacting,'
she replied, whereupon the others laughed and passed on.
'Do you know what that Captain Springfield makes me think of?' she
asked.
'No,' I replied.
'Snakes,' she said.
As I watched the captain's retreating form, I shook my head.
'I can't help it. Have you noticed his eyes? There now, put your
diary in your pocket, and don't forget what you've promised.'
'One thing is certain,' I said to myself, as I was driven along to the
station that afternoon, 'my suspicions about George St. Mabyn are
groundless. What a fool a man is when he lets his imagination run away
with him! Here was I, building up all sorts of mad theories, and then
I meet a man who knows nothing about my thoughts, but who destroys my
theories in half a dozen sentences. Whoever Paul Edgecumbe is, it is
certain he is not Maurice St. Mabyn.'
Several months passed, and still I heard nothing of Paul Edgecumbe. I
made all sorts of inquiries, and did my best to find him, all without
success, until I came to the conclusion that the man had not joined the
Army at all. Then, suddenly, I ceased thinking about him. My
recruiting work came to an end, and I was pitchforked into the active
work of the Army. As I have said, I knew practically nothing about
soldiering, and the little I had learnt was wellnigh useless, because,
being merely an officer in the old Volunteers, my knowledge was largely
out of date. Still, there it was. New schemes for obtaining soldiers
were on foot, and as a commission had been given to me, and there being
no need for me at the University, I became a soldier, not only in name,
but in actuality. I suppose I was not altogether a failure as a
battalion officer; indeed, I was told I picked up my duties with
remarkable ease. Anyhow, I worked very hard. And then, before I had
time to realize what had happened to me, I was ordered to the front.
Some one has described life at the front as two weeks of monotony and
one week of hell. I do not say it is quite like that, although it
certainly gives a hint of the truth. When one is in the trenches, it
is often a very ghastly business, so ghastly that I will not attempt to
describe it. On the other hand, life behind the lines is dreadfully
monotonous, especially in the winter months, when the whole of our
battle-line is a sea of mud and the quintessence of discomfort. Still,
I did not fare badly. I was engaged in two small skirmishes, from
which my battalion came out well, and although, during the winter of
1915-1916, things could not be described as lively, a great deal of
useful work was done.
Then something took place which bade fair to put an end to my
activities for the duration of the war, and which calamity was averted
in what I cannot help describing now as a miraculous way. I need not
go into the matter at length; it was a little affair as far as I was
concerned, but was intended as a preliminary to something far more
serious, but of which I had no knowledge. It was on a dark night, I
remember, and my work was to raid a bit of the Boches' trenches, and do
all the damage possible. Preparations had been carefully made, and as
far as we could gather, everything promised success. I had twenty men
under my command, and early in the morning, about an hour before
daylight, we set out to do it. Everything seemed favourable to our
enterprise. The German searchlights were not at work, and the bit of
No Man's Land which we had to cross did not seem to be under enemy
observation.
I was given to understand that my little stunt was only one of several
others which was to take place, and so, although naturally our nerves
were a bit strung up when we crawled over the parapets, we did not
anticipate a difficult job.
As a matter of fact, however, the Boches had evidently been warned of
our intentions, and had made their plans accordingly. We were allowed
to cross the No Man's Land, which at this spot was about three hundred
yards wide, and were nearing the place from which we could commence
operations, when, without warning, a number of the enemy attacked us.
The odds were against us at the very start; they had double our
numbers, and were able to take advantage of a situation strongly in
their favour.
Evidently some one on our side had either conveyed information to them,
or their Intelligence Department was better served than we imagined.
Anyhow, there it was. Instead of entering their trenches, and taking a
number of prisoners, we had the worst of it. Still, we made a good
fight, and I imagine their losses were greater than ours, in spite of
their superiority of numbers. Most of our fellows managed to get away,
but I was not so fortunate. Just at the first streak of dawn, I found
myself a prisoner; while four of the men whom I had brought suffered a
similar fate.
It was no use my trying to do anything, they out-numbered us several
times over, and I was led away to what I suppose they regarded as a
place of safety, until reports could be made concerning us.
I knew German fairly well, although I spoke it badly, and I tried to
get some information as to the plans concerning me; but I could get no
definite reply. It was bitterly cold, and in spite of all the Boches
had done to make their condition comfortable, it was no picnic. Mud
and slush abounded, and I heard the German soldiers complain one to
another that it was ten hours since they had tasted any food.
Then, suddenly, there was a tremendous boom, followed by a terrific
explosion, and although I was not wounded, I was wellnigh stunned. A
British shell had fallen close to where we were, and, as far as I could
judge, several Boches had been accounted for. A few seconds later,
there was a regular tornado.
As I have said our work that night was intended to be preparatory to a
big bombardment, and I had the misfortune to learn from the German
trenches what a British bombardment meant.
'_Gott in Himmel!_' said one of my captors, 'let's get away from this.'
Whereupon I was hurried on to what I supposed to be a safer place. A
few minutes later, I was descending what seemed to me a concrete
stairway, until I came to what struck me as a great cave, capable of
holding two or three hundred men.
As I entered, a German officer looked up from some papers he had been
examining, and saw us.
'What have you here?' he asked.
'English prisoners, sir.'
'Prisoners! what use have we for prisoners? Better put a bullet into
their brains. They will mean only so many more mouths to feed.'
'One is an officer, sir,' and the soldier nodded toward me.
'Ah well, he may be useful. But I have no time to deal with him now.
_Himmel!_ what's that?'
It was the noise of a tremendous explosion, and the whole place shook
as though there were an earthquake.
The captain gave some rapid instructions which I did not hear, and then
hurried away.
CHAPTER V
HOW A MAN WORKED A MIRACLE
Since then, I have been under some terrific bombardments, but up to
that time I had never experienced anything so terrible. Evidently our
big guns were turned on, and they had located the German trenches to a
nicety. Moreover, I judged that something serious was on hand, for it
continued hour after hour. Before long all lights went out, and I knew
by the hoarse cries which the Germans were making that they were in a
state of panic.
The bombardment had lasted perhaps an hour, when part of the roof of
the cave fell in with a tremendous crash, and I imagined that several
men were buried.
'We'll get out of this,' said the lieutenant who had been left in
charge; 'there's a safer place further down.'
'Yes, sir,' replied the soldier, evidently glad of the order, 'but what
about the prisoners?'
The young officer seemed in doubt about us, and then grumbled something
about his captain's orders.
'Our numbers are up, sergeant,' I said, for Sergeant Smith and I were
the only two who were left alive. 'Either we shall be killed by our
own guns, or else we shall suffer worse than death at the hands of
these fellows.'
'Never say die, sir,' replied Sergeant Smith, who was noted for his
optimistic temperament; 'anyhow, these chaps are all in a blue funk.'
'There can be no doubt about that,' was my reply. 'If we live through
it, and if this bombardment is but the preliminary to an attack,
there's a sporting chance that we may get away.'
'About a hundred to one, sir.'
After this, I have no clear recollection as to what took place. I
remember that we moved along a tunnel until we came to another
dug-out,--after that everything became a blank to me. Either I had
been stunned by my captors, or I had been hurt by falling _débris_.
When I came to my senses again, the guns were still booming, although
they seemed at a greater distance, and I judged that our captors
regarded us as in a safer place. Then, suddenly, I heard a voice which
set my nerves tingling. It was an English voice, too, although he
spoke in German.
'You chaps are in an awful hole,' I heard some one say, in quiet
matter-of-fact tones, as though the situation were of a most ordinary
nature. 'Do you know what I think of you? You are a lot of idiots.'
'We're better off than you, anyhow,' and this time it was a German who
spoke. 'If we come alive out of this, we shall be all right; but you
are our prisoners.'
'Prisoners if you like, my dear fellow, but what's the good of that to
you?'
'Every English prisoner taken is one step nearer to German victory,'
replied the soldier sententiously.
'Nonsense! There'll never be a German victory, and you know it.
You've never been behind the British lines, have you? Why, man, there
are mountains of guns and ammunition--every day is adding to the stock,
and soon, mark you, very soon, all these places of yours will become so
many death-traps.'
The German laughed incredulously.
'Do you know what'll happen soon?' went on the English voice, 'there
will be bombing parties along here; you may be safe for the moment, but
you can't get out,--not one of you dare try. If you did, it would be
all up with you.'
'What are you getting at?' snarled the German. 'You are our prisoner,
anyhow, and if we are killed, so will you be!'
'Just so. But then I don't want to get killed, neither do you.'
'I know it's a beastly business,' said the German, 'and I wish this
cursed war would come to an end.'
'Yes, you see you were mistaken now, don't you?' and the Englishman
with the quiet voice laughed. 'You were told it was all going to be
over in a few weeks, and that it was going to be a picnic. "Bah!" you
said, "what can the English do?" But, my dear fellow, the English have
only just begun. You are just ramming your heads against a stone wall.
You won't hurt the wall, but your heads will get mightily battered. Oh
yes, we are your prisoners, there are just three of us left alive, and
you are thirty. But what is the good of it?'
'What are you getting at, Tommy?' asked another, 'and why are you
talking all this humbug?'
'Because I can get you out of this.'
'Get us out of it! How?'
'Ah, that is my secret, but I can.'
'What! Every one of us, unhurt?'
'Every one of you, unhurt.'
There was a general laugh of incredulity.
'You don't believe me, I know. But I swear to you I can do it.'
'How?'
'By taking you as prisoners to the British lines. I know a way by
which it can be done.'
As may be imagined, I was not an uninterested listener to this
conversation. Evidently another man had been taken prisoner; who I had
no knowledge, but we had somehow been brought together. But it was not
altogether the quiet confidence of the speaker which interested me, it
was the sound of his voice. While it was not familiar to me, I felt
sure I had heard it before. The light was so dim, that I could see
neither his face nor any marks whereby I could discover his rank; but
he spoke German so well that I judged him to be an officer. The
Germans laughed aloud at his last remark.
'Your prisoners!' they shouted, 'and we ten to your one!'
'Why not,' he asked, 'if I take you to safety? Now just think, suppose
you all get out of this, and we are lodged in one of your German prison
camps; you remain here at the front, and be fodder for cannon. How
many of you will come through this war alive, think you? Perhaps one
out of ten. And the end of it will be that your country will be
beaten. I am as sure of that as I am that the sun will rise to-morrow.
Now supposing you adopt my plan, suppose you go with me as prisoners of
war; I will take you to the British lines unhurt, and then you will be
sent to the Isle of Wight, or some such place; you will be well housed,
well clothed, well fed, until the war's over. Don't you think you are
silly asses to stay here and play a losing game, amidst all this misery
and suffering, when you can get away unhurt and enjoy yourselves?'
In spite of the madness of the proposal, he spoke in such a convincing
way that he impressed them in spite of themselves. Indeed I, who am
relating the conversation as nearly word for word as I can remember,
cannot give anything like an idea of the subtle persuasion which
accompanied his words. It might seem as though he were master of the
situation, and they had to do his will; in fact, he seemed to hypnotize
them by the persuasiveness of his voice, and by some magnetic charm of
his presence.
'You may be safe here for the moment,' he went on, 'but I can tell you
what'll happen. By this time your trenches are nearly level with the
ground,--not a man in them will be alive. Your machine-gun
emplacements will be all blown into smithereens, for this is no
ordinary bombardment; it is tremendous, man, tremendous! In less than
two hours from now, either the outlets of these dug-outs of yours will
be stopped up, and you will die of foul air or starvation, or bombing
parties will come, and then it'll be all up with you. I tell you, I
know what I am talking about.'
'Yes, but if we are killed, so will you be!'
'And if we are, what good'll that do to any of us? We are young, we
want to live.'
Just then we heard a terrific explosion, louder even than any which had
preceded it. The ground shook; it seemed as though hell were let loose.
'Do you hear that?' he went on, when there was a moment's quiet.
'That's just a foretaste of what's coming. That's one of the big new
guns, and there are hundreds of them, hundreds. Well, if you won't,
you won't.'
'What do you want us to do?' and one of the Germans spoke excitedly.
'I tell you I know a way by which I can lead you out of this. I know
the country round here, inch by inch; I have made it my business to
study it; and I give you my word I will take you back to the British
lines unhurt. And then your life as an English prisoner will be just a
picnic.'
'Your word!' said one of them scornfully, 'what is it worth? You are
only a Tommy.'
'Yes, my word,' and he spoke it in such a way that they felt him to be
their master. It was one of those cases where one personality
dominated thirty.
'Are you an officer?' said one of the Germans after a pause. 'You
speak like a gentleman, but your uniform is that of a Tommy.'
'No matter what I am, I give you my promise, and I never broke my
promise yet.'
Again it was not the words which affected them, it was the manner in
which he spoke them. He might have been a king speaking to his
subjects.
'Now then, which shall it be?' he went on; 'if we stay here, in all
probability we shall every one of us be killed. Listen to that!
There! there! don't you feel it?--the whole earth is trembling, I tell
you, and all these fortifications of yours will be nothing but so much
cardboard! And our men have mountains of munitions, man, mountains! I
have seen them. It will be rather a horrible death, too, won't it?
Whether we are buried alive, or blown up by bombs, it won't be
pleasant. It seems such a pity, too, when in ten minutes from now we
can be in safety.'
The man was working a miracle; he was accomplishing that which,
according to every canon of common sense, was impossible. He was a
prisoner in the power of thirty men, and yet he was persuading them to
become his prisoners. Even Sergeant Smith, who could not understand a
word of what was being said, knew it. He knew it by the tense
atmosphere of the place, by the look on the faces of the German
soldiers.
We had become so interested, that neither of us dared to move; we just
sat and listened while the unknown man, with quiet, persuasive words,
was working his will on them.
As I said, I could not see his face. For one thing, the light was dim,
and for another his features were turned away from me; but I could hear
every word he said. Even above the roar of the artillery, which
sounded like distant thunder, and in spite of the trembling earth,
every tone reached me, and I knew that his every word was sapping the
Germans' resistance, just as a strong current of water frets away a
foundation of sand. What at first I had felt like laughing at, became
to me first a possibility, then a probability, then almost a certainty.
So excited did I become that, more than once, I longed with an intense
longing to join my persuasions to that of the stranger. But when I
tried to speak, no words came. It might have been as though some
magician were at work, or some powerful mesmerist, who mesmerized his
hearers into obedience.
'I say, you fellows,' said one of the Germans to his companions, 'what
do you say? Our life here is one prolonged hell,--what is the use of
it? Our officers tell us to hold on, hold on. And why should we hold
on? Just to become fodder for cannon? I had four brothers, and every
one of them is killed. Who's to look after my mother, if I am dead?'
Three minutes later he had accomplished the impossible. He was leading
the way out of the dug-out towards the open. Sergeant Smith and I went
with him like men in a dream.
When we came out in the open air, the night had again fallen. More
than twelve hours had elapsed since I had been taken prisoner; most
likely I had been unconscious a great part of the time. I did not know
where we were going. The guns were still booming, while the heavens
were every now and then illuminated as if by some tremendous fireworks.
'Sergeant,' I whispered, 'the man's a magician.'
'Never heard of such a thing in my life, sir. I'm like a man dreaming.
Who is he? He's got a Tommy's togs on, but he might be a field
marshal.'
All this time I had not once caught sight of our deliverer's face, but
the tones of his voice still haunted me like some half-forgotten dream.
I had almost forgotten the wonder of our freedom in the excitement
wrought by the way it was given to us.
When at length we entered the British trenches, and the German
prisoners had been taken care of, I saw the face of the man who had
wrought the miracle, and I recognized him as the stranger whom I had
met at Plymouth Harbour many months before, and who had adopted the
name of Paul Edgecumbe.[1]
[1] The incident related above is not an invention on the part of the
author. It was told me by a British officer, and it took place as
nearly as possible as I have described it.
CHAPTER VI
PAUL EDGECUMBE'S MEMORY
'You!' I exclaimed.
He stood like a soldier on parade, and saluted me.
'Yes, Captain Luscombe. I hope you are well, sir.'
He spoke as though nothing out of the ordinary had taken place.
'But--but--this is great!' I gasped. 'Tell me, how did you do it?'
But he had no time to answer the question, as at that moment orders
came for us to report ourselves.
Never had I seen a man so excited as the colonel was when the story was
told to him. First of all he stared at us as though we were madmen,
then laughter overcame his astonishment, and he fairly roared with
merriment.
'The brigadier and the divisional general must hear of it at once!' he
cried. 'Why, it is the greatest thing since the war began! And you
did nothing, Luscombe?'
'Nothing,' I said; 'this man did it all.' And I enlarged upon the
difficulties of the situation, and the way Paul Edgecumbe had overcome
them.
'Well, Edgecumbe,' I said, when at length I had an opportunity of
speaking to him alone, 'give me an account of yourself. Where have you
been? what have you been doing? and how have things been going with
you?'
'All right, sir. As to where I have been, and what I have been doing,
it's not worth telling about.'
'You don't mind my asking you awkward questions, do you?'
'Not a bit. Ask what you like, sir.'
'Has your memory come back?'
A shadow passed over his face, and a suggestion of the old yearning
look came into his eyes.
'No,--no, nothing. Strange, isn't it? Ever since that day when I
found myself a good many miles away from Bombay, and realized that I
was alive, everything stands out plainly in my memory; but before
that,--nothing. I could describe to you in detail almost everything
that has taken place since then. But there seems to be a great, black
wall which hides everything that took place before. I shudder at it
sometimes because it looks so impenetrable. Now and then I have
dreams, the same old dreams of black, evil faces, and flashing knives,
and cries of agony; but they are only dreams,--I remember nothing.'
'During the time you were in England training,' I said, 'you went to
various parts of the country?'
'Yes, I was in Exeter, Swindon, Bramshott, Salisbury Plain.'
'And you recognized none of them, you'd no feeling that you had seen
those places before?'
'No.'
'Faces, now,' I urged; 'do you ever see faces which suggest people you
have known in the past?'
He was silent for two or three seconds.
'Yes, and no,' he replied. 'I see faces sometimes which, while they
don't cause me to remember, give me strange fancies and
incomprehensible longings. Sometimes I hear names which have the same
effect upon me.'
'And your memory has been good for ordinary things?'
He laughed gaily. 'I think that whatever I went through has increased
my powers of memory,--that is, those things that took place since I
woke up. If you will ask the sub., or the drill sergeant who gave me
my training, they will tell you that there was never any need to tell
me anything twice. I forget nothing, I never have to make an effort to
remember. When I hear a thing, or see a man's face, I never forget it.
I worked hard, too. I have read a good deal. I found that I knew
nothing of mathematics, and that my knowledge of German and French was
very hazy. It is not so now. Things like _that_ have come to me in a
miraculous way.'
'Have you tried for a commission?'
'No. I have been offered one, but I wouldn't have it. Something, I
don't know what, told me not to. I wouldn't even have a corporal's
stripe.'
'And you have no more idea of who you really are than you had when I
saw you first?'
'No, not a bit.'
'Let me see if I can help your memory,' I said. 'Devonshire, think of
that word, now, and what it represents,--does it bring back anything to
you?'
'Nothing, except that yearning. I have a feeling that I know something
about it,--a great longing to--to--I hardly know what.'
I tried him a little farther. 'Granitelands,--does that mean anything
to you?'
Again he hesitated. 'No, nothing.'
'Can you ever recall any remembrance of, or has the name of Maurice St.
Mabyn any interest for you?'
I asked this because, even in spite of what Captain Springfield had
told me, vague fancies had come to me that perhaps there might be some
mistake, and--and----but I dared not bring my thoughts to a conclusion.
'Maurice St. Mabyn,' he repeated, 'Maurice St. Mabyn. It might be a
name I heard when I was a kiddy, but--no.'
'Norah Blackwater.' I uttered the name suddenly, impressively, and I
thought I saw his lips tremble, and certainly his eyes had a far-away
look. He was like a man trying to see in a great darkness, trying to
outline objects which were invisible to the natural eye.
'That seems like a dream name. Who is she? Why do you ask about her?'
'I am trying to help you,' I said. 'She is a lady I met at the house
of Sir Roger Granville. She must be about twenty-five, perhaps not
quite so old, a tall, stylish-looking girl. I expect by this time she
is engaged to a fellow called George St. Mabyn. He is a brother to
Maurice, who was killed in Egypt.'
'Maurice killed in Egypt!' he repeated.
'Yes. I think Maurice had a friend called Springfield.'
'I remember that,--Springfield. Springfield,--Springfield.'
For a moment there was a change in his voice, a change, too, in the
look of his eyes. At least I thought so. I could fancy I detected
anger, contempt; but perhaps it was only fancy, and it was only for a
moment.
'A tall, dark fellow. He has rather a receding forehead, black hair
streaked with grey, a thin, somewhat cadaverous-looking face, deep-set
eyes, a scar on his cheek, just below his right temple.'
He laughed again. 'By Jove, sir,' he said, 'you might be describing a
man I know. I seem to see his face as plainly as I see yours. I don't
think I like him, either, but--but--no, it has gone, gone! Have you
any suspicions about me? Have _you_ found out anything?'
'No,' I said, 'I have found out nothing. But I have a hundred
suspicions. You see, you interested me tremendously when I saw you
first, and I wondered greatly about you. I was awfully disappointed
when I could not find you.'
'Why should you want to find me?' he asked.
'Because I told some one about you, and she got tremendously
interested. She got angry with me because I had lost sight of you.'
'Who was she, sir?'
'Her name is Lorna Bolivick, and, I say,--I have something to show
you.' And I searched in my tunic until I had found the previous year's
diary in which I had written the promise.
'There,' I said, and opened the diary at May 29.
'And this girl was interested in me, was she?'
Our conversation suddenly terminated at that moment, as an urgent
message reached me that my colonel wanted to see me. A few minutes
later I learnt that little short of a calamity had befallen us; that
the Germans had broken into some trenches which had lately been taken,
and that there was imminent danger of some of our best positions
falling into their hands.
Twelve hours later, the danger was averted; but it was at a frightful
cost. It was reported to me that a battalion was largely decimated,
and the positions which we ought to have gained remained in the hands
of the enemy.
I saw that the colonel looked very perturbed; indeed his face, which
was usually ruddy and hopeful, was haggard and drawn.
'Anything serious the matter?' I asked.
'Serious!' he replied, 'it is calamitous!'
'But we've cleared them out, haven't we?'
'Cleared them out! Why, man!' and he walked to and fro like one
demented. 'There's sure to be an inquiry,' he said at length, 'and
there'll be no end of a row; there ought to be, too. But what could
one do?'
'What is the trouble, then?' for the look in his eyes had made me very
anxious.
He made no reply, but I could see that his mind was busily at work.
'You remember that chap who got you out of that hole the day before
yesterday?' he asked.
'What, Edgecumbe? I should think I do!'
'I hear he is missing.'
'Edgecumbe missing? Taken prisoner, you mean?'
'I don't know. I have not heard particulars yet. I should not have
heard anything about him at all, but for the way he brought himself
into prominence over that affair. But it seems he was last seen
fighting with two Huns, so I expect he is done for. Terrible pity,
isn't it? I was going to recommend him for decoration, and--and other
things.'
In a way I could not understand, my heart grew heavy; I felt as though
I were responsible for it, and that I had failed in my duty. And I had
a sort of feverish desire to know what had become of him.
'Good night, colonel,' I said suddenly, and I hurried away into the
darkness. I felt that at all costs I must find out the truth about
Paul Edgecumbe.
CHAPTER VII
A CAUSE OF FAILURE
In spite of all my inquiries that night, I could discover nothing of a
satisfactory nature. The reports I obtained were conflicting. One man
had it that he was wounded badly, and left dying on No Man's Land;
another told me he had seen him taken prisoner by two Germans; another,
still, that he was seen to break away from them. But everything was
confused and contradictory. The truth was, that there was a great deal
of hand-to-hand fighting, and when that is the case it is ofttimes
difficult to tell what becomes of a single individual. The fact
remained, however, that he was missing, and no one knew anything
definite about him.
As a battalion officer, moreover, I had many duties to perform, and in
spite of my desires, I had to give up my inquiries about him, and
attend to my work.
The following day I was sitting in my quarters, and was on the point of
writing a letter to Lorna Bolivick, telling her what had taken place,
when my orderly informed me that a soldier wished to see me.
'He gave me this, sir,' added Jenkins, handing me a slip of paper.
No sooner did I see it than, starting to my feet, I rushed to the door,
and saw Paul Edgecumbe, pale and wan, but standing erect nevertheless.
I quickly got him into the room of the cottage where I was billeted,
and then took a second look at him.
'You are ill--wounded, man! You ought not to be here,' I said,
scarcely realizing what I was saying.
'The wound's nothing, sir. I lost a little blood, that's all; and I
got the M.O.'s consent to come and see you. I shall be right as ever
in two or three days.'
'You are sure of that?' I asked eagerly.
'Certain, sir.'
I laughed aloud, I was so much relieved. I need not send my letter to
Lorna Bolivick after-all.
'I've wasted a lot of good sentiment over you, Edgecumbe,' I said.
'I've heard all sorts of things about you.'
'I did have a curious experience,' he replied, 'and at one time I
thought my number was up; still I got out of it.'
'Tell me about it,' I said.
'It's very difficult, sir. As I told you, my memory has been specially
good since the time when----but you know. In these skirmishes,
however, it's difficult to carry anything definite in your mind, things
get mixed up so. You are fighting for your life, and that's all you
know. Two German chaps did get hold of me, and then, I don't know how
it was, but we found ourselves in No Man's Land. The Huns were two
big, strong chaps, too, but I managed to get away from them.'
'How did you do it?'
'You see they were drugged,' he replied.
'Drugged?'
'Yes, drugged with ether, or something of that sort, and although they
fought as though they were possessed with devils, their minds were not
clear, they acted like men dazed. So I watched for my opportunity, and
got it. I spent the whole day in a shell hole,--it wasn't pleasant, I
can tell you. Still, it offered very good cover, and if my arm hadn't
been bleeding, and if I wasn't so beastly faint and hungry, I shouldn't
have minded. However, I tied up my arm as well as I could, and made up
my mind to stay there. I got back under the cover of night, and--here
I am.'
'I saw nothing of the affair,' I said. 'I had a job to do farther
back, and so was out of it. I wish I had been in it.'
'I wish you had, sir.' There was a change in his voice, and he looked
at me almost pathetically.
'What's the matter?'
'Of course I have no right to say anything,' he said. 'Discipline is
discipline, and I am only a private soldier. Are you busy, sir? If
you are, I will go away. But, owing to this scratch, I am at a loose
end, and--and--I'd like a chat with you, sir, if you don't mind.'
'Say what you want to say.'
He was silent for a little while, and seemed to be in doubt how to
express what he had in his mind. I saw the old, yearning, wistful look
in his eyes, too, the look I had noticed when we were walking on The
Hoe at Plymouth.
'Has your memory come back?' I asked eagerly. 'Has it anything to do
with that?'
'No,' he replied, 'my memory has not come back. The old black wall
stands still, and yet I think it has something to do with it. I am
afraid I forget myself sometimes, sir, forget that you are an officer,
and I am a private.'
'Never mind about that now. Tell me what you have to say.'
'This war has shaken me up a bit, it has made me think. I don't know
what kind of a man I was before I lost my memory; but I have an idea
that I look at things without prejudice. You see, I have no
preconceived notions. I am a full-grown man starting life with a clean
page, that's why I can't understand.'
'Understand what?'
'I don't think I am a religious man,' he went on, without seeming to
heed me. 'When we were in England I went to Church parade and all that
sort of thing, but it had no effect upon me; it seemed to mean nothing.
Perhaps it will some day, I don't know. At present I look at things
from the outside; I judge by face values. Forgive me if I am talking a
great deal about myself, sir, and pardon me if I seem egotistical, I
don't mean to be. But you are the only officer with whom I am
friendly, and I was led to look upon you as a man of influence in
England. The truth is, I am mystified, confused, bewildered. Either I
am wrong, mad; or else we are waging this war in a wrong way.'
'Yes, how?'
'While I was in the training camps, I was so much influenced by that
speech which you gave in Plymouth, that I determined to study the
causes of this war carefully. I did so. I gave months to it. I read
the whole German case from their own standpoint. I thought out the
whole thing as clearly as I was able, and certainly I had no
prejudices.'
'Well?' I asked.
'If ever a country ought to have gone to war, we ought. If ever a
country had a righteous cause, we had, and have; if ever a Power needed
crushing, it was German power. Prussianism is the devil. I tell you,
I have been physically sick as I have read the story of what they did
in Belgium and France. I have gone, as far as I have been able, to the
tap-roots of the whole business. I have got at the philosophy of the
German position. I have studied the resources of our country; I have
tried to realize what we stand for. I fancy I must have been a fairly
intelligent man before I lost my memory. Perhaps I was tolerably well
educated, too. Anyhow, I think I have got a grasp of the whole
position.'
I did not speak, but waited for him to proceed.
'I am saying this, sir, that you may see that I am not talking wildly,
and my conviction is that Germany ought to have been beaten before now;
but it's nowhere like beaten, the devil stalks about undaunted.'
'You forget that Germany is a great country,' I answered, 'and that she
is supported by Austria, and Turkey, and Bulgaria. You forget, too,
that she had all the advantages at the start, and that she had been
preparing for this for forty years. You forget that she had the finest
trained fighting machine in the world, the biggest and best-equipped
army ever known. You forget, too, that she took the world practically
unawares, and that all her successes, especially in the West, were
gained at the beginning.'
'No, I do not forget,' he replied, and there was passion in his voice;
'I have gone through all that; I made allowance for it. All the same,
they ought to have been beaten before now. Anyhow, their backs ought
to have been broken, and we ought to be within sight of the end.'
'I am afraid I don't understand. The whole resources of the country
have been strained to the utmost. Besides, see what we have done; see
the army we have made; think of all the preparations in big guns and
munitions!'
'Yes, yes,' he cried, 'but man-power is the final court of appeal, and
we have been wasting our man-power, wasting it,--wasting it!'
'What do you mean by that? A finer lot of men never put on uniform
than we had.'
'In a way you are right. No one could admire the heroism of our
fellows more than I do. You have to get farther back.'
'How can we get farther back?'
'You have to get back to the Government. Look here, Luscombe,' and
evidently he had forgotten the difference in our ranks, 'let me put the
case into a nutshell. I was sent over here, to France, in a hurry.
Never mind how I found out what I am going to tell you,--it is a fact.
Two battalions of ours were urgently ordered here; our men here were
hardly pressed, the Germans outnumbered us. Our chaps hadn't enough
rest, and the slaughter was ghastly. So we were ordered over to
relieve them, and the command was that we were to travel night and day,
so urgent was the necessity.
'What happened? The boat by which I came was held up in the harbour
for twenty-four hours. Why? I am not talking without my book,--I
know, I have made investigations, and I will tell you why. The firemen
were in public-houses, and would not come away. And the Government
allowed those public-houses to be open; the Government allowed those
firemen to drink until they were in an unfit condition to take us
across. The Government allowed the stuff that robbed them of their
manhood, and of their sense of responsibility, to be manufactured. The
Government allowed private individuals to make fortunes out of that
stuff! Just think of it! There we were, all waiting, but we could not
go. Why could not we go? Why were we held up, when the lives of
thousands of others depended upon us? when the success of the war
probably depended upon it? Drink! there is your answer in one word.
'Here's this affair of the last two or three days; it didn't come off.
Ammunition was wasted, men's lives were wasted, hearts were broken; but
it didn't come off. Why was it?
'What are we fighting? We are fighting devilry, inhumanity, Prussian
barbarism. Search your dictionary, and you can't find names too bad to
describe what we are fighting. But in order to do it, we use one of
the devil's chief weapons, which is robbing us of victory.
There was a strange intensity in his voice, and I think he forgot all
about himself in what he said.
'Look here,' he went on, 'you remember how some time ago we were crying
out for munitions. "Let us have more guns, more munitions," we said.
The Germans, who had been preparing for war for so many years, had
mountains of it, and as some one has said, thousands of our men were
blown into bloody rags each day. And we could not answer back. We had
neither guns nor shells. Why?'
'Because we were not properly organized. You see----'
'Yes, it was partly that, but more because our power was wasted, in the
gun factories and the munition factories. You know as well as I do
that it was on the continual and persistent work of the people in those
factories that our supplies depended. What happened? Hundreds,
thousands of them left work at noon on Saturdays, and then started
drinking, and did not appear at their work until the Tuesday or
Wednesday following, and when they came they were inefficient, muddled.
Work that required skilled hands and clear brains had to be done by
trembling hands and muddled brains. The War Minister told us that
there was a wastage of 10 per cent. of our munition-making power. He
told us, too, that between thirty and forty days of the whole working
force of the country were lost every year,--what by? Drink.
'And meanwhile our chaps out here were killed by the thousand, because
of shortage of munitions. Is it any wonder that the war drags on? Is
it any wonder that we are not gaining ground? We were told months ago
that we should shorten the war by blockading Germany, by keeping food
from the nation. Now I hear rumours that there is going to be a
shortage of food in our own country. Whether that will be the case or
not, I don't know. If there is a shortage, it will be our own fault.
I see by the English newspapers that bread is becoming dearer every
day, and people say that there'll soon be a scarcity, and all the time
millions upon millions of bushels of grain intended for man's food is
being wasted in breweries and distilleries. Hundreds of thousands of
tons of sugar, which are almost essential to human life, are utilized
for man's damnation; and all by the consent of the Government.
'When the war broke out, the King signed the pledge, so did Lord
Kitchener, so did the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Did the people
follow? They only laughed. I tell you, Luscombe, every distillery and
every brewery is lengthening the war, and I sometimes doubt whether we
shall ever win it,--until the nation is purged of this crime! Yes, we
are making vast preparations, and we have raised a fine Army. But all
the time, we are like a man trying to put out a fire by pouring water
on it with one hand, and oil with the other.'
'But, my dear chap,' I said, 'these brewers and distillers have put
their fortunes into their business, and they employ thousands of hands.
Would you rob them of their properties, and would you throw all these
people out of work?'
'Great God! man,' was his reply, 'but the country's at stake, the
Empire's at stake! Truth, righteousness, liberty are at stake! If we
don't win in this war, German devilry will rule the world, and shall
the country allow the Trade, as it calls itself, to batten upon the
vitals of the nation? That's why I am bewildered. I told you just now
that perhaps I look at things differently from what I ought to look at
them. I have lost all memory of my past life, and I judge these things
by their face value, without any preconceived notions or prejudices. I
have to begin _de novo_, and perhaps can't take into account all the
forces which have been growing up through the ages. But, Heavens! man,
this is a crisis! and if we are going to win this war, not only must
every one do his bit, but all that weakens and all that destroys the
resources of the nation must be annihilated!'
Our conversation came abruptly to an end at that moment, caused by the
entrance of my orderly, who told me that a gentleman wished to see me.
'Who is it, Jenkins?' I asked.
'Major St. Mabyn, sir.'
He had scarcely spoken when, with a lack of ceremony common at the
front, George St. Mabyn entered.
'Ah, there you are, Luscombe! Did you know that both Springfield and I
have had a remove? We got here last night. I fancy there are going to
be busy times. I was awfully glad when I heard you were here too.'
'No, I never heard of your coming,' I replied, 'but this is really a
great piece of luck.'
I had scarcely uttered the words, when I turned towards Paul Edgecumbe,
who was looking steadily at St. Mabyn. There was no suggestion of
recognition in his eyes, but I noticed that far-away wistful look, as
though he were trying to remember something.
Instinctively I turned towards George St. Mabyn, who at that moment
first gave a glance at Edgecumbe. Then I felt sure that although
Edgecumbe knew nothing of St. Mabyn, his presence startled the other
very considerably. There was a look in George St. Mabyn's eyes
difficult to describe; doubt, wonder, fear, astonishment, were all
there. His ruddy cheeks became pale, too, and I was sure his lips
quivered.
'Who--who have you got here?' he asked.
'It's a chap who has got knocked about in a scrap,' I replied.
St. Mabyn gave Edgecumbe a second look, and then I thought his face
somewhat cleared. His colour came back; his lips ceased twitching.
'What did you say your name was, my man?'
'Edgecumbe, sir.'
'D.C.L.I., I see.'
'Yes, sir.' He saluted as he spoke, and left the room, while George
St. Mabyn stood looking after him.
CHAPTER VIII
I BECOME AN EAVESDROPPER
For some seconds he was silent, while I, with a score of conflicting
thoughts in my mind, stood watching him. I had often wondered how I
could bring these two men together, for, while I had but little reason
to believe that they were in any way connected, I was constantly
haunted by the idea that had been born in my mind on the night I had
first met George St. Mabyn. I had imagined that if they could suddenly
be brought together, my suspicions could be tested, and now, as it
seemed to me, by sheer good fortune, my wishes had been gratified; but
they had led to nothing definite.
'Who is that fellow, Luscombe?' he asked presently.
'Don't you remember?' I replied. 'He is the man whom I met at Plymouth
Harbour, the man who had lost his memory.'
'Oh, yes. Funny-looking fellow; he--he almost startled me,' and he
laughed nervously.
'Do you know him? Did you ever see him before?' I asked.
'No, I never saw him before.'
'I thought you looked as though you--you recognized him.'
'No, I never saw him before.'
He spoke quite naturally, and in spite of everything I could not help
being convinced that he and Paul Edgecumbe had met for the first time.
'Have you heard from Devonshire lately?'
'No,' I replied.
'Then you don't know the news?'
'What news?' I asked eagerly.
'Miss Blackwater and I are engaged.'
'Congratulations,' I said; 'you'll be the envy of all the marriageable
men in Devonshire.'
'Shan't I just! Yes, I'm the happiest man in the British Army, and
that's saying a great deal.'
'I suppose it is publicly announced?' I said.
'No, not yet. Norah wants to wait a bit. I would like to have got
married before I came out this time, but--but there's no understanding
women. Still, if I live through this business, it'll come off in due
time.'
'Where do you hang out, exactly?' I asked.
'At a village about two miles up the line. You can't miss the house I
am billeted in; it's the first decent house on your right-hand side, at
the entrance to the place. Springfield is with me. We are a bit quiet
just now, but there'll be gay doings in a week or so. You must look me
up, Luscombe, when you have a few hours to spare. By the way, you
remember that Miss Bolivick you saw at the Granville's? She's out here
in France somewhere.'
'What, nursing?'
'Yes, I suppose so.'
'A remarkably fine girl,' I ventured; 'if I am a judge of character,
she's capable of doing anything.'
'Is she? Lorna and I never hit it off somehow. She was great pals
with my brother Maurice, although she was only a kid at the time.
She--she didn't congratulate me on my engagement. You'll be sure to
look me up down at St. Pinto, won't you, Luscombe?'
When he had gone, I sat a long time thinking. It is true I no longer
believed that Paul Edgecumbe could be his brother; but it set me
wondering more than ever as to who Edgecumbe could be. I wondered if
the poor fellow's memory would ever come back, and if the dark veil
which hid his past life would be removed.
Before going out, I scribbled a line to Lorna Bolivick, telling her of
my meeting with Edgecumbe, and of the wonderful way he had helped me to
escape from the German trenches. It was true that, according to St.
Mabyn, she was in France, but I imagined that her letters would be
forwarded to her.
After that, several days elapsed before I had opportunity to pay my
promised visit to St. George Mabyn. It was a case of every man to the
wheel, for we were making huge preparations for the great Somme push
which took place immediately afterwards. Still, I did at length find
time to go, and one evening I started to walk there just as the day was
beginning to die. It had been very hot and sultry, I remember, and I
was very tired.
St. Pinto was well behind the lines, but I could hear the booming of
the big guns away in the distance. I had no difficulty in finding the
house where St. Mabyn was billeted, for, as he said, it was the first
house of importance that I came across on the outskirts of the village.
I was disappointed, however, in finding that neither he nor Springfield
was in. I could not complain of this, as I had not sent word that I
was coming. But being tired, and having decided to walk, I did not
relish the thought of my tramp back, especially as I had not taken the
trouble to change my heavy field boots.
Not a breath of wind blew, and the air was heavy and turgid. On my way
back, I had to pass a little copse which lay in a dell, and having
noticed a little stream of water, I climbed over the fence in order to
get a drink. Then, feeling deadly tired, I stretched myself at full
length on the undergrowth, and determined to rest for an hour before
completing my journey.
I think I must have fallen asleep, for presently I suddenly realized
that it was quite dark, and that everything had become wonderfully
still. The guns no longer boomed, and it might seem as though the
conflicting armies had agreed upon a truce. I imagine that even then I
was scarcely awake, for I had little consciousness of anything save a
kind of dreamy restfulness, and the thought that I needn't hurry back.
Suddenly, however, I was wholly awake, for I heard voices close by, and
I judged that some one was standing close to where I was. I was about
to get up, and make my way back to my billet, but I remained quite
still. I was arrested by a word, and that word was 'Edgecumbe.'
I did not realize that I was playing the part of an eaves-dropper, and
even if I had, I doubt if I should have made my presence known.
Anything to do with Edgecumbe had a strong interest for me.
The murmur of voices continued for some seconds without my being able
to detect another word. Then some one said distinctly:
'You say he has been down at our place to-night?'
'Yes,' was the reply, and I recognized St. Mabyn's voice; 'he called
about an hour before I got back.'
'What did he come for?' It was Springfield who spoke.
'Oh, that's all right. I asked him to look us up, and I expect that
he, being off duty, came down to smoke a pipe with us.'
'I don't like the fellow.'
'Neither do I.'
Again there was low murmuring for several seconds, not a word of which
reached me. Then I heard Springfield say: 'I shan't sleep soundly till
I'm sure.'
'You weren't convinced, then?'
'I didn't see him plainly,' was Springfield's reply. 'You see, I had
no business there, and we can't afford to arouse suspicions.'
'I tell you, Springfield,' and George St. Mabyn spoke as though he were
much perturbed, 'I don't like it. I was a fool to listen to you in the
first place. If you hadn't told me you were certain about it, and
that----'
'Come that won't do, George. We are both in it together; if I have
benefited, so have you, and neither of us can afford to have the affair
spoilt now. You are squire, and I am your friend, and you are going to
remain squire, whatever turns up, unless,' he added with a laugh, 'you
are potted in this show.'
'What do you mean by that?'
'I mean that if it is he, he must never go back to England alive. It
wouldn't do, my dear fellow.'
'But he remembers nothing. He doesn't even know his own name. He
doesn't know where he came from; he doesn't know what he did.'
'Yes, but if it is he, what would happen, if his memory suddenly came
back? Where should we be then? It won't bear thinking about!'
'But he knows nothing. Besides, who would take his word?'
'Are you sure Luscombe has no suspicions?' and Springfield asked the
question sharply.
'How can he have? and yet--oh hang it all, Springfield, it hangs like a
millstone round one's neck! But mind you, I am going to have no foul
play.'
Springfield gave an unpleasant laugh. 'Foul play, my son?' he said,
'we are both too deep in this business to stick at trifles. You can't
afford it, neither can I.'
A few seconds later, I heard them trudging back towards St. Pinto,
still talking eagerly.
I lay on the thick undergrowth for some minutes without moving. The
scraps of conversation which I had heard, and which I have set down
here, gave me enough food for reflection for a long time. I was not
yet quite clear as to the purport of it all, but I was clear that
villainy was on foot, and that not only was Paul Edgecumbe's life in
danger, but my own as well, and if the truth must be told, I feared
Springfield's threat more than I feared the danger which I had to meet
every day as a soldier at the front in war time.
The next day I received the following note:--
'MY DEAR LUSCOMBE,--
'I was awfully disappointed to learn, on my return to-night, that you
had looked us up in our show here, and had not found us. Why didn't
you, like a decent chap, let us know you were coming? We would then
have made it a point to be in. Springfield was even more disappointed
than I at our absence. Can't you come over on Thursday night and have
a bit of grub with us? We will both make it a point to have the entire
evening at liberty, always supposing that the Boches don't pay us
special attention. Let me have a line by bearer.
'Yours, with the best of regards
'GEORGE ST. MABYN.'
'Yes,' I reflected, 'I will go. But I'll have another talk with
Edgecumbe first.'
CHAPTER IX
EDGECUMBE IS MISSING
On the following Thursday I again made my way to St. Pinto, where I
received an almost effusive welcome from St. Mabyn and Springfield.
Both expressed great vexation at being away when I had called before,
and seemed to vie with each other in being friendly. In fact they
overdid it. After all, I had barely known them in England, and there
seemed no reason why they should act as though I were a long lost
brother in France.
'By the way, Luscombe,' said St. Mabyn after dinner, 'Springfield is
awfully interested in that experience of yours. He says it's one of
the greatest jokes of the war.'
'By Jove, that's true,' added Springfield. 'That fellow,--what do you
call him?--must be a great chap. I should like to hear more about him.'
'He is a great chap,' I replied. 'I don't believe he knows what fear
means, and the way he talked over those Boches was nothing short of a
miracle.'
Almost before I realized it, I found myself submitted to a keen
examination as to what I knew about Edgecumbe. As I reflect on it now,
I can see that Springfield's methods were very clever. He asked no
direct questions, but he led the conversation into channels which led
me, almost in spite of myself, to divulge my thoughts about him. Still
I do not think I committed any grave error, and when at length I left
them, I felt fairly satisfied with the interview.
During my walk back to my billet I felt sure I was being followed and
watched. It was true I neither heard nor saw anything out of the
ordinary, but I seemed to be possessed of a sixth sense, and that sixth
sense made me conscious of an unfriendly presence. But nothing
happened, and presently when I reached my quarters without molestation
or happening of any sort, I laughed at myself for harbouring baseless
impressions.
I found Edgecumbe awaiting me, as I had previously arranged.
'Been here long?' I asked.
'About an hour,' and then he looked at me eagerly.
'No,' I said, noting his glance, 'I've nothing to tell you---yet.'
I could see he was disappointed. I had aroused his curiosity and he
had been wondering what I had in my mind.
'Then I may as well be going,' he said, after a few seconds' silence.
'No, not yet.'
I could see the eager questions in his eyes, so I went on. 'I can't
tell you anything yet, Edgecumbe; it would not be fair to you, and it
might not be fair to others. It may be I'm only following the
will-o'-the-wisp of my fancies; all the same I want you to stay with me
at least an hour. I think it will be the safest plan. I will send a
note with you that will answer all questions, and meanwhile I'll get
these shutters closed.'
It was quite midnight when he left me, and I watched him as he walked
away from my billet. He had not gone more than two minutes when I
heard the sound of angry voices, and as far as I could judge they came
from the spot where he was likely to be. Then coming from the same
locality there was the sound of a pistol shot.
Without hesitating a second, I ran towards the spot from which I
thought the sound came. It was not a very dark night, but there was
not light enough to discern anything very plainly. For half an hour I
searched and listened, but I could discover nothing.
I tried to persuade myself that what I had heard was only fancy,
nevertheless I did not sleep well that night. As soon as morning
dawned I hurried to the spot again, but if there had been a struggle
the rain which had fallen had washed the traces away. Neither was
there anything suspicious to be seen.
Later in the day, however, news came to me that Private Edgecumbe was
missing, and as he had last been to my billet, I was to be questioned
as to whether I knew anything of his whereabouts.
As may be imagined when these questions were asked I could give no
satisfactory answers. I could not say that I suspected foul play
without giving my reasons, and those reasons were not good enough to
give. I could only say that he had come to me bringing a message from
Captain Wilkins, that he had left me about midnight bearing my reply.
That about two minutes after he had left I heard the sound of angry
voices, as well as a pistol shot, but beyond that nothing.
'Have you no idea where he is?' I asked anxiously.
'Not the slightest. I have made every inquiry--in vain. The fellow
has disappeared as though he had deserted.'
'He hasn't done that,' I replied. 'He's not that sort.'
'Then what's become of him?'
I shook my head. I was very anxious, but I could say nothing. I dared
not impugn two brother officers on such evidence as I had.
Nevertheless, as may be imagined, I thought a great deal about what had
taken place.
CHAPTER X
THE STRUGGLE IN THE TRENCHES
The events I have been writing about took place towards the end of May,
1916, and, as I have before stated, we were at this time making huge
preparations for the Great Advance. As fortune would have it,
moreover, I was, two days after my parting with Edgecumbe, given a job
five miles further south, and then life became such a rush, that to
make anything like satisfactory inquiries about a missing soldier was
absolutely impossible. I imagine that few newspaper readers at home,
when they read the first accounts of the battle of the Somme, and noted
that we took a few villages and a few thousand prisoners on the first
days of the battle, little realized the tremendous preparations which
had to be made. So hardly were we kept at it, that oftimes we had
scarce time for food or rest.
During the month of June, I received a letter from Lorna Bolivick, in
reply to the one I had sent her informing her of my meeting with Paul
Edgecumbe. It was so characteristic of her that I will insert it here.
'Now please confess at once,' she wrote, 'that it was because I
witnessed your promise to tell me all about him, that you sent that
letter, otherwise you wouldn't have thought of writing to a poor silly
girl. And wasn't it interesting! I told you he was a wonderful man,
and you see how he has paid you already for the little kindness you
showed him. Why, in all probability he saved your life! And now I
want you to do something else for me; I want you to send me his
photograph. I have conjured up a picture of what I think he is like,
and I am anxious to see if I am right. Aren't I taking a lot of
liberties with you! But you see I like you,--I do really. I fell in
love with you when you came to Granitelands with Sir Roger Granville
that day. Oh, no, there's nothing romantic about it, I can assure you!
But you looked so kind, and trustworthy, and strong, that I took to you
from the very first moment. Father tells me I am wrong to take violent
likes and dislikes to people at a first meeting; but I can't help it, I
am made that way. Of course you are not a bit attractive in the
ordinary way. You don't say sharp, clever things, and you don't
flatter. Besides, you're old. Now don't be angry. Every girl looks
upon a man who is getting on for forty as old. But I am fond of you
all the same. There's a sense of security about you; I am sure I could
trust you, just the same as I trust my father.
'Send me that photograph of your friend as soon as you can, I am
anxious to get it. I am awfully busy here in this hospital, and there
are such a lot of wounded men, many of them with a limb shot off. Do
you know, I am tremendously interested in a poor Tommy who has lost
both his legs. Horrible, isn't it! But he's the most cheerful man in
the place, and keeps us laughing all day long.
'He wrote a letter to his mother yesterday, and told her to get him a
pair of patent-leather dancing shoes.
'You will be sure to be careful, won't you?--I can't bear the idea of
anything happening to you; and although I know you are old enough to be
cautious, and not to take foolish risks,--that is, in the ordinary
way,--I am sure you are one of those men who forget everything like
caution when you are aroused. This is awfully silly, isn't it? so I'll
stop. I command you, write me at once, and do as I tell you.
'Yours obediently,
'LORNA BOLIVICK.'
I answered this letter at once. I was in a dug-out at the time, and I
remember a lump of mud falling on the writing-pad and making a huge
smear, and explaining to her what the smear meant. As it happened,
too, I was able to send her Paul Edgecumbe's photograph. It was not a
very good one; it had been produced by one of his comrades who was an
amateur photographer. But it gave a fair idea of him. I obtained it
from him the last evening we were together. I did not tell her that he
was missing, even although my fears concerning him were very grave; I
thought it better not;--why, I don't know.
At length the great first of July arrived, and it was impossible to
think of anything clearly. For days there had been a cannonade such as
the world had never witnessed before; the whole countryside shook, the
air was thick with shrieking shells, the ground trembled with bursting
bombs. Every breath one drew was poison; the acrid smells of high
explosives were everywhere. Then, after days of bombardment, which I
will not try to describe, for it beggars all the language I ever
learnt, the attack commenced.
I have been sitting here trying to conjure up a picture of all I saw
that day, trying to find words in order to give some general impression
of what took place; but I simply can't. As I look back now, it only
seems a combination of a vast mad-house and a vast charnel-house. I
have confused memories of bodies of men creeping up behind deadly
barrages; I can see shells tearing up great holes in the earth, and
scattering mud and stones around them. I can see, too, where trenches
were levelled, just as I have seen pits which children make on the
seashore levelled by the incoming tide. Now and then there come back
to my mind dim, weird pictures of Germans crawling out of their
dug-outs, holding up their hands, and piteously crying, 'Kamerad!
Kamerad!'
I have recollections, too, of the great awkward tanks toiling along
their cumbersome way, smashing down whatever opposed them, and spitting
out flame and death on every hand. But I can record nothing. Men talk
about the history of this war being written some day; it never will
be,--the whole thing is too tremendous, too ghastly.
Personally, there are only a few incidents which I can recall clearly.
In the main, the struggle comes back to me as a series of bewildering,
chaotic, and incomplete events. Scraps of conversation come back to
me, too, and those scraps have neither sequence nor meaning.
'Fricourt taken, is it?'
'Yes, and La Boisselle.'
'No, La Boisselle is not taken.'
'Yes, it is, and Contalmaison too.'
'Nonsense, you fool! that's miles on.'
'The French are doing very well, too. Fritz is having a hot time.
We'll be in Bapaume in no time.' And so on.
My general impression was that our men were doing very well south of
the Ancre, up as far as Thiepval, but north of the Ancre we were not so
successful. The Germans were putting up a tremendous resistance, and
I, unfortunately, was north of the Ancre. I will not give the exact
locality, nor the name of the village which was our objective; but this
village had been, as we thought, bombarded with such intensity that our
work ought to be easy. Our casualties were very heavy, and I shall
never forget the heartaches I had when I knew that many of my men whom
I had learned to know and to love were lying in nameless graves, torn,
battered and unrecognizable, while many more would linger for a few
hours in agony, and presently a little mound would cover them, and a
little wooden cross would indicate their last resting-place.
I never saw braver men. Even now my heart thrills at the abandon with
which they rushed into every kind of danger, not grimly and doggedly,
so much, as gaily, and with a laugh. They mocked at danger. I have
seen men crossing No Man's Land, with machine-gun bullets flying all
round them, stop coolly to light their cigarettes, and then go on again
humming a song.
The advance had been in progress some days, at least I think so, but I
am not sure,--one day seemed just like another. We had been at it for
many hours, I remember, and we were all dead tired. I could see that
some of the poor lads were half asleep, and ready to drop, through
sheer weariness. We had taken a difficult position, but we were
assured before we took it that our success would mean certainty to the
accomplishment of the larger plan. Our objective was the taking of a
fortified village a little farther on.
Heavy-eyed and heavy-limbed, the boys still stuck to it, and looked
eagerly forward towards the accomplishment of their work. It is true
our ranks were terribly decimated, but the enemy had suffered far worse
than we, and therefore we were confident. Then the news came that we
were to be relieved. Fresh battalions had come up to take our places,
and we were told that we might get back and rest.
Our boys were disappointed at this, although they were glad of the
reprieve.
'Anyhow, we've done our bit,' said one.
'A dirty bit, too,' said another. 'Still, the job's easy now, and a
fresh lot of men should take it in a couple of hours.'
'I'd rather go on with it,' said a third. 'I don't see why these other
blokes should have the easy job, and we have the hard one.'
'Cheer up, old sport,' said another, 'what do we care who does the job,
as long as it's done? We're not here for a picnic.'
And so on, while we retired. How far we went back, I don't know. I
have a confused remembrance of the fellows throwing themselves down on
the ground, almost sleeping as they fell, and not waiting for the food
which was provided for them, while others ate ravenously.
'Anyhow, we've given Fritz a twisting up to-day, and we've left the
other blokes a soft job,' were the last words I heard as I dragged my
weary legs to the place where I promised myself a good long sleep.
How long I slept I don't know, but it did not seem to me two minutes,
although it might have been as many hours.
'The Boches have broken through!' Those were the words that came to my
stupefied brain.
'What!' I exclaimed, 'it is impossible!'
'Yes, back at once!'
There was no time to ask questions, no time to argue. The poor fellows
who had been fighting so long and bravely were with difficulty roused
out of their sleep, and all had to retrace their weary steps towards
the positions for which we had fought, and which we had won.
'Why is it? why is it?'--'There must be a mistake!'--'Why, we had got
'em on toast.'--'I tell you, we left 'em nothing but a picnic!'
The men were angry, discontented, grumbling, but they went back to
their job determined to see it through nevertheless.
After that, I have but a dim recollection of what took place, except
that it was grim, hard, stern fighting. The air was sulphurous, the
ground hideous with filth, and blood, and dead bodies.
I don't know how it came about, but the Germans were more numerous than
we. It was not we who were taking prisoners, but they, and then
suddenly I found myself alone, with three Germans before me. One, I
remember, had a rag saturated with blood tied round his head. He had a
great gash in his cheek, too, and was nearly beaten; but there was the
look of a devil in his eye. Had I been a private soldier, I expect I
should have been killed without ado, but they called upon me to
surrender. I was mad at the idea. What, surrender after we had won
the position! Surrender to the men whom we had sworn to conquer! The
Army which had set out to make an advance must not surrender!
I was dog-tired, and a bit stupefied; but that was the feeling which
possessed me. I remember that a dead German lay in the trench close
behind me, and that his rifle had fallen from his nerveless hand.
Seizing the rifle by the barrel, I blindly and recklessly attacked
them; I had a grim sort of feeling that if I was to die, I would die
fighting. I remember, too, that I comforted myself with the thought
that no one depended on me, and that I had no near relatives to bemoan
my death.
It may be that my position gave me an advantage, otherwise they, being
three, must have mastered me easily, although one of them was badly
wounded; still, one desperate man can do much. I was thirty-nine years
of age, and although not bred a soldier, I was an athlete. I was an
old rowing blue, too, and that means good muscles and a strong heart.
I weighed only a little over twelve stone, but I had not an ounce of
spare flesh, and I was desperate. I had a little advantage in reach,
too; I am over six feet in height, and long in limb.
But it was an unequal battle, and I knew they were bearing me down.
One of my arms was numb, too; I expect it was from a blow, although I
never felt it. I saw the look of murder in their eyes, as little by
little they pressed me back. Then a change came.
It seems like a fantastic dream now, and the new-comer appeared to me
more like a visitant from another world than tangible flesh and blood.
I expect it was because my eyesight was failing me. My strength was
gone, and I remember panting for life, while sparks of fire flitted
before my eyes. I fell against the side of the trench, and watched the
new-comer, who leapt upon two of the Germans, and hurled them from him
as though they had been five-year-old children. It seemed to me that I
had never seen such a feat of strength. A second later I knew that my
antagonists would never fight again, and then my own senses departed.
'It's all right, sir, it's all right! You'll be as fresh as a daisy in
a few minutes. There, that's better. You've fought a great fight!'
The voice seemed to stir something within me, and I felt myself in my
right mind with a flash. Moreover, he had taken me to a place of
comparative safety.
'Edgecumbe!' I cried, 'how in Heaven's name----!
'I've turned up like a bad penny, sir, haven't I? I was just in the
nick of time, too.'
'This is twice you've saved my life,' I said.
'That's nothing,' was his reply. 'I have found more than life.'
I looked at him curiously. His clothes were torn and caked with mud;
here and there I saw they were soaked with blood. His face looked
haggard and drawn, too, but in his eyes was such a look as I had never
seen before. The old wistfulness and yearning were gone; he no longer
had the appearance of a man grieving because he had lost his past.
Joy, realization of something wonderful, a great satisfaction, all
revealed themselves in his eyes, as he looked at me.
'His memory has come back,' I said to myself.
I did not think of what had become of him on the night I had dined with
Springfield and St. Mabyn, that was not worth troubling about. His
past had come back, and evidently it was a joyous past, a past which
gave all sorts of promises for the future!
'I have great things to tell you!' he cried excitedly.
CHAPTER XI
EDGECUMBE'S STORY
But my new-found strength was only fitful. He had barely spoken the
words, when I heard a great noise in my ears, and I knew that my senses
were becoming dim again. I heard other voices, too, and looking up I
saw my own colonel standing near, with three or four others near him.
And then I have a faint recollection of hearing Paul Edgecumbe telling
him what had taken place. I know, too, that I was angry at his
description. He was telling of the part I had taken in the struggle in
glowing colours, while keeping his own part in it in the background. I
was trying to tell the colonel this, when everything became black.
When I came to myself again, I was in a rest-station behind the lines.
I remember feeling very sore, and my head was aching badly, but no
bones were broken. I could move my limbs, although with difficulty; I
felt as though every inch of my body had been beaten with big sticks.
Still, my mind was clear, I was able to think coherently, and to recall
the scenes through which I had passed.
I lay for some minutes wishing I could hear news of what was going on,
when a brother officer came to me.
'Hullo, Luscombe, awake? That's right. You've had a rough time; you
were lucky to get out of it so well.'
'I am in the dark about everything,' I said. 'Tell me what has
happened.'
He mistook my meaning, and replied with a laugh:
'Oh, you were saved by that chap who took thirty Boches British
prisoners. He seems to be a guardian angel of yours. He's a great
man, too, there's no doubt about that. Ah, here's the M.O. coming!'
The doctor and I were good friends, and when he had examined me, and
pronounced me a fraud for being in bed, I eagerly questioned him, and
the sub. who still remained, as to how we were doing.
'Very well indeed, below Thiepval,' was his reply, 'but up here badly.'
'Have we taken Thiepval?'
He shook his head gloomily. 'That'll need a bit of doing. It's a
regular fortress, man! Of course we shall get it in time. Our new
guns are tremendous; but we ought to have done better up this way.
We've thrown away our chances, too.'
'I don't understand,' I said. 'When we were relieved, we had
practically won the key to the position we set out to get.'
'That's the mischief of the whole thing,' he replied moodily. He used
language which I will not set down here; it was too strong for polite
ears.
'What's the matter?' I asked.
'Oh, we're supposed to say nothing, but----'
'But what? Come, let us know. We hadn't been relieved long, when we
were called back again, and we found the Boches in the very place we
had taken.'
'Still, we are doing well south of the Ancre, and that's what the
dispatches will be jubilant about, and that's what the people at home
will know of. If we'd taken G----, we should have had the key of the
whole position here, too. But there, I must be off. Cheer up, and
look perky, my boy. There'll be no obituary notices about you this
time. Yes, you can dress and get up when you want to, although I don't
think you _will_ want to. You will be fit for duty in two or three
days.'
'By the way, do you know how Edgecumbe is?'
'He's all right. Wonderful chap! I hear he's to be recommended for
all sorts of things.'
'He deserves them,' I said; 'he ought to have a commission.'
'I hear that's coming, too. Good-bye, old man.'
The next day I came across Edgecumbe. His face looked more like
parchment than ever, but the wonderful look still remained in his eyes.
'You are better, sir. You are all right!' he exclaimed eagerly.
'Oh, yes, I am all right,' I replied. 'Now let us hear about the great
things you have to tell me of. Your memory's come back, hasn't it?'
He laughed gaily. 'Better than that,' he cried, 'better than that, a
thousand times! I have no past, Sir, but I have a future!'
I looked at him wonderingly. A doubt even crossed my mind as to
whether he was quite sane.
'Tell me about it, anyhow,' I said.
'I have so much to tell you that I hardly know where to begin.'
'Better begin at the beginning. What have you been doing since that
night you were at my billet over at St. Pierre?'
'Oh, yes, I'd forgotten all about that. I say, you were right there; I
should imagine that some people think I am in their way. Anyhow, I'd
hardly left your place when I suddenly found myself surrounded by three
men, who went for me. They pretended to be drunk, but I am sure they
were not.'
'Were they soldiers?'
'I don't know. It was too dark to tell. But I am pretty handy with my
fives, and I gave one something to remember, and then thinking
discretion was the better part of valour, I bolted. That was lucky,
for they were trying to grab me. As you may remember, it was pretty
dark, but still not so dark as to keep one from seeing things. I
hadn't gone more than a few steps before a bullet whizzed by me. It
didn't touch me, but as the road on which I ran was open, I turned up a
narrow track,--I thought it might lead to a farmhouse, or something of
that sort.'
'And then?'
'Then I had bad luck; The track led to a quarry, an old disused quarry.
Then I must have had a very bad fall, for I was stunned and I sprained
myself badly. When I came to myself, it was daylight, and I couldn't
move; at least, I couldn't move without awful pain.'
'And what happened then?'
'I lay there a jolly long time. You see the blessed quarry had got
overgrown, and all that sort of thing, and it was a long way from the
road. I yelled, and yelled, but no one came. Then I saw that it would
be all up with me, if I could make no one hear. That seemed silly.'
'And what did you do?'
'It was a bit of a tussle; you see I'd bruised and sprained myself so
badly; but I got out after a bit, and--and--made an old man who was
passing down the main road with a horse and cart hear me. The rest was
very simple.'
'Did you get any punishment?'
'Oh, no, sir. I have to thank you for that. The statement I made
tallied so exactly with yours that I got off all right. Besides, I was
jolly shaken up. At the end of a fortnight I was able to get around
again. Still, it's worth thinking about.'
'What do you mean?'
'Oh, there's no doubt some one is having his knife into me. Of course
I can't help reflecting on what you said. In fact, it was your advice
to look out for squalls, that made me a bit prepared when I left you.
Would you mind telling me the grounds you had for your suspicions?'
'Go on with your story first. What happened after that?'
'What happened after that!' he cried, 'everything--everything! What
happened after that has made a new man of me; life has become new, the
world has become new!'
'You are talking riddles. Explain.'
'It's no riddle, sir,--it's a solution of all the riddles. I will tell
you. While I was convalescing, I went to a Y.M.C.A. camp. I had never
been to one of these places before; I don't know why I went then,
except that the time hung a bit heavy on my hands. You see, every man
was up to his neck in work, and there was great excitement in making
preparations for the push, and I couldn't do anything. Not but what I
had always respected the Y.M.C.A.,--what the British Army would have
done without it I don't know. In my opinion, that body is doing as
much to win the war as the War Office is--perhaps a bit more. They
have kept thousands upon thousands of our chaps steady and straight.
They have done more to fight the devil than--but there, I'll come to
that presently.
'Well, one night I made my way into the Y.M.C.A. hut. At first I did
nothing but read the papers, but presently I realized that a service
was going on. The hall wasn't full by any means. Before this push it
was full every night; but you see the boys were busy. Presently I
caught sight of the man who was speaking, and I liked his face. I
quickly found out that he was an intelligent man, too, and I went up
nearer the platform to hear what he had to say. He was not a chaplain
or anything of that sort, he was just one of the Y.M.C.A. workers. Who
he was I didn't know then,--I don't now, although I have an idea I
shall meet him some day, and I shall thank him as a man was never
thanked yet.'
'Why?' I asked.
'He made me know the greatest fact in the world,' and he spoke very
earnestly. 'He made me realize that there was a God. That fact hadn't
come within the realm of my vision,--I hadn't thought anything about
it. You see,' and I could see he had forgotten all about military
etiquette and the difference in our ranks, 'as I have said to you
before, I have been like a man beginning to write the story of his life
at the middle. Having no memory, I have had no preconceived notions,
and very few prejudices. I suppose if some one had asked me if I
believed that there was a God, I should have said yes, although I
should have been a bit doubtful. Perhaps I should have thought that
there was some great Force which brought all that we see into being,
and then I should have said that, if this great Force were intelligent,
He'd made an awful mess of things, that He'd found the Universe too big
a thing to manage. But I didn't know; anyhow, the thought of God, the
fact of God, hadn't troubled me, neither had I thought much about
myself in a deeper way.
'Sometimes, when my pals were killed, I wondered in a vague way what
had become of them, and whether they were really dead; but there was
nothing clear or definite in my mind. But that night, while listening
to that man, I woke up to the fact that there was a God; it came to me
like a flash of light. I seemed to know that there was an Almighty
Power Who was behind everything,--thinking,--controlling. Then I was
staggered.'
'Staggered? How?' I asked.
'He said that a Man called Jesus Christ told us what God was
like,--showed us by His own life and death. I expect I was a bit
bewildered, for I seemed to see more than his words conveyed.'
He did not seem excited, he spoke quite calmly, although there was a
quiver in his voice which showed how deeply he was moved, and his eyes
glowed with that wonderful new light which made him seem like a new
man. That he had experienced something wonderful, was evident. What I
and thousands of others regarded as a commonplace, something which we
had heard from our childhood, and which, I am afraid, did not hold us
very strongly, was to him a wonderful reality, the greatest, the
divinest thing in the world.
'I got a New Testament,' he went on, 'and for days I did nothing but
read it. I think I could repeat those four Gospels. Man, it's the
most wonderful thing ever known,--of course it is! Why----'
At that moment a change came over his face. It was as though he were
attacked by great pain, as though indeed his body were torn with agony.
His fists were clenched and quivering, his body became rigid, his face
drawn and bloodless.
'Hark, what's that?'
'I hear nothing.'
'Yes, but listen--there!'
It was a curious cry I heard; it sounded partly like the cry of a
seagull, mingled with the wail of a wounded animal. It was repeated
once, twice, and then there was a laugh.
'I've heard that before, somewhere. Where?--where? It's back behind
the black wall!'
I looked, and saw half hidden by a small belt of brushwood, a group of
officers, and I could hear them laughing.
'Is that an Indian cry, Springfield?' some one said.
'Yes, there's a legend that it is always heard the night before there's
a kind of vendetta.'
Springfield's voice reached us quite clearly, and I looked
instinctively towards Paul Edgecumbe.
'I know that voice! I know it!' and the intensity of his feeling was
manifested in every word he spoke.
'Silence,' I whispered, 'and come with me, quickly!'
I drew him to a spot from which, without being observed, he could see
Springfield's face.
'That is he, _that's_ he,' he whispered hoarsely. 'I know him,--I know
him!'
'Who is he?' I asked.
'I--oh!--no,--I don't know.'
From pain, almost amounting to agony, the expression on his face had
changed to that of intense loathing, of infinite contempt.
'Let's get away,' he said; 'this air is polluted.'
A few minutes later, we had come to the rest-house where I had been
brought after my shaking-up, and I saw that the letters had come.
'Wait a minute,' I said. 'I want to hear the end of your story.'
There was only one letter for me, and I saw at a glance that it had
come from Lorna Bolivick. It was a long, newsy epistle, only one part
of which I need quote here. It referred to Paul Edgecumbe's photograph.
'Thank you,' she wrote, 'for sending me that picture of your protegé.
What a strange-looking man! I don't think I ever saw a face quite like
it before, and hasn't he wonderful eyes! I felt, even while looking at
it, that he was reading my very soul. I am sure he has had wonderful
experiences, and has seen things undreamed of by such as I. I had a
kind of feeling, when I asked you for it, that I might have met him, or
seen him somewhere; but I never have. His face is like no other I have
ever seen, although, in spite of its strangeness, it is wonderfully
striking. If ever you have a chance, you must bring him to see me. I
am sure I should like to talk to him. A man who has a face like that
couldn't help being interesting.'
Here was the final blow which shattered all my suspicions. In spite of
repeated assurances to the contrary, I retained the impression that
Paul Edgecumbe and Maurice St. Mabyn were the same person. Now I knew
that it was impossible. Lorna Bolivick's testimony was final, all the
more final because she had no thought of what was in my own mind.
And yet I knew that Paul Edgecumbe was in some way associated with
Springfield and St. Mabyn; everything pointed to that fact.
Springfield's evident fear, St. Mabyn's anxiety, added to Edgecumbe's
strange behaviour when he heard the peculiar cry, and saw Springfield's
face, made me sure that in some way these men's lives were bound
together, in a way I could not understand.
CHAPTER XII
THE STRUGGLE ON THE SOMME
I was not fated to hear the end of Edgecumbe's story. I had barely
finished reading the letter, when events happened in quick succession
which made it impossible for me to hear those things which he declared
made all life new to him.
It must be remembered that we were in the early part of July, when the
great battle of the Somme was gaining intensity at every hour, and when
private experiences were at a discount. Each day the tornado of the
great guns became more and more terrible, the air was full of the
shrieks of shells, while the constant pep-pep-pep of machine-guns
almost became monotonous. Village after village south of the Ancre
fell into our hands, thousands of German prisoners were taken, while
deadly fighting was the order of the day. It is no use trying to
describe it, it cannot be described. Incidents here and there can be
visualized, and to an extent made plain by words; but the movement as a
whole, the constant roar of guns, the shriek of shells, the sulphur of
explosives, the march of armies, the bringing in of prisoners, and our
own wounded men, cover too vast a field for any one picture.
It was not one battle, it was a hundred battles, and each battle was
more intense than the other. Position after position was taken, some
of which were lost again, only to be retaken, amidst the thunder of
guns and the groans of dying men.
If ever Tennyson's martial poem were true, it was true in that great
struggle. Not that cavalry had much to do with it, neither was there
any pageantry or any of the panoply of war. It was all too grim, too
ghastly, too sordid for that. And yet there was a pageantry of which
Tennyson never dreamed. The boom of guns, the weird light of the star
shells, the sulphurous atmosphere, the struggle of millions, formed a
pageant so Homeric, and on such an awful scale, that imagination reels
before it.
It was towards the middle of July when my battalion was ordered south
of the Ancre. What had become of Edgecumbe I did not know, and it was
impossible to find out. Each battalion, each company, and each
platoon, had its little scene of operations, and we knew nothing of who
might be a few hundred yards from us. As an infantry officer, I was,
during the advance, for the most time in the trenches. Then, after the
artillery had done its work, we leapt the parapets, and made our way
across the open, oft-times through a hailstorm of bullets, while
shrieking shells fell and exploded at our feet. Now we were held up by
barbed wire, which here and there had not been swept away by our
artillery, or again we stumbled into shell holes, where we lay panting
and bruised. But these are only small incidents in the advance.
I think it was toward the end of July when a section of my battalion
lay in the trenches not far from Montauban. We had been there, I
remember, a considerable time; how long, I can scarcely tell, for hours
and sometimes days passed without definite note being taken. Above our
heads aircraft sped through the heavens, mostly our own, but now and
then Germans! We saw little puffs of cloud forming themselves around
them, as shells exploded in the skies. Now and then one of the
machines would be hit, and I saw them swerve, as I have seen birds
swerve before they fall, at a shooting party. Behind us our guns were
booming, while a few hundred yards away in front of us, the German
trenches were being levelled. It was a fascinating, yet horrible
sight. More than once I saw machine-gun emplacements, with the
gunners, struck by the projectiles from our great howitzers, and hurled
many feet high.
Not that we had it all our own way, although our artillery was superior
to that of the enemy. If we had located their positions, so had they
located ours, and their shells fell thick and fast along our lines,
decimating our ranks.
How long we had waited, I don't know. We knew by the artillery
preparations that the command for advance must soon come, and we
crouched there, some quivering with excitement, others cracking jokes
and telling stories, and most of the men smoking cigarettes, until the
word of command should pass down the line. We knew what it meant. It
was true our barrage would make it comparatively safe; but we knew,
too, that many of the lads who were joking with each other, and telling
stories of what they did in pre-war days, would never see England
again, while many more, if they went back, would go back mutilated and
maimed for life. Still, it was all in the day's work. The Boches had
to be beaten, and whatever might happen to us we must finish our job.
The soldiers talked calmly about it, and even joked.
'Think your number's up, Bill?'
'I don't know. I've been home to Blighty twice. Perhaps I shan't have
such good luck next time. But what's the odds? We're giving Fritz a
rare old time.'
'Fritz ain't got no more fight in him.'
'Don't you be so sure of that, old cock. Fritz is chained to his guns,
that's what _he_ is.'
'Is it true the Kaiser and old Hindenburg have come up to see this job,
I wonder? Wouldn't I just like to take 'em prisoners!'
And so on, minute after minute, while the heavens and the earth were
full of the messengers of death.
The command to go over came at length, and I heard a cheer pass down
the line. It sounded strangely amid the booming of the guns, and the
voices of the men seemed small. All the same, it was hearty and
confident. Many of them, I knew, would have a sense of relief at
getting out into the open, and feel that they were no longer like
rabbits in their burrows. Helter, skelter, we went across the open
ground, some carelessly and indifferently, others with stern, set
faces. Here one cracked a joke with his pal, while there another
stopped suddenly, staggered, and fell.
The ground, I remember, was flat just there, and I could see a long way
down the line, men struggling across the open space. There was no
suggestion of military precision, that is in the ordinary sense of the
word, yet in another there was. Each man was ready, and each man had
that strange light in his eyes which no pen can describe.
We took the first trench without difficulty. The few Germans who
remained were dazed, bewildered, and eager to surrender. They came up
out of their dug-outs, their arms uplifted, piteously crying for mercy.
'All right, Fritz, old cock, we won't hurt you! You don't deserve it.
But there, I suppose you had to do what you was told.'
Now and then, however, no mercy was shown. Many of the machine-gunners
held up one hand, and cried for mercy, while with the other they worked
the guns. However, the first line of trenches was taken, a great many
prisoners captured, and then came the more difficult and dangerous
business. The second line must be taken as well as the first, and the
second line was our objective.
By this time we did not know where we were, and we were so mixed up
that we didn't know to what battalion or regiment we belonged. In the
gigantic struggle, extending for miles, there was no possibility of
keeping together. The one thing was to drive the Germans out of the
second line of trenches, or better still to make them prisoners. But
every inch of ground became more dangerous. German shells were blowing
up the ground around us, and decimating our advancing forces.
It was here that I thought my number was up. A shell exploded a few
yards from me, shook the ground under my feet, threw me into the air,
and half buried me in the _débris_. It was one of those moments when
it seemed as though every man was for himself, and when, in the mad
carnage, it was impossible to realize what had happened to each other.
I was stunned by the explosion, and how long I lay in that condition I
don't know.
When I became conscious, I felt as though my head were going to burst,
while a sense of helplessness possessed me. Then I realized that,
while my legs were buried, my head was in the open. Painfully and with
difficulty I extricated myself, and then, scarcely realizing what I was
doing, I staggered along in the direction in which I thought my boys
had gone.
Evening was now beginning to fall, and I had lost my whereabouts.
Meanwhile, there was no cessation in the roar of artillery. As I
struggled along, I saw, not fifty yards away, a group of men. And then
I heard, coming through the air, that awful note which cannot be
described. It was a whine, a yell, a moan, a shriek, all in one.
Beginning on a lower note, it rose higher and higher, then fell again,
and suddenly a huge explosive dropped close where the men stood. A
moment later, a great mass of stuff went up, forming a tremendous
mushroom-shaped body of earth. When it subsided, a curly cloud of
smoke filled the air. I was sick and bewildered by what I had passed
through, and could scarcely realize the purport of what I had just
seen. But presently I saw a man digging, digging, as if for his life.
Half mad, and bewildered, I made my way towards him. In different
stages of consciousness I saw several soldiers lying. When I arrived
close to the spot, I recognized the digger. It was Paul Edgecumbe.
Never did I see a man work as he worked. It seemed as though he
possessed the strength of three, while all the energy of his being was
devoted to the rescue of some one who lay beneath the heap of _débris_.
In a bewildered sort of way I realized the situation. Evidently the
enemy had located it as an important spot, for shell after shell
dropped near by, while the men who had so far recovered their senses as
to be able to get away, crawled into the shell hole.
'Come in here, you madman!' one man said. 'You can't get him out, and
you'll only get killed.'
But Paul Edgecumbe kept on digging, heedless of flying bullets,
heedless of death.
'He can't get him out,' said a soldier to me in a dazed sort of way;
'he's buried, that's what he is.'
'Who is it?' I asked.
'Captain Springfield,' replied the man. 'Come in here,' he shouted to
Edgecumbe, 'that fellow ain't worth it!'
Scarcely realizing what I was doing, and so weak that I could hardly
walk, I crawled nearer to my friend.
'You have a hopeless task there,' I remember saying. 'Leave it, and
get into the hole there.'
'Is that you, Luscombe? I shall save him, I am sure I shall. I was
buried once myself, so I know what it means. There, I have got him!'
He threw down the tool with which he was digging, and with his hands
pulled away the stones and earth which lay over the body.
I don't quite recollect what took place after that. I have a confused
remembrance of lying in the shell hole, while the tornado went on. I
seemed to see, as in a dream, batches of soldiers pass by me in the
near distance; some of them Germans, while others were our own men.
Everything was confused, unreal. Even now I could not swear to what
took place,--what I thought I saw and heard may not be in fact a
reality at all, but only phantoms of the mind. Flesh and blood, and
nerves and brain were utterly exhausted, and although I was not
wounded, I was more dead than alive.
I have an indistinct remembrance of a dark night, and of being led over
ground seamed with deep furrows, and made hideous with dead bodies. I
had a fancy, too, that the sky was lit up with star shells, and that
there was a continuous booming of guns. But this may have been the
result of a disordered imagination.
When I came to consciousness, I was at a clearing-station, suffering, I
was told, from shell shock.
'You're not a bad case,' said the M.O. to me, with a laugh, 'but
evidently you've had a rough time. From what I can hear, too, you had
a very great time.'
'A great time!' I said. 'I scarcely remember anything.'
'Some of your men do, anyhow. Yes, the second line was taken, and the
village with it. Not that any village is left,' he added with a laugh.
'I hear that all that remains is one stump of a tree and one chimney.
However, the ground's ours. Five hundred prisoners were taken. There
now, you feel better, don't you? It's a wonder you are alive, you
know.'
'But I was in no danger.'
'Weren't you? One of your men, who couldn't move, poor chap, because
of a smashed leg and a broken arm, watched you crawl out of a great
heap of stuff. He said that only your head was visible at first; but
the way you wormed yourself through the mud was as good as a play.'
'I knew very little about it,' I said.
'Very possibly. Corporal Wilkins watched you, and shouted after you,
as you staggered away; but you took no notice, and then, I hear,
although you were half dead, you did some rescuing work.'
'I did rescuing work!' I gasped.
'Why, of course you did, you know you did.'
'But I didn't,' I replied.
'All right then, you didn't,' and the doctor laughed again. 'There
now, you're comfortable now, so be quiet. I'll tell some one to bring
you some soup.'
'But I say, I--I want to know. Is Captain Springfield all right?'
The doctor laughed again. 'I thought you didn't do any rescuing work?'
'I didn't,' I replied, 'it was the other man who did that; but is
Springfield all right?'
'He's very bad. He _may_ pull through, but I doubt it.'
'Private Edgecumbe,--what of him? He did everything, you know.'
'I think he has gone back to duty.'
'Duty!' I gasped. 'Why--why----'
'The fellow's a miracle, from what I can hear. No, he wasn't wounded.
The man who told me about it said that he might have a charmed life.
He's all right, anyhow. Now be quiet, I must be off.'
For the next few days, although, as I was told, I was by no means a bad
case, I knew what it was to be a shattered mass of nerves. A man with
a limb shot away, or who has had shrapnel or bullets taken from his
body, can laugh and be gay,--I have seen that again and again. But one
suffering from shell shock goes through agonies untold. I am not going
to _try_ to describe it, but I shall never forget what I suffered. As
soon as I was fit, I was moved to another hospital nearer the base, and
there, as fortune would have it, I met Edgecumbe's colonel. By this
time I was able to think coherently, and my spells of nerves were
becoming rarer and less violent.
'Yes, my boy, you are a case for home,' said Colonel Gray. 'You are a
lucky beggar to get out of it so well. I was talking with your C.O.
yesterday; you are going back to England at once. I won't tell you
what else he told me about you; your nerves are not strong enough.'
'There's nothing wrong, is there?'
Colonel Gray laughed. 'No, it's all the other way. Don't your ears
tingle?'
'Not a tingle,' I said. 'But what about Edgecumbe?'
'He's a friend of yours, isn't he?' asked the colonel.
'Yes,' I replied.
'Who is he?'
'I don't know,--I wish I did.'
'He's a wonderful chap. I've had my eye on him for a long time, and I
haven't been able to make him out. What really aroused my interest in
him was the way--but of course you know all about that, you were in
that show. I never laughed so much in my life as when those Boches
were brought in. Of course you know he's to get his decoration? It
couldn't be helped after that Springfield affair.'
As it happened, however, I did not cross to England for several days,
but stayed at a base hospital until, in the opinion of the M.O., I was
fit to be removed. Meanwhile the carnage went on, and the great battle
of the Somme developed according to the plans we had made, although
there were some drawbacks. At length the day came when I was to go
back to England, and no sooner had I stepped on board the boat than, to
my delight, I saw Edgecumbe.
'I _am_ glad to see you!' I cried.
'Thank you, sir.'
'Got it bad?'
'A mere nothing, sir. Just a bruised arm. In a few days I shall be as
right as ever.'
It was a beautiful day, and as it happened the boat was not crowded. I
looked for a quiet spot where we could talk.
'You didn't finish telling me your story when we met last,' I said
presently. 'I want to hear it badly.'
'I want you to hear it,' was his reply, and I noted that bright look in
his eyes which had so struck me before.
CHAPTER XIII
EDGECUMBE'S MADNESS
'After all, it's nothing that one can talk much about,' he continued.
'I've become a Christian, that's all. But it's changed everything,
_everything_!'
'How?'
'I find it difficult to tell you, sir; but after I'd got back from the
Y.M.C.A. meeting I got hold of a New Testament, and for days I did
nothing but read it. You see it was a new book to me.'
He hesitated a few seconds and then went on. 'Loss of memory is a
curious thing, isn't it? I suppose I must have read it as a boy, just
as nearly all other English boys have, but it was a strange book to me.
I had not forgotten how to read, but I had forgotten what I had read.
I seemed to remember having heard of some one called Jesus Christ, but
He meant nothing to me. That was why the reading of the New Testament
was such a revelation.'
'Well, go on,' I said when he stopped.
'Presently I began to pray,' and his voice quivered as he spoke. 'It
was something new to me, but I did it almost unconsciously. You see,
when I left the Y.M.C.A. hut, I had a consciousness that there was a
God, but after I'd read the New Testament----; no I can't explain, I
can't find words! But I prayed, and I felt that God was listening to
me, and presently something new came into my life! It seemed to me as
though some part of my nature which had been lying dormant leapt into
life. I looked at things from a new standpoint. I saw new meanings in
everything. I knew that I was no longer an orphan in the world, but
that an Almighty, All-pervading God was my Father. That He cared for
me, that nothing was outside the realm of His love. I saw what God was
like, too. As I read that story of Jesus, and opened my life to Him,
my whole being was flooded with the consciousness that He cared for me,
that He watched me, and protected me. I saw, too, that there was no
death to the man in whom Christ lived. That the death of the body was
nothing because the man, the essential man lived on,--where I did not
know, did not care, because God was.'
He looked across the sunlit sea as he spoke, and I think he had almost
forgotten me.
'I had an awful time though,' he went on.
'How? In what way?'
'It was when I read the Sermon on the Mount. I could not for a time
see how a Christian could be a soldier. The whole idea of killing men
seemed a violation of Christianity.'
'It is,' I said.
'Yes, in a way you are right, and when I read those words of the Lord
telling us that we must love our enemies, and bless them that cursed
us, I was staggered. Where could there be any Christianity in great
guns hurling men by the thousand into eternity?'
'There isn't,' I persisted.
'That's what I believed at first, but I got deeper presently. I saw
that I had only been looking at the surface of things.'
'How?' I asked. I was curious to see how this man who had forgotten
his past would look at things.
'I found after a daily study of this great Magna Charta of Jesus
Christ, that He meant us to live by the law of love.'
'There's not much living by the law of love over yonder,' I said,
nodding in the direction of the Somme.
'Yes there is,' he cried. 'Oh, I realize the apparent anomaly of it
all, but don't you see? _It wouldn't be living by the law of love to
allow Germany to master the world by brute force_! This was the
situation. Prussianism wanted to dominate the world. The Germans
wanted to dethrone mercy, pity, kindness, love, and to set up a god who
spoke only by big guns. They wanted to rule the world by brute force,
devilry. Now then, what ought Christians to do? It would be poor
Christianity, it would be poor love to the world, to allow the devil to
reign.
'You see,' he went on, 'Christ's law is, not only that we must love our
enemies, but we must love our neighbours too. We must live for the
overthrow of wrong and the setting up of His Kingdom of truth, and
mercy, and love. But how? Here were Germany's rulers who were bent on
forcing war. They were moral madmen. They believed only in force.
For forty years they had been feeding on the poison of the thought that
might was right, and that it was right to do the thing you _could_ do.'
'And what is war but accepting that idea. It is simply overcoming
force by force. Where does Christianity come in?'
'You don't argue with a mad dog,' he said. 'You kill it. It's best
for the dog, and it's essential for the good of the community.
Germany's a mad dog, and this virus of war must be overcome, destroyed.
Oh, I've thought it all out. I believe in prayer. But it's no use
praying for good health while you live over foul drains, and it's just
as little praying for the destruction of such a system while you do
nothing. God won't do for us what we can do for ourselves. That's why
this is a holy war! That's why we must fight until Prussianism is
overthrown. We are paying a ghastly price, but it has to be paid. All
the same, we are fighting this war in the wrong way.'
'How?' I asked.
'Because we've forgotten God. Because, to a large extent, we regard
Him too much as a negligible quantity; because we have become too much
poisoned with the German virus.'
'I don't follow,' I said.
'I will try to make my meaning plain. In this war we have the
greatest, the holiest cause man ever fought for. We are struggling for
the liberty, the well-being of the world. We are fighting God's cause;
but we are not fighting it in God's way. We are fighting as if there
were no God.'
'How?'
'We started wrongly. Were our soldiers made to realize when they
joined the Army that they were going to fight for God? Did the
country, the Government ever tell them so? Oh, don't mistake me. I am
a private soldier, and I've lived with the Tommies for a long time, and
I know what kind of chaps they are. A finer lot of fellows never
lived. Braver than lions, and as tender as women many of them; but
does God count with the great bulk of them? Is Tommy filled with a
passion for God? Is he made to feel the necessity of God? Does Tommy
depend primarily on God for victory?'
'Well, do we depend on God for victory?' I asked.
'If God is not with us we are lost!' he said solemnly. 'And that's our
trouble. I've read a good many of our English papers, our leading
daily papers, and one might think from reading them that either there
was no God, or that He didn't count. "How are we to win this war, and
crush Germanism?" is the cry, and the answer of the British Government
and of the British press is, "Big guns, mountains of munitions,
conscription, national service, big battalions, and still more big
battalions!"'
'Well, isn't that the only way to win? What can we do without these
things?' I asked.
'Big guns by all means. Mountains of munitions certainly, and all the
other things; but they are not enough. If we forget God, we are lost.
And because we do not seek the help of God, we lose a great part of our
driving power.'
He was in deadly earnest. To him Christianity, religion was not some
formal thing, it was a great vital reality. He could not understand
faith in God, without seeking Him and depending on Him.
'We have chaplains,' I urged. 'We are supposed to be a Christian
people.'
'Yes, but do we depend on God? Do we seek Him humbly? When Tommy goes
into battle, does he go into it like Cromwell's soldiers determined to
fight in God's strength? Oh, yes, Tommy is a grand fellow, take him as
a whole, and there are tens of thousands of fine Christians in the
Army. But in the main Tommy is a fatalist; he does not pray, he does
not depend on God. I tell you, if this battle of the Somme were fought
in the strength of God, the Germans would have fled like sheep.'
'That's all nonsense,' I laughed. 'We can destroy brute force only by
brute force.'
'That's the German creed,' he cried, 'and that creed will be their
damnation.'
'No,' I said, more for the sake of argument than because I believed it,
'we shall beat them because we are better men, and because we shall be
able to "stick it" longer.'
'Have you been to Ypres?' he asked quickly.
'No,' I replied.
'I have. I was there for months. I read the accounts of the Ypres
battles while I was there, and I was able to study the _terrain_, the
conditions. And Germany ought to have won. Germany _would_ have won
too, if force was the deciding power. Why, think, they had four men to
our one, and a greater proportion of big guns and munitions. Humanly
speaking, the battle was theirs and then Calais was theirs and they
could dominate the Channel. But it is "Not by might, nor by power; but
by My Spirit, said the Lord of Hosts." I tell you, Sir, no one can
read the inwardness of the battles of Ypres without believing in
Almighty God. By the way, did you ever read Victor Hugo's _Les
Miserables_?'
'Years ago. What has that to do with it?'
'He describes the battle of Waterloo. He says that Napoleon by every
human law ought to have won it. But Hugo says this: "Napoleon lost
Waterloo because God was against him." That's why Germany didn't take
Ypres, and rush through to Calais. That's why they'll lose this war.'
'And yet the Germans are always saying that God is on their side. They
go to battle singing--
"A safe stronghold our God is still."'
'Yes, they are like the men in the time of Christ who said "Lord,
Lord," and did not the things he said. I tell you, sir, if we had
fought in God's strength, and obeyed God's commands, _the war would
have been over by now_. German militarism would have been crushed and
the world would be at peace.'
'Nonsense,' I replied with a laugh.
'It's not nonsense. This, as it seems to me, is the case: We are
fighting God's cause, but God counts but very little. We are not
laying hold of His Omnipotence; we are trusting entirely in big guns,
while God is forgotten. That is why the war drags on. I tell you,'
and his voice quivered with passion, 'what I am afraid of is this.
This ghastly carnage will drag on, with all its horrors; homes will be
decimated, lives will be sacrificed all because we believe more in
material things than in spiritual things. More in the devil than in
God. I think sometimes that God will not allow us to win because we
are not worthy.'
'Come now,' I said, 'it is very easy to speak in generalities about
such a question; but tell me how, in a practical way, faith in God, and
religious enthusiasm would help us to win this war?'
'How?' he cried. 'Don't you see that in addition to what I will call
the spiritual power which would come through faith in, and obedience to
the will of God, you add a practical, human force? Let there be this
faith, this enthusiasm, and the people, the soldiers, would be ready
for anything. Our workpeople would cease going on strike, employers
and tradespeople would no longer be profiteers, grumbling and disunity
would cease. We should all _unitedly_ throw ourselves, heart and soul
into this great struggle, and nothing could withstand us.'
'But tell me why we are not worthy of victory, now,' I urged.
CHAPTER XIV
EDGECUMBE'S LOGIC
He was silent for a few seconds, and then went on quietly: 'You will
forgive me, sir, if I seem assertive, but I look on you as my
friend--and--and you know all about me--that I know myself. As I have
said before, I naturally look at things differently from others. I
have to be always beginning _de novo_. But tell me, sir, what do you
think are the greatest curses in the British Army? What ruins most of
our soldiers, body and soul?'
I hesitated a second, and then replied, 'Drink and--and impurity.'
'Exactly; and how much is the latter owing to the former?'
'A great deal, I dare say.'
'Just so. Now go a step further. Did not one of England's most
prominent statesmen say that he feared drink more than he feared the
Germans?'
'That was a rhetorical flourish,' I laughed.
'No, it was a sober considered statement. Now think. Before
I--I--that is before God became real to me, I looked at this question
from the standpoint of policy. I considered the whole thing in the
light of the fact that it was sapping our strength, wasting our
manhood. But I have had to go deeper, and now I see----great God, man,
it's ghastly! positively ghastly!'
'What is ghastly?' I asked.
'Look here, sir,'--and his voice became very intense,--'I suppose you
are typical of the educated Britisher. You stand half-way between the
extreme Puritan on the one hand, and the mere man of the world on the
other. Tell me this: Do you regard the body as of more importance than
the soul? Do you think material success more vital than the uplifting
of the real man? Do you look upon any gain won at the expense of a
man's character as a good thing?'
'No,' I replied, 'I don't. I am afraid that, as a people, we are
gripped very strongly by the material side of things, but
theoretically, at all events, yes, and in a deeper way, too, we know
that character is of more importance than material advancement.'
'Go a step further, sir. Supposing we could win this war at the
expense of the highest ideals of the nation; supposing we could crush
German militarism, and all the devilry which it has dragged at its
heels, by poisoning our own national life, and by binding ourselves by
the chains which we are trying to break in Germany; would it be a good
thing?'
'Very doubtful, at all events,' I replied; 'but why are you harping on
that?'
'Because I am bewildered, staggered. Don't mistake me; I have not the
slightest doubt about the righteousness of our cause. If ever there
was a call from Almighty God, there is a call now, and that call is
increasing in its intensity as the days go by. If Germany won, the
world would not be a fit place to live in; it would be crushed under
the iron heel of materialism and brutalism. All that we regard as
beautiful and holy, all that the best life of the world has been
struggling after, would be strangled, and the race of the nations would
be after material gain, material power, brute force. The more I think
of it, the more I realize this,--we are fighting for the liberty of the
world. But aren't our own men becoming enslaved while they are
fighting? Aren't we seeking to win this war of God at the price of our
own manhood?'
He was so earnest, so sincere, that I could not help being impressed.
Besides, there was truth, a tremendous amount of truth, in what he was
saying.
'Either this is God's war,' he went on, 'and we are fighting for God's
cause, or we are not. If it is simply a matter of meeting force by
force, devilry by devilry then there is not much to choose between us.
But if we as a nation,--the pioneer of nations, the greatest nation
under the sun,--are fighting for the advancement of the Kingdom of God,
then we should eschew the devil's weapons. We should see to it that no
victory is won at the cost of men's immortal souls. Besides, we gain
no real advantage; I am certain of that. I have been in this war long
enough to know that the stamina of our men, the quality of our men, is
not made better by this damnable thing. It is all the other way. Our
Army is a poorer army because of it, and we have lost more than we have
gained by the use of it. That is looking at it purely from the
physical standpoint. But surely, if a man believes in Almighty God, he
has higher conceptions; when a man fights in the Spirit of God, and
looks to Him for strength and for guidance, he has Omnipotent forces on
his side. That is why we ought to have won months ago. In reality,
this war at the beginning, was a war of might against right, and we
have been making it a war of might against might, and we have been
willing to sacrifice right for might.'
'But surely,' I said, 'you who have seen a lot of fighting, and have
been over the top several times, know that the conditions are so
terrible that men do need help. You know, as well as I do, that an
artillery bombardment is hell, and that it needs a kind of artificial
courage to go through what the lads have to go through.'
'And that brings me back to the point from which I started,' he cried.
'Are we willing to win this war at the cost of men's immortal souls?
Mind you, I don't admit your premise for a moment; to admit it would be
to impugn the courage of tens of thousands of the boys who have all
along refused to touch it. Do you mean to tell me that the abstainers
in the Army are less courageous than those who drink? Does any one
dare to state that the lads who have refused to touch it have been less
brave than those who have had it? To say that would be to insult the
finest fellows who ever lived. But here is the point; we admit that
drink is a curse, that it is a more baneful enemy than the Germans,
that it is degrading not only the manhood of England, but cursing
British womanhood, and yet we encourage its use. Now, assuming that
our victory depends on this stuff, are we justified in using it? It
may be rank treason to say so, but I say better lose the war than win
it by means of that which is cursing the souls of our men. But we are
not faced with that alternative. Our Army, brave as it is, great as it
is, glorious as it is, would be braver, greater, and more glorious, if
the thing were abolished for ever. And more than that, by making a
great sacrifice for the sake of our highest manhood, we should link
ourselves to Almighty God, and thus realize a power now unknown.'
'Is that what the New Testament teaches you?' I said at length. 'Is
that the result of your becoming a Christian?'
'Yes,' he replied eagerly. 'I have read through the New Testament
again and again. Every word which is recorded of our Lord's sayings I
have committed to memory, and I am sure that what I say is right.
Either Christianity is a dead letter, a mockery, or we have been
fighting this war in a wrong way. We have not been trusting to God for
strength, and what is more, the best men in our Army and Navy realize
it. Take the two men who, humanly speaking, have the affairs of this
war most largely in their hands: Admiral Beatty and Sir William
Robertson. What did Sir William Robertson say to one of the heads of
the Church of Jesus Christ in England? "Make the men religious,
Bishop," he said, "make the men religious." Have you seen that letter
he wrote? "We are trusting too much in horsemen and chariots, trusting
too much in the arm of flesh, and when the nation depends more on
spiritual forces, we shall be nearer victory." What did Admiral Beatty
say in that remarkable letter he wrote only a little while ago? "When
England looks out with humbler eyes, and with prayer on her lips, then
she can begin to count the days towards the end." Does England believe
that? "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of
Hosts." Does the British Government believe that? Do the people
believe it? Do the Churches believe it?'
'But we must have might, and we must have power,' I urged.
'Of course we must. No one would think of denying it. But primarily,
_primarily_, our great hope, our great confidence is not in material
forces, but in spiritual. That is the point to which we as a nation
must get back, and when we do, the hosts of German militarism will
become but as thistledown. That is the call of God in these days, that
is what this war should do for our country, it should bring us back to
realities, bring us to God. Is it doing that, Captain Luscombe?'
'You know as well as I,' I replied. 'I have not been home for a long
time.'
'I shall see presently,' he said, for by this time the shores of
England were becoming more and more plain to us. 'Of course, while I
was at home during my training, I did not realize things as I do now;
my eyes had not been opened. But I shall study England in the light of
the New Testament.'
'You will have a busy time,' I laughed.
'I suppose I am to have a commission, sir,' he said just before leaving
the boat, 'and I am to go away into an Officers' Training Corps at
once. But I have your address and you shall hear from me.'
That same night I wrote a letter to Lorna Bolivick, telling her of my
arrival in England, and informing her that in all probability Edgecumbe
would be in the country for some time. I wrote to Devonshire, because
I had been previously informed that she had been obliged to return home
on account of her health.
Three days later I got her reply.
'"Dear Captain Luscombe," she wrote, "I am awfully interested to hear
that you are back in England; of course you will come and see us.
Father insists that you shall, and you must _be sure_ to bring your
friend. _I shall take no refusal_. If you can give me his address, I
will write to him at once, although, seeing we have never met, I think
it will be better for you to convey my message. Tell him that I
_insist_ on you both coming as soon as possible. I have heaps of
things to tell you, but I can't write them. Besides, as we shall be
seeing each other soon, there is no need. Telegraph at once the time
you will arrive, and remember that I cannot possibly hear of any excuse
whatever from either of you."'
Edgecumbe having informed me of his whereabouts, I went to see him, and
showed him the letter.
'Why on earth should she want to see me?' he asked.
'I don't know, except that I told her about our meeting,' I replied.
'She took a tremendous interest in you. Don't you remember?
For a few seconds there was a far-away look in his eyes, then evidently
he came to a decision.
'Yes, I'll go,' he said, 'I will. I--I--think----' But he did not
finish his sentence.
A few days later, we were on our way to Devonshire together, I little
realizing the influence our visit would have on the future.
CHAPTER XV
DEVONSHIRE
Before leaving for England, I had learned that Captain Springfield was
at a base hospital, and that although he was in a bad way, and not fit
to return home, there were good hopes of his recovery. Of St. Mabyn I
had heard nothing, but I imagined that very possibly Lorna Bolivick
would have news of him. As I have said before, Lorna's letter, written
on receipt of Paul Edgecumbe's photograph, had dispelled whatever ideas
I had entertained about his being identical with Maurice St. Mabyn. Of
course it was unthinkable, after what she had said. She had been so
pronounced in her statement that Edgecumbe's face was altogether
strange to her, and that she had never seen one like it before, that I
was obliged to abandon all my former suspicions; and yet, at the back
of my mind, I could not help believing that Edgecumbe and Springfield
were not strangers.
Of another thing, too, I was certain. He had been an officer in the
Army. On the night before we started for Devonshire I had a talk with
the C.O. of the Officers' Training Corps to which Edgecumbe was
attached. He had been under his command only a few days, but the
attention of the C.O. had already been drawn to him. This man happened
to be an old acquaintance of mine, and he talked with me freely.
'You say you know Edgecumbe?' he asked.
'Yes,' I replied; 'he is a friend of mine.'
'I had a long report of him from France, where he seems to have done
some fine things,' said the colonel. 'Of course you know he is to be
decorated?'
'I had a hint of it before I left France,' I replied.
'Would it be an indiscretion to ask you to tell me what you know of
him?'
'I don't know that it would,' was my answer. 'Only I should like you
to understand that what I am going to tell you is in confidence. You
see, the situation is rather peculiar, and I do not think he wants his
mental condition known.'
'Why? Is there anything wrong about him?'
'Oh, no, nothing.' And then I repeated the story of our meeting in
Plymouth.
'And his memory's not come back?' said Colonel Heywood.
'No.'
'I can tell you this about him, though. He is an old artillery
officer.'
'How do you know?' I asked.
'The thing is as plain as daylight,' was the reply. 'The man may have
no memory for certain things, and the story of his past may be a blank
to him, but he knows his job already.'
'You mean----?'
'I mean this,' interrupted the colonel, 'no man could have the
knowledge he has of an artillery officer's work, without a long and
severe training. If he had forgotten it has come to him like magic.
You know what our work is, and you know, too, that gunners are not made
in a day. But he had it all at his fingers' ends. The major drew my
attention to it almost immediately he joined us, so I determined to
test him myself. He is fit to be sent out right away; he could take
charge of a battery, without an hour's more training. There is not the
slightest doubt about it. I shall take steps to try and find out
particulars about our Indian Army, and whether any officers have been
missing. The fellow interests me tremendously. Why, he has almost a
genius for gunnery! He is full of ideas, too,' and the colonel
laughed. 'He, a cadet, could teach many of us older men our business.
Some day I'm inclined to think there'll be a romantic revelation!'
It was through Colonel Heywood's good offices that I was allowed to
take Edgecumbe to Devonshire with me, as of course he, only having just
joined the corps, was not entitled to leave so soon. As it was, he was
allowed only a long week-end. I thought of these things on our way to
Devonshire, and I wondered what the future would bring forth. Anyhow,
it was a further blow, if further blow were needed to my suspicions.
Neither Captain Springfield nor Maurice St. Mabyn was an artillery
officer, and if Colonel Heywood was right, even although they had known
each other, they had belonged to different services.
'I feel awfully nervous,' said Edgecumbe to me, after the train had
left Exeter.
'Why?'
'I am acting against my judgment in accepting this invitation; why
should I go to this house? I never saw this girl before, and from what
you tell me, you have met her only once.'
'For that matter,' I said, 'I feel rather sensitive myself. The fact
that we have only met once makes it a bit awkward for me to be going to
her father's house.'
'Did you fall in love with her, or anything of that sort?' he asked.
'No-o,' I replied. 'I was tremendously impressed by her, and, for such
a short acquaintance, we became great friends. The fact that we have
kept up a correspondence ever since proves it. But there is no
suggestion of anything like love between us. I admire her
tremendously, but I am not a marrying man.'
'I wonder how she'll regard _me_?' And Edgecumbe looked towards the
mirror on the opposite side of the railway carriage. 'I am a
curious-looking animal, aren't I? Look at my parched skin.'
'It is not nearly as bad as it used to be,' I replied; 'it has become
almost normal. You are not so pale as you were, either.'
'Don't you think so? Heavens, Luscombe, but I must have had a strange
experience to make me look as I did when you saw me first!' Then his
mood changed. 'Isn't this wonderful country? I am sure I have seen it
all before.' And he looked out of the carriage window towards the
undulating landscape which spread itself out before us.
'It is a glorious country,' he went on, like one thinking aloud.
'France is like a parched desert after this. Think of the peacefulness
of it, too! See that little village nestling on the hillside! see the
old grey church tower almost hidden by the trees! That is what a
country village ought to be. Yes, I'll go to Bolivick, after all. If
I am uncomfortable, I can easily make an excuse for leaving. But I
want to see her; yes, I do really. You've made me interested in her.
I feel, too, as if something were going to happen. I am excited!'
'Well, you won't be long now,' I replied, for just then the train drew
up at South Petherwin station.
An old servant in livery approached me as we alighted. 'Captain
Luscombe, sir?' he queried in a way which suggested the old family
retainer.
'Yes,' I replied.
A few minutes later we were seated in an open carriage, while a pair of
spanking horses drew us along some typical Devonshire lanes.
'This is better than any motor-car, after all!' cried Edgecumbe, as he
looked across the richly wooded valleys towards the wild moorland
beyond. 'After all, horses belong to a countryside like this;
motor-cars don't. If ever I----' but he did not complete his sentence.
He was looking towards an old stone mansion nestling among the trees.
'That's it, that's surely it,' he cried.
'Is that Bolivick?' I asked the coachman.
'Yes, sir.'
'You might have been here before, Edgecumbe,' I said.
'No, no, I don't think I have--and yet--I don't know. It is familiar
to me in a way, and yet it isn't. But it _is_ glorious. See, the
sun's rim is almost touching the hill tops,--what colour! what infinite
beauty! Must not God be beautiful!'
The carriage dashed through a pair of great grey granite pillars, and a
minute later we were in park lands, where the trees still threw their
shade over the cattle which were lying beneath them.
'An English home,' I heard him say, 'just a typical English home. Oh,
the thought of it is lovely!'
The carriage drew up at the door of the old mansion, and getting out, I
saw Lorna Bolivick standing there.
'I am glad you've come,' and she gave a happy laugh. 'I should never
have forgiven you if you hadn't,' and she shook my hand just as
naturally as if she had known me all her life. Then she turned towards
Edgecumbe. 'And this is your friend,' she said; 'you don't know how
pleased I am to see you.'
But Edgecumbe did not speak. His eyes were riveted on her face, and
they burned like coals of fire. I saw, too, by the tremor of his lips,
how deeply moved he was.
CHAPTER XVI
LORNA BOLIVICK'S HOME
For a moment I thought that Lorna Bolivick was somewhat annoyed at the
intense and searching look which Edgecumbe gave her. Her face flushed
somewhat, and a suggestion of anger flashed from her eyes. But this
was only for a moment; probably she remembered Edgecumbe's mental
condition, and made allowance accordingly.
Edgecumbe still continued to look at her steadily, and I noticed that
his eyes, which, except at the times when they were wistful, were quiet
and steadfast, now shone like coals of fire. I saw, too, that he was
unable to govern his lips, which were trembling visibly.
'Why do you look at me like that?' she said nervously; 'any one would
think you had seen me before somewhere.'
'I have,' he replied.
'Where?'
He hesitated a second, and then said, 'In my dreams,'--and then,
realizing that his behaviour, to say the least of it, was not ordinary,
he hurriedly went on, 'Please forgive me, Miss Bolivick, but I never
remember having spoken to a woman before.'
She looked at him in astonishment. I suppose the statement to her
seemed foolish and outrageous.
'It is quite true,' he went on earnestly; 'ever since I met Captain
Luscombe at Plymouth I have been in the Army, and I am afraid I have
not been a very sociable kind of character. I have lived with men all
that time, and have been somewhat of a hermit. Of course I have seen
women, in England and in France,' and he laughed nervously.
'But--but--no, I have never spoken to one.'
'And how do I strike you?'
'You seem like a being from another and a more beautiful world,' he
replied gravely. 'I don't know, though, the world as one sees it here
is very beautiful'; and he glanced quickly across the park away to the
moors in the distance, which the setting sun had lit up with a purple
glow.
At that moment Sir Thomas Bolivick, Lorna's father, came to the door,
and in a hearty West Country fashion gave us both a warm welcome.
'Awfully good of you to come, Captain Luscombe,' he said. 'Granville
has spoken so much about you, that I feel as though you were an old
friend. Nonsense, nonsense!'--this in reply to my apologies for
accepting the invitation. 'In times like these, we can't stand upon
ceremony. You are a friend of Granville's, and you are a British
soldier, that's enough for me. Whatever this war has done, it has
smashed up a lot of silly conventions, it has helped us to be more
natural, and when Lorna here told me about you, I wanted to see you.
You see, I have read reports of your speeches, and when I saw that you
were mentioned in the dispatches, I wanted to know you more than ever.
So let there be no nonsense about your being a stranger.'
Soon after, we were shown to our bedrooms, and after dressing for
dinner I went to Edgecumbe's room.
'I--I--had forgotten,' he gasped. 'How--long have I been here?'
'Twenty minutes. Aren't you going to put on your new togs?'
He looked at me like a man in a dream. 'I had forgotten everything,'
he said, 'except----'
'Except what? What's the matter, old fellow?'
'I have no business to be here. I ought not to have come. Who am
I?--what am I? Just a poor wreck without a memory.'
'A poor wreck without a memory!' I laughed. 'Don't be an ass, man.
Look at that ribbon on your new tunic! Think of all the flattering
things that have been said about you, and then talk about being a poor
wreck without a memory!'
'I am an old man before my time,' and his voice was unnatural as he
spoke. 'Look at my face, seamed and lined. I am here on sufferance,
here because you have been a friend to me. I have no name, no past,
and no--no future.'
'That's not like you, Edgecumbe,' I protested. 'You've always been a
jolly, optimistic beggar, and now you talk like an undertaker. Future!
why, you're a young fellow barely thirty. As for your name, you've
made one, my boy, and you'll make a bigger one yet, if I'm not
mistaken. You are a welcome guest here, too,--there is not the
slightest doubt about that.'
'Yes, but what have I?'
'Come now, get into those togs quick; we mustn't keep them waiting, you
know; it would not be courteous on our part, after all their kindness,
too.'
A sudden change swept across his face. 'You are right, Luscombe,' he
said; 'I'm ashamed of myself. After all---- I'll be ready in five
minutes. There's one thing about a soldier's togs, it doesn't take
long to put 'em on.'
It was a very quiet dinner party. The two Bolivick boys were away at
the front, and Lorna was the only one of the children at home. Sir
Thomas and Lady Bolivick were there, but beyond Norah Blackwater,
Edgecumbe and I were the only guests.
It was evident to me that Edgecumbe was an entire stranger to Norah
Blackwater. Her face did not move a muscle at his appearance; and
although he sat next to her at table, she seemed to find no interest in
his conversation. He was very quiet during dinner, and although Sir
Thomas tried to draw him out, and make him describe some of the scenes
through which he had passed, he was peculiarly reticent.
As I sat at the opposite side of the table, I was able to watch his
face closely, and I could not help being impressed by the fact that,
although he was very quiet, he was evidently under great excitement. I
saw, too, that sometimes for seconds together he, forgetful of Norah
Blackwater, would gaze steadily at Lorna Bolivick, as though she
fascinated him. I was afraid Sir Thomas did not like him, and as
presently the conversation led to our experiences at the front, I
determined that, although Edgecumbe might feel uncomfortable, I would
show the baronet the kind of man he really was.
'Talking about tight corners,' I said, 'I got out of one of the
tightest corners ever I was in, in a peculiar way.'
'Do tell us, Captain Luscombe,' cried Lorna, who had evidently been
uncomfortable under Edgecumbe's gaze. 'We have heard nothing about
your experiences, and I should like to hear something.'
'It's a story of how one Englishman took thirty Germans prisoners,' I
said with a laugh.
'One Englishman took thirty German prisoners!' cried the squire. 'Good
old English bull-dog! But how did he do it? Man, it's impossible!'
'Nothing is impossible to a man who keeps his head cool, and has a
ready wit,' was my answer. I thereupon, without mentioning Edgecumbe's
name, described how I had been taken prisoner, and how I found myself
in the German trenches.
'But how did you get out of such a hole as that?' cried the squire.
'As I told you,' I said, 'I found myself with my sergeant in a huge
dug-out with thirty Germans. Of course our position was apparently
hopeless. They had got us, and meant to keep us. I had been
unconscious for a long time owing to a nasty knock I had got, and
therefore I was tremendously surprised when I presently heard an
English voice talking to the Germans. Evidently another English
prisoner had been brought in.'
'Then you were three against thirty,' laughed the squire.
'Three against thirty if you will,' I replied, 'but only one in
reality. I was no good, and my sergeant had no other hope than to be
buried in a German prison. The new-comer, however, evidently meant
business. All the time the English guns were booming, and our
explosives were tearing the Boches' trenches to pieces. As it
happened, we were too deep for them to reach us, although the danger
was that we might be buried alive. That gave this chap, whose face I
could not see, his chance, and he began to tell the Germans what idiots
they were to stay there in imminent danger of death, when they could
get to safety. He described the jolly times which German prisoners had
in England, and of the absolute certainty of their being licked on the
battle-field. Of course at first the Germans laughed at him, but he
went on talking, and in a few minutes he had got every one of them to
surrender.'
'But that's impossible!' cried the squire.
'It's a fact,' I said. 'Never in my life had I realized the effect
which a cool, courageous man could have upon a crowd of men. Call it a
miracle if you like,--indeed I always shall think of it as a
miracle,--but without once losing his nerve, or once revealing the
slightest lack of confidence, he worked upon the fears and hopes of
those Boches in such a way that he persuaded them to follow him, and
give themselves up in a body as prisoners. It was one of the most
amusing things you ever saw in your life, to see this one man lead
those thirty Boches, while they held up their hands and cried
"Kamerad."'
'By George, sir!' said the squire, 'that's great, great, sir! No one
but an Englishman could do a thing like that. Ah, the old country is
the old country still! But who was he, an officer or a private?'
'A private,' I replied.
'And he rescued you, and took the whole thirty Huns as prisoners? By
Jove, I should like to know that man! Is he alive now?'
'Very much alive,' I laughed.
'Where is he, then?'
I nodded my head towards Edgecumbe, who all the time had been sitting
in silent protest.
But my story had done its work. The squire's apparent dislike was
over, and, acting upon the generous impulse of the moment, he started
to his feet and rushed to Edgecumbe's side.
'Give me your hand, sir,' he cried; 'I am proud to know you, proud to
have you sitting at my table!'
What Edgecumbe would have said, I do not know. He had been protesting
all the time as much as a man could protest with his eyes, and I knew
that like all men of his class he hated to have such deeds dragged into
the light of day, although I had done it with a set purpose. But as it
happened, there was no need for him to say anything. At that moment
the butler came behind Lady Bolivick's chair and spoke to her.
'Captain Springfield!' she cried, 'and Charlie Buller. Oh, I am so
glad. Charlie's evidently better, then. He wrote, telling me, when I
asked him to come over to-night, that he was afraid he wouldn't be well
enough.'
I do not know why it was, but at that moment I looked towards Lorna
Bolivick, and I saw her face flush with excitement. Evidently the
mention of the new-comers' names meant a great deal to her.
Then I looked at Edgecumbe, and I saw that he too had been watching her.
CHAPTER XVII
A NEW DEVELOPMENT
Charlie Buller, as Lady Bolivick had called him, was a young fellow
about twenty-four years of age, and was first lieutenant in the
Devonshire yeomanry. He had been wounded in France, and some time
before my return to England had been in a hospital in London. Only a
few days before he had been discharged from the hospital, and had now
returned to his Devonshire home on leave. He was the only son of a
squire whose lands joined those of Sir Thomas Bolivick, and was, as
Norah Blackwater told me during the evening, a suitor for Lorna
Bolivick's hand.
'I think it is as good as settled,' she said to me, 'although no
engagement has been announced. He will be a splendid match for her,
too, and owns one of the finest estates in Devonshire. Didn't you see
how excited Lorna became when she heard that he had come?'
This was the first time I had seen Springfield since I had helped
Edgecumbe to dig him from under a heap of rubbish in France.
They had both dined early, they said, and the night being fine, had
motored over, Charlie Buller's home being only four miles from Bolivick.
Buller was a good-looking boy, fresh-coloured, curly-haired, and
although in no way remarkable, quite likeable. Springfield I liked
less now than when I had first seen him. His face looked paler and
less wholesome than ever. The old scar which I had noticed on our
first meeting revealed itself more plainly, while his somewhat sinister
appearance repelled me.
Sir Thomas, however, gave him a hearty greeting,
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