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Show 90 THE DARK It‘ORICS'l‘ haps we shall find her down here: where we're going. What do you think, Durward 5" "I'm afraid not!" I answered. "lint still she'll be all right. Semyonov will look after her!" "0113 Semyonovl" he answered. How joyful we were to leave our battery behind us. As the trees closed around it we could fancy its batlled rage. Other batteries now seemed to draw nearer to us and the whole forest was tilled with childish quarrellinp‘ giants; but as we began to bump down the hill out of the forest stranger sounds attacked us. On either side of us were eornfields and out of the heart of those from under our very feet as it seemed there were explosions of a strange stinging metallic kind-not angry and human as the battery had been. but rather like some huge bottle cracking in the sun. THE INVISIBLE BATTLE 91 And with all this noise not a living soul to be seen! 'We had before us as we slowly bumped down the bill a fair view. The river was hidden from us. but there was a little hamlet guarded happily by a green wood; there was a line of fair hills. fields of corn, and the long dusty white road. Not a soul to be seen, only our bumping: cart and, now and then. against the burning sky those little curling Circles of smoke. The world sluinhered. . . . Suddenly from the ditch at the side of the road a soldier appeared. spoke to our driver and disappeared again. "\Vhat did he say f" I asked. "He says. your llonour. that we must hasten. he hit." "llit herem-on this road 1" \Ve may "i/itI/r {/t/I/Illll." These huge bottles-one could fancy them green and shin- ing somewhere in the corn-cracked one after another; positively the sound intensified the heat of the sun upon one‘s head. There were too new, for the first time in our experience, shrapnel. They were not over us, but ran somewhere on our right across the valley. Their sound was "fireworks" and nothing more~so that alarm at their gentle holiday temper was impossible. Brockis Fireworks on a Thursday evening at the Crystal Palace, oneself a small boy sitting with both hands between one‘s knees, one's mouth open, a damp box of chocolates on one's lap, the murmured "Ah . . ." of the happy crowd as the little gentle "Pop!" showed green and red against the blue night sky. Ah l there was the little "Pop!" and after it a tiny curlim: cloud of "\Voll. hurry then." I caught :1 littlt- triehtenvd sigh behind me from Andrey \'a~\ili<-\itvh. \\l|otu the events of the day had frozen into horror strirlwn silt'twt'. We hurried. humping along; at the lottotn ot' the lull tlu-t't' nas n farmhouse. l‘lroln behind it ‘it; o'le-vr appeared. "\\'h.;t are you doin:: there? liml trim." You're under fire . .\h 3w, \H- had a messagi- ahout you. 5mg.- rm? . . . \"‘. luxw ,.. l'lraw t'otue this way. Dr. llurry, \\'r~ \‘mt'v l» .! .:I‘Y't|~\ the tarnryard and almost. tumbled into ‘,'li tin tw'lo-r end of it. it ~-ttro'ot1t-tollt'l1 my shoulder that l smoke in the air, the whole atfair so gentle, so kind even. \\'-‘ xiv-7t- «ittinn‘. the three of us, in There! sighing overhead they go! Five, six little curls of smoke, and then beneath our very horses' feet again a hufe'C green bottle cracking in the sun! It order .lH improtisrul round roof. u our luu-l.‘ to the eartlrworks of the :1 hm .aitlr his [unit' open at tht: |