,,war ,,and ,,the ,,weird               
,,by       ,,forbes ,,phillips          
,,and     ,r4 ,,thurston ,,hopkins      
,,london3 ,,simpkin1 ,,marshall1        
,,hamilton1 ,,kent  ,,co41 ,,ltd4       
,copyright  ,all rights reserved        
#aiaf   ,transcriber's ,note3           
,minor typographical errors have been   
corrected without note4     ,punctuation
 has been normalised4 ,dialect spellings
 have been     retained4 ,the oe        
ligature is shown as oe4     ,,contents 
,,introduction                          
,,page     ,i4 ,,the ,,uncanny ,,under  
,,fire            #aa    ,,ii4 ,,war    
,,the ,,revealer                  #ag   
,,iii4 ,,the ,,soul',s ,,boundary ,,line
          #ba    ,,iv4 ,,the ,,spiritual
 ,,entity              #bg     ,v4      
,,angels                            #ca 
,,vi4 ,,fellowship ,,with ,,the ,,unseen
        #ce   ,,vii4 ,,the ,,white      
,,comrade                 #ci           
,,five ,,sketches     ,i4 ,,ombos       
#di    ,,ii4 ,,the ,,de ,,gamelyn       

,,traditions        #aja   ,,iii4 ,,the 
,,mills ,,of ,,god                 #abg 
,,iv4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,a ,,spy       
#acg     ,v4 ,,through ,,the ,,furnace  
#afa     ,,introduction  ,,by ,,forbes  
,,phillips     ,i  ,,the ,,uncanny      
,,under ,,fire   ,do you think there is 
anything in it8 ,he was a clean-set     
six-foot specimen of ,english manhood1  
an officer of the ,r4,f4,a4 wounded at  
,mons1 who spoke4 ,i mean ,i haven't    
studied these subjects much--in fact1 ,i
 haven't studied them at all4 ,sport is 
more in my line than spiritualism and   
that kind of thing1 but when you have   
experiences brought under your very nose
 again and again1 you cannot help       
thinking there must be something in such
 things4 ,he had just told me that in   
the last few minutes' sleep he managed  
to get on the march to ,mons he dreamt  
that he was unable to sit his horse4    
,the next day he was wounded inside his 
right knee1 not seriously1 but          
sufficient to stop him riding for a week

 or two4 ,i should never have thought   
anything more of it--,i mean1 connecting
 the dream with the ill-luck--but in the
 ,south ,african campaign there were    
quite remarkable instances4 ,you see1 at
 such times when you are playing        
hide-and-seek with shrapnel1 officers   
and men get very chummy when we do get a
 spell for a talk4 ,the ,tommies give us
 their confidences1 and ask us all kinds
 of strange questions about religious   
and super-natural things4  ,take        
premonitions1 for example4 ,how shall we
 account for the ,british soldier's     
actual versions of the matter8 ,there   
are countless stories in this war1 in   
every war1 of men having a warning1 a   
sub-conscious certainty of death4 ,the  
battlefield is armed with a full battery
 of shot1 which thrill with human       
interest and have around them a halo of 
something uncanny1 supernormal4 ,it may 
be that in the stress and shock of      
battle the strings--some of the         
strings--of the human instrument get    

broken2 that poor ,tommy1 gazing into   
the night of the long silence1 becomes a
 prey to morbid fancies1 which presently
 are worked up into premonitions4 ,there
 may be something in this1 but the men  
of inaction are more prone to fancies   
than men on active service4 ,another    
theory suggests that the same power     
within which questions1 supplies an     
answer4 ,it may be so2 but no one is    
anxious for the answer ,death brings4   
,one can only smile at the crass        
stupidity of most of the explanations   
given by those who deny the existence of
 super-natural agencies and powers4 ,the
 region of spiritual dynamics is        
destined to be the science of the       
future4  ,in a somewhat sceptical age it
 is worth while noticing that from the  
earliest dawn of history1 under varying 
forms of government and civilisation    
with which we are acquainted1 the belief
 in premonitions was unchallenged4 ,the 
old ,greeks and ,latins were the keenest
 thinkers the world so far has seen2 yet

 they believed in ghosts1 omens1 and    
premonitions4 7,they would smile in     
lofty scorn at some of the superstitions
 to-day taught under the ,elementary    
,education ,act of #ahgj47 ,unbelief in 
such things super-natural1 therefore1   
cannot be accepted as a sign of lofty   
mentality4 ,a journalistic friend was   
staying with me some few months ago4 ,we
 were sitting smoking rather late after 
dinner4 ,do you believe in ghosts8 ,i   
asked4 ,don't be so absurdly foolish6 he
 cried angrily4 ,that's all right1 ,i   
remarked quietly4 ,now ,i know you won't
 mind sleeping in our haunted room2 many
 foolish people do object4 ,great       
,scott6 he ejaculated1 no haunted room  
for me6 ,nor would he even look at it4  
,he would not face the logical sequence 
of his dogmatic unbelief4 ,only a brave 
man dare express all he believes4  ,now 
it is well known that every advance in  
scientific knowledge is greeted with    
mocking laughter4 ,we know the jeers    
with which even clever men greeted the  

,marconi claims4 ,it is not so many     
years ago that a distinguished member of
 the ,french ,academy of ,science rose  
up amongst his colleagues and pronounced
 the ,edison phonograph to be nothing   
more than an acoustical illusion4 ,so we
 are told that soldiers' visions are    
optical illusions4 ,that is no answer4  
,call them optical delusions if you     
like1 then the query arises what causes 
these optical delusions1 of which we    
have countless instances1 which inform a
 man of the hour1 and sometimes the     
manner1 of his death8 ,to call an effect
 by another name does not dispose of the
 cause of such effect1 nor is it any    
solution of the mystery4  ,few thinkers 
now1 worthy of the name1 seriously      
dispute the existence of super-natural  
forces and influences4 ,the whole system
 of ,christianity1 of belief in all     
ages1 is founded upon such things4      
,to-day front-rank men are investigating
 in avenues of research where once they 
sneered4 ,there is much fraud and cheap 

talk in ordinary life1 but not under    
fire4 ,men are not cheap then1 nor are  
they paltry4 ,strange that where death  
is busiest the evidence of life beyond  
and above it all should abound4 ,the    
invisible1 full of awe1 is also full of 
teaching1 it is pregnant with whispers4 
,the mind1 tuned up to a new tension1   
receives all kinds of ,marconi-like     
messages4 ,what sends such whispers8 ,is
 it that in the moment of supreme       
self-sacrifice and splendid devotion to 
duty that spiritual perceptions are     
sharpened8 ,who shall say8 ,he was hit1 
and he rushed forward shouting1 ',why1  
there's my----' then he dropped dead1   
but he saw someone1 of that ,i am sure4 
,so spoke a man of the ,a4,s4,c41 who   
saw his comrade die4 ,deep calls to     
deep1 and if we put our ear to the call 
we may hear the message4 ,on the        
battlefield1 as in no other place1 there
 is the call of soul to soul1 of heart  
to heart1 intensified by all our powers 
of emotion1 which duty calls forth at   

their best4 ,tommy ,atkins stares more  
fixedly into the dim future1 the greater
 the gloom the more he searches for the 
gleam1 and sometimes it is vouchsafed to
 him4 ,there is no doubt that mind calls
 to mind4 ,after all1 time and space are
 artificial things4 ,they cannot be     
spiritual barriers4 ,why should a       
mother1 thinking of her lad at the front
 in a supreme moment of affection and   
deep yearning1 not be able to do what   
frequently happens unconsciously among  
ordinary acquaintances8 ,often a thought
 will pass from one mind to another in a
 moment of silence4  ,the uncanny under 
fire must take its place among things to
 be investigated1 the evidence is too   
convincing to be pooh-poohed4 ,science  
and philosophy are now boldly entering  
the dim regions of the occult in search 
of its laws2 on the battlefield ,tommy  
,atkins is already there thinking over  
weird things and he comes to            
conclusions1 finding the lights by which
 he steers4  ,this chapter could not be 

complete without mentioning another     
mystery of the battlefield3 it is       
this--the number of instances in which  
the ,germans have savagely pounded a    
church with their artillery1 only to    
find on entering the ruin that the cross
 was still there erect and intact4 ,one 
,uhlan soldier climbed upon an altar to 
smash a crucifix1 slipped and put his   
ankle out4 ,that may be a coincidence4  
,next moment a shell killed him and one 
of his comrades1 the crucifix remained  
uninjured4 ,soldiers1 ,french and       
,british1 talk of these uncanny things1 
interpreting them in several ways1 but  
each of these ways is the pathway of the
 spirit--perhaps part of the altar steps
 on which men climb up through the      
darkness to ,god4     ,,ii  ,,war ,,the 
,,revealer   ,war is not only the ,great
 ,educator1 it is the ,great ,revealer4 
,its marches and bivouacs1 its battles1 
its commonplaces and surprises1 its     
trials and its triumphs1 are a singular 
school of experience4 ,the various      

impacts upon man's psychological anatomy
 produce strange results4 ,they seem    
like the blows of some ,invisible       
,sculptor1 producing out of commonplace 
material a hero and it may be a         
demi-god4 ,the opening orchestra of shot
 and shell braces up the mind of the    
soldier and attunes it up to receive new
 sensitiveness4 ,the bullets play       
strange dirges on the strings of life   
before they break them1 and each dirge  
has its theme1 some song of spiritual   
things4 ,his gaze is towards the sky    
line and he sees strange things1 a whole
 battery of lights each of which is in  
its way a revelation4 ,the battle chorus
 crying to the night of long silence    
becomes a prayer1 and the response is   
ever helpful4  ,the individual amid the 
thunder of his surroundings in the red  
surge of battle somehow never allows his
 soul to become obscured4 ,it is taking 
impressions which later in the day as he
 sits by the camp fire cause him to     
think and to reach conclusions which    

leave him a different man from what he  
has been4 ,we see this in the glow of   
the soldiers' letters to those he loves3
 he has come within the shadow of the   
,divine ,reality as the wondrous book of
 ,life and ,death opens on the          
battlefield4 ,the result is the         
,soldier's ,gospel4 ,it would cause the 
devotees of little ,bethel to faint with
 its crude superstitions and absence of 
meaningless and stupid dogma yet its    
grip of spiritual things and ,divine    
,aid would make the ordinary go to      
meeting ,christian gape with            
astonishment4 ,the soldier's simple     
faith1 his willing endurance1 his quiet 
heroisms1 his silent self-sacrifice1    
though they call for no louder name than
 duty1 are just those chords which link 
him to the ,great ,heroism which saw its
 culmination in ,calvary4 ,after all1   
deeds only are the words of love4  ,the 
,soldier's ,gospel is a wonderful       
revelation3 the world grows gratefully  
small as it appreciates its work1 worth 

and effect upon the man4 ,all the lights
 by which he steers sum up good         
citizenship rather than sectarianship4  
,we had long ceased to cultivate the    
former4  ,there goes a hospital ship1   
and a ,commander of one of ,h4,m4       
,patrols pointed out to me a transport  
full of wounded4 ,we thought in pity of 
that array of maimed men1 of silent     
suffering1 of bandages1 slings1 crutches
 and artificial limbs1 but suddenly     
there arose from the transport a mighty 
cheer of greeting and salutation to the 
white ensign4 ,that was the reply of    
war's wreckage to those who pitied4 ,it 
is a wonderful ,gospel that produces    
this4 ,but the invisible1 while full of 
awe1 does not daunt him1 the soldier    
reaches out towards the rather unknown  
searching for light and finding it4     
,under fire means so much1 it is filled 
up with so many experiences1 you march  
through a lifetime in a few seconds1 you
 get new views of the past years from   
another angle of vision4 ,shadow and    

darkness and doubt are lifted1 the      
soldier is frank and honest1 he is not  
hide-bound by petty superstitions1 he is
 willing fairly to consider and weigh   
all sensations1 visions and inner       
illuminations4 ,he is not blinded with  
the dogma of either agnosticism or      
sectarianism1 while his sense of humour 
saves him from many of the errors of the
 various ,christian brotherhoods4       
,curious enough1 the people who object  
to duty1 who are unwilling to strike a  
blow for righteousness1 invariably      
belong to some of the freak sects and   
are devotees of sectarianism in its     
narrowest meaning4  ,no doubt ,vicarious
 ,suffering the root doctrine of many   
sects in this country is responsible for
 the general shirking of duty on the    
part of so many men to-day4 ,men look to
 the ballot box for their meat in due   
season4 ,they want all the privileges of
 citizenship without the                
responsibilities4 ,the sects of to-day  
in teaching that the historic ,christ   

took all our sins upon ,his shoulder    
have produced a type of sentimental     
immoralist who creeps under the shelter 
of the ,cross1 content that ,christ     
should suffer in his place4 ,so long as 
the ,cross does not offend his eyesight1
 he is willing to find refuge in its    
shadow4 ,where selfishness reigns there 
is no vision4 ,the gaze is upon gain1   
personal comfort1 things entirely       
earthly4 ,a man who is always looking at
 mud thinks in terms of mud4 ,just as a 
great naturalist confesses a loss of the
 finer sense of music1 so there is the  
loss of the spiritual vision1 for the   
spiritual sense is just as real as any  
other sense1 but it can become useless  
and drop out of our life1 if we do not  
value it and no longer use it4 ,there   
are people with an artistic sense4      
,there are more without it4  ,the       
doctrine of the atonement is used to    
promote the crude idea that to put our  
responsibilities upon others is more    
religious than facing them oneself4     

,christ's atonement is no isolated fact 
in history to make men cowards1 but a   
sustained attitude of devotion in which 
every man and woman is to take a part4  
,instead of thanking ,christ for hanging
 there upon the ,cross in our place we  
should strive for the same courage1 the 
same endurance1 the supreme devotion to 
duty and the vision of ,divine ,aid will
 be ours perhaps in ,angel form4 ,to the
 brave in all ages has come the vision  
of higher things4     ,,iii  ,,the      
,,soul',s ,,boundary ,,line   ,i never  
was religious1 but this business is     
changing me and many thousands more1 so 
writes a soldier4 ,from another         
soldier's letter we get1 ,war is the    
most sobering influence ,i know 444 it  
sobers their every day4 ,they listen    
more attentively to the religious       
services4 ,sometimes ,i wish for the    
sake of the morals of our army that we  
were always at war4  ,when ,i was in    
,northern ,france ,i came in contact    
with many wounded ,french soldiers1 men 

who had gone to the front as atheists   
and returned firm believers4 ,thank the 
good ,god ,i have really seen4 ,i fell  
wounded in twenty-three places they tell
 me4 ,i fell cursing a ,god ,i did not  
believe in3 then a cold hand was laid   
upon my brow4 ,i looked up and saw--ah6 
my ,god6 how beautiful a ,being4 ,now ,i
 do not want1 ,i do not care to live for
 ,i want to see that beautiful ,being   
again4 ,i know ,i shall4 ,leave me4 ,see
 to the others4 ,this was a voluntary   
statement of a ,french soldier who      
called me to his side simply to light a 
cigarette for him4 ,i left him perfectly
 happy and it was quite true about his  
number of wounds4 ,he lived only a few  
hours and he knew that he was dying4    
,men do not usually tell lies on their  
death beds4  ,wonderful is the warp and 
woof of life under fire4 ,it is the     
parade of the living1 the dead and those
 on the borderland4 ,men go through the 
whole gamut of emotions4 ,war is an     
object lesson of laughter and tears     

playing hide and seek with each other4  
,the tragedy and the comedy follow close
 on each other's heels4 ,deep calls not 
only to deep but to shallow as well1 and
 in the end all notes harmonize4 ,where 
the swathe of the scythe is wide men's  
souls expand in heart qualities4 ,amidst
 the wreckage of a battlefield he picks 
up all kinds of things1 every faculty   
picks up something and they become      
contributions to soul force4 ,the       
greater the gloom the more the soldier  
searches for the gleam4 ,religion and   
resolution meet in the soldier and give 
him deeper vision4 ,he hears his comrade
 say1 ,i shall be taken to-day1 give    
this to ----4 ,examples of this         
premonition abound4 ,he enters a        
bombarded village1 the only thing       
standing intact frequently is a figure  
of ,christ crucified1 or the ,madonna   
looking down upon a mass of crumbling   
ruin4 ,these facts are again and again  
verified by photographs4 ,often the talk
 of the camp as the men settle down by  

the fire is of the weird and the uncanny
 that has happened during the day2 and  
there are pauses when the soldiers stare
 into the embers and forget to suck     
their pipes4  ,to explain the book of   
life1 one would require the scrolls of  
eternity4 ,war throws light on some of  
its stray pages as they flutter for a   
second on the wings of time and then    
disappear1 but not before it has flung  
its cressets of light upon the black    
pall of doubt4 ,everyone now talks of   
psychic phenomena4 ,in a paltry         
generation of superficial thinking the  
subject was one for jest1 but there is  
far more in it than jesters are likely  
to discover4 ,mocking laughter never    
discovered anything except the vacuous  
fool4 ,the appearances of spiritual     
beings give but scant opportunity for   
examination but serious investigation   
has now taken the place of cheap        
sneering4 ,after all religion is founded
 upon a philosophy of apparitions4 ,the 
vision of angels at ,mons is no new     

thing4 ,catholicism is founded on such  
visions and no religion worthy of the   
name is without its story of angels4    
,new aspects of matter have laid many   
materialistic theories in the dust1 the 
mysterious potencies of matter which the
 latest science is revealing1 the energy
 of electrons1 and radium are giving us 
a new science of super-sensual physics  
and with it new vistas of thought4  ,it 
is no longer necessary to apologize for 
the work of psychic research1 that is   
among intelligent people4 ,light is     
gaining on the darkness4 ,i felt another
 hand assisting me to steer1 said a     
sailor man to me who vainly tried to    
explain how he kept his boat from what  
appeared certain destruction4 ,he would 
scorn to be called a religious man4     
,there is nothing of the ranter in      
me--you know sir1 and he used           
uncomplimentary remarks which ,i omit4  
,but there sir1 it was no skill of mine4
 ,all ,i saw was death and destruction  
for me and my mates1 yet ,i knew we     

should pull through all right4 ,there   
was another that shipped as passenger in
 the darkness4  ,the question of        
immortality and of the existence of     
spiritual entities which had been       
relegated to the limits of illusions and
 dreams in ,victorian times by the      
fumbling amateur philosophers of that   
day1 can now be discussed with quiet in 
the old philosophic vein which          
characterized the great age of thought  
when ,greek sages argued in the ,gardens
 of ,athens4 ,this fact alone justifies 
a book of the present character4 ,the   
bumptious and dull ass who announces    
,miracles do not happen1 is now seen in 
true perspective and he cuts a poor     
figure4  ,apparitions1 telepathy and    
clairvoyance are not explanations1 but  
names for facts demanding separate      
explanations4 ,in regard to such the    
ecclesiastical damn and the scientific  
damn have been freely used4 ,if men have
 been hypnotized by ghost stories1 they 
certainly have been deluded by stories  

of unnatural science4 ,to deny          
activities of life natural and          
super-natural is rather silly           
considering no man has solved the life  
principle4 ,the atoms forming the       
material of the brain may be proved     
ultimately to be identical with those   
that compose a jelly-fish or a jar of   
margarine1 and brain appears to be the  
organ of mind1 but it is mind that      
grasps things1 places things1 and       
thinks4 ,life is concerned with thought 
as well as atoms4 ,it receives thoughts 
from all sides1 sometimes it claims to  
detect the thought giver--and that is to
 have a fuller vision4 ,men think       
quickly on the field of battle4 ,they   
are not constrained by a narrow         
education and a narrower conventionalism
 to limit their thoughts to what others 
think in their own circle4     ,,iv     
,,the ,,spiritual ,,entity   ,why is it 
that men in all ages1 the best of men1  
the most gifted of men1 with the        
evidence of the senses so strongly      

against them1 have believed that a      
spiritual personal entity survives      
death's disaster8 ,that men do so is    
seen in all literature and witnessed to 
in all lands4 ,vedic hymns1 #c1ejj years
 old sing of a spiritual body with as   
clear a vision as ,s4 ,paul4 ,we are    
collecting the evidence that has floated
 down the ages and examining it with a  
new criticism4 ,the attitude of ,pooh6  
,bah6 of ,early ,victorian times is no  
longer the mark of superiority4 ,it is  
now1 as it was then1 the mark not only  
of ignorance but stupid dullness4 ,the  
frame of mind which used to dismiss     
everything with the word impossible is  
now recognized not as science but       
ignorance4 ,the researches of a         
,crookes1 of a ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1     
,myers1 ,gurney1 ,rochas1 ,gabriel      
,delanne1 ,lombroso1 in the region of   
the occult command serious attention4   
,swedenborg communicated messages from  
people who had long passed to their     
relatives on matters of fact which were 

found accurate in every detail4  ,m4    
,rochas speaks of an externalized       
consciousness which feels a touch4      
,within man is the plant and machinery  
of all kinds of faculties1 one is the   
perception of the spiritual4 ,had it    
been trained like his sense of music1 we
 should no longer be in the dark of     
despair over our dead4 ,the trend of    
thought to-day is to show man a         
spiritual being in a spiritual universe1
 that death is merely transition4 ,if   
not1 then ,god is the ,cosmic ,murderer4
 ,the spiritual sense of man is his     
faculty of response to the spiritual    
world around him1 just as his musical   
sense is his measure of response and his
 reception of the world of music around 
him4 ,by some magic in the red surge of 
war1 this spiritual response is         
sharpened and quickened as every other  
sense is1 and the soldier sees visions4 
,man working within time and space is   
influenced by what is beyond the one and
 the other1 the full significance of    

this world would seem to be in another  
scheme of things to which this is only  
the vestibule4 ,the soul's wave         
movements have their laws4 ,in that soul
 is some fine ,marconi-like instrument  
which registers impressions1 and from   
time to time receives spiritual warnings
 and perceives spiritual beings4        
,serious men are now boldly             
investigating4 ,little help comes from  
the sectarians who seem to begrudge ,god
 his universe2 everything has to be     
cheapened to the worm's-eye view of     
little ,bethel1 which steeped in        
politics has long lost sense of the     
spiritual4 ,the old ,greeks and ,latins 
were acute thinkers1 yet they believed  
in spiritual beings and their           
appearances4 ,it was only in the days of
 cheap thinking that it required a      
special valour to express belief in the 
super-natural4 ,the fact is1 most people
 are like the devils of scripture who   
believe and tremble without admitting   
the authority of their belief4 ,it is   

refreshing to find a writer like ,mr4   
,w4 ,s4 ,lilley in the ,nineteenth      
,century professing his absolute belief 
in ghosts4 ,to man1 and it would appear 
to man alone on this plane1 it is given 
to explore the unknown and to establish 
the communion of soul with soul4  ,after
 all it is a question of evidence4 ,if a
 man say ,i won't believe in anything   
super-natural whatever the evidence may 
be1 it is best to leave him to his      
folly4 ,if he will accept the evidence  
that would pass muster in a court of    
law1 then you have a common ground1 you 
can weigh evidence4 ,to me the evidence 
for spiritual appearances is            
overwhelming looking at it from the     
strictly legal angle of vision4  ,in    
years gone by the scientific genius     
began with the assertion that everything
 must have had a beginning1 and to      
assert that there was a spiritual ,being
 with no beginning was nonsense4 ,to the
 dim indistinct crowd such appeared to  
be clever reasoning4 ,but our very      

consciousness insists that there is     
something which had no beginning1 and   
,reason adds1 else there could be       
nothing now4 ,for example1 ,space could 
not have had a beginning1 that ,duration
 could not1 that ,truth could not1 that 
somehow1 somewhere these ,three         
,eternals must have been co-eternal1    
incomprehensible4 ,and in this ,trinity 
none is afore or after the other1 which 
recalls the ,athanasian ,creed4  ,i     
cannot prove that ,truth had no         
beginning1 yet my consciousness tells me
 at no period was it laid down as       
something new1 that the shortest        
distance between two points would be a  
straight line4 ,no mathematician has    
ever proved that there is no boundary to
 space1 but something within me tells me
 that there can be no such boundary4    
,even ,reason tells me that an          
impassable boundary would only serve to 
indicate the unlimited extension beyond4
  ,in all ages we have the mystic4 ,now 
the mystic is common to all religions4  

,he is the man who has felt the touch of
 spiritual beings1 the call of ,heavenly
 things1 and we have to explain him4 ,in
 seeking to do this we shall realize    
some of the truth of the things soldiers
 see which we have called ,the ,weird in
 ,war4     ,v  ,,angels   ,the evidence 
for the existence and the appearance of 
angels does not rest on the testimony   
merely of men who fought at ,mons4 ,but 
even that evidence which is accepted by 
the talented author of ,the ,bowmen     
requires some explaining away and he    
admits that there is a difficulty in    
ignoring it4 ,but there is the          
accumulating evidence of the ages4 ,when
 we have explained away the soldiers'   
delusions1 we have to confront those of 
the world's wisest sons--giants in      
thought4 ,we have to confront the fact  
that all great religions have the theory
 of angels4  ,after all1 every good     
thought may be the whisper of an angel1 
every beautiful prospect may be but the 
glint of the wing1 every ray of light   

and heat but the waving of the robes of 
those higher spiritual intelligences    
which rush hither and thither on ,god's 
service1 whose faces see ,god in        
,heaven4 ,such a belief is just as      
sound1 and far more philosophical than  
any of the guesses ,i have read so far1 
given us as explanation of such         
phenomena4  ,i am in hearty agreement   
with much that ,mr4 ,arthur ,machen     
writes in his book ,the ,bowmen4 ,it is 
a book everyone should read4 ,that      
splendid story of failure and triumph1  
the ,retreat from ,mons1 prompted him to
 write a story on an ,angelic ,host     
coming to the aid of the ,british force4
 ,he wrote it after the manner of the   
journalist who is an eye-witness of the 
event4 ,many people still believe what  
they read in the newspapers2 and many   
people believed his story4 ,but he is   
altogether wrong when he imagines that  
he is the author of the belief in       
,angelic visions4 ,i was in ,france     
hearing stories of angelic intervention 

long before ,mr4 ,machen wrote his      
delightful yarn4 ,a frog might as well  
imagine that his croak is responsible   
for the whole world of music1 as to     
postulate that his story gave rise to   
the theory of ,angels4 ,men had visions 
of such long before the first stone of  
our venerable shrine at ,westminster was
 laid1 before the ,romans built their   
first mud huts in the valley of the     
,tiber1 before the ,pyramids raised     
their terrific greatness to the heavens4
 ,so ,mr4 ,machen need not concern      
himself on that score4  ,the ,anglican  
,church has failed dismally to keep     
before people the teaching of the       
,church in regard to ,angels and        
,angelic intervention in the affairs of 
men4 ,there ,i am in entire agreement   
with ,mr4 ,machen4 ,soldiers tell their 
stories of angels and a few bishops     
cackle2 but not one of them dares to    
speak of the fuller belief of the       
,church in angels and the soul-inspiring
 mystery of the ,communion of ,saints1  

the inter-relationship between those on 
the earth-plane and those who have      
passed to the higher life4 ,the         
hardworking priest in the slums         
fearlessly proclaims this one sacrament 
of life with the ,divine ,life1 his     
belief in angels and their help1 in     
saints and their prayers1 and because he
 believes he is able to work under      
conditions which make life for a        
cultured man almost intolerable4 ,but he
 works1 thankful to be left alone by his
 bishop3 for war has declared a close   
time for ritualistic curates4 ,but the  
soldier whose patriotism he has nurtured
 writes home to him telling frankly his 
experiences1 his dreams1 his visions4 ,i
 have seen many of these letters4 ,the  
writers are not liars nor are they      
hysterical subjects1 but fine specimens 
of healthy manhood4 ,here and there a   
dissenting divine has raised his voice  
to declare there may be something in    
these stories of angels1 but the        
dissenting pulpit is under the despotism

 of the pew and cry of ,rome is enough4 
,honest doubt is always sure of a       
sympathetic audience1 honest belief is  
greeted with the cry of superstition or 
the cuckoo cry of ,popery4  ,a soldier  
sees something super-natural4 ,some one 
says ,i know a hundred or a thousand    
soldiers who did not see it4 ,a man may 
witness a murder4 ,his evidence is      
accepted in the law courts4 ,they do not
 call the hundred thousand people who   
did not see it in proof that no murder  
was perpetrated4 ,few people know the   
fundamental principles of evidence4     
,more people misuse it4     ,,vi        
,,fellowship ,,with ,,the ,,unseen      
,religion is man's fellowship with the  
,unseen1 and it would seem that bishops 
and various crank divines are determined
 that such a belief shall be            
discouraged4 ,man's nature has upon it  
the ,hall ,marks of ,heaven4 ,woven into
 man's anatomical texture we find       
faculties that transcend this world1    
that are for ever intent upon the waves 

that beat upon us from another shore4   
,he sees the coastline of another world 
to which he commits his dead4 ,we call  
such people ,mystics1 ,catholics1       
,seers1 etc4 ,they are the people who   
have had touch with the ,unseen4 ,after 
all1 the people with actual personal    
experience of spiritual power1 who shape
 their lives by their experience are the
 real assets of belief4  ,man may or may
 not be sprung from the beast1 he may or
 may not have been raised from slime4   
,man's spirit did not arise in slime1   
that at all events came from a race of  
flame4 ,dust will not account for       
everything4  ,the ,church in its        
greatest office of all1 the ,communion  
,service1 claims to worship in union    
with ,angels and ,archangels and with   
all the ,company of ,heaven4 ,having    
proclaimed this tremendous fact the     
,church1 for the most part leaves it1   
and bishops view any further            
annunciation of the fact with suspicion 
and sometimes with threats4  ,on one    

solemn day in the year the ,church      
invokes ,s4 ,michael and all ,angels4   
,s4 ,michael's ,mass as it is still     
called4 ,the old teaching of the ,church
 bids us lift our eyes to behold those  
more intimate intelligences which stand 
nearer the ,great and ,central ,mystery4
 ,when a soldier stumbles by chance upon
 one of those higher beings he is       
regarded as the victim of hallucination1
 of superstition or drink or all of     
them4 ,a chaplain with dull ,german     
,protestantism obscuring his view of    
spiritual things treats him as some     
unclean thing4 ,dissent in ,england for 
years has been synonymous with          
pro-,germanism4 ,it has been at war with
 the historic creed of ,christendom4 ,it
 was better for their aims that angels  
should not exist4  ,before dull ,german 
,protestantism with its gross           
materialism raised the plentiful crop of
 sects in ,england1 our country was     
known through ,europe as ,merrie        
,england4 ,our people loved the festival

 of ,s4 ,michael4 ,s4 ,michael's ,mass  
was a red letter day4 ,the ,communion   
and ,inter-,communion of earth with     
heaven was emphasized4 ,families met    
that day to pray and feast1 lovers      
plighted their troth1 gatherings of     
relatives and friends was the rule1 joy 
was the key-note4 ,then dissent raised  
its ugly head1 dissent that had its     
birth in ,germany4 ,these kill-joys got 
the upper hand4 ,the recognition of the 
,christ-,mass1 ,christmas and the       
,michael-,mass1 ,michaelmas1 was put    
down by law4 ,dissent has never         
hesitated to use compulsion when it lay 
ready to hand to enforce materialism4   
,so belief in angels well nigh ceased to
 exist4 ,to-day the revival comes from  
actual experience rather than from      
church teaching4 ,the antagonism to such
 belief amounts to unreasonable heights 
of folly4 ,luther has so long occupied  
the place of ,christ that dissent has   
forgotten what ,christ taught us in     
regard to angels4 ,we ignore the fact   

that ,he claimed to have seen angels1   
and to have had their help and          
ministration4 ,when politics mix with   
religion1 spirituality dies1 there is no
 vision1 for there is little belief and 
less sincerity4 ,no wonder the soldier's
 vision of angels strikes them as       
something altogether beyond the pale of 
belief4  ,it is time that our spiritual 
fathers and other stepfathers began to  
give us a lead in spiritual things4 ,we 
are burdened with bishops who play to   
the gallery and the cheaper press1 who  
would rather take a confirmation service
 in a coal-pit than in a consecrated    
shrine of prayer1 for the simple reason 
that ,confirmation in a ,coal-pit gets a
 flaming advertisement in every paper4  
,their vision is set on notoriety3 the  
spiritual vision recedes4 ,how can they 
have sympathy with those who pierce the 
boundary line that separates this world 
from a higher plane8  ,men who have     
spent their lives on office seeking can 
never be seers or priests4 ,parsons who 

beat the political drum may rise to     
power political1 never to the power     
spiritual4 ,the vision glorious is to   
those who face duty1 self-sacrifice1 and
 see in them the ,divine ,call1 who     
believe in the sacrifice of the ,gospel 
rather than its comfort4 ,the charlatan 
must not dominate the ,christian in our 
spiritual pastors1 if it do1 then such  
are not qualified to minister in        
spiritual things4     ,,vii  ,,the      
,,white ,,comrade   ,the story that     
angels fought on the side of the ,allies
 in the battle of ,mons must rest upon  
evidence1 coupled with experience4 ,if  
we begin by assuming that there can be  
no intelligences in the universe unless 
they are clothed in the regulated       
fashion1 then no amount of evidence will
 suffice4 ,it is a worm's-eye view that 
regards man as the last word in mind4   
,meanwhile ,france is pursuing the      
evidence for another story exclusively  
of ,french origin and vouched for by men
 to whom the belief in spiritual beings 

is repugnant1 viz41 the apparition of   
,le ,camarade ,blanc1 of whom at ,nancy1
 in the ,argonne1 at ,soissons and      
,ypres men talked with hushed voices but
 with the quiet assurance of men who had
 seen4 ,it must be something arresting  
which changes an atheist into a mystic4 
,again and again the ,french wounded    
speak of a man in white bending over    
them as they lay on the field helpless1 
and ministering relief4 ,the mysterious 
one whom our allies call the ,comrade in
 ,white appears simultaneously on       
different parts of the battlefield4 ,his
 mission ever is one of mercy4  ,the    
,living ,church reprints from ,work and 
,life an article giving a full account  
of ,the ,white ,comrade1 furnished by a 
wounded soldier4 ,all accounts agree in 
the main facts4 ,he is generally        
observed after severe fighting1 he      
appears where death is busiest1 he      
ignores shot and shell1 he is ever calm1
 collected1 and brings with him an      
atmosphere of peace4 ,men of the #hgth  

and #abhth ,french ,infantry who have   
been fighting in the ,argonne1 have seen
 him1 and on several occasions he has   
been seen in the trenches4  ,the        
soldier's account which appeared in ,the
 ,living ,church is worth reading4 ,it  
is not conclusive evidence1 but the     
number of such experiences has value on 
the great subject of ,spiritual         
,intervention4 ,religion pledges itself 
to such a belief4 ,this is the soldier's
 story1 one of many similar stories3    
,it was the next day4 ,at noon we got   
word to take the trenches in front of   
us4 ,they were two hundred yards away1  
and we weren't well started till we knew
 that the big guns had failed in their  
work of preparation4 ,we had advanced   
#aej yards when we found it was no good4
 ,our captain called to us to take      
cover1 and just then ,i was shot through
 both legs4  ,i fell into a hole of some
 sort4 ,i suppose ,i fainted1 for when  
,i opened my eyes ,i was all alone4 ,the
 pain was horrible1 but ,i didn't dare  

to move lest the ,germans should see me1
 for they were only fifty yards away1   
and ,i did not expect mercy4 ,i was glad
 when the twilight came4 ,there were men
 in my own company who would run any    
risk in the darkness if they thought a  
comrade was still alive4  ,the night    
fell1 and soon ,i heard a step1 not     
stealthy1 as ,i expected1 but quiet and 
firm1 as if neither darkness nor death  
could check those untroubled feet4 ,so  
little did ,i guess what was coming     
that1 even when ,i saw the gleam of     
white in the darkness ,i thought it was 
a peasant in a white smock1 or perhaps a
 woman deranged4 ,suddenly ,i guessed   
that it was ',the ,comrade in ,white4'  
,at that very moment the ,german rifles 
began to shoot4 ,the bullets could      
scarcely miss such a target1 for he     
flung out his arms as though in         
entreaty1 and then drew them back till  
he stood like one of those wayside      
crosses that we saw so often as we      
marched through ,france4 ,and he spoke4 

,the words sounded familiar1 but all ,i 
remember was the beginning1 ',if thou   
hadst known1' and the ending1 'but now  
they are hid from thine eyes4' ,and then
 he stooped and gathered me into his    
arms--me1 the biggest man in the        
regiment--and carried me as if ,i had   
been a child4  ,i must have fainted     
again1 for ,i awoke to consciousness in 
a little cave by a stream1 and ',the    
,comrade in ,white' was washing my      
wounds and binding them up4 ,i wanted to
 know what ,i could do for my friend to 
help him or to serve him4 ,he was       
looking toward the stream and his hands 
were clasped in prayer2 and then ,i saw 
that he1 too1 had been wounded4 ,i could
 see1 as it were1 a shot-wound in his   
hand1 and as he prayed a drop of blood  
gathered and fell to the ground4 ,i     
cried out4 ,i could not help it1 for    
that wound of his seemed to be a more   
awful thing than any that bitter war had
 shown me4 ',you are wounded1 too1' ,i  
said4 ,perhaps he heard me1 perhaps it  

was the look on my face1 but he answered
 gently3 ',this is an old wound1 but it 
has troubled me of late4' ,and then ,i  
noticed sorrowfully that the same cruel 
mark was on his feet4 ,you will wonder  
that ,i did not know sooner4 ,i wonder  
myself4 ,but it was only when ,i saw his
 feet that ,i knew him4  ,an incident   
which left a great impression upon me   
occurred at a hospital in ,north ,west  
,france in ,september #aiad quite early 
in the war4 ,i was visiting some wounded
 ,english and ,french soldiers4 ,one    
poor fellow1 a ,parisian1 called me to  
his side4 ,come close1 monsieur1 for ,i 
would talk in a whisper4 ,you are       
,english--yes3 and you ,english are     
common sense1 practical--tell me--do you
 believe in ,god and angels1 such things
 as priests teach children and women8   
,my measure of experience in life has   
compelled my belief in angels or        
spiritual beings1 and common sense      
demands my belief in a ,supreme ,mind   
which ,i call ,god1 the one ,basic      

,fact1 ,i replied4  ,monsieur ,i would  
talk with you4 ,do you believe that this
 ,god has priests to reveal such things 
to us8  ,the ,great ,supreme ,mind has  
priests1 leaders1 prophets1 in all      
departments of knowledge1 music1        
mathematics1 chemistry1 navigation or   
engineering--why should ,he not have    
chosen instruments to reveal theological
 truth8  ,he lay some time quiet1 then  
he said1 ,it is good2 now ,i feel ,i can
 tell you1 for you will not smile4 ,for 
years1 ever since ,i could think1 ,i    
have been an atheist4 ,i went into this 
war an atheist4 ,a few days ago a shell 
burst near me and ,i was wounded in     
twenty-nine places4 7,this statement was
 subsequently substantiated by the      
doctor and a nursing sister of mercy47  
,monsieur1 ,i was in great pain3 then   
suddenly a kind face was looking into   
mine1 something touched my brow1 the    
awful pain ceased4 ',you called me1' a  
soft voice said4 ,then ,i remembered    
that when ,i was wounded ,i had cried1  

',oh1 my ,god6' and ,i laughed1         
monsieur1 for ,i was an atheist4 ,then  
,i lost consciousness with that kind    
face still bending over me4 ,now ,i lie 
and think of that kind face4 ,the       
doctors say maybe ,i shall recover1 and 
the sisters here say to me that it is   
all in the ,good ,god's hands and ,i am 
content4 ,i say it is all in the ,good  
,god's hands4 ,when that kind face was  
looking into mine ,i cried out ',i am an
 atheist1' and he just smiled and said  
',but you called me4'  ,i offered to get
 a priest for the poor fellow1 but he   
shook his head4 ,no1 monsieur4 ,i have  
been an enemy of priests all my life--an
 enemy of religion--the ,church4 ,to    
offer the remaining days of my wreckage 
to ,god--no--,i have but a few hours to 
live1 and ,i would think of that kind   
face1 and when ,i think of it the pain  
ceases4 ,ah1 monsieur1 ,i had wonderful 
arguments to show that there was no     
,god1 and that the clerics are the      
people's enemies--yet when ,i was struck

 down ,i called ',oh1 my ,god6' ,it is  
comical4 ,that is why the kind face     
smiled4  ,another wounded ,french       
soldier said to me3 ,when ,i go back to 
,toulon ,i shall have something to say  
to my comrades4 ,i always thought       
priests were only half men1 but my ,god6
 ,i have seen them fight4 ,it is        
magnificent4 ,a priest led us when we   
hesitated1 ,i got my two wounds         
following him--a priest4 ,oh6 it is     
truly unbelievable to think that ,i     
should follow a priest4 ,he led us to   
triumph4 ,he led me to something more4  
,that day ,i knew religion was true4 ,i 
saw something in his face4 ,i saw it    
again when he fell wounded1 and ,i was  
wounded but ,i could only think of him4 
,ah1 life is droll--,now ,i go back to  
,toulon with two bad wounds and a       
religion4 ,priests--,i have seen them   
fight1 and ,i lie and laugh at myself   
and my comrades as fools for we thought 
of them as mere amusements for women and
 children4 ,i saw priests go forward    

where my noble comrades held back--my   
noble comrades who sneer at priests4 ,it
 is droll4     ,,five ,,sketches  ,,by  
,r4 ,,thurston ,,hopkins     ,i  ,,ombos
   ,we were talking at the club about   
spirit manifestations1 and retailing the
 usual second or third-hand accounts of 
family spooks and deceased aunts showing
 themselves to their sorrowing          
relatives4  ,it is strange the tricks   
which our brains will sometimes play us1
 said ,barton4 ,i remember once seeing a
 ghost myself1 and ,i can tell you that 
the sensation is a very curious one4 ,it
 was a good many years ago1 when ,i was 
out in ,bombay in the ,national ,indian 
,bank1 and ,i had been sitting up until 
the early hours trying to trace some    
fraudulent entries in the bank's books  
by one of our clerks who had absconded  
with a considerable sum of money4       
,everybody in the bank building had long
 since gone home or to bed1 where ,i    
ought to have been myself1 so ,i was    
vastly astonished when ,i looked up from

 the ledger to see somebody sitting at  
the desk where ,i myself had been       
writing a few moments before4 ,i felt   
quite upset for a moment1 until ,i      
recognised the intruder4 ,he was        
nebulous1 but ,i could see plainly      
enough who it was4  ,a member of your   
family in ,england8 asked ,duckford1 who
 was a firm believer in the good        
old-fashioned second sight of the       
,scotch ,highlanders4 ,barton answered  
in his peculiarly quiet way4  ,no1 it   
was myself4 ,the appearance of seeing an
 image of one's self is not altogether  
unusual1 ,i believe4 ,but1 of course1   
such a thing is really all nonsense 444 
a matter of nerves4  ,now1 ,i do not    
think it is fair of you to put all such 
things down to nerves1 said ,captain    
,crabbe1 who had returned wounded from  
,france after being in the field since  
the outbreak of the ,great ,war4 ,if one
 cannot always explain1 one need not    
therefore ridicule4 ,crabbe made this   
remark with a gravity that was somewhat 

unusual with him4  ,bless my soul1 boy1 
you haven't been seeing the ,angels of  
,mons or the ,agincourt ,bowmen over    
there in ,flanders1 have you8 asked     
,duckford1 regarding ,crabbe with a keen
 eye1 and scenting something savouring  
of the mysterious1 the super-natural4   
,do you believe in these stories8 ,i    
mean--superstitions8  ,captain ,crabbe  
shook his head4 ,not greatly1 he said   
smiling4 ,but ,i am not one of those who
 thoughtlessly laugh at that which is   
out of the common1 merely because it    
cannot be explained on ordinary grounds4
 ,not since ,i have spent nearly twelve 
months over in ,france1 at any rate4    
,are you interested in the weird8  ,i'd 
be a fool if ,i wasn't1 said ,duckford1 
selecting a cigar from his case4 ,what's
 your story about--,i see you have one  
to tell4 ,i am not inquisitive as a     
rule2 but1 somehow your manner has      
warned me that you have something       
singularly interesting to tell4  ,crabbe
 remained silent a short time4 ,then1   

looking at ,duckford very earnestly1 he 
answered3  ,well1 perhaps ,i may tell   
you my story1 though ,i would not tell  
it to all these heretics around me4     
,indeed1 only two or three other people 
have ever heard it4 ,i hate--ah6 more   
than ,i can convey to any living        
soul--even to think about it4 ,but to   
you it may be of special interest4  ,you
 know that ,i look upon all such things 
from the point of a simple1 unbiassed   
inquirer1 returned ,duckford4 ,come     
along1 ,crabbe4  ,a good cigar in front 
of the card room fire1 and your story1  
eh8 ,duckford led the way up to the snug
 card room where a cheerful fire was    
blazing4 ,sit down4 ,where is that      
dashed waiter8 ,oh1 you there1 ,griggs4 
,come along with some whisky and soda4  
,crabbe sat down in a deep chair by the 
fire1 and stretched his feet to the     
flame4 ,duckford said nothing2 only     
pulled at his cigar and patiently waited
 for what he knew was soon coming4  ,do 
you know--but1 no1 of course you don't1 

he began presently4 ,but can you imagine
 how it can be that a man could pass all
 his force into a bronze statue and make
 it live4444 ,you've heard these        
literary men and artists talk about     
putting their souls into their work1    
,duckford8 ,duckford pursed his lips4   
,everything lives--even a bronze statue1
 he said seriously4 ,if it was not so it
 would atrophy1 it would crumble and    
disappear4 ,look at the case of----     
,that's just what old ,ombos said4 ,and 
if he didn't understand all about those 
things1 ,i should jolly well like to be 
led to the man who did4 ,ombos told me  
hundreds of times that a man walked     
about this earth throwing his force into
 everything he came in contact          
with--scattering some kind of power2 and
 of course that power is picked up by   
stones and houses and 444 statues1 or   
anything4 ,ombos misused it2 that was   
disastrous4 ,it seems to me that it is  
safe to use this god-energy only in its 
own proper sphere4 ,you have very likely

 heard of men who have tried to pass    
themselves into inanimate objects8      
,well1 what would you say if ,i tell you
 that ,i even ,i--who sit now so soberly
 before you1 whom before the war you    
knew to be ordinarily1 a quiet1         
peaceably-disposed1 sport-loving        
,english fellow--had once been under the
 spell of a bronze statue that somebody 
had passed clean into8  ,you were under 
the hypnotic influence of your friend   
,ombos1 probably1 ,i suggested4  ,you   
may think so1 now2 but you just wait    
till ,i have told you all about ,ombos1 
and the bronze statue4 ,then you'll be  
able to decide if it was trickery4444   
,it would be different if you could have
 seen the statue4  ,then ,crabbe        
proceeded to unfold his strange tale4   
,you know that when the war first broke 
out ,i was attached to the ,loamshires1 
and we were one of the first ,british   
,regiments to start for the land across 
the water4 ,after six months' fighting1 
during which every day was crowded with 

enough incident to provide a three-reel 
thriller for a cinema-man1 ,i found     
myself quartered at ,ypres4 ,have you   
ever been to ,ypres8 ,if you have1 it   
will act as a kind of antidote to those 
wretched picture post-cards which show  
it in its last phase--a heap of         
senseless wreckage4 ,the ',coal ,boxes1'
 ',jack ,johnsons' and other varied     
presents from ,krupp's had not fallen on
 the town with such lavishness at the   
time my regiment found shelter there4   
,it was a ,june afternoon when ,i first 
found my way there4 ,a mellow drowsiness
 hung over the ,cloth ,hall and         
,cathedral4 ,it was indeed a very       
pleasant little town4 ,the old houses of
 the square1 the ,prior's ,gate1 the    
noble trees1 the stretch of green turf1 
all shared in the dream-like repose4 ,in
 the ,rue ,bar-le-,duc1 as everybody    
knows1 just where it winds around to the
 fine gateway of the ,cathedral1 there  
is a row of little shops with bulging   
leaded windows1 dusty and delightful4   

,the one that took my eye was an antique
 shop4 ,i had a whole regiment of aunts 
and uncles at home who in every letter  
demanded souvenirs1 and here was the    
chance to lodge a shipping order1 with  
about a hundred labels1 and leave the   
old antiquarian fogey to send 'em off4  
,it was inside that ,i met ,ombos for   
the first time4 ,i selected the         
souvenirs1 and wrote labels2 but old    
,ombos made a devil of a muddle over    
sending them off1 and a very prim maiden
 aunt received a snuff box adorned with 
a young ,french lady in very scanty     
attire4444 ,by the way1 you don't know  
my aunt ,sylvia1 do you8  ,crabbe       
laughed heartily for the first time that
 evening4  ,i spent some hours in the   
bulging window of that old shop         
examining the wonderful collection of   
beautiful old things1 and staggering    
about on piles of andirons and copper   
warming pans1 old ,ombos watching me all
 the time with an amused smile4  ,i can 
still see ,ombos standing like a figure 

carved in old ivory1 with one skinny    
yellow hand resting on the edge of a    
black oak table4  ',i call all this     
stuff here rubbish2 not worth looking   
at4 ,but people do not understand real  
good stuff if ,i show it to 'em1' he    
said1 and smiled a remotely contemptuous
 smile4 ',now if you really want to see 
some choice antiques 444'  ,he motioned 
me to follow1 and taking a lighted      
taper1 led the way into a room at the   
back of his shop4 ,ombos pottered about 
with the taper on the end of a rod2     
suddenly a big overhead chandelier burst
 into light and ,i stood blinking in    
amazement4  ,it was one of the most     
gorgeously furnished oak-panelled rooms 
,i have ever seen4 ,the floor was of    
black polished ebony1 and strewn on the 
floor were priceless leopard skins and  
,persian rugs4 ,there were heavy        
,chinese tapestries worked in crimson   
and gold1 ,tibetan devil-masks1 gold    
candelabra1 armour richly inlaid with   
precious stones1 wondrous black oak     

furniture4444 ,but ,i can assure you1 ,i
 could continue indefinitely describing 
the contents of that room without giving
 you any adequate idea of what it was   
like6  ',hardly what you expected to    
see1 eh8' ,ombos said1 and there was a  
faint trace of mockery in his tone4  ,i 
looked around me helplessly4  ',no6' ,i 
said1 sinking into a most luxurious     
silk-cushioned divan4 ',trenches1 and   
this6 ,i suppose ,i'll wake up soon4'   
',would you like to see my bronze statue
 of ,albert of ,cologne8 ,it's the gem  
of my collection1 and has a world-wide  
reputation6'  ',it's rather different1  
you may say4' ,he looked full over my   
head as ,i spoke1 and following the     
direction of his eyes1 ,i turned4 ,in a 
dark recess in that part of the room    
stood a bronze statue1 some six feet in 
height4 ,it portrayed the great mystic  
in a long habit fashioned after a       
monkish cowl1 and his hair and face     
reminded me of a bust of ,nero ,i had   
once seen in the gallery of the ,louvre4

 ,ombos told me that the life of ,albert
 ,magnus had been written by ,dr4       
,sighart4 ,this ,dominican1 magnus in   
magia1 major in philosophia1 maximus in 
theologia1 was distinguished alike for  
his knowledge of the black art and his  
great virtue1 for austerity of regimen1 
and dislike of any form of society4 ,for
 other details of this philosopher ,i   
must refer you to ,sighart's excellent  
monograph and ,mr4 ,james ,mew's work on
 ,the ,black ,art from which we learn   
that ,albert of ,cologne was accused by 
the vulgar of holding illicit commerce  
with the devil4 ,they believed as a     
matter of course that he was aided by   
,beelzebub4 ,and legends grew about him 
in wild luxuriance4 ,in particular he is
 credited with the creation of an       
android1 homunculus1 or1 as some say1 a 
fair maiden--an idea which ,goethe may  
have copied in his celebrated           
play--able1 according to some1 to say   
only ',salve1' but1 according to others1
 to predict with the unerring accuracy  

of a ,zadkiel a change of government1 or
 the advent of a pestilence1 a royal    
marriage or a royal death4 ,but all     
agree that this automaton was smashed by
 his pupil ,thomas ,aquinas1 who ought  
to have known better than to believe it 
a device of the ,evil ,one4 ,this story 
of the speaking statue may go with those
 other marvels of his vision of the     
,holy ,virgin to encourage him in       
theological study1 and his stupendous   
garden of flowers and birds and         
fountains in mid-winter for ,william of 
,holland1 and that gracious scent which 
arose after a longer time than four days
 out of his sacred sepulchre1 and his   
vision of ,st4 ,dominic1 who himself    
revealed to him the secret of the stone1
 whereby he discharged all the debts of 
his bishopric4  ,these bald facts about 
our friend ,magnus must suffice4 ,old   
,ombos had a splendid edition of his    
works1 lately published in ,paris under 
the direction of a certain ,august      
,borguet2 twenty large folios on all    

imaginable subjects4 ,they included     
chapters on hawks and adhering to ,god1 
on meteors and the mystery of the ,mass1
 on the healing of the leper and the eau
 de vie4  ,i was a gross ,philistine in 
those days--still am1 as a matter of    
fact--and ,i could not appreciate the   
statue4 ,a strenuous life with my       
,regiment had stifled what little       
appreciation for such things a more     
leisured existence might have fostered4 
,i could not appreciate nor understand  
the things that ,ombos was saying about 
the bronze statue and the strange       
,master of the ,masters it portrayed4   
,old ,ombos--you could not help but     
think that he had grown very much like  
the statue himself2 or had the statue   
grown like him8--held up a candelabra   
which threw the details of the bronze   
figure into relief and cast flickering  
reflections on the dark oak panelling of
 the recess4  ',it's an exquisite       
thing1' said ,ombos4 ',see how he rears 
himself on his black granite plinth4 ,a 

noble pile of mellow bronze1 irregular  
yet graceful4' ,ombos regarded it       
smilingly1 yet with one of his queer1   
sinister looks4 ,it would have been hard
 to know what he was thinking4 ,he was  
one of those tall1 emaciated chaps1 that
 make us men of ordinary stature feel   
dwarfish2 and as ,i looked at his       
skull-like face ,i wondered at first    
where his eyes were hidden 444 they     
seemed so far back in the dark hollows  
on each side of his nose4  ,i placed    
myself before ,albert of ,cologne--to   
try and appreciate it1 you know4 ,well1 
,i didn't think a great deal of it1 but 
of course ,i was a ,philistine4 ,i had  
seen many great1 heavy bronzes in the   
,british ,museum1 and they hadn't even  
stirred my heart1 so it is not          
surprising that this one failed to      
affect me4 ,i told ,ombos1 merely to    
please him1 that ,i thought it was an   
extraordinary piece of work4 ,but he    
very soon saw that ,i was not able to   
appreciate old ,magnus1 and he drew a   

heavy plush curtain back in front of    
him4  ',come back6 ,come away6' he said4
 ',you have not yet the understanding4  
,oh1 it's big6 ,it's a big god1 ,i tell 
you4'  ,ombos was very patient with me1 
but as he walked up and down the room   
kicking the leopard skin rugs ,i knew he
 was thinking what an idiot ,i was1 and 
,i just waited4  ',you have not yet the 
understanding1' he muttered4 ',it may   
come to you one day 444 the doors of    
life and death are left ajar from time  
to time1 and the light of ,al ,tughrai's
 lamp of wisdom shines out upon us for a
 moment between the opening and         
closing4' ,the carved ivory face of old 
,ombos seemed softer when he said that4 
',did my brother care for the old       
bronze8 ,did he love it as ,i do1 every 
curve in the lean and corded neck 444'  
,and then all of a sudden he walked over
 to me6 ',come6' he said1 putting his   
hand on my shoulder and speaking in a   
voice which he had the trick of making  
wonderfully amiable4 ',dear me1 dear me6

 ,how ,i must bore you with my old      
relics4 ,you want some tea and muffins  
or something of the kind1 eh8 ,will you 
do me the honour of taking tea with me8'
 he said1 leading me through a door in a
 recess and a wilderness of corridors to
 a small room1 where a charming ,french 
girl presided over a steaming tea-pot of
 massive silver4  ',this is ,captain    
,crabbe1' said ,ombos introducing me to 
her4 ,he turned to me4 ',this is        
,margot1 my niece1' he said with a      
smile4  ,i made a step forward and bowed
 slightly2 she was very pretty1 this    
girl1 as she stood there with the rich  
red light from the silk lamp shades     
behind her4 ,she was one of those dark1 
seductive women that look their best in 
a warm light2 and that evening her face 
and figure seemed instinct with the joy 
of youth4  ,never before have ,i tasted 
such hot-cakes and sandwiches1 and      
muffins 444 there could be nothing like 
them1 nor any hot-cakes to set above    
them in all ,europe4 ,the sinister look 

had now quite passed from my host's face
 as he sat before me stirring tea and   
munching muffins comfortably2 he seemed 
goodheartedness embodied4 ,on the table 
were some wonderful lucid china bowls   
filled with cigarettes1 ,parascho and   
caporal ordinaire1 ,egyptian and every  
imaginable kind4 ,after tea we pushed   
back our chairs and smoked4 ,his        
conversation was delightful1 and showed 
me at once that he was a man of         
brilliant gifts1 yet an eccentric4 ,i   
felt much as ,mark ,twain must have felt
 when he first met ,rudyard ,kipling2   
,twain has summed up1 in that inimitable
 way of his1 the feeling of being in the
 presence of an overwhelming            
personality4 ',i believed that he knew  
more than any person ,i had met before1 
and ,i knew that he knew that ,i knew   
less than any person he had met         
before--though he did not say it1 and ,i
 was not expecting that he would4'444   
,that was exactly how ,i felt when ,i   
was talking tea with ,ombos 444 his     

conversation was as exhilarating as     
wine2 his presence diffused a           
stimulating atmosphere2 ,i felt exalted 
by his joyous enthusiasm4  ,well 7to get
 on71 after ,i left him at the door of  
his old shop 7which was such a dingy    
entrance to all the luxury of the       
interior of the place71 and ,i think we 
were loth to part1 it was agreed between
 us that1 should ,i remain in the town1 
we were to meet again4 ,as ,i walked    
down the little pave street something ,i
 couldn't account for began to sweep    
over me2 it was not merely that the     
presence of ,ombos had fascinated me2   
there was something else4 ,there was    
something that stirred in my heart--a   
thing which you will not understand4 ,if
 you had known ,ombos you might have    
understood4 ,i wanted to go back and    
have another look at that bronze statue2
 ,i was becoming desperately afraid that
 ,i had been too hasty in my inspection 
of it--that ,i had under-estimated it4  
,i was very young1 heedless1            

self-esteemed and smug1 and had hardly  
paused to pay a moment's tribute to it4 
,i felt that ,albert of ,cologne was    
standing there1 absorbed1 proud1 erect1 
and defiant1 waiting for me to find my  
true eyes4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,of course1 ,i did see the 
bronze statue again1 or ,i shouldn't be 
sitting here wasting your time and      
patience4 ,within a few days ,i went    
round again to the old shop1 and old    
,ombos was standing there amid his      
,queen ,anne candlesticks and piles of  
books just as if he had been waiting for
 me4  ',come in1 come in6' he said1     
speaking in a voice that made me feel   
honestly welcome4 ',dear me1 dear me6 ,i
 am very glad you have not forgotten    
me4'  ',no1' ,i said4 ',not forgotten   
you or the bronze statue4 ,it was the   
only thing in your place that did not   
interest me when ,i first walked in4'   
,i paused1 and ,ombos prompted me half  
unconsciously3 ',yes8'  ',now6' ,i said1
 meeting his eyes misting my own in     

doing so1 'it is the only thing ,i      
should like to see4'  ',ah6' he said4444
 ',well1 ,i told you that he might come 
over you slowly2 but the gods direct    
rightly whom they will4 ,i tell you that
 such things as the ,keys of ,mercy and 
the ,lamps of ,wisdom are not gained in 
one swift breath4 ,what's gained in a   
few moments is not worth having4 ,all   
those who have through toil and pain    
entered into citizenship in the         
,celestial ,city will tell you that4    
,gods do not grow in one night like     
mushrooms4 ,every great masterpiece is  
an evolution1 be it a statue1 a poem1 a 
painting1 a man--or a god4 ,if it is    
ever given to you to see my ,albert of  
,cologne as ,i see him you will         
understand what ,i mean4' ,he turned    
round to me and ,i gave a start1 ,i can 
tell you4 ,never have ,i seen such lurid
 gleams of light as those that danced   
from those two deep-set eyes6 ,i say    
'lurid1' for at times1 the colour of    
them took a blood red hue1 and changed  

quickly again to a glittering green4 ,as
 ,i stared at him--it was all over in a 
few seconds--the baleful glare seemed to
 grow in intensity1 till ,i felt as     
though ,i were enduring the mocking gaze
 of ,albert of ,cologne himself2 and    
verily1 ,i half expected any moment to  
see ,ombos change into a mighty bronze  
demon or some appalling1 devilish shape 
from the under-world4  ',er--shall we go
 and have a look at the statue8' ,i     
said1 with a half-conscious             
determination to see whether it really  
ever had existed 7,i was beginning to   
think that ,ombos had been using a kind 
of hypnotic influence on me1 thus       
inducing me to see visions72 and also1  
as ,i believe1 with some vague wish to  
shut out the sight of those rolling1    
glittering eyes4 ,for the first time ,i 
felt towards him a fierce anger1 and ,i 
found myself making a resolution never  
to return to see him again when once ,i 
was free of the place4  ',ah6' he said1 
',i thought you'd want to come back and 

see ,albertus ,magnus2 ,i want you to   
have a good look at him this time and   
tell me if he looks quite as commonplace
 as he did before4 ,such things can only
 trickle slowly into the soul1 but      
presently1 ah6 they get right hold of   
one--they permeate one1 and then there  
comes a time 444'  ,ombos snatched at   
the heavy curtain1 and the rings        
screeched on the brass rod4 ,clothed in 
his monkish garb1 his face furrowed and 
seamed2 the lustre of his eyes dimmed by
 the tears of centuries--there stood    
,albertus4 ,the sunken cheeks spoke of  
years of study and aspiration1 but the  
swelling muscles of his arms1 the deep  
chest1 the wonderful hands--big1 bony1  
horrible hands--spoke of one from whom  
age has taken little toll4 ,here was    
age1 wisdom1 mysticalness1 a subtle     
sense of pensive melancholy1 and a      
persistence that never tires4  ',well1  
how do you like my statue this time8'   
asked ,ombos4  ',splendid6' ,i breathed4
  ',yes1' he said looking hard at me4   

',the best of it is ,albertus asks for  
nothing4 ,you can neither bribe nor buy 
him2 your flattery will not move him2   
your approbation or blame alike are vain
 444 he has the self-sufficiency of the 
,master of ,masters4'  ',yes1' ,i found 
myself saying eagerly4 ',he is the      
,master of ,masters4'  ,suddenly he     
turned and threw the curtain back and   
took me by the arm and led me away4 ',my
 force is all going into ,albertus--but 
,i must not overdo it4 ,if ,i stand too 
long before him he drains me of all my  
god-energy1 you know 444 that leaves me 
sick and exhausted4 ,you've heard about 
how ,michael ,angelo put all his power  
into his marble statue of ,moses8       
,you've read about such things8 ,you    
know the kind of gush4 ,i met a poor1   
half-crazed1 devil-driven poet-fellow in
 ,paris some years ago who told me he   
had written a great poem2 he had lured  
the crucified soul of a murderer into   
his verses4 ,confoundedly conceited     
about it1 too1 he was 444 called it ,the

 ,ballad of ,reading ,gaol4 ,bah6 ,it   
would have taken him a lifetime to put a
 murderer's socks into a poem4 ,he was a
 mountebank 444 a posturer6 ,and what is
 this winged thing men name the soul8   
,and who did make the stars8' ,ombos    
turned demon-like eyes on me1 and his   
whole face seemed lit up with an        
appalling mirth4  ',believe them not1   
for they are not miraculous ones4 ,they 
will be lost for ever2 they will die4   
,their books and statues may live1 but  
they will die1 as sure as the grass     
grows over graves4 ,my force and body   
and soul is passing into the ,master of 
,masters4444 ,i shall live and be a god1
 ,i shall stand oblivious and           
indifferent to the centuries as they    
stalk by4'  ',you don't mean to tell me 
444'  ,ombos looked up1 his red-green   
eyes gleaming as he answered1  ',most   
certainly ,i do 444 my soul will pass   
into that bronze statue when ,i am ready
 to give it up4'  ',the war1 ,mr4       
,ombos1' ,i thought as ,i looked at his 

shrivelled fearsome figure1 'has turned 
your head4 ,there are certainly a few   
bats in your belfry4 ,you will find your
 way into an asylum before many weeks   
have passed4'  ,you must understand1 ,i 
didn't realize what kind of a chap ,i   
was dealing with then1 ,i didn't know   
that he was all cold and calm and apart 
from life 444 very clever               
and--philosophical1 but not human4      
',nonsense6 ,how can a man's soul pass  
into a bronze statue8' ,i asked rather  
testily4 ',good heavens1 man1 do you    
realize that you're trying to make me   
believe that which is beyond the pale of
 all human possibility6'  ',human       
possibility6 ,what is human possibility8
 ,i tell you that all this is fact2     
simply4' ,ombos rose and began to pace  
to and fro over the ,persian rugs like a
 tiger4 ',i'm not given to imagining    
things4'  ',bah6' he grunted4 ',every   
child will tell you that the tendency of
 spirits to return to the old haunts of 
bodily life is almost universal4 ,the   

universal laws apply 444 there is no    
escape from the great law1 the          
attraction of environment4'  ',the rest 
is merely every-day knowledge4 ,have you
 ever heard of ancient formula by which 
the grosser factors of the body may be  
eliminated1 leaving the ethereal        
portions to retain the spirit8 ,do you  
not understand that the body may be     
preserved from absolute disintegration8 
,the old alchemists all knew that death 
could be indefinitely deferred in this  
way4 ,professor ,vaini left among his   
papers a work of two thousand pages in  
which he clearly demonstrated that it   
was possible for a spiritualized body to
 retain a modified life practically for 
ever4 ,any doctor will tell you the hair
 and nails of a dead person will often  
grow for years after4444'  ,ombos turned
 his glittering eyes on me a moment     
inquisitively4  ',oh1 tell me all that  
kind of stuff if you like1' ,i protested
 good-humouredly4 ',it makes no         
impression on me4 ,i'm a normal man1    

,ombos1 and ,i object to having my free 
imagination harrowed over things that   
don't count4 ,behind that curtain is a  
bronze statue1 and it never can or will 
be anything else but a bronze statue1   
and that's about the sum and total of it
 all4'  ',i was merely telling you a few
 cold and scientific facts1' returned   
,ombos argumentatively4  ',now1 if ,i   
wished to impress you it would be easy  
enough4 ,i would like to test that      
sensitiveness which you boast that you  
don't possess4 ,i think ,i could give   
you a severe shaking-up6 ,and ,i will   
begin by telling you that ,i will employ
 mere vulgar trickery 444 the trickery  
of any mountebank who fools people at a 
country fair6'  ,he looked at me with   
that slow smile of his--the smile of the
 mystic--mocking1 mysterious4  ,i       
answered him with a weak laugh4 ',you   
may try some of your tricks1 wizard2 but
 you will fail to impress me1 ,i think6'
  ',i make it a habit not to fail4'     
,his keen eyes flamed1 and his brow was 

dark and hot4 ,he started up and walked 
over to the small oak escritoire4       
,bending down he produced a small glass 
lamp1 and put a light to it4 ,it burnt  
with the imperceptible flame of pure    
spirit of wine4 ,he took it and vanished
 a moment4 ,when he returned1 and set it
 before me1 it gave out a keen white    
glare and heavily-scented smoke4 ,he    
took me by the arm and pointed to the   
black velvet curtain which hid the      
bronze statue4 ',see1 there3            
behind--through the curtain4 ,who is    
that8'  ,while ,i looked1 ,ombos gave a 
strange rasping sound4 ,then1 in a tone 
of weird intensity3 ',see6 ,see6' and he
 laid his hand on mine 444 the curtain  
was no longer there1 and some vague     
thing gathered--the statue was dim      
behind it--the form of a man4  ',the    
veil is drawn1' said the voice of       
,ombos4 ',master1 the veil is drawn4    
,see1 if you will4 ,see6'  ,in a fluid  
light the form darkened4 ,i saw ,ombos  
seated before a table with his head     

bowed down over a folio volume1 quiet   
and still4 ,the head was ill to look at1
 and ,i knew he was dead4444 ,all grew  
misty and faded into light again4  ',the
 veil is drawn1' he droned4 ',look      
again6'  ,again a film gathered in the  
light and ,i saw the ,albertus ,magnus  
for a moment4 ,then it changed to       
,ombos1 himself4444 ,a lean and grim    
form with dim mocking features1 and     
yellow eyes that glittered and          
flickered4444  ,and again the vision    
blurred and faded into light4 ,then     
,ombos dashed the lamp aside1 and the   
room was in red darkness 444 the silence
 and darkness seemed to endure for an   
eternity4 ,i heard the hiss of a quick  
indrawn breath at last 444 it was my own
 breathing4444 ,i opened my eyes4  ,i   
was in the small room where ,i had taken
 tea with ,ombos and ,margot some weeks 
before4 ,supper was laid on a superb    
octagon table4 ',they were good tricks1 
were they not8' said ,ombos1 with an    
easy laugh4 ,his keen eyes smote keen   

into mine4 ',now you will in truth be   
able to go away and tell people how ,i  
tricked you1 how it was plainly all a   
cheat4'  ,at that moment ,margot came in
 with a big apron tied about her4 ,she  
greeted me pleasantly1 setting a tray   
down on the table4  ',we do our own work
 here1 ,captain ,crabbe1' she said4 ',do
 you want to make yourself useful8'  ,i 
rose promptly4 ,my little adventure into
 the occult world with ,ombos had been  
rather exhilarating4 ,i was glad when   
she told me to follow her out1 through a
 long corridor into the kitchen1 where  
she gave me a can-opener and a tin of   
sardines4  ',open those up and turn them
 into this little dish1 please4 ,and if 
you have any hygienic aversion to tinned
 things1 please forget it4 ,otherwise   
you will have to eat some of my hot     
teacakes4'  ,margot was standing at the 
table1 cleaning a crisp head of celery4 
,the position showed me her profile1    
with a little wisp of black hair        
escaping near one ear4  ,we sat down to 

one of the most cheerful meals three    
people have ever enjoyed4 ,we sat       
chatting there for nearly an hour4 ,all 
the while ,i was trying to reconcile    
this man ,ombos who sat talking boyishly
 with the student of occultism and black
 magic ,i had talked with an hour or so 
before4 ,if ,i had felt any resentment  
of the tricks he had played on me it    
would have vanished utterly4 ,afterwards
 ,margot made real ,turkish coffee over 
a dainty spirit lamp 444 once--in a     
critical stage in the coffee-making1    
too--she looked up and her eyes sought  
mine2 then her red lips parted in a     
smile4 ,she poured out the coffee       
deftly1 blowing out the lamp1 and put   
the little copper pot on a plate4       
,ombos surveyed his coffee with the air 
of a connoisseur1 his head turned on one
 side4  ,margot produced the bowls of   
cigarettes and reached over my shoulder 
to offer me one4 ',you want ,egyptian8' 
she said smiling4 ',you see ,i have a   
good memory--you smoked them last time4'

  ,a warm faint perfume came from her   
hair4  ,it was ten o'clock when ,i rose 
to leave1 ,ombos and ,margot came out to
 the front to say good night3 my last   
glimpse1 as ,i walked down the pave     
street1 was of ,margot--a bare-headed   
figure1 with wistful grey eyes1 calm    
with the mysterious wisdom of pure      
womanhood4 ,she waved her dainty lace   
handkerchief to me4  ,that was the last 
of ,ombos in the flesh4 ,the next day1  
after ,german shells had poured on      
,ypres for six hours without cessation1 
my regiment left the town1 and we went  
out a mile or two to take over some     
trenches4  ,a month later my duty took  
me back to ,ypres1 and ,i found myself  
walking up the ,rue ,bar-le-,duc towards
 the little antique shop4 ,overhead the 
shells whistled without cessation4 ,it  
was now a city of the dead--one could   
not realize that it was the same        
pleasant little town where ,i had met   
with so strange an experience a few     
weeks back4 ,men1 children and horses   

were lying dead in every gutter4  ,in   
due course ,i arrived at the shop4 ,a   
large hole had been ripped in the pave  
road before the door1 and ,i had to step
 over a dead and twisted soldier to gain
 an entrance4 ,of course the place was  
empty4 ,ombos1 ,albertus ,magnus and all
 the wonderful contents of the spacious 
old rooms had disappeared4 ,i made a    
search of the house1 and it was not     
without a curious sensation in my heart 
that ,i entered the room where the      
,master of ,masters had towered in his  
niche4 ,silence--only the faint boom of 
a gun far away in the ,french           
trenches--awful1 ghastly silence4 ,then 
a deafening roar and a falling of       
masonry as ,krupp's marked down another 
house in the town of sorrow4 ,the horror
 of it6  ,i turned dismally away1 out   
into the ,rue ,bar-le-,duc1 and along   
the square4 ,a few scattered lights     
shone feebly through the evening mist1  
and over towards the ,norman bridge the 
yellow flames from a burning house lit  

up the sky with a lurid glow4 ,at nearly
 every street corner little groups of   
civilians had collected and were talking
 and gesticulating in a terrified       
manner4 ,when a big shell came with a   
hoarse1 rattling noise through the air1 
like a racing motor cycle on the track  
at ,brooklands1 they would rush into    
their homes1 panic-smitten4 ,if death   
winked1 and passed them over1 out they  
would creep again4 ,and so they lived in
 an inferno of shells for weeks on end4 
,an ambulance wagon overturned in the   
middle of the road attracted my         
attention4 ,i could not repress a       
shudder as ,i looked on the             
shell-shattered wreck4444 ,it was the   
old type of four-horse ambulance used by
 the army in ,south ,africa2 possibly it
 had jolted into the shell-swept        
death-trap of ,spion ,kop1 or carried   
men into the reeking enteric camps of   
,ladysmith4 ,well1 it had made its last 
journey this time6 ,the four dead horses
 had not been cut away from the traces1 

and from underneath the huddled and     
twisted heap stuck out an arm1 and in   
the hand was clutched one of those      
short1 stumpy whips which are used by   
the lead driver of a gun4 ,i can see    
that poor chap in my mind thrashing and 
urging his team of horses into a gallop1
 for it was not reckoned wise to meander
 about the streets of ,ypres1 and       
then--one blinding crash4  ,i swung     
round with a great desire to get away   
from the appalling scene1 and as ,i did 
so1 ,i noticed a girl in a doorway      
struggling in the grip of a powerful1   
swarthy-faced man of middle age4 ,in the
 fading light ,i caught a glimpse of her
 face1 and ,i was out of the shadow and 
by her side like a sky-rocket4  ',let   
her go6' ,i said shortly4 ',before ,i   
mop out the gutter with you4'  ,the man 
turned on me4  ',who the devil----'     
',that's enough6'  ,a ,red ,cap--a      
corporal in the ,military               
,police--loomed into view1 and with an  
imprecation the rough backed away from  

the girl1 turned1 and in a moment was   
lost in the gloom4 ,i brought my eyes   
back to the girl who had confronted me  
in the red light of sunset1 and ,i stood
 gazing at her dumbly1 fascinated1 but  
with never a word to say4 ,she was      
burning with anger and shame1 trembling 
like an aspen1 too4  ,it was ,margot6   
,the girl glanced up at me1 a look that 
set my heart throbbing4 ,it was my first
 real sight of her since ,i had seen her
 that afternoon with ,ombos4 ,i had     
thought her pretty then1 but there is a 
distinct gap between a pretty woman and 
a lovely woman1 and she was as beautiful
 as a ,greek marble4 ,indeed1 but for   
the carmine of her lips1 and long dark  
eyelashes1 she might have been chiselled
 out of pellucid stone1 for her skin was
 dead white4 ,she was--or had           
been--beautifully and expensively       
dressed1 and there was breeding and     
refinement in every line of her face4   
',don't you know me8' ,i said4  ,the    
girl looked at me intently4  ',i know   

you1 of course1' she said4  ,i won't    
waste time in trying to tell you what my
 thoughts and sensations were4 ,rather  
,i will tell you instead1 what ,i did4  
,it was some minutes later1 and already 
we had started to walk slowly back in   
the direction of the ,rue ,bar-le-,duc4 
',and now you want to know--' she said4 
',yes--that's it--what's become of      
,ombos 444 and the bronze statue8'      
,margot looked up at me1 and a strange  
melancholy transformed her face4444 ,she
 was at a loss for words4444 ',poor     
,ombos--oh1 poor1 cranky ,ombos1' she   
muttered4 ',one morning ,i found him    
dead in his room1 with all his          
wonderful1 brown1 powdery-looking books4
 ,he was leaning on a table over an old 
volume that he was fond of4444 ,and then
 the doctors came4 ,he had died1 they   
afterwards said1 of failure of the      
heart's action4'  ',dead1' ,i murmured  
mechanically4444  ',then everything was 
very uncomfortable4 ,but ,i saved a good
 sum of money1 and ,i sent most of the  

valuable things to ,paris to be sold--no
 living soul coming forward to make any 
claims4 ,ombos left everything to me 444
 bonds1 securities1 and all4 ,come this 
way--,i have a little room up the       
side-street4  ',he left me well provided
 for4 ,he----'  ',yes2 but why on earth 
do you stay in this dead city1' ,i broke
 in4  ',sssh6444 ,don't interrupt unless
 ,i ask you questions4  ',i'll tell you 
all about everything4 ,it's             
extraordinarily difficult4444'  ,i      
waited4  ',you see1' she picked her     
words carefully1 ',ombos was so--queer  
about that horrible ,albertus ,magnus of
 his4 ,he had made me promise never to  
part with it and it seemed to           
me--stupidly perhaps--that ,i owed him  
that--to see that his only wish was     
carried out to the letter4 ,otherwise ,i
 should never dare to have stayed here4 
,you couldn't expect me to move about   
with a gigantic bronze figure without   
making ample preparations4'  ',ah6'444  
',this is where ,i live1' she said in a 

low voice4  ,margot had halted in front 
of an alley leading over rough cobbles1 
into a small square of what appeared to 
be old oak-fronted houses4 ,a narrow    
passage-way ran down by one side of the 
end house4  ',won't you come inside1    
and--see ,albertus8 ,this way1' she     
said4 ',it's rather dark1 ,i'm afraid4' 
,in pitch-black darkness1 guided by     
,margot's hand1 ,i stumbled through a   
doorway into a spacious hall--a         
mysterious1 fusty-smelling cavern of a  
place--along a passage1 and then up a   
flight of worn stone stairs4 ,it was one
 of those old houses where one could    
feel the silence and hear the shadows4  
,the steps came out upon a bare landing 
with oak-lined walls1 lit only by a     
solitary flickering candle1 and ,margot1
 halting before a locked door1 opened it
 and motioned me to enter4  ,the room   
was in darkness1 and ,i knew not what   
fear1 akin to that little grey shadow of
 a fear1 was to be found in the darkness
 there4 ,at first ,i hesitated4 ,then   

,margot came with the candle1 and as it 
guttered1 the flame threw distorted     
shadows2 at one moment lighting up a    
dark spot with a sudden flash1 and then 
sending queer1 erratic reflections      
chasing across the oak panelling4 ,then 
a flicker displayed the unmade bed on   
which ,margot had lain4444 ,she coloured
 deeply4  ',you have stored the bronze  
statue in some other part of the house1'
 ,i said at a venture4  ,she looked at  
me1 as ,i thought1 a little uneasily4   
',you aren't afraid of that old statue8'
 she exclaimed4 ',we might at least     
light up the candles1' she added1 as ,i 
made no reply2 and she turned and put a 
burning taper to the candelabra4  ,as   
,margot spoke the candles flared up1 and
 then1 with a sudden start of           
unexplained dismay1 ,i saw in a corner  
by the bed stood the bronze figure4  ,as
 ,i looked at it ,i felt the horror of  
nightmare seize me1 for it bore a       
striking resemblance to ,ombos4 ,a      
dreadful exuberance and vitality seemed 

to shine through the thing1 an          
exuberance wholly malign1 a vitality    
that foamed and frothed with            
unimaginable evil4 ,evil beamed from the
 deep cavernous eyes2 it leered in the  
demon-like mouth4444 ,ugh6--  ,margot   
walked up to me and patted my shoulder4 
',well1 and are you really afraid of    
that thing1' she said1 pointing to the  
statue4  ',but1 don't you see8' said ,i4
 ',it's scarcely the face of a bronze   
figure4 ,it's almost human4 ,no2 it     
isn't even human4 ,it's the face of some
 devil4' ,margot laughed4  ',yes3 he    
isn't very cheerful1' she said4         
',scarcely a boudoir ornament1 eh8 ,i'll
 throw a blanket over ,albertus if you  
like4'  ',i really wish you would1' ,i  
said1 ',i don't care so long as he can't
 grin at me4'  ,somehow1 with the bronze
 figure covered up1 ,i felt much lighter
 and happier4  ,i think that            
,margot--that ,margot must have been    
rather overstrained after the struggle  
with that brute4 ,she seemed to be all  

nerves--upset3 insisted in putting her  
little white hand on mine in a very     
solemn way1 and thanking me for all     
sorts of imaginary favours4444 ,got 'a  
wheeze' into her head1 among other rot1 
that ,i had saved her life4  ',look     
here1' ,i said4 ',i wish you wouldn't   
talk so jolly silly4 ,i'm not a bit     
unselfish1 ,i'm a novelist4 ,there was  
nothin' doin' with my crowd--regiment ,i
 mean--and so ,i came here to look for  
copy4 ,that was why ,i persisted in     
seeing you home here4 ,it was all just a
 matter of copy to me--at the start4' ,i
 paused1 and ,margot turned her         
tourmaline eyes full on me4 ,had you    
asked me after my first visit to old    
,ombos what ,margot's eyes were like ,i 
could not have told you the colour to   
save my life4 ,if ,i had been forced to 
weigh out a guess ,i might have said    
they were a shade of grey4 ,grey8 ,name 
of a little dog6 ,yes1 ,i should have   
called 'em grey1 but that would have    
been like describing the ,pyramids by   

saying they were stone4 ,however can ,i 
describe the wonder that ,i found 444   
,a sort of flush appeared on ,crabbe's  
boyish face4 ,i--,i'm afraid ,i have run
 off the track of my story a bit1 he    
stammered1 but ,i may as well tell you  
all of it4  ,take a drink of whiskey2   
said ,duckford slowly1 and take your own
 time4  ,margot looked at me1 her lips  
quivering4 ',you've not found much copy 
,i'm afraid1' she answered despondently4
  ',now1' ,i said1 meeting her eyes1    
'copy matters not at all 444 you are all
 that matters4'  ,it does not in the    
least concern you or the story to know  
what manner of a woman ,margot is4 ,but 
,i might say that she is in fulness a   
woman--not a fribble1 or one of those   
pick-me-up-and-carry-me women4 ,so when 
,i said plain words to her she did not  
pretend to misunderstand4  ',don't let  
us be conventional1' ,i went on1 ',it   
wouldn't fit in with these wonderful    
days a bit4 ,perhaps ,i've no right to  
talk to you like this--but ,ombos is    

dead and you seem to have no friend in  
the world4 ,we have got caught up1 you  
and ,i1 in one of the marvellous tangles
 of this great conflict1 and ,god knows 
how it's all going to end4 ,but it seems
 to have been written in the book of    
fate that we should meet1 and whether   
,ombos and his bronze statue haunts me  
to the end of my days or he doesn't1    
,i'm glad ,i have met you1 and to know  
for just one swift hour ,i've used these
 hands of mine in your service4 ,i      
wouldn't take back one minute of these  
great days6'  ,margot was regarding me  
with her wide eyes1 a little startled1  
but ,i saw beyond those rounds of       
tourmaline a soft light4  ',how is it8' 
said ,margot calmly4 ',a few hours ago  
you hadn't spoken more than a few words 
to me 444 you don't know me4'  ',in     
times of war1' ,i reminded her1 'we live
 a year in a day4'  ,margot rested her  
chin on her hands4 ',what a strange     
world it is1' she murmured4             
',confoundedly strange1' ,i agreed4 ',i 

can't help thinking even now that my    
meeting with ,ombos in that weird den in
 the ,rue ,bar-le-,duc was all a dream1 
and ,i'm going to wake up soon4'  ',i   
didn't mean that1' ,margot said quietly4
 ',that didn't seem so strange to me4   
,perhaps it's because ,i lived with     
,ombos for nearly four years4'  ',it was
 just like a page torn from the ,arabian
 ,nights to me1' ,i said4 ,she smiled at
 me wanly4  ',the only other home ,i've 
known was with foster-parents in ,paris 
when ,i was quite a child1' she said4   
',i was brought here straight from a    
convent school in ,brussels4 ,ombos was 
my guardian4 ,he'--she hesitated1       
shivering--',i don't think he was       
quite--sane1 but he was always very kind
 to me4'  ',margot1' ,i stammered as ,i 
imprisoned her hands in mine1 ',i'm     
going to take you out of this mudhole of
 a place4444 ,i'm going to send you over
 to ,england4 ,i'll stay here and look  
after you to-night1 and to-morrow ,i'll 
see you on your way4'  ,she dragged her 

hands away suddenly4  ',but are you     
sure8' ,margot said1 half sobbing4      
',please reflect 444 you are in too much
 of a hurry4 ,when an idea comes to     
you--the idea1 that you want me for     
instance--what do you do8 ,instead of   
taking the idea for a long1 cool walk1  
you sit down here to work it up 444 it  
is the eternal boyishness of the        
,englishman4 ,you must first think of   
your future4'  ',but do you think that  
the future holds anything for me now    
that ,i wouldn't throw away with both   
hands for you8' ,i said1 and the passion
 of my voice whipped the blood up into  
that alabaster face 444 she put out her 
hands with a little pleading movement4  
',don't1' she said again4  ',i must1' ,i
 said stubbornly4 ',there's nothing in  
the world powerful enough to take you   
from me 444 if you will have me4        
,margot1 you must believe me 444 you    
shall believe me6' ,i added almost      
savagely1 and my hands closed round her 
waist as she leaned against the back of 

a huge old divan4 ,margot closed her    
eyes for a moment and her head dropped  
gently on my shoulder4 ,her hair brushed
 my face1 and the faint musky scent that
 came from it is woven into all my after
 memories of that moment1 ,i drew her   
closer and she sighed for very          
happiness1 while life drifted past in   
uncounted minutes or hours4  ,it was the
 next evening that ,i arranged to have  
one of the ,a4,s4,c4 cars1--then running
 between ,ypres and ,st4 ,omer1--wait   
for us outside ,margot's rooms4 ,under  
cover of darkness ,i bundled ,margot    
into the motor-lorry1 got the bronze    
statue in1 and jumped up on the driver's
 seat beside her1 and sank down with a  
gasp of relief4 ,one last glimpse of the
 little bulgy window of the shop as the 
lorry rounded the corner1 and then ,i   
turned and looked at the girl4 ,tears   
glittered in her eyes1 and her lips were
 quivering4 ,i put my hand out and      
closed over her ice-cold fingers4       
',margot6' ,i said1 ',i'm taking you to 

,boulogne and then you will go to       
,england to my home4 ,my people will    
look after you4444'  ',but--' she       
hesitated4  ',there are no buts1' ,i    
said firmly1 ',you are coming with me4  
,you can't stay in this infernal hole1  
like a rat in a trap4'  ,margot gave a  
weary little sigh and leaned closer to  
me1 giving herself into my care as      
trustfully as a child4 ,until that time 
she had been just a figure in the great 
war game that might provide me with     
something to 'write up' into a book4    
,that had been my principal thought4    
,now1 all in a few moments1 her beauty1 
the frightened look which had shone in  
her great grey eyes1 her distress made  
me forget all that1 drove all thoughts  
of traffic with publishers from my mind4
 ,i knew only that it was good to help  
her4  ,then ,i set about thinking how ,i
 could get ,margot and ,albertus ,magnus
 to ,england4 ,it was going to be a     
difficult game4 ,i went carefully over  
all the good fellows ,i knew who could  

help me4 ,there was old ,longden of the 
,a4,s4,c4 depot at ,st4 ,omer1 there was
 ,captain ,chester1 the transport       
officer at ,boulogne1 and ,orgles of    
ammunition supply at ,cassel1 which is a
 small place where the strings of motors
 from the base unload4  ,well1 7to get  
on17 we arrived late that night at ,st4 
,omer1 and by a vast amount of bribery  
and cajolery ,i got some ,a4,s4,c4 men  
to knock up a strong case for the       
,albertus ,magnus and--but enough4 ,it  
is sufficient to say that an officer who
 was going home on leave was kind enough
 to see ,margot as far as ,boulogne1 and
 in the fullness of time both ,albertus 
,magnus and the girl came safely to     
,england4  ,i have endeavoured to give  
you the facts of my strange story up to 
this point1 without omission or         
exaggeration4 ,i have been careful not  
to miss out the slightest items4 ,if ,i 
have failed1 it must not be put down to 
forgetfulness3 for ,i do not think there
 is a single thing about old ,ombos that

 has not been permanently fixed in my   
mind4 ,even now ,i have but to shut my  
eyes to see the leering face of         
,albertus1 to stand once more trembling 
with terror and see that green shadow   
jump into the dusk with hellish glee and
 frolicsome skippings and toppings      
gallop away1 to walk into the old       
library at home and see poor ,price with
 his knees drawn up and eyes fixed open 
in extreme terror--,but enough4 ,i do   
not exaggerate4  ,and now ,i must come  
to what you'll call the second part of  
the story--though it was all one long   
connected nightmare to me4 ,i returned  
from ,france1 as you know1 six months   
ago1 with a bullet in my leg1 and       
thought myself in the best of luck to   
get a 'blighty' one2 ,i mean a slight   
wound which necessitated me being sent  
back to ,england4 ,i went down to a     
charming old house at ,monk's ,ely which
 my father had lately moved into1 and   
soon drifted into peaceful ways of      
country life4 ,the trivial little       

objects and customs of rustic           
life--those simple things that are best 
of all--attracted me surprisingly4  ,a  
delightful room full of my books and    
pictures had been prepared on the ground
 floor of the house1 but ,i was not     
often in it4 ,still1 ,i accorded to my  
bronze statue a prominent corner in the 
room1 where he frowned upon all my other
 possessions with that great look of    
disinterestedness which only bronze or  
death can typify4  ,a week or two passed
 without incident1 except that again and
 again a curious feeling that sometimes 
,i was not alone was present in my mind4
 ,in a way ,i got used to it1 because   
after being in the trenches and looking 
in the face of death as a kind of hobby 
the feeling of release and lightness    
that comes over one drives all other    
troubles clean away4 ,but after a while 
this feeling seemed to be growing in    
poignancy4 ,in fact at the end of the   
first fortnight ,i mentioned it to my   
father4  ',strange you should have felt 

like that1' he said one night after     
dinner1 'because for the last day or so1
 the same sensation has been creeping   
over me4 ,when is it that you have your 
ghostly visitor8 ,have you any feeling  
now of such a thing1 for instance8'  ,we
 were having a smoke on the lawn 444 it 
was a beautiful evening of stars1 and as
 he spoke ,i felt the unseen presence   
with terrific intensity4 ,at that moment
 the door that led from the library     
quietly swung open1 and just as quietly 
closed again1 as if someone had passed  
out into the garden4  ',did you see     
that8' ,i said4 ',there is not a breath 
of wind stirring3 odd thing that a door 
should play those kind of tricks4'  ,my 
father was silent a moment4  ',you felt 
it then1' he said4  ',frightfully6' ,i  
breathed4  ',let's get back to the      
dining-room1' my father urged4  ,just as
 we got up to the house door 7not the   
library door which opened on the path71 
,i saw1 as ,i thought1 a figure move in 
the bushes near the library4 ,perhaps it

 would be better to describe it as a    
shadow 444 but ,i could swear that it   
was of a greenish colour4 ,for one      
moment1 from sheer terror of the unseen1
 ,i stood frozen to the doorstep1 and   
then my father touched my arm and we    
walked in together4  ,that evening1 my  
friend ,price1 after his wont1 dropped  
in4 ,i had just run the car round to the
 front door and was about to run into   
the village to bring the vicar back to  
stay with us over the week-end--besides 
,i badly wanted to get away from those  
infernal gusts of depression that swept 
the place4 ,i did not scruple to keep to
 my arrangements and told ,price to make
 himself comfortable in the library till
 my return4 ',you'll find cigars1       
spirits--and the spirit1' ,i said       
jokingly4 ,he nodded and laughed1 and ,i
 jumped into the car1 and quickly put a 
mile between myself and--the bronze     
statue1 for ,i was convinced that       
,albertus of ,cologne was connected in  
some unearthly way with the face of     

,fear that often turned full on me4  ,a 
half-hour afterwards ,i had pulled up at
 the vicarage1 and was hanging on to the
 bell which gave forth a mighty clamour4
 ,i was impatient to get inside for a   
moment and behold the good genial face  
of the vicar4 ,somehow1 wherever the    
vicar went1 he had a wonderful way of   
cheering things up2 his presence        
diffused an atmosphere of merriment4    
,the door suddenly opened and ,i was    
face to face with him3  ',my dear boy1' 
cried the vicar1 ',i am glad to see     
you4'  ,then he stared at me in         
amazement4 ',what have you done to      
yourself8 ,you have aged years since ,i 
saw you last week4'  ',ah1 ,i have      
things to tell you1' ,i said1 ',things  
that will make you think ,i am off my   
head1 but ,i shall convince you----'    
,the vicar took my arm and walked me up 
to his sanctum1 a fine spacious chamber1
 beautified with that simplicity which  
throws a wonderful dignity over all1 and
 tends to show how in omission so much  

more refinement is to be discovered than
 in ornament4 ,touches of the vicar's   
keen discernment of those things which  
are worthy and noble were revealed on   
every hand--knowledge of this sort is   
older than ten thousand years4 ,the room
 received one like a friend4 ,the       
alcoves were filled with well-bound     
books1 there was a superb ,persian      
carpet1 old gate-legged tables--oak was 
there everywhere2 in the beams and the  
shelves and the mighty writing desk4    
,the servant had brought in a small     
table with syphons and spirits1 and had 
set a lamp upon it4 ',help yourself1'   
said the vicar4  ,i poured out a dose of
 whisky and was lifting it for a squirt 
of soda when all at once ,i saw ,fear2  
not apprehension1 not foreboding1 but   
,,fear--the glass fell from my hand and 
my fingers sagged on the handle of the  
syphon4 ,i saw my reflection in a long  
glass1 and my face was bleached to an   
unhealthy dull whiteness4  ,suddenly    
like a shot1 right in the middle of     

things1 ,i found myself wondering about 
poor ,price4 ,and ,i wasn't only        
wondering somehow ,i was horribly uneasy
 about him4 ,it came to me that ,i had  
been heartless to leave him all alone   
with the statue4 ,at last ,i couldn't   
stand the strain any longer4 ,i got up4 
',vicar1' ,i said1 ',i'm going back to  
see if ,price is all right4 ,it will    
sound quite mad to you1 ,i expect1 but  
if you want to know the sober truth1 ,i 
will tell you that ,i have just seen him
 in a vision3 he was in trouble1 ,i     
know4 ,but come1 let us get into the    
car4 ,i have never told anyone my whole 
story yet1 but ,i shall like to tell you
 about ,ombos and his statue4 ,i will   
tell you on the way back to ,abbot's    
,ely4 ,it is about time1 in fact1 that  
,i tried to classify what ,i have       
learned4'  ,i then briefly related the  
story of ,ombos and our acquaintance4 ,i
 concealed nothing1 dwelling on the     
irresistible alluring influence of the  
bronze statue4 ,i described the         

depression1 the despair1 the            
overpowering moral weakness which seemed
 to follow me since the ,albertus       
,magnus had become one of my            
possessions4 ,in short1 ,i lifted the   
curtain1 for the first time1 and showed 
the vicar a true picture of the strange 
world ,i had moved in for the last few  
weeks4  ,when we had returned and backed
 the car into the coach house we walked 
across the lawn to the back door4 ,here 
we met ,clayton1 the butler4 ,he        
appeared to be frightened1 and told me  
that he had heard a kind of quivering1  
sobbing voice coming from the library4  
,he thought ,mr4 ,price was ill4 ,we    
went to the door4 ,it was locked1 and an
 application of a spare key proved that 
the other key had been left in the lock 
inside4 ,we knocked loudly1 and called4 
,there was no reply4 ,clayton's         
conviction that 'something had happened'
 worked on my nerves frightfully1 and in
 the end the vicar and ,i forced open   
the door with some gardening tools4     

,something had happened4  ,the room was 
in complete darkness1 and at first      
nothing could be discerned at all4 ,a   
slight wind had got up in the last half 
an hour2 and it rustled the trailers of 
ivy against the opened windows4 ,the    
heavy curtains moved carelessly in the  
draught1 and the trees creaked faintly4 
,but beyond these inevitable noises1 the
 room was quiet4 ,then gradually1 the   
outline of the room became visible and  
the framework of the window began to    
shape itself dimly before my eyes4 ,in  
the hazy light from the glass doors1 and
 the vague light of a lamp in the hall1 
,i saw that the chesterfield in the     
window bay where ,price so often lounged
 was tenanted4 ,a gleam of his light    
tweed suit showed there and across      
that4444 ,oh1 ,i fully expected to see  
the other thing6 ,across that there was 
an obscure greenish shadow4  ,i walked  
towards it1 when suddenly the shadow    
shot upwards and was lost to sight4     
,then the springs of the chesterfield   

creaked and wheezed1 the same as they   
will when suddenly released from        
pressure4 ,clayton came in at that      
moment holding a candelabra aloft and   
the feeble flames disclosed poor old    
,price4 ,he was on his back1 his knees  
slightly drawn up4 ,the face was not the
 face of a man at all--it was a horrible
 mask of contorted terror4 ,his eyes    
were opened and fixed2 the mouth was    
twisted in a gape of fearful wonder4    
',run1 ,clayton1' said ,i2 'a doctor and
 a policeman6' ,clayton placed the      
candelabra on the table and bounced out 
and down the front steps4  ,price was   
dead without a doubt4 ,he had been      
strangled1 the doctor thought from the  
greenish-black marks on his neck and    
other circumstances4 ,the savage deed   
had been accomplished with frightful    
ferociousness and strength4 ,soon the   
room was in the possession of the       
police1 and the vicar and ,i turned out4
 ,there was little evidence at the      
inquest4 ,the cries of poor ,price had  

been heard by my man1 the body had been 
found--that was the practical summing-up
 of the whole matter4 ,the doctor gave  
his evidence as to the probability of   
murder1 and the police evidence tended  
in the same direction4 ,it was affirmed 
that 7some would say7 he had been       
baffled by ,price in an attempt to rob  
the house1 had sacrificed the poor      
fellow to the fury of his checked greed1
 and had afterwards escaped by the      
window4 ,the jury found that ,price had 
died by the hand of some person unknown4
  ',well1 vicar1' ,i asked afterwards1  
'what do you think of the verdict8'  ,he
 told me that from his point of view it 
seemed to be the most reasonable one    
that could be given2 and to agree with  
the laws of common-sense4  ',yes1' ,i   
replied1 'perhaps you are right from the
 common-sense point of view4            
,nevertheless1 ,i know that ,price did  
not die by any human agency4 ,it is too 
ghastly2 ,i can still see that green    
shadow hovering above his body on the   

couch4 ,the huge shadow1 the ,elemental1
 the spirit of ,ombos--whatever you like
 to call it--was there in that room with
 ,price4 ,it was there in a form that   
could be seen and felt4 ,it is something
 more substantial than an ordinary      
shadow 444 it is a thing of hellish     
terror1 and it comes from that infernal 
bronze statue4'  ,thence forward1 as day
 followed day1 the ghastly memory of the
 murder of ,price seemed to recede from 
my mind4 ,i neither heard nor saw       
anything1 nor did that sense of the     
unseen presence lurking about the house1
 come to me4 ,i was beginning to hope   
that the spell of the bronze statue had 
passed away for good4 ,but one night    
after this interval ,i again felt fear  
looking whitely on me again4 ,if ,i were
 to describe all the incidents of the   
next few days in their order my story   
would never come to an end1 and your    
patience would be exhausted4 ,wherever  
,i went after dark had fallen the shadow
 of the unseen followed me4 ,i had a    

passion for inviting people to stay with
 me1 and ,i longed for companionship of 
my kind which ,i had never known before2
 ,i was eager to throw myself into the  
realities of life4 ,the sense of a      
certain kind of separateness is hell6   
,just you ask anybody who knows4 ,i     
called on people1 lived in my car1 and  
dined out on the slightest provocation4 
,i remember ,i spent one evening1 7after
 my desperate efforts to find some good 
,samaritan to bear me company71 with a  
party of road-menders2 ,i helped them   
break up the stones and all that kind of
 thing4 ,but after they had packed up   
their tools and tea cans and bid me     
'thanks and good night1' ,i met fear on 
the homeward road--a shadow among       
shadows4 ,it would be almost impossible 
to describe the swerves that my mind    
took from that time till the end4 ,the  
presence of the ,albertus ,magnus filled
 me by turns with dread1 blind fear1 an 
overshadowed sort of pleasure1 and utter
 hopelessness4 ,i dare not have it taken

 away2 and ,i knew that its presence was
 driving me mad4 ,the vicar told me that
 if ,i could make up my mind to have the
 statue removed or destroyed1 it might  
dispel all my troubles4 ,i ought to make
 an application to the authority on     
bronzes at the ,british ,museum1 who    
would be only too pleased to accept it4 
,an application to escape the company of
 ,albertus ,magnus6 ,a request that the 
,british ,museum would graciously take  
over a bronze statue1 the soul of       
departed ,ombos1 and a blind terror that
 walked at twilight6 ,the vicar's       
proposal sent me into a paroxysm of     
hysterical laughter4  ,i'd gone into the
 library one afternoon about four1 as ,i
 had heavy arrears of letter-writing to 
make up4 ,it was surprising that ,i     
should choose that room where ,albertus 
,magnus towered in his corner--and 7,i  
don't know why7 ,i felt vaguely unhappy 
when ,i had been separated too long from
 him4 ,by half past six ,i had finished4
 ,i went to the door to ring for        

,clayton to post my letters1 and turned 
to light up the candelabra 7,i forgot to
 say that it was a fad of my father's   
all through his life to use candelabra  
in preference to electric light or gas71
 when ,i heard1 ,i thought ,i heard a   
chuckle behind me--low1 faint1 but      
unmistakably malicious4 ,the fate of    
poor ,price flashed into my mind1 and at
 the same time1 ,i myself was watching  
myself fight on that same chesterfield  
with something horrible1 unclean1       
intangible4 ,i turned round             
instantaneously1 feeling that the       
,albertus ,magnus was at his hellish    
game again4 ,with sudden horror ,i saw  
where the chuckle had come from4 ,the   
statue had changed from the bronze-green
 to a fleshy-green4 ,it was alive1 and  
the great muscles were twitching and    
quivering4 ,to my unutterable horror1 ,i
 perceived it was not ,albertus         
,magnus4444 ,it was ,ombos6 ,his breath 
came in horrid little flutters1 with    
seconds between each one1 as if he had  

just come to life and was not quite used
 to it4 ,a dreadful viciousness and     
vitality shone from his green eyes1 and 
his demon-like mouth was twisted into a 
grin of unimaginable evil4  ',gods don't
 grow in one night like mushrooms1' he  
said with a leer4 7,there was no mistake
 about his voice--it was ,ombos2 the    
words rang through my brain as if they  
had been shouted47 ',you can't expect a 
statue to turn into a god in a breath1  
or to come down and skip about 444 it   
takes time and faith4'  ,at that moment 
,i must have gone mad4 ,i snatched the  
heavy candelabra and with a howl of rage
 ,i hurled it with all my force at his  
narrow leering eyes4 ,it struck the     
solid bronze with a terrific crash and  
fell at the base of the pedestal whereon
 ,ombos had stood a moment before4      
,clayton rushed in at this juncture1 and
 we went into the sitting-room4 ,i saw  
him wipe his forehead with the back of  
his hand4  ',he's been here again1 sir1'
 he said4 ',i was standing on the gravel

 path by the library1 a minute ago1 when
 ,i saw him close by me in the bushes4  
,he came across the water-meadow1 ,i    
think4 ,and any way he made off back    
that way when ,i shouted at him4 ,begad1
 though1 it'll be worth a trifle to see 
who this rascal is1 sir4 ,i wonder what 
he's after4 ,not the common kind of     
assassin4 ,what8'         99       99   
99       99       99  ,this was the     
climax2 ,i felt that another such       
encounter would drive me raving mad4    
,somewhere there must be a natural      
explanation2 it was only a question of  
finding it4 ,among other things it      
occurred to me that someone1 for reason 
unknown1 might be playing a series of   
practical jokes upon me1 but it was hard
 to believe a hoax of such malignant and
 serious intent4 ,besides1 it did not   
explain the death of ,price which1 ,i   
felt more and more convinced1 was in    
some way connected with the bronze      
statue4 ,i felt it would be my own fault
 if ,i did not get some part of the     

mystery cleared up soon4 ,it was plain1 
too1 that ,i must virtually act alone4  
,the first thing was to find a helper1  
and after casting about me ,i thought of
 a member of my company1 ,john ,travers1
 who had lost two fingers at ,charleroi 
at the first stage of the war4 ,he was a
 giant in stature1 his muscular force   
would have warranted him in contesting a
 fall or two with a full-grown lion4  ,i
 wrote to ,travers the same evening and 
his answer came a couple of days later1 
saying that he would be down by the     
first train that he could catch4 ,i said
 nothing in my letter about the bronze  
statue1 but merely mentioned that ,i    
feared a gang of thieves had marked my  
house down1 and ,i wanted his help to   
guard the place for a week or so4       
,well1 ,travers arrived4 ,armed with two
 new service rifles1 we each in turn    
kept watch over the statue1 agreeing    
that a shot out of the window should    
warn the other1 were any sudden danger  
to arise4  ,on the second night of our  

vigil ,i retired to bed hugely sleepy4  
,i had left ,travers on guard in the    
library4 ,he was seated in an armchair  
under my ,albertus ,magnus1 with his    
rifle over his knees4 ,i did not take   
off my clothes1 but threw myself1       
dressed as ,i was1 upon the bed4        
,determining to make sure of some rest  
,i took a stiff glass of hot brandy4 ,i 
slept--,i could scarcely help           
sleeping--but not for long1 for ,i      
suddenly awoke from a tumultuous dream1 
my limbs atremble1 and my forehead      
sticky with cold sweat4 ,it seemed as   
though somebody was calling my name from
 a vast distance4 ,the room was full of 
whisperings and moanings and strange    
uncanny things4 ,something was evidently
 at work in my sub-consciousness4       
,nothing was wrong with ,travers or ,i  
should have heard the report of his     
rifle4 ,yet something was wrong6 ,the   
conviction grew stronger and stronger   
within me4 ,then came the faint sound of
 rattling at the brass knob1 and with   

sudden horror ,i saw the door open a    
couple of inches4 ,a pause of some      
seconds and it was pushed open still    
farther4 ,for a space of five seconds my
 heart seemed to stop beating1 and then 
the worst came4 ,you will think ,i was  
beside myself2 but as the door was      
pushed open a face peeped round behind  
it1 and ,i saw two green eyes looking at
 me6 ,i had at once recognised the face1
 and the face was that of ,ombos6 ,he   
appeared to smile at me1 but it was a   
leer of inscrutable evil and            
malevolence1 and ,i took up my rifle and
 fired at a venture4 ,a howl of pain1   
hoarse with anger1 rent the air1 and the
 face vanished4444 ,i rushed downstairs 
and into the library4 ,as ,i entered1   
the body of ,travers came twisting      
across the room like a penny whirligig4 
,his head struck the marble fire-place  
with a frightful dull thud1 and he fell 
a motionless heap on the floor4 ,i      
struck straight in front of me with a   
rifle--and hit something--something that

 pushed past me4 ,then the front door   
opened and shut with a deafening clang4 
,a sudden qualm of real fear took hold  
of my heart1 but1 mastering it as best  
,i could1 ,i opened the front door and  
tore madly down the drive4 ,i looked    
down the hushed street4 ,past the       
lamp-posts1 skipping from the gloom into
 the light and from light into shadow1  
with a series of bounds1 sped a horrible
 apish form4 ,it bounded along with     
incredible fleetness1 and was soon lost 
to view in the distant gloom4 ,just at  
that moment ,clayton came down the      
drive4 ,i could not speak4 ,i pointed to
 the library4444 ,i beckoned him to     
follow4 ,on the floor lay the dead body 
of ,john ,travers4 ,the statue of       
,albertus ,magnus had vanished6  ,and   
there the story ends4 ,i can give no    
explanation whatever1 beyond what ,i    
have related4 ,the bronze figure has    
never1 so far as ,i know1 been seen     
again1 nor has the restless spirit of   
poor ,ombos walked again in our garden  

and library4 ,but1 taking the           
circumstances into consideration1 the   
whole train of events points to the fact
 that ,ombos had in some occult way     
passed his ethereal body into that      
statue1 and for that very reason he was 
unable to rest quietly in his grave4    
,you will continue to live in the house 
at ,abbot's ,ely1 of course1 said       
,duckford4  ,crabbe shook his head4     
,never6 ,i wrote a week ago putting it  
in the agent's hands for sale4 ,there   
may be nothing in it1 but ,i hardly want
 to make any new experiments now4 ,the  
bronze statue has disappeared4 ,i should
 like to think it was stolen by a gang  
of burglars4 ,but ,i remember that      
chuckle--the malicious mirth of some    
unearthly thing1 it seemed4 ,and ,i     
remember 444 let us leave it at that4 ,i
 want to forget1 to walk in the         
,sunshine1 in the crowded ,strand1 away 
from the darknesses and silences4 ,as ,i
 say1 there the story ends4444 ,i have  
told you all of it4         99       99 

99       99       99  ,but ,captain     
,crabbe did not tell it all4 ,the best  
part was strictly private4 ,he married  
,margot at half-past ten on the         
following ,saturday morning but one1 at 
,st4 ,george's1 ,hart ,street1          
,bloomsbury4     ,,ii  ,,the ,,de       
,,gamelyn ,,traditions   ,he was just an
 ,irish soldier's son2 a real boy in    
real life1 and his name was ,tim1 and   
that was the only name he had besides   
his surname which was ,gamelyn4 ,and    
somehow he was perfectly happy4 ,but one
 day he found an old book and read about
 a boy whose name was ,victor2 and the  
more he read about ,victor the more     
ardent was his wish to be like ,victor1 
and he wished that he had been called   
,victor--for ,victor was a genius and a 
gentleman1 and all things which ,victor 
put his hands to were crowned with      
success4 ,but ,tim's name was ,tim      
,gamelyn1 which was unfortunate2 and    
when he went to an ,english school at   
,margate they called him1 because his   

hair was red1 ,carrots which was        
heartbreaking4  ,in the book nobody had 
ever jeered at ,victor or called him    
nicknames2 they would have been dealt   
with very severely1 besides they would  
not have dared2 he was far too heroic4  
,so ,tim became very furious when the   
other fellows called him ,carrots4 ,but 
the more he showed his dislike for this 
name the more the boys made use of it1  
also when they had time to spare--they  
warmed their hands in the imaginary heat
 radiated by his ruddy hair4 ,it was    
impossible to uphold any dignity under  
the circumstances1 and he began to      
wonder what ,victor would have done in a
 like predicament4 ,but then ,victor's  
hair was rich and brown and curly1 and  
no one could have said a word against   
it2 ,tim's was red and of the kind that 
fate keeps in stock of the humble and   
low1 and it made a little lump come up  
in his throat when he realized it4 ,then
 the football season on1 ,victor1 ,tim  
well remembered1 had gone in for every  

kind of athletic sport4 ,when he had    
first arrived at a strange boarding     
school he had refused1 with a heedless  
laugh1 to say whether he could play or  
not4 ,victor did not even deign to go   
near the football field for a month4    
,but ten minutes before the ,match of   
the year commenced he suddenly made up  
his mind to play4 ,during the first half
 of the game ,victor had laid low2 he   
was waiting4 ,then his eyes flashed1 and
 his lithe1 active figure flashed up the
 field sending the ball into the posts  
like a shot from a gun1 thus scoring the
 first and only goal4 ,he had then      
fainted away2 and a beautiful girl had  
exclaimed ,a-a-a-a-a-h1 and had hurried 
to him with a smelling-bottle and much  
sympathy4 ,when he recovered1 he sat up 
and made an apology for stopping the    
game and was loudly cheered by both     
teams4 ,this was the model which ,tim   
had to keep in his mind's eye4 ,in one  
or two ways he succeeded1 and in others 
he failed--failed dismally4  ,when ,tim 

came to ask questions about football at 
,thetford ,grammar ,school he found it  
was quite another thing4 ,in the first  
place the boys all spoke to him in that 
specially offensive                     
you're-only-a-little-kid sort of way4   
,they also took it for granted that he  
had never seen a football in his life4  
,he found it impossible to refuse 7with 
a careless laugh7 to say whether he had 
ever kicked a ball before4 ,he was told 
that he would have to play in the next  
school practice match1 and that if he   
could kick a ball1 he might be allowed  
to play in a real match one fine day4   
,when the first practice game commenced1
 ,tim remembered that an enthusiastic   
crowd had run by ,victor's side1        
shouting wildly3 ,hurrah6 hurrah for    
,victor4 ,it is true that a few of the  
smaller boys shouted at him4 ,but what  
they shouted was3 ,put a bit of life    
into it1 old ,carrots6 and ,go it1      
,rufus6 ,you'll never score a goal if   
you kick the ball in that               

mother-may-,i-have-an-orange style4     
,during the first part of the game ,tim 
was rather quiet--he was waiting for a  
golden opportunity1 just as ,victor had 
waited4 ,it came when the forwards were 
in full movement1 and the ball came     
travelling neatly along the line on the 
right wing4 ,it finally came to rest at 
,tim's feet1 and he1 avoiding a man who 
darted at him1 raced forward a few      
yards4 ,then something1 which came      
through the air like a ,whitehead       
,torpedo1 sent him spinning backwards on
 the grass4 ,amidst roars of laughter   
from the other fellows1 the ,whitehead  
,torpedo1 7who was a boy and smaller    
than ,tim71 spun round1 ran the ball a  
few dozen yards1 and sent it soaring    
away with a vent kick straight for the  
goal4 ,there was a moment of silence4   
,the ball pitched fair and square on the
 top bar1 and then trickled gently      
between the posts4  ,a howl of joy went 
up from the small fry who had been      
ragging ,tim all the time4  ,tim sat up 

and looked about him4 ,he had not       
fainted1 but he felt very sick and      
dizzy1 and nobody sympathised with him4 
,a small freckle-faced boy was standing 
over him4  ,the ground is slippery      
to-day1 he grinned1 extending a hand to 
the unfortunate ,tim1 who lay on the    
sludgy1 squdgy mud gasping like a       
recently-landed trout4  ,tim accepted1  
and scrambled painfully to his feet4    
,the pomp of battle had departed from   
him4  ,a few weeks afterwards1 as ,tim  
was walking across the water meadows1 he
 saw a youth of serious and agricultural
 appearance throwing a poor1 defenceless
 little terrier into the mill stream4   
,every time the miserable little animal 
crawled up on to the river bank the     
youth hurled it into the deep water     
again4 ,now1 that was the kind of thing 
that ,victor was very down on4 ,in every
 chapter ,victor punished people for    
cruelty to animals4 ,victor's blood     
always boiled at such a sight--moreover1
 his strong arm always shot out1 his    

eyes always flashed1 and the great      
hulking coward always lay prone at his  
feet begging for mercy with clasped     
hands4 ,so ,tim gathered together his   
recollections of ,victor's stock        
phrases1 and advanced on the stolid     
youth3  ,you cowardly ruffian6 ,have you
 no feelings that you ill-treat a man's 
best friend in that way8  ,the          
stolid-looking youth seemed slightly    
astonished4 ,he thrust his face forward 
and shook his fist under ,tim's nose4   
,not your blooming business1 he said4   
,you shift4  ,you've got no right1 began
 ,tim4  ,right6 ,the youth's note was   
fierce4 ,then he took poor ,tim by the  
scruff of his neck1 and observed that he
 had been teaching the pup to swim      
because he was water-shy1 and that it   
was good for all kinds of pups to know  
how to swim4 ,then he pushed ,tim into  
the water after the pup in order to     
teach him to keep his mouth shut and    
mind his own business4  ,tim went away  
with the idea 7perfectly correct7 that  

the stolid-looking youth's hands that   
had gripped his neck and the seat of his
 knickers were very strong1 and another 
impression that even ,victor would not  
have stood an earthly chance against    
such a fellow4 ,and it was just then    
that he was aware of a little grey idea 
floating in the background of his mind  
that ,victor was a bit of a prig--also a
 fraud4 ,it annoyed him that any such   
notion should occur to him that the     
glory of his hero was an illusion1 and  
he shook his head to get rid of it4     
,then his brain sent a wireless that    
,victor might be all right in a little  
toy world of his own1 peopled entirely  
by heroes and scoundrels1 and with all  
the scoundrels physically contemptible2 
but that he would have done less        
brilliantly in the mixed-up old world   
that we have got at present4  ,suddenly1
 as from a clear sky1 came a bolt of    
common-sense to ,tim1 and he realized he
 had been a fond and foolish jay4 ,and  
that was why1 when he had finished prep 

that evening1 he exchanged a copy1 bound
 in calf1 of ,victor the ,valiant for   
two oranges and a catapult4  ,of course1
 the reaction set in4 ,tim was sent up  
to the station to bring home a new      
bicycle for the head master1 and he was 
especially warned not to ride it--just  
to walk it4 ,of course he tried to ride 
it down ,castle ,hill1 and collided     
violently with a milk cart4 ,he returned
 with what had been a new machine4 ,so  
the ,head made him write out one hundred
 times3      ,and since he cannot spend 
or use aright       ,the little time    
here given in his trust2     ,but       
wasteth it in weary underlight       ,of
 foolish toil and trouble1 strife and   
lust1     ,he naturally clamours to     
inherit       ,the ,everlasting ,future 
that his merit     ,may have full       
scope--as surely is most just4  ,and    
,tim muttered1 ,all right1 keep your    
hair on1 ,ben6  ,h'm2 said the ,head1   
overhearing ,tim4 ,write it out two     
hundred times for your insolent conduct4

  ,that was the start of his            
demoralisation4 ,according to the laws  
of the ,medes and ,persians1 and the    
laws of ,victor the ,valiant1 disaster  
and dishonour would be the end of this6 
,it was not at all the way ,victor would
 have behaved4 ,as a matter of fact on  
one occasion when a master had been     
idiotic enough to give ,victor a hundred
 lines1 the valiant one had replied3    
,pardon me1 sir1 but if ,i may be so    
presumptuous ,i think ,i can call your  
attention to the fact that              
you--unintentionally1 of course--are    
treating me too severely4 ,and the      
master had at once seen the error of his
 ways and relieved ,victor of the       
imposition4  ,tim failed to get the     
verse written out in the stipulated time
 and the imposition was trebled4 ,also  
he gathered up another hundred lines for
 failure to attend prayers and this     
placed him in a state of hopeless       
bankruptcy4  ,when he wrote home to his 
mother4 ,here is what he said3          

,,dearest ,,mother3      ,i got two     
hundred lines for breaking the ,head's  
bicycle yesterday4     ,give my love to 
,dad4 ,i got another hundred lines      
to-day for not     being present at     
prayers4 ,but don't you worry--,i am not
 really     bad--,god has forgotten me1 
that is all4                            
,your loving ,son1                      
,,tim4  ,and ,tim--such was his natural 
depravity--did not much care4 ,so       
callous and indifferent did he become   
that he ceased to be hurt when the boys 
called him ,carrots4 ,in fact he        
laughed4 ,and as he no longer objected  
when he was called ,carrots the boys    
dropped that name1 and the shortest one 
survived4 ,the boys started to call him 
,tims and in a few months he had won    
their affection from the lowest fag to  
the highest lad in the school4  ,two    
years afterwards1 by dint of practice   
and pluck he had so far advanced that he
 ran second in the quarter-mile at the  
,sports4 ,of course this was not very   

heroic4 ,he was rewarded for this feat  
of strength with a patent egg-boiler1   
which was of no sort of use to him1 and1
 as he discovered afterwards1 of no use 
to anybody else4 ,but he was exceedingly
 proud of the thing and also exceedingly
 careful to conceal this fact from the  
other boys4  ,he became1 to sum up his  
attitude1 less and less like ,victor4   
,but it is not to be presumed that he   
was sinking into mental nothingness4 ,he
 was not perhaps quite so refined in his
 language as he might have been1 he used
 slang1 and sometimes was inclined to   
hang his hat on the floor and talk back4
 ,he was rather untidy in his dress4    
,but certain compensating qualities of  
the highest value were appearing in     
,tim4 ,he had gathered to himself a     
plentiful supply of gumption--genius is 
all right1 but if it comes to a         
slow-down gumption is better4 ,his      
hatred of swank reached the point of    
unreasoning prejudice4 ,he made many    
mistakes2 but depend upon this3 the man 

who has never made a mistake has never  
made anything else worth having4  ,and  
,tim never became a great soldier1 or a 
great sailor1 or anything great4 ,but he
 had good spirits1 and he concealed     
about his person a heart of gold2 and   
after he left ,thetford ,grammar        
,school1 boys found that somehow the    
games in the old playground seemed flat 
and spiritless4 ,they said that things  
weren't as they used to be in ,tim's    
time4  ,i have told the reader that ,tim
 ,gamelyn's father was a retired        
non-commissioned officer who lived near 
,dublin on a small private income and a 
pension4 ,it will be seen that ,tim's   
people did not roll in wealth any to    
speak of4 ,they owned a small farm with 
five cows1 twenty pigs and a flock of   
hens4 ,there was beer always in the     
cellar1 bacon hanging up in the kitchen 
and a bucket of soft soap in the        
out-house4 ,in the top lean-to room     
where ,tim slept1 in the winter time the
 rain and sleet drifted cheerily in     

through the cracks and covered the army 
blankets which covered him4 ,but he     
didn't lie awake thinking about it--boys
 like ,tim who help on farms start      
playing shut-eye as soon as they hit the
 pillow4  ,old ,sergeant ,gamelyn came  
of an ancestry which1 somebody or other 
of distinction once said--and very      
truly--is the backbone of the ,british  
,army4 ,to put it briefly1 if not       
gracefully1 what old ,gamelyn didn't    
know about soldiering weren't worth     
knowin'6 ,he had the ten thousand and   
ten commandments of the ,king's         
,regulations always at his finger tips1 
and he and his people had served in the 
same battalion1 under the same officers 
or descendants for generations4 ,there  
was ,michael ,gamelyn who fell at       
,malplaquet2 there was another ,gamelyn 
who had served at ,minden2 four         
,gamelyns served through the            
,peninsular4 ,but only one came through 
to ,waterloo4 ,balaclava1 the ,indian   
,mutiny and ,spion ,kop each claimed a  

,gamelyn1 and when the ,british troops  
returned from ,lhasa in #aijd they left 
one ,sergeant ,royden ,gamelyn--resting 
in peace ten paces to the rear of the   
,pargo ,keeling ,gate4 ,of course ,tim  
,gamelyn grew up in the shadow of these 
things4 ,there was an old book in his   
father's oak kit box which ,tim loved4  
,in it he read about forgotten drill and
 manual exercises1 the uncomfortable and
 graceless manoeuvres of the rigid but  
redoubtable men who fought at ,waterloo4
 ,also there were pictures in colour of 
warriors in three-cornered hats1 high   
stocks and powdered wigs4 ,these men    
,tim worshipped4 ,he had by heart the   
quaint words of command in which        
,wellington's men were told to charge a 
musket with powder and ball4 ,and ,i    
doubt not that he could have taken a    
brigade and marched them to the attack  
with the best of the old-time sergeants4
  ,then in ,august #aiad came the great 
war1 and when ,tim suggested going into 
,dublin to see ,colonel ,arbuthnot about

 joining up to that battalion through   
which all the best of the ,gamelyn men  
had passed1 his mother tried to laugh4  
,but ,tim saw the tears running down her
 cheeks1 as she threw her apron over her
 head and went out to bring the clothes 
in off the line4 ,his father then flung 
out his hand to him and said3  ,good    
boy1 ,i thought 'twas in you4 ,good     
luck4  ,but when ,tim joined his        
regiment soldiering had taken many new  
turns4 ,the modern rifle would not allow
 men to march into battle with colours  
flying and bands playing3 the old brave 
way was impossible in the face of       
machine guns4 ,the pomp and pageantry of
 battle had departed and there was      
nothing left but for the attacking party
 to crawl in a most inelegant fashion   
upon the ground4  ,down6 cried the      
sergeant-instructor to poor ,tim1 who   
started his lessons in field training   
with some vague idea about marching on  
the foe with head and eyes erect and    
with pace unfaltering and slow4 ,when   

you get out to ,flanders you will have  
to get right down on your belly if you  
want to live a little longer than ten   
minutes4 ,extend to five-six-ten paces  
and get as close to old mother earth as 
possible and hide your bloomin' selves6 
,hide yourselves6 thought ,tim4 ,not    
thus is it written in my father's book  
of drill6 ,it plainly said therein that 
the duty of a soldier was to learn how  
to die1 not to hide from death4         
,crushed and dejected he returned that  
morning to breakfast to wolf a chunk of 
bread and butter1 washed down by        
dishwater1 misnamed tea4  ,after        
breakfast he retired to a corner and    
thought it all out4 ,the words of the   
,sergeant came back to him3 ,hide       
yourself if yer want to live6  ,these   
words stuck in his memory1 as words     
which bring a new light on an outlook   
will4 ,that was the start of his        
demoralisation4 ,he was the first of all
 his line who had been told to hide     
himself from death4 ,no more the worsted

 bravery1 the pipeclay1 lace and        
scarlet4 ,no more the old military      
swagger4 ,no more the drummer boy with a
 waist like a ,french dancing girl1     
wrists like ,bombardier ,wells1 and     
shoulders like a wooden man out of a    
,noah's ,ark4 ,no more the throbbing and
 growling of the drums2 the staccato    
detonations and the insolent crescendoes
 of the drums4 ,no more the wild music  
that the bands played to the men who    
fought at ,minden1 ,malplaquet and      
,wynendael4 ,no more the brushing of a  
comrade's arm one's own1 inspiring      
boldness2 no more a thousand red coats  
marching on the enemy with slow and     
unfaltering pace4 ,tim could see the men
 of his dreams now1 in his mind's eye1  
marching with heads and eyes erect 444  
see1 too1 the smoke of continuous       
volleys bursting out along the steady   
lines as they fired by sections and     
companies on their foes4 ,well1 it was  
all a thing of the past now4 ,it was    
plainly his duty not to be reckless4 ,do

 not be dashing1 do not expose yourself1
 do not cheer and make a noise1 they    
said2 creep along like a worm in the    
grass2 be crafty1 be wary--and fall down
 on the face before death4  ,it did not 
stop there4 ,lastly and worst they took 
away the officers of his dreams4 ,they  
even dressed them like privates and some
 were armed with rifles4 ,there were no 
flashing swords to follow4 ,not once did
 he see an officer anything like his    
father's picture of the ,duke of        
,wellington on the white horse pointing 
a curly sword to the skies and waving a 
cocked hat4 ,then there came the day    
when ,tim made his first acquaintance   
with field training1 and beheld a loose 
and disorderly scramble which men called
 an advance4 ,to him it seemed just a   
mob of masterless men1 crawling and     
crouching on the grass1 firing as they  
passed1 and bowing cringingly before    
death4 ,it was a sight he could hardly  
endure--an exhibition offensive to any  
soldier whose forbears had learnt to    

achieve the impossible as a matter of   
routine and had held firm for half a day
 at ,quatre ,bras with never so much as 
the flicker of an eye-lid4 ,gad6 there  
could only be one end to this kow-towing
 to death1 and that would be disaster   
and disgrace4         99       99       
99       99       99  ,the long dull    
plains of northern ,europe stretched    
before ,tim's gaze--great undulations of
 hard1 hot earth and waving grass4 ,he'd
 been marching all day1 and it was hot4 
,hot6444 ye ,gods6444 ,on those plains  
it was like a ,turkish bath4 ,then down 
came the order1 and the battalion flung 
itself to the ground4 ,oh1 but it was   
good to rest6 ,towards sunset the clouds
 piled up blacker and blacker1 and some 
hung frothy over the ridge in the       
distance4 ,as the sun dropped1 the west 
turned red--all blood red--and he heard 
the order to march4 ,he heard the word  
passed down the line in half whispers1  
and the impressive sound of regiments   
getting under arms came to his ears4    

,another five miles they marched and    
halted for tea4 ,then all the men became
 very silent--and while they rested they
 talked in whispers as they watched the 
awful sky4 ,when it grew dark the       
flick-flack of lightening played across 
the sky and it showed the men's faces   
white and drawn4 ,presently ,tim's      
,company lieutenant came up with the    
news that they would not be able to rest
 until morning as they had anticipated4 
,there could be no stopping1 for the    
regiment had to reach the rendezvous at 
daybreak4 ,as the storm rolled nearer1  
the wind got up1 in puffs--first warm   
and then cold1 and a few drops of rain  
fell--great drops that fell             
flop-flop-flop--on ,tim's face4 ,with a 
flash that leapt crackling over the     
plain1 the storm loosed itself4 ,the    
lightning turned the rain into sheets of
 glittering silver1 and the hot ground  
fairly boiled4 ,tim1 with a thousand    
others drenched1 and blinded1 struggled 
over the slippery turf4 ,that was a     

storm4 ,tim could have seen to read2 and
 the thunder wrestled in the low        
churning clouds like a million devils1  
and through it all ran the chorus of    
wind and lashing rain4 ,presently the   
storm lessened and died away1 and the   
rain settled to pour down on them for an
 hour or so4 ,the squelch-squelch of    
soaking boots and the creaking of       
leather equipment was all he heard4     
,they halted for breakfast1 and ,tim    
chewed his rations sitting on the sodden
 ground in sodden clothes2 and as he    
sipped his lukewarm coffee1 he shivered 
in the coming dawn4  ,almost immediately
 they went on again4  ,right before     
them1 at the head of a valley1 rose a   
ridge4 ,in the creepy light it looked   
miles high and a million spitting points
 of fire flashed from it4 ,the ,british 
guns in the woods at the back then      
began1 and they seemed to have no       
relation to the unvarying plumes of     
smoke bursting above the long lines of  
fresh-turned earth two thousand yards   

away--no connection with the screeching 
of the shells overhead4 ,extended order6
 came the command1 and ,tim with his    
regiment stumbled forward4 ,his breath  
came and went in little painful gasps4  
,from the right came a curious gasping  
choke1 and looking1 he saw the man next 
to him throw up his arms and pitch      
forward on his face4 ,suddenly he became
 aware of a peculiar wailing above him1 
as if the air itself was in torture4    
,again a long line of fire flashed out  
ahead of him and again came the wailing 
sound4 ,a ,boche machine-gun loosed a   
few belts of cartridges in the spasmodic
 style of her kind4 ,there was no       
mistake about it this time--massed      
infantry were sweeping the plain with   
rifle fire1 and the quick-firers were   
feeling for an opening4  ,another man   
was hit--close to ,tim4 ,he squealed    
like a girl2 and a fellow near turned a 
dirty white1 stumbled1 with a clatter   
fell in a fainting fit4 ,tardily the men
 advanced1 and any acute observer would 

have seen they had little heart in the  
business4 ,some hung behind almost      
unconsciously1 and had to be hurried up 
by the sergeants4 ,the bullets became   
more thick4 ,a man started to blubber   
behind4 ,gawd 'ave mercy6 ,i 444 ,i     
can't stand it6 ,i won't go on6 he      
whined4 ,it turned out to be a sergeant1
 who had broken down too4 ,he'd had     
little rest1 poor chap1 through         
shepherding his company 444 and now he  
had knocked under4 ,the company swayed  
and hesitated4 ,some of them faced      
round4 ,it was touch and go4 ,steady    
there6 ,steady6 ,come on1 men2 said     
,stansfield1 the little company         
lieutenant1 as the men wavered on the   
grey edge of collapse4 ,steady that     
company2 what in hell's the matter with 
'em4 ,keep your men up and going1 ,sir6 
shouted a captain rushing over4 ,but the
 company had gone all to pieces4 ,the   
fire of battle had departed from them1  
and it flung itself on the ground4 ,and 
soon the whole battalion was taking     

cover in the same way4 ,a captain called
 on ,tim's company to advance4 ,two men 
obeyed and one of them was ,tim4 ,but   
the enemy's fire redoubled and the other
 man was shot1 and so ,tim at once took 
cover again4 ,the saying of his         
sergeant-instructor in ,england came to 
his mind1 that a man must lie down and  
hide if he wished to live1 and he felt  
quite justified in hugging the earth4   
,tim ached in every inch of his body4   
,surely something was snapping in his   
brain1 for those dusty khaki figures on 
the ground1 the sky1 the earth all      
seemed to be dancing madly about him4   
,it was not yet light and ,tim strained 
his eyes to pierce the darkness4 ,then  
he made a discovery4 ,a dark mass1 like 
some prehistoric monster1 was gradually 
approaching4 ,tim spoke to a man next to
 him who was softly swearing and        
bandaging a shattered hand4 ,he peered  
through the light and half-light of     
dawn1 and then started to laugh in a    
nervous way4 ,hell1 mate2 he said1 the  

whole ,german race are advancing against
 us2 it's all up with us4 ,look1 they   
are coming on like a solid wall 444     
springing out of the earth just solid   
444 no end to 'em4  ,it was just about  
that time that ,tim observed a light    
mist rising in front of him4 ,it seemed 
to scintillate and sparkle as it rose1  
and curled in a sort of pillar or       
spiral4 ,great ,heaven6 he whispered to 
himself1 the thing is taking shape4     
,and true enough1 in a very few moments 
he saw standing erect in front of him a 
tall man--and he was dressed in shining 
armour2 that was the strange thing about
 him4 ,a strange-looking fellow this6   
,he was more like a ,spaniard than an   
,englishman1 with black eyes and olive  
complexion4 ,his expression was lofty   
and noble1 and his tall lithe figure was
 in strict accordance with ,british     
traditions4 ,so were the bold features1 
which were rather marred by a white scar
 which stretched from his left nostril  
to the angle of his jaw4 ,but the       

jet-black hair and the eyes--the deep1  
dark1 challenging eyes--were those of   
,seville4 ,a straight sword by his side 
and a painted long-bow at his shoulder  
proclaimed him a bowman4 ,a white       
surcoat with the red lion of ,st4       
,george upon it covered his broad chest1
 while a sprig of new-plucked furze at  
the side of his steel cap gave a touch  
of gaiety to his grim war-worn clothes4 
,no sooner had ,tim looked up than a    
deep rich voice exclaimed3  ,corpus     
,domini6 do you need a leader8  ,tim was
 not a man to be easily startled1 and   
with the bullets whining and            
ping-thudding all around him1 it was no 
manner of a time to be easily startled4 
,but the voice1 on account of its       
unearthly sound1 fairly made him jump4  
,he picked up his rifle1 and stood      
upright4 ,come along6 ,come along6 the  
voice went on4 ,why dost stand there1   
,de ,gamelyn8  ,oh1 my ,god6 ,i 444 ,i  
can't stand it6 ,the loss of blood and  
the marching has done for me6  ,so6     

coming into the fight like a lion1 you  
go out like a lamb4 ,by ,saint ,paul6   
this is not in accordance with the ,de  
,gamelyn traditions4 ,take up thy arms6 
,come along6 said the stranger tapping  
him on the shoulder with a barbed shaft 
trimmed with grey goose feather4  ,oh6  
please 444 please4444 ,i'm so tired6    
said ,tim1 like a child speaking to its 
nurse4  ,the bowman saw that the boy's  
lips and tongue were black with thirst1 
and his eyes were blood-shot4 ,and when 
,tim staggered over to him all his body 
heaved and trembled like an overdriven  
horse4 ,sick and dizzy with pain1 he    
cast himself to earth again1 and waited 
for death4 ,why don't they hit me8444   
,i've tried1--oh1 so hard6 he sobbed4   
,steady there6 ,steady1 ,de ,gamelyn6   
,take this1 said the bowman1 and drew   
something from his side and handed it to
 him4 ,it was a sword1 if swords be made
 of fire1 of lightning1 of dazzling     
lights2 and the moment ,tim grasped it  
all his pain and dizziness fell from    

him4  ,what is this8 he asked4  ,the    
,sword of ,life and ,death1 said the    
bowman4  ,who the blazes are you8 ,tim  
asked sceptically4  ,it was with a touch
 of the ,irish brogue that a cheery     
voice answered4 ,a friend to a friend1  
said the bowman1 and the devil to a foe4
  ,irish8 ,tim questioned4  ,citizen of 
the world in time past 444 now a citizen
 of heaven4  ,tim gazed at the strange  
man in earnest scrutiny4 ,he appeared   
quite at his ease with bullets whining  
around him and he unslung a jack of wine
 and drank4  ,may a parched man claim a 
drink of your wine8 ,tim cried4  ,give  
what you have1 ask what you need4 ,that 
is the ,de ,gamelyn code of law1 said   
the man1 and handed ,tim the flagon4    
,you are cheerful1 sir1 said ,tim1 his  
blood somewhat warmed by the wine4 ,in  
the name of the devil1 who are you1 and 
of what country8  ,my name is ,nigel ,de
 ,gamelyn4 ,my ,mother1 dear soul1 was  
,french4 ,my father was wise enough to  
be an ,irishman4 ,so much for my blood1 

which unites happily the practical and  
the dreamer fluids4 ,i am of no country 
but ,i know all places from the ,king's 
tombs at ,rome to the old inns that     
stand about the upper ,arun4 ,i have    
marched with armies over this territory 
aforetime4 ,there is no shadow1 ,i      
believe1 on my soul1 has such strength  
in him as ,i1 and ,i rest content to be 
nothing to myself and all things to     
every man4 ,that being bliss4  ,as the  
bowman spoke1 a bullet kicked up a cloud
 of dust at his feet4  ,hola1 by my     
hilt6 it is time that we were stirring1 
he said4 ,leave these fellows to grovel 
and remove yourself4 ,follow3 who       
follows ,nigel de ,gamelyn8 ,he hitched 
up his belt and strode forward with his 
great bow1 and ,tim saw him send a shaft
 with a twanging noise five hundred and 
thirty paces4 ,one of the ,german       
officers1 towering above the other men1 
stood out distinctly1 and then he       
dropped4  ,i'd like to take a look at   
that knave1 the bowman remarked1 drawing

 a fresh arrow from his sheaf4 ,by the  
twang of string6 ,i'll swear ,i drilled 
him clean between his eyes4  ,the enemy 
were getting closer now1 and from the   
men lying around them broke a violent   
fusillade4 ,it was quite useless1 but it
 relieved their nerves4 ,some were      
discharging their shots into the turf a 
few yards in front of them4 ,others were
 shooting at aeroplanes4  ,then suddenly
 there came upon ,tim a great anger4 ,a 
bullet striking him brought him to his  
senses1 and he saw the men sprawling    
belly-flat about him4 ,this was not war1
 this ignominious crawling1 this        
grovelling in the soil1 this halting6   
,the spirit of his fathers spoke to him4
 ,he remembered one of his father's     
favourite sayings3 ,the duty of a man of
 the line is to fight1 and if needs be1 
die1 not to avoid dying4 ,his anger     
grew--damn them for a pack of cringing1 
footling cowards3 he1 ,tim ,gamelyn1    
descendant of the ,de ,gamelyns who     
fought in a hundred battles1 would teach

 them how men of his father's house went
 into battle4  ,a senior officer called 
on those nearest to ,tim to advance4    
,and men rose up4  ,d4 ,company1 fix    
bayonets6 ,close in6 came the order4    
,tim gripped his sword and strode over  
to the ,bowman4 ,then the advancing     
,germans poured a blasting volley on    
them4  ,the ,old ,battalion--charge6    
came the stentorian voice of a senior4  
,the men scrambled to their feet1 and   
,tim following the ,bowman sprang ahead 
of the ,battalion4 ,the men leapt across
 the blood-smeared grass after them with
 the speed of a winged fury1 but they   
struck the ,germans a dozen yards ahead 
of the battalion4 ,the bowman had hurled
 aside his long bow and was using a     
short battle mace with terrific effect4 
,as for ,tim3 all he wanted to do was to
 slash2 stab and slash again with that  
wonderful sword4 ,there followed a      
nightmare of drawn1 grinning faces1 of  
fierce yells and groans4 ,the           
mud-stained grey figures struck at him  

wildly1 futilely4 ,on and on ,tim went1 
his glittering blade now at a white     
face1 now at a throat1 now at a chest1  
still stabbing and thrusting to pass    
through the wall of men which barred his
 way4  ,the man with the bow ranged up  
alongside him3 ,on1 man1 on1 in the name
 of ,god1 march forward4444 ,by ,st4    
,george and ,our ,lady6 we are breaking 
up their front2 he muttered4  ,strike me
 crimson6 bellowed a man near to ,tim1  
but you're a blooming marvel6 ,those    
,german beggars are going down for      
twenty yards around your 7decorated7    
sword without being hit at all4 ,look6  
,look6 there goes another ,hun down4    
,let me come over near you1 mate6  ,but 
,tim knew that ,de ,gamelyn the ,bowman 
had summoned to their help the armies of
 the unconquered dead4 ,they came1 the  
,de ,gamelyns of all generations from   
,crecy to ,waterloo3 they fought by his 
side1 and the machine gun bullets1 which
 fell upon the dusty earth like tropical
 rain1 hurt them not4  ,again and again 

the ,bowman's mace smashed and lashed   
out before him1 and ,tim thrust1 and    
thrust yet again with his sword4 ,he    
heard the deep-throated roar of the     
bowman's singing ,the ,song of the ,bow4
      ,what of the shaft8       ,the    
shaft was cut in ,england3     ,a long  
shaft1 a strong shaft1       ,barbed and
 trim and true2       ,so we'll drink   
all together       ,to the grey goose   
feather     ,and the land where the grey
 goose flew4  ,suddenly a yell1 horrible
 and fierce1 uprose from the soldiers1  
and he heard the bowman's voice no more4
  ,they're on the run1 by ,gawd1 they've
 got it right in the neck this journey1 
bellowed a soldier as the ,german       
infantry broke and tailed away4 ,then   
something took ,tim in the chest1       
something wet and red1 that went through
 him4  ,the man next to ,tim saw the    
long bayonet stand out beyond his back1 
saw ,tim sway1 laughing1 and snap the   
steel short as he fell upon it4  ,a body
 of kilted men suddenly swept from the  

right of the hard-pressed battalion1    
swept by in silence1 and in silence     
swept the remaining ,boches up one side 
of the ridge and down the other into    
eternity4  ,two days later ,colonel     
,arbuthnot inquired after the welfare of
 ,private ,tim ,gamelyn at the field    
hospital4  ,he was admitted suffering   
from sunstroke1 and a terrible bayonet  
wound4 ,he died early in the morning1   
said the doctor4  ,is it true that he   
saved the battalion by urging our       
fellows on at the critical moment8      
,yes1 said ,colonel ,arbuthnot1 but do  
you happen to know if he had an         
officer's sword with him by chance when 
he was carried in here8 ,all my men     
speak of a 'sword of flame' with which  
he drove the ,huns before him4 ,even    
hardened soldiers who have been through 
many campaigns have been babbling all   
sorts of nonsense of ghostly regiments  
of bowmen who helped to turn the ,german
 attack6  ,the doctor walked over to a  
shelf1 and1 taking down a rusty old     

sword1 placed it on the table4  ,perhaps
 that is what you refer to1 ,colonel1 he
 said4 ,where the fellow picked it up is
 a mystery to me4 ,it must be some      
hundreds of years old4  ,colonel        
,arbuthnot took it in his hands and read
 this inscription on the blade3         
,,nigel ,,de ,,gamelyn       444 ,,adsum
 444     ,,iii  ,,the ,,mills ,,of ,,god
   ,they were putting little ,boudru to 
bed--the ,r4,h4,a4 and the ,corps of    
,royal ,engineers and ,stansfield1 the  
big fat ,infantry ,sergeant4 ,his little
 sister1 already tucked up in bed1 was  
nearly asleep4 ,boudru had been allowed 
to stay up till ,sergeant ,stansfield   
had come in from duty4 ,the special     
privilege had been accorded to the      
little ,french boy on this1 the last    
night that the ,british troops were to  
spend in the village4 ,boudru's home was
 in a portion of our line in which the  
defence trenches were of the            
semi-detached type--they did not join up
 with the other part of the line1 and at

 times the place was distinctly         
unhealthy4 ,sometimes it was in the     
hands of the ,huns1 sometimes the       
,british rushed it1 and held on for a   
few weeks2 there had been times when it 
had been occupied by both1 at other     
times it was written on the squared     
official maps as no man's land4 ,it was 
a spot in which there was always a      
feeling of something dreadful being     
close at hand2 there was an air of      
expectancy about it and one felt there  
was a marked atmosphere of nerves about4
 ,you might be sniped from the house    
opposite1 or blown out of the windows by
 a seventeen-inch shell4 ,you never     
know4 ,the man who sold you tobacco the 
day before might be lying stiff in the  
gutter next day1 or more probably still1
 he might be dining with the ,german    
,staff a mile and a half away4 ,all this
 uncertainty1 coupled with the fact that
 the place was full of spies1 and that  
valuable information had been finding   
its way through to the ,german lines1   

made the ,general decide to withdraw his
 troops and take up some trenches behind
 it4  ,boudru sat on the big armchair   
and swung his white bare legs defiantly4
 ,perhaps it had better be explained    
that my lord ,boudru was five years old4
 ,boudru going to shut eye8 said the fat
 infantry sergeant suggestively4  ,the  
cots are down and the beds unrolled1    
said the ,r4,h4,a4 man falling into the 
diction of the barrack-room4  ,no1 said 
,boudru4 ,you must tell me for the last 
time the story about the wicked ,german 
baby killer who was turned into a pig4  
,the man of the guns must tell it1 and  
the fat man of the infantry shall hide  
beneath the bed and make pig            
shrieks--many pig shrieks--at the time  
when he is killed4  ,but we shall       
disturb little sister ,elise1 said the  
fat sergeant with visions of a dismal   
ten minutes wedged beneath the small cot
 and the floor4  ,elise is not bye-o    
yet1 piped a thin voice from where two  
eyes were sparkling elfishly from a     

tangle of golden locks4  ,go on1 my     
,english man--,there was once a big fat 
baby killer who lived in ,potsdam 444   
,then the ,r4,h4,a4 man 7a journalist by
 profession1 a duke by inclination1 and 
now by destiny a very clever gunner7    
began the famous story4 ,never before   
had the telling of that tale been given 
with such splendour of effect4 ,the fat 
sergeant had made pig-noises with       
multitudinous yells in at least fifteen 
different keys1 and the little          
cross-eyed driver of the ,engineers had 
dressed up in a real ,hun helmet and    
grey coat4 ,the grand finale in which   
the ,engineer had turned into a pig on  
all fours and had been mercilessly put  
to death with the fat sergeant's        
bayonet1 had filled ,boudru's soul with 
joy4 ,he reflected and gloated on the   
scene far into the night4 ,then he fell 
fast asleep and met with most dazzling  
adventures with a ,german soldier who   
had been hiding in the ,jacobean oak    
chest with the fleur-de-lis carved on   

the side1 which stands beneath the bulgy
 leaded window4  ,as a grey and wretched
 dawn came in with a cold and           
dispiriting rain there came to the ears 
of little ,boudru the steady champing of
 marching feet in the street below4     
,slush1 slush1 slush went all those     
feet1 beating the muddy road1 and then  
the noise of metal on metal woke the    
silent village streets as the guns went 
by4  ,the soldiers6 ,the soldiers6      
exclaimed ,boudru as he bounded over and
 jumped on to the ,jacobean chest to    
watch them pass4 ,it was fated that they
 were the last ,english soldiers that   
,boudru would ever see4  ,some weeks    
later ,boudru's mother was busy with odd
 jobs in the kitchen garden and the     
children were playing in the front room1
 there was a ring at the door and the   
sound of a butt-end of a rifle1 as it   
grounded on the cobble stones4 ,when    
,boudru on tiptoe lifted the latch1 the 
door swung open1 and a big man in a     
greenish uniform stood before him4      

,there was no sign of cap-badge or title
 on his shoulder straps1 and he was     
horribly dirty4 ,he carried two ,english
 ration bags1 besides his own rucksack1 
and they were all filled to bursting    
with loot4 ,evil beamed from his narrow1
 leering eyes2 and when he smiled at    
,boudru it twirled his demon-like mouth 
into a grotesque shape4 ,he looked both 
depraved and suspicious1 a disreputable 
scoundrel with a gun1 and that1 you will
 find in the fullness of time1 was just 
what he was4  ,let us shut the door1    
said ,elise4 ,this is not a pretty man4 
,but the man from ,stettin pushed past4 
,brat2 said he1 drink4  ,boudru's mother
 had hurried up to the door as fast as  
her bulk and her stout legs would       
permit4  ,every day she had expected a  
visit from the ,huns4 ,it was useless to
 argue with such a man1 so she took the 
,german in4  ,brandy1 said the man4     
,there is only a little left 444 it is  
over there1 on the sideboard4  ,the     
soldier walked over1 finished half a    

bottle1 and announced that it was like  
water4  ,more1 he ordered1 ,shoot you if
 no find4  ,the woman at last managed to
 unearth a bottle of good ,burgundy and 
another bottle of brandy4  ,he drank    
both the bottles1 and when he had       
finished1 he asked for more like every  
other ,boche will do4 ,then he chose the
 front bedroom and threw himself down on
 the bed in a drunken sleep4  ,when the 
next morning broke the ,french woman    
went to awaken the thief and while the  
latter was making his toilet little     
,boudru entered4 ,he regarded the ,hun  
with gravity for at least five minutes  
and then delivered himself of his       
opinion4  ,i don't like you1 he said    
slowly1 regarding the ,hun1 with his    
elfish eyes4 ,i don't like you4 ,i think
 you may be like the man in the ,english
 soldiers' story1 who turned into a     
pig--a baby killer perhaps4 ,it is      
because of your red hair that ,i think  
you may turn 444  ,the man from ,stettin
 who had been trying to drag a comb     

through his horrible beard and hair1    
turned1 and he looked like a big red    
devil1 the sun being on his head1 and   
red beard and all4  ,what's that8 he    
said1 as he lurched ominously across the
 room4 ,he had swallowed the contents of
 a flask of ,benedictine which he had   
taken from his rucksack1 and the        
repeated drinks were taking effect4     
,i'll sweep the house1 so there isn't a 
bug in a blanket left--you damned brat6 
,he was bellowing like a bull1 chewing  
his red beard and muttering to himself4 
,as he passed a table1 he knocked the   
empty flask on the floor4 ,it did not   
break1 and he viciously stamped his feet
 on it1 smashing it to pieces4 ,he began
 to go mad from that moment4 ,as he     
kicked the wreckage about the room1 his 
glance fell upon his rifle with the     
fixed bayonet4 ,and then the swine-dog  
ran amok4 ,boudru stood with his back to
 the door3 the blood froze in his veins1
 and his little body stiffened into     
absolute rigidity4  ,turn into a pig6   

shrieked the ,hun4 ,what did you say8   
,turn into 444  ,the bayonet flashed1   
and little ,boudru--but what followed   
shall not be printed4 ,it would be      
passing the decent bounds of descriptive
 writing to put it in black and white4  
,it is sufficient to say that some      
minutes later the ,hun prised the       
floor-boards up with his bayonet1 and   
,boudru1 from that moment1 without      
warning1 or leaving any trace1          
disappeared from the world4 ,he returned
 in the fullness of time4 ,and this was 
the way of it4  ,for the hundredth time 
that day1 the ,hun had gone into the    
bedroom to look out of the bulgy bedroom
 window4 ,fear began to come over him   
without any warning1 and he was thinking
 of little ,boudru down there in the    
dark4 ,the thing within him that served 
him for a heart was beating queer       
rhythms 444 the beating sounded like a  
regiment of ,british ,infantry on the   
march4  ,look1 said he to the housewife1
 look out on the road4 ,do you see      

soldiers8  ,the good woman1 distraught  
between suspense and hope for her little
 one1 who had been missing for six long 
hours1 blinked away a tear on her lashes
 and peered through the diamond panes4  
,no one was to be seen4 ,but between    
three and four in the morning the first 
faint champing of marching feet could be
 heard and the ,hun came down from the  
bedroom looking as pale as death4 ,he   
opened the door and stood there         
listening4 ,the insolent crunch1 crunch1
 crunch of heavy nail-studded service   
boots came nearer1 and a khaki column   
appeared on the winding road4 ,the      
housewife1 whose aching eyes had        
searched the road for ,boudru all day1  
saw them too4  ,look1 she cried1 look6  
,the ,english soldiers are coming4 ,do  
you see8  ,they were coming6  ,the man  
from ,stettin rushed up to the bedroom1 
and jumped into the oak chest4  ,not    
tell the ,english6 ,not tell6  ,fifteen 
or twenty soldiers were to be heard     
grounding rifles and throwing off their 

equipment in front of the house4        
,entered here ,sergeant ,stansfield1 and
 shouted gaily to the housewife1 but the
 moment he looked into her pale and worn
 face he understood that some sorrow had
 befallen her4 ,before he could hold her
 she had slid silently down on the      
floor1 at his feet1 and covered her     
face4 ,ah1--ah1--ah6 ,o ,god1 help and  
pity me6 ,they have taken my little son1
 she cried4  ,at this moment a soldier  
rushed in at the door4 ,i think there is
 a man who looks like a ,boche trying to
 get out of the bedroom window6 he said4
 ,will you come1 ,sergeant8 ,quick6     
,the sergeant went quickly1 and returned
 with some men with fixed bayonets and  
led them up to the bedroom3 ,he told    
them to break in4 ,the man was on his   
knees1 with his horrible hands lifted up
 in supplication4 ,the soldiers kicked  
the man up and made him go downstairs   
into the front room4  ,see6 said a      
soldier1 who held his bayonet ready1    
there is blood on his sleeve4 ,the ,hun 

cursed within his heart4  ,it was none  
of my shedding1 he whimpered4  ,i had   
not said so1 returned the sergeant      
quietly4  ,we are here to find that out4
 ,perhaps you know something about the  
lost child8  ,i had no hand in it1 ,god 
strike me dead6 the ,hun answered       
fervently4  ,at that moment there was a 
sort of earthquake upstairs1 a clash of 
falling bricks and slates1 a crashing   
pandemonium that sent everyone's heart  
to his mouth4 ,a shell had struck the   
roof4 ,then the ceiling above bulged    
like a stuffed sack and burst in a cloud
 of pink-yellow dust4 ,something dropped
 with a dead thud fair and square in the
 centre of the fine oak refectory table4
 ,sergeant ,stansfield bent forward1    
looked1 and then started back4 ,he gave 
a cry and turned sickly white4 ,on the  
table lay the little huddled form of    
,boudru4 ,the morning sun that had been 
paling the candles in the sconces1      
struck the golden hair and staring eyes1
 that had a few hours before1 held all  

the spring-time2 struck1 too1 a heavy   
scarlet patch on the little overall1 as 
the sergeant tenderly turned the little 
body over4444  ,oh6 ,god of ,mercy6444  
,how horrible6 ,a bayonet through his   
heart 444 he muttered4 ,the ,hun's      
sleeve spotted with blood came back to  
his mind1 and filled him with blind1    
unreasoning rage4  ,you swine1 he said4 
,i'll----  ,the man from ,stettin       
suddenly felt his heart stop beating4   
,he stood petrified for a moment2 then  
he clutched the table with one feverish 
movement2 and when he saw the pale      
cherub face1 he became covered at once  
with perspiration4 ,then the terror1    
which had paralyzed him a second or so1 
gave way to the wild instinct of        
self-preservation4 ,he hit out wildly   
with both arms1 kicking out at the same 
moment4 ,in a second he was out in the  
hall1 and had locked the door behind    
him4 ,a door opened somewhere outside1  
and they heard him running down the     
garden4 ,some of the men snatched their 

rifles1 rushed to the window1 and threw 
it open4 ,four or five shots rang out   
simultaneously1 and the stench of       
cordite was wafted back on the sharp    
morning air as the man from ,stettin    
fell in a crumpled heap1 his face buried
 in a clump of violets4 ,the sergeant   
went into the garden4  ,hum6 he remarked
 after an instant1 dead1 did you say8   
,he's as dead as a doornail 444 anyway1 
it's nothing to do with us6 ,if ever a  
soul went straight to hell1 he muttered 
to himself1 it was that red devil's4    
,,iv  ,,the ,,story ,,of ,a ,,spy       
,donald ,mc,nab1 private 7and           
distinguished ornament7 of the ,london  
,regiment1 leaned his elbows on the     
little oak table in the bar of the      
,three ,nuns1 and eyed me with withering
 contempt4 ,from a corner of the settle 
,i stared--with a wholly unsuccessful   
attempt to look unconcerned--at a quaint
 old painting of ,sergeant ,broughton   
who first taught ,englishmen to box     
scientifically4 ,when the great are     

really wrathful it ill becomes pigmy    
people to jabber or argue4 ,so ,i waited
 with bent head and respectful silence  
to which the passing moods of such an   
erratic genius are entitled4  ,when     
,mc,nab and ,i had met an hour or so    
before we had been on the most friendly 
terms4 ,we had both ordered our pint of 
beer1 filled our pipes1 and retired to a
 corner in the bar parlour feeling at   
peace with the world--barring of course 
the ,german ,empire and their allied    
forces4 ,everything1 in fact1 made for  
peace and goodwill between us2 yet1     
because ,i had spoken with some levity  
about our incomplete spy system1        
,mc,nab's wrath had come down on my head
 like the proverbial hundred of bricks4 
,it seems strange1 ,i had remarked to   
him1 that the ,huns can always forestall
 our most carefully-prepared plans      
through their almost perfect spy system4
 ,our fellows must be dead stupid at the
 game4 ,why aren't these ,german vipers 
ever nabbed8  ,dead stupid6 ,mc,nab had 

exclaimed1 after gazing at me for a     
minute in dazed stupefaction at my      
unspeakable temerity in challenging the 
proficiency of the ,british ,army4 ,get 
under your ,blanco pot6  ,now1 when     
,mc,nab used this picturesque term to me
 ,i knew that there was a storm brewing4
 ,he only used the expression when he   
wished to be particularly cutting1 and  
,i received his reproof with1 ,i hope1 a
 correct realisation of my own          
insignificance4  ,the old world had     
rolled along for another twenty minutes 
ere ,mc,nab shifted his legs1 cleared   
his throat1 and interfered with what was
 left in his tankard4  ,i wonder1 he    
said musingly to himself1 if these poor 
yobs over here will ever know the true  
'istory of this bloomin' war8 ,then back
 came a smile to his face and he shook  
his head1 indicating1 perhaps1 that he  
had answered the question to his        
complete satisfaction4 ,the joyousness  
at the thought of some of those         
unrecorded slices of military history   

caused my friend to drop again into a   
contemplative mood1 and he started      
humming a little tune under his breath3 
,hello6 ,hello6 who's your lady friend8 
,who's the little girlie by your side8  
,i've seen you with a girl or two1      
,oh1 oh1 oh1 ,i ,,am surprised at you6  
,hello6 ,hello6 what's your little game8
     ,don't you think it's time your    
ways to mend8     ,that's not the gal ,i
 saw you with at ,brighton1     ,oh1 oh1
 oh1 who's your lady friend8  ,if it is 
not a rude question1 ,i ventured1 after 
another few moments1 did you ever see   
the capture of a ,german spy over in    
,france1 ,mr4 ,mc,nab8  ,who are you    
getting at 444 trying to pull my leg8 he
 demanded1 with increased suspicion4    
,come1 come1 ,i laughed1 let us agree to
 differ about our--er--inferior spy     
system4  ,superior1 he insisted4  ,i    
surrendered before the gleam of his eye4
 ,fool that ,i had been1 ever to have   
imagined that ,i could conquer ,mc,nab's
 steely glance6  ,superior then1 if you 

prefer it4  ,mc,nab's eyes1 which had   
glared with indignation1 lost their fire
 and assumed their normal expression of 
calm and relentless despotism1 and the  
red flag of agitated displeasure        
disappeared from his tanned face4 ,he   
seized with alacrity the olive branch   
7also another tankard of beer7 which ,i 
held out to him4  ,the history of the   
,british ,army1 he observed as he blew  
at his ale 'minds me of a married       
soldier's letter to his wife4 ,the most 
interesting parts are all left out 444  
do you get me8  ,mc,nab tilted his hat  
at a perilous angle on one side of his  
head1 and thrust his hands deep into his
 pockets4  ,touching upon some of those 
unwritten exploits of the ,army1 ,i     
darkly hinted3 ,i'll bet ,i can find a  
brilliant historiographer not a hundred 
miles away from the ',three ,nuns' who  
could dictate a few of 'em that would   
fairly make the ,daily ,mail turn green 
with envy--eh1 ,mc,nab8  ,i know the    
brilliant bloke you mean1 my friend     

conceded modestly1 though calling me    
'orrible names like that would brand you
 as a swanker or a gentleman wot had    
left his manners in the hall in any     
barrack room from here to ,hindustan4   
,when we were resting at ,quality       
,street near ,loos1 for example--he     
paused a moment1 and with a playful dig 
from his banana-like thumb nearly       
knocked me on the floor--why1 name of a 
dog6 ,there you have a case in point6   
,a case of a swanker8  ,a case of one of
 those spies4 ,we caught the perisher4  
,begad1 we did6  ,mc,nab put the red-hot
 end of a cigarette into his mouth1     
stammered with wrath in a medley of     
international profanity at the          
unexpected warmth1 and would not be     
comforted till his favourite barmaid had
 placed a slice of cooling lemon on his 
tongue4  ,my first introduction to the  
entertaining sport of spy tracking1 he  
mumbled1 was at ,loos1 where ,i was sent
 with several hundred other chaps to    
help push the ,huns out of the          

,hohenzollern ,redoubt4 ,at the present 
moment1 as you know 7or ought to by this
 time71 ,i am a military genius 'ighly  
thought of at the ,war ,office1 a       
strategist ,kitchener has his eye on1   
and a model soldier quoted every day by 
my colonel as a shining light to the    
regiment4 ,but of course you must       
remember that a few months ago ,i was   
practically a yob at the game1 and now  
of the fame 7and the extreme shyness    
that seems to come with it7 of my later 
avatar4  ,we took over some temporary   
billets at a shady little spot not far  
behind the ,british trenches which was  
then known as ',quality ,street1' he    
continued1 and1 as ,i not unreasonably  
supposed that the smartest and most     
intelligent bloke in the regiment would 
be sent to 'elp the colonel1 ,i         
requested the ,dog's ,leg               
7,anglice--lance-corporal7 to point out 
his abode to me4  ',ask the ,quarter    
,bloke over along in the end cottage1   
old sport1' he said with a grin1 'he'll 

be most 'appy1 ,i've no doubt to        
personally conduct to the old           
pot-an-pan1 and while you're there just 
ask him to let you have that jug of     
defaulters' extra milk for me4' ,it was 
a 'wheeze' among the boys to send a poor
 innocent bloke off for this milk4 ,the 
point of the 'wheeze' is in the fact    
that as defaulters are chaps doing      
jankers 7,anglice--punishment7 they are 
hardly likely to get any extra milk     
dished out to them4 ,i did not see the  
joke at first2 but on application to    
that autocratic beggar--,quartermaster  
,king was his tally--he fully explained 
things to me in that witheringly        
sarcastic manner peculiar to            
sergeant-majors and quarter-blokes4     
',defaulter's milk8' echoed he4 ',why1  
you lop-eared leper1 you've got         
corpuscular fool wrote as plain as a    
motor lorry number all over your ugly   
face4 ,if ,i wasn't sure that you was   
not more of a born idiot than a ruddy   
knave1 etc41 etc41 etc41 ,i would have  

you slick in mush before your feet could
 touch the ground6'  ,much crest-fallen1
 and terribly mortified1 ,i returned to 
the cottage which had been selected to  
shelter me noble self1 only to be met   
there with a volley of derisive         
laughter1 repeated demands for the jug  
of ,defaulter's milk1 and questions     
about the quarter bloke's health4  ',a  
cat may look at a ,king1' said the      
,dog's ,leg1 and fell backwards out of  
the open window at his own joke1        
breaking 'is collar bone4 ,one should   
never forget1 at every time1 as the     
,scriptures say1 that pride allus goes  
before a fall1 and that all the ,king's 
'orses and all the ,king's men can't not
 even pick 'im up again6  ,my murmured  
compliments on his amazing aptness in   
the knowledge of ,holy ,writ were       
checked by a sudden discovery that my   
best silver cigarette case had vanished 
from the table4  ,which of you civilians
 has stole the gentleman's silver case8 
,this question1 uttered not in the      

friendliest possible terms1 was         
addressed to a young gentleman with a   
very pimply face1 and kaleidoscopic     
coloured socks1 of the genus ,slacker1  
who had suddenly found the painting of  
,sergeant ,broughton an object of       
absorbing interest4  ,this inquiry      
meeting with no response from the ,slimy
 ,slacker1 7to use ,mc,nab's expressive 
name for him71 he gave utterance to a   
sigh of resignation4  ,i believe1 sir1  
suggested an old gentleman who was      
warming his toes at the fire1 that you  
deposited the gentleman's cigarette     
case--er--inadvertently in your own     
pocket6  ,why1 strike me crimson6 cried 
,mc,nab1 diving his beef-steakish hands 
into his tunic pockets4 ,why1 so ,i did6
 ,i'm the biggest giddy fool at that    
kind of wheeze that ever lived4 ,it's a 
knock-out1 ain't it8 ,never mind--'honi 
soit qui mal y eighteen pence1' as the  
,french poet bloke said6  ,it so        
happened that on the very next day our  
old man's servant went sick1 and in     

spite of my extreme youth and innocence1
 ,i was selected from the crowd to fill 
the vacant billet4 ,and then it was that
 the ,colonel realised that fate had    
dropped a heaven-sent blessing on his   
knees in the shape of a--well1 in the   
shape of an ingenious bloke like me4 ,he
 lifted up his voice in thanksgiving for
 that the ,british ,army held warriors  
so wise1 and then looked up his whiskey 
and cigars4  ,at one end of ,quality    
,street there stood a ,y4,m4,c4,a4 hut4 
,on the next day when ,i pushed the door
 of this ,bun-,wallah's paradise open1  
the first person ,i saw was old         
,tommy--,tommy wot had fought up and    
down the ,godforsaken veldt with me for 
three years on end1 ,tommy who had      
always the knack of droppin' out of the 
blue from nowhere4  ',well1 'ere's a    
go6' he cried dropping half a cup of    
boiling coffee down another chap's neck1
 as 'is smile broadened1 'it's a 'ell of
 a time since ,i struck you4'  ,i saw   
the dawn of recognition on his ugly mug2

 and ,i could have guessed to a word the
 joyful expressions of welcome that were
 springing to his lips4  ,mc,nab paused4
  ,quite so1 ,i prompted1 seeing the    
change that took place in my friend's   
face4  ,i am afraid ,i should have      
guessed dead wrong1 continued ,mc,nab   
with his eyes downcast4 ,however1 what  
he did spit out was3 'strike me up a    
gum-tree if it ain't the bloke what     
borrowed 'alf a crown off me when ,i was
 quartered at the ,shot in '#ih4'  ,i   
was pretty well worked up at this       
remark2 but ,i said to him with quiet   
dignity3 ',i believe1 ,tommy1 that ,i   
sent it back by post4'  ',you sent me   
back a threepenny bit1' he says1 with a 
very naughty word1 'and told me it was  
my 'alf crown worn down4'  ',come1 come1
 old chum6' ,i laughed1 'let us forget  
all about that1 such a thing is really  
only very small beer indeed4'  ',humph6'
 grunted ,tommy4 ',it was a blighted    
small 'alf crown1 too4'  ',sit down1' he
 continued1 clutching me by the wrist   

and dragging me into a vacant chair4 ,it
 was not in champagne1 of course1 that  
we drank each other's health4 ,but you  
can always trust old ,tommy to have a   
little pig's ear hidden somewhere4      
',what's the matter with a bottle of    
,bass8' says he to me4 '',tis against   
ole ,kitchener's wishes1' says ,i4 ',of 
course it is1' says ,tommy2 'and wot is 
more1 it's the ruin of dear ole         
,england--,god bless it6' ',rot yar     
innards--let's go and 'ave some1' ,i    
says bein' always one to reason out     
matters to a logical conclusion4  ,there
 is a large slag heap in the            
neighbourhood of ,quality ,street where 
the ,french and ,germans met early in   
the war4 ,they wanted each other's      
company exclusive on this here heap4    
,well1 they met1 and fell to arguin'    
whether the ,french should 'ave it as a 
mounting for a few machine-guns or the  
,germans should keep it for sniping     
purposes4 ,hence the air was soon       
clouded with shells1 shrapnel1 and all  

other deadly diseases4 ,seeing the      
children had got over their shyness in  
this little fright and had really played
 quite a good game1 this particular slag
 heap was bearing abundant fruit in the 
way of trophies4 ,furthermore1 ,tommy   
suggested that it would be indeed nice  
if we could make our way there one      
evening and collect a few ,german       
helmets1 bayonets1 and other curiosities
 for the old people at home4  ,as a     
result of our confabulation we found    
ourselves about ten that night crawling 
up a hedge towards the slag heap in     
question4 ,when we did get there we went
 and lost our blighted selves4 ,how long
 we were crawling and twisting about    
that ,gawd-forsaken heap or which way   
our lines lay ,i'd no means of knowing4 
,but poor old ,tommy rolled down a bank 
with an armful of ,german helmets and   
other trophies1 making a noise like a   
fire engine galloping up the ,mile ,end 
,road4 ,then suddenly one of those      
,german flares fell on the ground about 

a hundred yards away1 and all things1   
including ,tommy and ,i1 shone out in   
their naked splendour4 ,then you can    
take it from me we did see where we     
were4  ,i thought ,tommy was having a   
bad attack of epileptic fits for a      
moment1 till it transpired that he had  
flumped down on a dead ,boche in        
endeavouring to escape the searching    
glare of the flare4 ,after the thing had
 burnt its giddy self out ,tommy crawled
 crab-fashion over into the providential
 cutting in which ,i had taken shelter4 
,he was wiping his forehead with the    
back of his hand1 and he looked very    
solemn and rather frightened4 ',did you 
spot that chap crouching in that        
,v-shaped cutting down there8' he said4 
',i thought he was one of our old crowd 
at first1 but what with that cursed     
light and the excitement ,i could not be
 certain4'  ',i saw nothing4'  ',just   
before the flare went up ,i noticed a   
flash lamp2 one of those things used to 
give signals with4 ,i got an awful turn 

then4'  ',rot1' ,i said3 ',i don't      
believe a word of it4'  ',do you mind   
coming over this way then8' said ,tommy4
  ,in the pitch-black darkness1 guided  
by ,tommy1 ,i stumbled up a path which  
,i'll swear was all of a one in three   
gradient4 ,we came out upon a little    
ledge overlooking what we now knew to be
 the ,german lines4 ,tommy motioned me  
to keep my eye on the ,v-shaped cutting 
in the slag below us4  ',i think the    
beggar is down in the extreme angle of  
the ,v1' he whispered as he crawled     
beside me4  ,then ,i overbalanced1 fell 
over the ridge1 and dropped clean on to 
something soft and yielding below4 ,red 
specks dotted the blackness before my   
eyes for a few moments as ,i bounced on 
the hard stones4 ,i jumped up with a    
jerk and spun round to find1 blocking my
 path1 a menacing figure regarding me   
over the barrel of a ,browning pistol4  
,in the other hand he held an electric  
torch4  ',don't move1' he said in good  
,english4  ,his tone was quiet and      

crisp1 an' his face showed me that 'e   
was out for blood4  ',i have it in my   
mind almost to be sorry for you1        
,british ,tommy1' he said calmly1 ',you 
know too much4 ,i am going to decide on 
the best way to dis----'  ,he got as far
 as 'dis'--when something leaped out of 
the shadows and he was hurled back with 
a sudden rush4 ,it was ,tommy1 and he   
swung his heavy ,boche rifle and stove  
the man down with terrific force4 ,there
 was a dreadful half-choked1 whimper and
 then silence4  ,tommy stood regarding  
the still form with a bleached face4 ,he
 then bent over him1 but without        
touching1 looked up at me4  ',saved a   
firing party the trouble1' he said4     
',he's dead all right4'  ,he            
straightened himself up4  ',what the    
devil shall we do with it1 ,mc,nab8'    
'',tis a spy he was1' ,i answered1 'and 
it's ten to one that he has a code or   
some kind of papers tucked away on him4 
,just run through his pockets before we 
leave him4'  ',no1 no1' ,tommy said1 ',i

 can't touch him he'll haunt me1 sure4' 
,the man was quite dead when ,i rolled  
him over4 ,i took from his pockets a    
leather bound code book1 ,english1      
,french and ,german bank notes1 and a   
gold stop watch4  ',no good stayin'     
here1' said ,tommy1 ',i vote we crawl   
back and talk it over4 ,this is a crummy
 old place4'  ,when we got back to      
billets and examined our loot1 it was a 
sure enough ,german spy's code book1 and
 it contained a rough sketch of all our 
trenches and what not1 quite sufficient 
to use in conjunction with the squared  
map he carried4 ,the book was printed in
 ,german4  ',you know1' said ,tommy1 'we
 must report this to the ,colonel as    
soon as we can4'  ',an' be collared for 
being out at night without a pass first 
thing8 ,not much1' said ,i4  ',we must  
hide this loot4 ,they may search us when
 they find him out there1' said ,tommy1 
looking to the future4  ',hide away1    
then1' ,i said1 but my mind was         
elsewhere1 for all of a sudden1 ,i had  

been hit in the eye with a brilliant    
inspiration4  ,the following morning1   
when ,i took our ole man his early tea1 
,i found 'im sitting up in bed sucking a
 fat cigar and bewilderin' himself with 
the brigade orders4  ',i beg your       
pardon1 sir6' ,i says1 'but may ,i have 
a word with you8'  ',you know1 ,mc,nab1'
 he says1 screwing his eye-glass into   
his eye with a smile--'you know that ,i 
am at any hour of the day or night glad 
to have a talk to a man of understanding
 like yourself4'  ',that's good of you1 
,colonel1' ,i says1 'to meet me with    
such kindness4 ,but ,i think1 as you    
say1 that ,i have just a little more    
than the usual share of intellec' under 
my hat1 but what ,i have come to lay    
before your notice is this3 ,i have     
discovered why the ,boche guns always   
register on our artillery positions the 
moment they are taken up1 and the source
 of the leakage of information4'  ',oh1 
you have1 have you8' says he4  '',tis a 
spy1 sir1' says ,i1 'and it's signalling

 to the ,huns he was when ,i caught     
him4'  ',another blessed spy legend1' he
 yawned1 ',i really thought that you1   
,mc,nab1 would be the last man to become
 afflicted with the spy craze4 ,i have  
arrested half a dozen so-called spies   
this week already only to find they were
 harmless rustics--'  ',i beg your      
pardon1 ,colonel1' ,i returns1 with that
 chilling dignity which has at times    
even made generals falter1 'but there is
 no legend about ,private ,mc,nab's     
spy4'  ',then trot out your spy1' he    
says1 'and ,i'll come and look 'im      
over4'  ',i not only caught him         
red-handed at his nefarious trafficking 
7them was the very words ,i used7 444 ,i
 not only caught the blighter1 but ,i   
put his light out4'  ',what8' he shouts1
 clutching my arm1 'you killed the poor 
brute4'  ',we did--me and ,tommy1 and we
 found this here code in his fob1' said 
,i4  ,with that ,i threw the little code
 book on the bed1 and the old man1 after
 looking through it carefully 7he could 

read ,german1 our old man71 got out of  
bed and started dressing in a           
businesslike way4  ',shut that door1    
,mc,nab1' says he1 'and let me have the 
benefit of your invaluable advice4'     
,all of a sudden ,i was struck with a   
brilliant inspiration1 and ,i let the   
old ,colonel have it for what it was    
worth4  ,as it happened the old man     
thought a mighty lot of it--such a lot1 
in fact1 that by one o'clock that day he
 started to imagine the inspiration had 
come from his own fertile brain4 ,he    
liked to think that it was his1 and1    
,lord bless 'im1 ,i don't grudge him the
 glory4  ,after laying our heads        
together1 the ,colonel went back to the 
artillery lines and spent three hours   
talking to the ,battery ,major1 and ,i  
looted a dozen three-pounder rockets of 
var-i-ous colours out of the stores4 ,in
 the afternoon the ,colonel called all  
his officers together1 and kept the     
blighted motorcycle dispatch riders busy
 buzzing up and down the line with      

messages1 till late in the evening4  ',i
 have called you gentlemen together1' he
 says to his officer1 'in order to ask  
you to corporate with me4 ,i shall fire 
some rockets from the slag heap to-night
 about ten o'clock4 ,on the first of    
these signals the ,germans will open a  
very heavy cannonade on our trenches4   
,i'll trouble you to have your men all  
in the dug-outs1 and under cover at a   
quarter to ten6'  ,that night1 soon     
after the ,colonel1 ,tommy and ,i       
started off for the slag heap in the    
dark1 taking with us a bundle of        
rockets4 ,my idea was at last going to  
be tested--what do you think it was1    
,sir8  ,i discreetly pretended my utter 
inability to guess4  ,why1 nothing more 
or less than to hoist these ,german     
blokes with their own petard1 so to     
speak4 ,we were going to fool them by   
giving them signals in their own code4  
,well1 after stumbling and groping about
 for half an hour1 ,mc,nab continued1 we
 arrived at the spot near where we had  

overlooked the spy4  ',i think this is  
the ledge from which ,i fell1' ,tommy   
whispered as we crawled on4 ,the next   
instant the ,colonel disappeared1 and   
the little procession came to an abrupt 
standstill4 ,a crashing noise was heard 
as the old man with a quarter of a ton  
of slag went tobogganing down the       
stone-shod slope4  ',this is the spot1' 
,tommy said tersely4 ,and up to us came 
hoarse whispered curses as our ole man  
tongue-lashed us for a full minute in   
gross and detail4  ',lie quite still1   
,colonel1' ,i whispered1 'the ,hun      
swine-dogs may send up a flare if they  
hear us4'  ,but no flare flared1 and no 
sniper sniped4  ',this game gives me the
 blooming creeps1' old ,tommy muttered  
shudderingly1 thinking of ,huns and guns
 three miles deep all round4 ,after that
 the ,colonel struggled clear of the    
'alf ton of slag atop o' him4 ,tommy and
 ,i wandered a little more until we got 
down to the old man4 ,here we halted4   
',here's the place where we left the    

dead spy1' said ,tommy1 his eyes peering
 into the darkness of the ,v-shaped     
cutting4 ',i can still see ,fritz lying 
in the corner4 ,we had better get right 
over this side4 ,come on6'  ',i see1'   
said the ,colonel4 ',this is the key of 
the position4 ,it overlooks the ,german 
trenches and when the spy was using his 
flash lamp he could not be observed by  
the men in our lines4'  ',good thing we 
short-circuited his little game1'       
reflected ,tommy hugging an arm full of 
rockets4  ',ah6' says he1 fingering the 
electric torch4 ',how this game of war  
makes one think4 ,my 'orizon has indeed 
broadened4 ,just to think that a few    
flashes from this little chap will mean 
more than all those glittering stars    
above to the ,german fellows in the     
trenches over there4 ,it's simply       
ridiculous to waste our little concert  
on a few ,huns in the trenches to-night4
 ,we must socialise the whole blooming  
show4 ,we must get the head up of all   
the ,huns for miles around4 ,let us     

consult the code book1' he said1 and    
then opening it he read out some of the 
rocket codes4 ,they all seemed simple   
enough4 ,but he had some difficulty in  
finding the one he wanted1 having first 
of all of course to translate them into 
,english2 but presently he seized upon  
the one he wanted1 he repeated it over  
with delight3  ',two green rockets in   
rapid succession mean3 ,enemy making    
active preparations for offensive       
movement and when followed after a      
suitable interval by a single red       
rocket1 mean3 ,enemy will attack without
 delay4'  ',touch off two green rockets1
 ,mc,nab1 if you please1' said the      
,colonel with a tremor in his voice4  ,i
 touched off two three-pounders which   
rose several thousand yards1 and burst  
into bunches of gorgeous stars4 ,a faint
 clattering noise came to us from the   
,hun trenches1 and we all hugged the    
earth fairly closely as a rapid         
fusillade broke out from all quarters4  
,rifles cracked all around us to the    

extent of thousands1 and with that a    
most impressive humming noise1 which ,i 
had never had the pleasure of hearing   
before1 because being a soldier ,i had  
always formed a part of it--the noise of
 whole armies turning out to meet an    
attack4  ',colonel1' ,i says1 'it may   
have escaped you that the angry and     
'ighly intelligent ,boche on our front  
will soon be sending up their rockets to
 confuse our own men4 ,might ,i         
recommend a red rocket before they open 
their part of the ball1 and bend the    
lights6 ,that will spell to 'em3 ,enemy 
will attack without delay1 and it will  
also expedite their artillery just a    
leetle4'  ,the ,colonel laid his hand on
 my shoulder4  ',mc,nab1' says he1      
'there's worse blokes than you sitting  
on thrones4 ,they shall 'ave that red   
rocket4 ,none the less1' he remarked1   
'the situation is undeniably getting a  
bit feverish4 ,trot out ,red ,rufus6'   
,i rightly took the command to read3    
',send up a red rocket4' ,rufus soared  

up into the sky and burst into a red    
glare that simply shouted3 ',here they  
come after you' to the ,huns4           
',oh-h-h-h-h6' exclaimed old ,tommy as  
the twirly-whirly red stars fell through
 the sky4  ',silence6' said the old man4
 ',this is the sanguinary ,british      
,expeditionary ,force1 not a 7decorated7
 ,brock's ,benefit at the ,crystal      
,palace4 ,what in ,hong-,kong are you   
jumping about like a richly decorated   
organ-grinder's monkey for8'  ,the ,huns
 grasped the meaning of their dead spy's
 signal as soon as it showed in the     
heavens1 so to speak4 ,we lay belly-flat
 and held our breaths for a moment or so
 in silence1 but we were about the only 
silent things for a hundred miles4      
,flares went up by the thousand and     
searchlights cut up the sky in every    
direction4 ,all kinds of mysterious guns
 got into action and all the batteries  
for a hundred miles must have let drive 
as well4 ,from then on1 for at least two
 hours1 the shells poured               

excruciating-wise into our deserted     
trenches without cessation1--shrapnel1  
high explosive1 six inch1 twelve        
inch--thousands of pounds the ,huns     
wasted that night4  ,i wish you could   
have seen ,tommy bowing to right and    
left of the ,german trenches            
acknowledging the applause which the    
,huns would have given him if they'd    
known the facts4 ,on the other hand1 as 
the ,colonel observed1 they might 'ave  
killed him4  ',they'll have to pull up  
their socks at ,krupp's to replace the  
shells they have blazed away in this    
little pantomime1' said ,tommy pressing 
his hands to his sides4 ',star          
programme--heap big star programme6     
,phew6 ,oh1 ,i wish ,i could stop       
laughing1 ,i ain't 'ad such a laugh for 
years6'  ',and in this little code book 
here1' said the old man1 a hand on each 
of our shoulders1 'there are hundreds of
 little love messages we can be getting 
ready to surprise 'em with4 ,presently  
we'll begin to send 'em instructions to 

concentrate their fire on empty         
houses--tell 'em they are chock-full of 
,british troops4 ,then they'll fairly   
let loose the bow-yows of war4 ,damme1  
how their gunners will gun6 ,oblige me  
by thinking of four hundred guns1       
pumping val-u-able shells into an empty 
house4'  ,the exquisite humour of it    
brought us down screaming with laughter 
in a tangle on the slag-heap4 ,a        
searchlight broke out from the back of  
the ,hun trenches and began searching   
our lines4  ',they're looking for our   
attacking party1 or the ,angels of      
,mons1' panted the old man1 his knees in
 a shell hole and his face in the grass4
 ',well1 let's get our things packed and
 hurry back4 ,i think they have sent    
back for a fresh supply of shells4 ,the 
sooner we get out of it the better4     
,sufficient unto the day--or night1     
perhaps one should say4'  ,well1 it's   
dry work talking1 said ,mc,nab1         
wistfully surveying the interior of his 
empty mug4  ,i took measures--pint      

measures--to allay his thirst4  ,let me 
see now1 he said2 let me see4  ,and did 
you do any signalling with the flash    
lamp the next night8 ,i timidly hinted1 
,i believe you mentioned that it was    
your intention4  ,yes1 we did have some 
fun1 ,i can tell you1 and 'twas better  
still next night4 ,once more we         
returned1 to the slag-heap1 then1       
,mc,nab swept on1 we started to flash a 
few messages over to the ,german lines4 
,they soon picked up our signals and    
after a brief interrogation they        
replied4 ,then they started to ask      
questions4 ',at which part of the       
,british line would it be wise to launch
 an attack8' they flashed4  ,and our old
 man flashed back a trench that was     
fairly bristly with machine guns4 ,then 
they asked other questions1 but we did  
not reply4 ,we laid low and said        
nothing1 for you can take it from me1   
mister1 that a real spy is a man of few 
words1 and playing with a flashlight in 
enemy lines is not exactly a healthy    

game4  ,had we have signalled too freely
 the ,huns would have soon become       
suspicious1 for1 mark you1 the flares   
that we had popped off at 'em the night 
before had left 'em with an             
uncomfortable feeling that their spy was
 taking quite unreasonable risks4 ,it is
 of course most unusual for a spy to    
make use of rocket signals4 ,do ,i make 
myself comprehensible8  ,perfectly4 ,did
 the ,huns attack8 ,i asked4  ,mc,nab   
nodded4 ,they attacked us three days    
afterwards at five o'clock in the       
morning4 ,it was like a nightmare4 ,the 
,germans came on1 evidently thinking    
they were on a soft job1 and you can    
realize what a wonderful target they    
made for the gunners who had been       
waiting for 'em4 ,such a target that    
gunners dream about but never see4 ,we  
had some eighteen-and-a-'arf-pounders   
not five hundred yards away1 and they   
let go right into the thick of 'em4 ,and
 each case shot with its four hundred   
bullets swept and tore their ranks4     

,with a mighty gasp and something like a
 groan the ,huns staggered1 recovered1  
and with wild yells came charging on to 
a hundred machine guns4 ,and all the    
time the shells came over at them and   
tore wide swathes in their              
closely-packed ranks4 ,then our boys got
 into 'em and swept the remaining ,huns 
into eternity6  ,unless this story had  
come from such a highly-reliable        
fountain-head1 ,mc,nab1 ,i murmured1    
after a moment or so1 ,i would never    
have believed that the whole thing was  
not a fabrication4  ,mc,nab removed his 
pot of beer on one side1 and leaned     
across the table4 ,i moved my chair back
 quickly1 just missing another vigorous 
stab from his huge index-finger4  ,the  
history of this war1 he observed        
impressively1 will be interwoven with   
extraordinary things like this 'ere tale
 ,i have been telling you4 ,and you may 
lay to it1 mister1 that the most        
extraordinary things of all will never  
see the light of day in the printed     

page4  ,i can quite understand that1 ,i 
said pointedly2 for1 although a student 
of military history of this war myself1 
,i cannot recall a single reference to  
any of the remarkable events which      
occurred in the trenches during the     
eight months you were with your regiment
 over there6  ,mc,nab regarded me for a 
full minute with rapidly-rising choler4 
,then he shifted his stare from me to an
 old gentleman who was warming his toes 
at the fire4  ,the yarn ,i have told you
 is as true as the drill book1 though   
you need not believe it if you have     
conscientious objections4 ,i have been  
recounting real slices of history4      
,leastways1 when ,i say history ,i may  
be wrong1 because they will never appear
 in history4 ,but they 'appened1        
,mister--'appened as surely as ,i am    
sitting here with an empty pot in front 
o' me4 ,an'--an'---- ,mc,nab stammered  
in his excitement--if any bloke says    
they didn't1 be jabers1 ,i'll--,i'll    
drink his beer6  ,but neither the old   

gentleman nor any member of the company 
wished to disagree with him1 and he rose
 up from the chair with a mug to order  
his final half-pint4 ,he returned 7a    
trifle unsteadily1 perhaps7 with his    
beer and a particularly vile cigar in   
his mouth4 ,whether it was the effect of
 the heat or the--er--beer ,i cannot    
say1 but he blundered over my legs1     
causing me a sharp twinge of pain4      
,what an awkward beggar you are that you
 can't see to walk straight1 ,i said4   
,mc,nab looked down at my legs after    
giving them another stirring up with his
 foot4 ,why1 ,go' bless my soul1 he     
said1 it's quite true1 ,i am an awkward 
devil4 ,i certainly should have seen    
those feet4 ,however did you get 'em    
into the bar8     ,v  ,,through ,,the   
,,furnace      ,give us our rest1 ,o    
,father1 in thine own appointed time and
 of thy     gracious olden fashion4 ,lay
 thy annulling seal upon the o'erlabored
     heart3 drop thy healing nepenthe   
into the weary brain4 ,teach us not     

to fear that which brings us nearer to  
,thee4 ,suffer us to go to     sleep    
with no more consciousness than the     
flowers that take no care     for their 
awakening4 ,give us this last and best  
of all thy     gifts--,parva domus1     
magna quies6   ,hilaire ,o',hagan sat in
 the ,september sunshine on the grass   
that skirted the roadside4 ,for some    
time he had been examining with a stare 
of melancholy interest the worn toes of 
his boots4 ,on his head was a dingy     
straw hat2 to his form and limbs there  
hung a faded and creased coat and a pair
 of shiny black trousers2--he held in   
his hand five shillings which had been  
thrust into his hand when the prison    
gates had opened to him that morning4   
,he had taken the money and swaggered   
out with a parting gibe at the constable
 who closed the doors behind him4       
,o',hagan was an incorrigible rascal4   
,some years before1 when he stood in the
 ,assize ,court1 a venerable judge had  
told him so4 ,o',hagan1 said the judge  

grimly1 you are what ,i should term an  
incorrigible rogue1 and ,i shall send   
you to prison for two years with hard   
labour4 ,you have run across my path    
many times before4 ,when you gain your  
liberty it will be very much to your    
advantage if you keep out of my way for 
good and all4  ,o',hagan had received   
the sentence with the same impertinent  
smirk on his face as he had received    
many similar sentences4  ,now he was a  
free man4 ,he was powerful1 full of     
health1 and--lazy4 ,he reflected aloud1 
with evident enjoyment 7and in the      
speech of a lettered gentleman71 ,this  
is indeed one of those days when it is  
good to be alive6  ,o',hagan6 came a    
sudden voice1 harsh and authoritative1  
from behind him3 ,he rose to his feet   
and faced about4 ,in the roadway        
appeared the constable to whom he had   
addressed some not over polite remarks  
on his way out of prison4  ,well8 said  
,o',hagan4  ,the constable snorted4     
,didn't you hear me tell you to move on8

 ,we don't want any habitual criminals  
hanging about here4  ,o',hagan dived his
 hands deep into the pockets of his     
shiny trousers and slouched along       
towards the next village4 ,about a mile 
ahead was an inn he knew of where he    
might enjoy a great refreshment1 and    
drink the waters of ,lethe4 ,he jingled 
the silver in his pocket and reflected  
that for one night at least he could eat
 strongly1 and drink largely1 and sleep 
deeply4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,outside a house screened  
by a mysterious ten foot wall full of   
the plain dignity of unpretending age1 a
 long grey motor car was standing4      
,o',hagan turned and surveyed it1 and   
his quick eye rested upon a leather hand
 case on a rug beneath the seat4 ,it did
 not take him a moment to snatch it and 
hide it swiftly beneath his coat4 ,for a
 second or so he stood back against the 
wall4 ,at that moment a girl came out of
 the house1 in company with an elderly  
gentleman1 and walked towards the car4  

,o',hagan looked at the girl swiftly4   
,at the same time she glanced at him1   
and their eyes met4 ,things looked      
unhealthy for ,o',hagan4 ,but fate was  
altogether with him1 and the motor moved
 off and left him standing there with   
the case under his coat4 ,no glorious   
figure1 this man1 but one of those whom 
specialists now place amongst the doomed
 as cursed with the criminal instinct1  
with the vices that require lavish means
 to feed them--a man who only feels a   
thrill in life when he is preying on his
 fellows1 or eluding the hand of        
justice4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,o',hagan walked down the  
road a little way with his hand resting 
lovingly on the leather case4 ,he turned
 a corner1 cut through the hedge1 and   
took a track across a field4 ,in the    
shelter of a clump of bushes he sat     
leisurely on the grass and went over the
 contents4 ,among the various odds and  
ends was a leather purse4 ,he opened it 
with trembling fingers4 ,there was a    

sovereign1 five one pound notes folded  
up1 eight shillings in silver1 and a    
small silver cross hanging on a black   
silk riband4 ,he dropped the silver with
 a sigh of satisfaction into his        
trousers pocket1 and the notes he stored
 in the lining of his hat4 ,he took up  
the little cross and was about to thrust
 it into the thick grass1 when he paused
 for a moment1 and was aware of an      
oppressive feeling4      ,on a sudden1  
in the midst of men and day1       ,and 
while he sat and looked around1     ,he 
seemed to be in a bygone age1       ,and
 feel himself the shadow of a dream4    
,o',hagan felt that his body was        
decreasing1 sinking under the green     
turf1 falling down1 down1 down1 and yet 
,he was still above1 gazing1 wondering1 
open-eyed1 open-mouthed1 as it were4    
,gradually1 but none the less surely1 he
 was being crowded round by many moving 
8's which never seemed to grow distinct4
 ,he seemed to know at once he was back 
in the days long past4 ,he shut his eyes

 against a burning that felt like tears4
 ,when he opened them again he was      
looking at his own name1 fairly carved  
in on the silver cross in quaint old    
,english letters3      ,hilaire         
,o',hagan  ,the clump of bushes before  
him was now obscured by a thin white    
cloud4 ,as he watched he was aware of a 
figure that stood out distinctly before 
him4 ,he was a man of his own height1   
thick-set1 serious-looking1 in a monk's 
mantle and hood4 ,o',hagan gave a       
hurried glance1 and as hurriedly turned 
his head away again4 ,the face of the   
man exactly resembled his own4 ,but it  
was an honest face1 without the look of 
dissipation1 and the secret furtive air1
 which he knew marred his own features4 
,he also thought he could see a faint   
nimbus round his head--but this may have
 been illusion4 ,o',hagan moved away as 
if he had no wish to see him2 but the   
stranger was not to be put off by any   
such trick4 ,he touched ,o',hagan's arm1
 and brought him to a standstill4       

,brother6 he said in a gentle voice4    
,o',hagan pulled himself up sharply4    
,for a moment it seemed as if he would  
have refused to stay1 but the next he   
realized that it would be of no use4    
,what do you want with me8 he began4 ,i 
know ,i'm a thief and a drunkard4 ,do   
you want to hand me a ,sunday ,school   
tract8 ,if so get it over4  ,the        
stranger's hand tightened on his arm1   
and he began to speak in a calm but     
strangely thrilling voice4 ,it is       
written there3 'men do not despise a    
thief1 if he steal to satisfy his soul  
when he is hungry4'  ,well8 said        
,o',hagan1 trying to hold a countenance 
of little concern4  ,well8 said the     
stranger1 for why did you steal8        
,o',hagan coughed and held down his     
head4  ,a man without scruple and       
without heart1 the stranger remarked to 
himself4  ,o',hagan looked up with a    
start4 ,look here1 he began4 ,you've no 
right to----  ,then of a sudden the mist
 began to rise from the clump of bushes 

and the stranger vanished4 ,o',hagan was
 back in the flesh4 ,he stood there     
dazed for the moment1 with the little   
cross clutched in his hand4 ,he sat down
 again and tried to force his spirit    
back to the other scene1 but in vain4   
,he felt that he had been thrilled      
through and through4 ,the oppression1   
however1 unlike the stern-faced monk1   
did not vanish1 it deepened4 ,a         
throbbing headache came on1 which       
refused to be shaken off1 and eventually
 sent ,o',hagan to the ,bell ,inn to    
drink still deeper of the waters of     
oblivion4  ,the day was already falling 
when he walked1 jingling his silver1    
into the sanded bar of the ,bell ,inn1  
and an hour or so later1 when it began  
to fill with drovers and country folk1  
,o',hagan had looked much on the good   
brown ale4 ,he was in fact becoming very
 noisy4 ,seated in a corner1 he sang    
,nell and ,roger at the ,wake in a      
hoarse voice4 ,the country folk grinned 
and looked at him curiously4  ,shut your

 gab1 old sport1 said a rough-looking   
drover at last1 that song is not fit for
 decent folk to hear4  ,o',hagan swore  
like any trooper1 and reached his hand  
out to a large spirit bottle at his     
elbow1 and for a moment the drover      
thought he would get it thrown at his   
head4 ,however1 ,o',hagan rose to his   
feet1 made a bow to the company1 and    
made an apology to the drover4 ,he stood
 there1 a blackguard on the face of him1
 but a gentleman in spite of that       
undefinable and vaguely repulsive smirk 
which played about his straight and     
refined mouth4 ,he slunk away into the  
night4  ,as ,o',hagan walked the night  
deepened in throbs of gathering         
darkness4 ,the sense of uneasiness that 
had been with him ever since the priest 
in the cassock had appeared to him was  
not to be easily thrown off4 ,he set    
himself to argue down the uneasiness for
 which there was no more foundation than
 a bad attack of nerves after the gloomy
 life in prison4 ,he told himself1 till 

he believed it1 that a man--just a human
 man--had been crossing the fields1 and 
that being smitten with religious       
fervour he had quoted the ,scripture    
aloud1 as he had often heard such people
 do4 ,he told himself it was mere fancy 
that was the cause of the belief that   
something was shining around the man's  
head4 ,as he argued these things away1  
and banished the face of his visitor1 a 
certain sort of reason usurped his      
place4 ,but he did not feel comfortable1
 however1 he fell short of any form of  
fear4  ,it was ,o',hagan's whole        
business to find desolate corners1 where
 he could sleep without the fear of     
interruption by the police2 and hence   
being in a part of the country that he  
knew well1 he bethought himself suddenly
 of the great barn next to the mansion  
house at ,tilney ,st4 ,lawrence4 ,it was
 always full of good hay1 as large as a 
barrack and no thoroughfare passed      
within a quarter of a mile of it4 ,in   
such a place1 and with the scent of the 

hay to lull him1 ,o',hagan threw his    
tired body down1 and soon lost all the  
cares of the world in complete repose4  
,all his life ,o',hagan had been a      
habitual dreamer2 the nights were few1  
that is to say1 when on awakening he did
 not find that some mental traffics and 
discoveries had been his1 and at times1 
the whole night through he would meet   
with most dazzling adventures4 ,in      
prison his dreams had been a great      
solace to him1 and each night he had    
settled down to devote the dark hours to
 the cultivation of joyous dreams4 ,he  
was one of those men who went to sleep  
fair and square1 and looked for dreams4 
,but as ,o',hagan stretched in the hay1 
things were revealed to him that were   
beyond all dreams1 and of course he     
could not keep the strange priest out of
 the vision4 ,it opened with finding    
himself in front of the doors of an old 
church1 where1 he understood1 he was    
going to hide from someone who wanted to
 kill him4 ,he knocked on the door and  

the man who opened the door was the very
 priest he had seen in the afternoon4   
,he asked him to step in and instantly  
turned round and walked up the dimly lit
 aisle1 and ,o',hagan understood that he
 had to follow4 ,in silence they passed 
through a small arch in the chancel and 
mounted a narrow oak staircase with many
 corners and tortuous turns and arrived 
at a small landing with a studded door  
set in it4 ,quite inexplicably          
,o',hagan's heart sank at the sight of  
it4 ,however1 the priest unlocked and   
opened it1 and held it open for him to  
enter1 and without coming in himself1   
closed it4 ,it was a small oak room with
 a stone floor1 and a curious smell at  
once attracted his notice4 ,it was      
there--there1 close to him--under his   
very nose--the strong1 acrid odour of   
decay--the nauseating smell of the      
grave4 ,looking about he saw the floor  
was paved with grave stones4 ,in one    
corner stood a fine seventeenth century 
lead coffin4 ,a curious greyish light   

shone from it4 ,o',hagan's conjecture   
had been right3 there was something     
awful in the room1 and with the terror  
of nightmare seizing him swiftly by the 
throat and throttling him1 he awoke in a
 spasm of terror4 ,o',hagan was sitting 
bolt upright with the impression that   
someone had flashed a lantern in his    
face1 though the barn was absolutely    
pitch dark4 ,i've had a most diabolical 
nightmare4 ,it was the drink1 he said to
 himself1 and decided to go to sleep    
again4 ,but the excessive heat of the   
barn would let him rest no longer4 ,the 
atmosphere seemed to be hot and pungent1
 and he groped about and opened the door
 to let in some air4 ,almost at the same
 moment someone cried ,fire6 and shapes 
of things began to define in a soft grey
 glimmering2--and the gloom was broken  
up by a red and angry spurt of flame    
from a wing of the old manor house4     
,again cries of ,fire6 came to his ears1
 and grew and multiplied4 ,o',hagan was 
fully awake in an instant1 and running  

at top speed towards the old mansion4   
,when he reached it the whole sky about 
was illuminated by a red and angry      
light4 ,almost at the moment of his     
arrival a tower of smoke arose in front 
of the porch window1 and with a tingling
 report1 a pane fell outwards at his    
feet4 ,a crowd of cowed and white-faced 
country folk drew back when he rushed   
up4 ,then he looked up at the porch     
window and saw what it was that made the
 people go4 ,he saw a girl's terrified  
face at the window4 ,the girl ,i lifted 
the bag from1 he said aloud4 ,she'll be 
burnt to death4  ,the heavy hall doors  
were surrounded by the inmates of the   
house who had escaped and ,o',hagan     
pushed through them1 and sprang up the  
broad stairway mid choking volumes of   
smoke4 ,when reached the room above the 
porch the heat was fierce1 and the      
roaring of the fire filled his ears1 and
 he had scarce carried the terrified    
girl out of the room when a side door   
fell in1 and a branch of flame shot     

brandishing through the aperture1 and   
the head of the stairs became lit up    
with a dreadful and fluctuating glare4  
,he carried her swiftly down the stairs1
 he feared every moment that they would 
crumple and fall in4 ,but he fought his 
way grimly1 and his jerky swear words   
were lost in the roaring of the fire4   
,another moment and they were in the    
open4 ,firelight and moonlight          
illuminating the country around with    
confused and violent lustre1 and banked 
against the stars and the sky they could
 see a glowing track of smoke4  ,that   
was a near thing1 ,miss4  ,i thought my 
end had come6 she said1 the colour      
returning slowly to her face4 ,there    
would have been no chance at all if you 
had not come up for me1 as ,i was then  
almost suffocated4 ,it was a very brave 
act6 ,she did not thank him--she        
couldn't have spoken plain words of     
thanks to save her life--but ,o',hagan  
knew what she thought--,don't say any   
more about it1 ,miss1 ,i am really a    

coward at heart4  ,i'm sure ,i owe my   
life to you1 she said earnestly4 ,i know
 there are some things for which thanks 
are an insult1 but you will not mind if 
,i offer you a little token of          
gratitude8  ,o',hagan's hand was resting
 on a small silver cross in his pocket1 
and in another moment he solemnly handed
 the girl the money and notes he had    
stolen4 ,why1 whatever is this8 asked   
the girl1 staring at ,o',hagan in       
bewildered amazement4  ,that's yours1 he
 said by way of assistance4  ,but ,i    
don't understand6 she cried1 greatly    
puzzled4  ,well1 ,miss1 ,i suppose it   
does require some elucidation1 ,o',hagan
 replied somewhat nervously4 ,you see1  
it's only a return of stolen goods4 ,you
 remember visiting a house in the big   
grey motor car yesterday1 ,miss8  ,yes4 
,well1 ,i stole your bag from under the 
seat4 ,i have given you back again all  
that ,i have left4 ,but ,i will take    
this little cross as a token4 ,he       
dangled the little silver charm before  

her face1 and before she had time to    
take in the situation ,o',hagan had     
disappeared4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,the long plains  
of ,northern ,europe stretched before   
the gaze of a regiment of ,british      
infantry--great undulations of sodden   
earth left by the winter rains and      
thaws4 ,there1 in the piercing cold that
 froze the feet1 they waited the signal 
to advance4 ,stray bullets whined and   
pinged as they struck the wire and sand 
bags on the top of the trenches2        
occasionally a man fell on his face2 and
 the ghastly change in the faces of the 
troops bore testimony to the effects4   
,hilaire ,o',hagan lay stretched upon   
his face1 occasionally looking towards  
his officer4 ,his heart beat like the   
pulsing of a motor car4 ,his throat felt
 dry1 his cheeks were burning4 ,at times
 a cold shiver passed right through his 
frame4 ,he fidgeted and lolled from one 
side1 to the other4 ,it seemed to him   
that he had waited hours for the signal 

to get over the trenches4 ,he tried to  
strike a match for his pipe2 his hand   
was trembling furiously4 ,it occurred to
 him that after having passed through   
the gory awfulness of six months'       
incessant fighting1 he was beginning to 
lose his nerve4 ,he was no longer master
 of himself4 ,he was afraid4 ,every man 
has the instinct that prompts fear1 for 
upon that instinct the whole foundation 
of life-preservation is founded4 ,but   
over and above this instinct1 common to 
all of us1 ,o',hagan had                
imagination--the graphic1 vivid         
imagination that always lurks in ,irish 
blood4 ,is not the entire history of the
 ,celt a rejection of the things of this
 world for the ,shadow and the dream8   
,upon this basis of fear and imagination
 ,o',hagan started to build1 building   
and building until he had created a     
grand structure of blind terror which   
yielded a most exquisite torture to his 
mind4  ,a whistle sounded and a shudder 
traversed the men all down the trench4  

,the officer called to his men4 ,he     
mounted the parapet and jumped over4    
,there was a sound like the rushing of a
 river as the regiment poured itself    
over the trench4 ,the men advanced      
slowly and dazedly4 ,now any acute      
observer would note that the men were   
bewildered and had little heart in the  
fight4 ,their faces worked2 and they    
struggled to walk on1 but it seemed     
useless4 ,the bullets were pattering all
 around and taking heavy toll4 ,then a  
few yards in front a shrapnel shell     
kicked up the mud4 ,the ,german guns had
 found the range4 ,someone shouted out  
the fatal words ,lie down4 ,the regiment
 was soon hugging the earth1 which was  
about the best thing they could have    
done4 ,great showers of shrapnel burst  
over them1 and the bullets struck down  
on them in a continuous shower4 ,some   
men rose to their feet1 and the shrapnel
 withered them4 ,suddenly one shell     
burst over ,o',hagan1 blotting out all  
around him in smoke and dust1 and       

brutally jerking his mind to fullest    
tension4 ,this shell fire was hell6     
,with the crash imagination and fear    
began to work together in his overworked
 brain--both at once in the queerest    
jumbling manner4 ,in a few moments      
,o',hagan was on his feet running       
away--racing as if not merely for his   
life1 but his soul4  ,when ,o',hagan's  
brain cooled and his sight cleared he   
found himself in the doorway of a little
 wrecked church4 ,the ,german shells had
 gashed and ripped the sides and roof1  
so that birds flew in and out at will4  
,hundreds of sparrows chirped in the oak
 beams above4 ,the shells had pitted1   
starred and jerked up the blue          
flagstones in the porch on which        
,o',hagan stood4 ,parts of the old      
church had been shelled nearly level2   
little twisted fragments of beautiful   
leaded windows had been swept up in a   
pile outside with other wreckage4 ,as   
,o',hagan walked up the aisle a feeling 
came over him that he knew much of the  

old place4 ,a quintessence and          
distillation of peace and comradeship   
seemed to inhabit the soft gloam of its 
chancel4 ,he found himself drifting back
 to past days and seeing dimly in a thin
 white cloud faces that seemed familiar 
and yet were unnameable4 ,then one face 
stood out distinctly1 and ,o',hagan     
watched it with breathless wonder and   
fascination4 ,he moved closer up to it2 
he would have given much not to have    
done so1 but he could not help          
himself--he looked closer1 and it       
was--the face of the monk who had       
appeared to him once before4 ,when the  
cloud had cleared a little1 the outline 
of the monk wearing a hood and cowl     
became visible4 ,then was there a voice 
that he identified at once despite the  
lapse of two years since he had last    
heard it4 ,i have been wanting to speak 
to you1 brother1 for many hours1 but    
something ,i cannot explain to mortal   
man has prevented me4 ,the priest       
instantly turned round and ,o',hagan    

understood that he meant him to follow4 
,his heart sank at once1 and he         
experienced a sense of dreadful         
oppression and foreboding1 and with a   
sudden thrill1 partly of fear1 and      
partly of curiosity he followed4 ,they  
passed up the aisle and a perfectly     
familiar staircase4 ,then he opened a   
door1 and went in1 and at the same      
moment1 sheer unreasoning terror seized 
him4 ,he was afraid1 but did not know   
why3 he was simply afraid4 ,then like a 
sudden recollection1 when one remembers 
some trivial adventure of childhood1    
,o',hagan looked for the old lead       
coffin4 ,he cast his eyes about with a  
certain air of proprietorship1 and      
compared the room with the room of his  
dreams4 ,nothing had changed4 ,and then1
 with a sudden start of unexplained     
dread1 he saw that the coffin was in the
 corner--the same leaden coffin that he 
knew so well with the same curious      
greyish light coming from it4 ,there was
 lettering on the lid4  ,what's written 

there8 ,what's there8 ,who's there8 he  
called4 ,he called and continued to     
call2 then another terror1 the terror of
 the sound of his own voice seized him2 
he did not dare to call again2 he       
whispered4 ,there was something written 
on the coffin that his mind reeled to   
entertain4 ,without quite knowing how he
 came to be there1 ,o',hagan found      
himself bending over the coffin4 ,he    
read the lettering1 and it was3         
,hilaire ,o',hagan ob4 #afif aetat #ce4 
,parva domus1 magna quies4  ,he sank    
down on his knees with a childish sob4  
,sometimes the old church seemed        
absolutely still1 and the only sound to 
be heard was the sighing of the night   
breeze below him in the pines1 but      
sometimes the place seemed full of      
muffled movements1 and once ,o',hagan   
could have sworn that the large carved  
handle of the door turned4 ,even as he  
stood there he heard steps just outside1
 and with a sudden horror1 he saw the   
heavy door slowly open4 ,a priest stood 

in the open doorway with an inscrutable 
smile on his lips--the same clean-shaven
 man with a long aquiline nose and      
singularly square chin1 that he had seen
 before in his dreams4  ,brother1 he    
said1 in a moved voice4 ,you must go    
back and help your comrades4 ,there is  
no peace for you yet4 ,yes1 brother1 ,i 
know it is written that we shall rest   
from our labours--but the beginning of  
our rest is not yet4 ,we must go and    
help them in the firing line yonder---- 
,no1 no1 holy man6 ,o',hagan pleaded4 ,i
 have had enough4444 ,there is hell over
 there4  ,they are calling us1 don't you
 hear them--the living and the dead---- 
,o',hagan could see those great green   
flashes that burst in the sky so near to
 him4 ,he could almost hear the angry   
zipping of high explosive shrapnel close
 over his head4 ,god6 how he hated it   
all6  ,how hard it is1 ,father1 to make 
these children understand6 came softly  
from the priest's lips4  ,o',hagan's    
regiment had retired to their trenches  

in good order4 ,they were some of those 
trenches round about ,ypres1 and all the
 world has read how the ,germans        
battered and delivered terrific infantry
 attacks on this part of our line       
without cessation4 ,a certain morning1  
about six o'clock1 the ,huns decided to 
deliver a sharp attack1 and there was   
considerable artillery activity on the  
part of the ,german guns4 ,such activity
 was spoken of in the trenches as       
raising the lid off ,hell4 ,there was a 
lull after about an hour's rain of every
 kind of missile that man has invented  
to batter his brother with4 ,then the   
,huns came on in earnest4 ,some reached 
the trenches only to be met with a      
murderous fire3 they fell in little     
huddled heaps in the blood and the mud  
and the slime of the trenches4 ,but the 
whole ,german race seemed to be flowing 
in on the ,british1 and they fairly got 
into the trenches1 though they were     
twice driven out4 ,yard by yard the     
battalion retired4 ,the next moment an  

unearthly1 fluorescent light shot and   
flooded along the trenches4 ,the troops 
gasped for a moment1 and then started   
back4 ,standing on a traverse in full   
view of ,germans and ,englishmen was a  
tall man with yellow hair1 in a priest's
 cassock4 ,he was brandishing a sword   
that flashed like a tongue of flame1 and
 crying ,turn back6 turn back6 advance6 
,private ,hilaire ,o',hagan1 the        
deserter1 stood beside him holding a    
massive brass altar cross above his     
head4 ,from that moment ,o',hagan       
behaved like one possessed4 ,he hurled  
himself over the traverse into the green
 of the ,german regiment1 and started   
hacking and stabbing with the pointed   
end of the cross4 ,the ,huns did not    
like the look of such a wild apparition 
and refused to face him4 ,bit by bit    
they retired and ,o',hagan took         
advantage of a moment to take a green   
silk ,irish flag1 with a crownless harp1
 from his pocket1 and attach it to the  
spike of the cross4 ,then1 roaring like 

a lion and brandishing his strange      
weapon1 he fell on them once more--and  
as they broke he saw the hooded priest  
driving them before him with his flaming
 sword4 ,a great joy seemed to burn up  
in his soul4 ,men who watched him said  
he ran amok4 ,his great voice rose high 
above the chattering machine guns in a  
beautiful ,franciscan chant and the     
voice of the priest joined in4 ,what    
,o',hagan1 bearing his mighty cross1    
must have looked like in the eerie dawn 
mist1 ,heaven knows4 ,but seeing such an
 apparition and hearing the strange     
chant1 it is possible the ,huns thought 
the devil had joined in the fight4 ,then
 a man in the rear trench pointed to the
 west1 where a great image of the cross 
was shining against a blood red sky1 and
 a voice cried ,forward4 ,it passed from
 man to man1 and the regiment advanced1 
howling1 with ,o',hagan4 ,they drove the
 ,germans before them like chaff before 
a fan1 and fell back1 in triumph1 to    
their lost trenches4 ,they saw ,o',hagan

 stagger a little and then turn round to
 where the regiment boiled with joy in  
the trenches4  ,you are back1 my        
children1 he shouted4 ,it is well1 for  
my poor soul desires rest4444 ,aye1 rest
 indeed6  ,a great peace settled on     
,o',hagan's face1 as he slowly collapsed
 and lay very still4  ,not long after   
this a country parson received a letter 
from a hare-brained member of his flock1
 who for many years had been good enough
 to keep him in touch with his doings in
 far lands4 ,the old vicar had heard    
that the young scoundrel1 as he called  
him1 had joined a volunteer regiment1   
and was in the thick of the fighting    
around ,ypres4 ,the letter was written  
in pencil on leaves torn from a         
note-book4 ,the portion that will       
interest the reader of this story most  
is here quoted4  ,on ,monday ,i came    
across an old friend 787 of             
ours--,hilaire ,o',hagan4 ,we had a     
brush with about five thousand ,huns1   
and we had under-estimated their        

strength4 ,they rushed us in the        
dawning--a living1 greenish-grey wave   
rolled over our trenches1 shooting and  
hacking at the heart of what had once   
been a regiment of ,british ,infantry4  
,when the second wave lapped over1 our  
men were overborne but they were trying1
 by common instinct1 to reach the second
 line trenches where they could re-form4
 ,then ,i saw ,o',hagan who had dropped 
from ,god knows where1 standing         
silhouetted against the red of dawn on  
the front line trench4 ,he was waving a 
brass cross and the bullets were        
pattering around him and making a noise 
like rats skipping about an empty house4
 ,my ,god6 ,pluck6 ,i never thought     
,o',hagan had it in him4 ,i tell you1 he
 hurled himself down on the rifles of a 
thousand ,huns1 and 'drove them hence'  
with his mighty brass cross4 ,our men   
were soon rallying on the lost trench4  
,the stragglers clutched at each other1 
and pointed to where the cross flashed  
and reeled in the seething mass4 ,under 

cover of night our bearer party brought 
in ,o',hagan stone dead with over twenty
 bullet wounds in him4 ,i know1 vicar1  
when you read this1 it will flash into  
your mind that poor ,o',hagan had been  
drinking again4 ,you may banish any such
 thought 444 there was a different look 
in ,o',hagan's eyes4 ,he had seen the   
'immortal light1 all young and joyful1  
million-orbed1 million-coloured1 as on  
the first morning4' ,we carried him and 
his cross over to an old monastery where
 we found one of those quaint lead      
coffins--like the one in the crypt in   
our old church--and laid him at rest    
beneath the cool blue flagstones outside
 the chancel door4 ,one of our men1 a   
stone-mason in times of peace1 roughly  
graved his name on the slab above him4  
,as ,i walked back to the trenches ,i   
turned back to have a last look at the  
grave4 ,a priest was standing over it   
with hands outstretched to bless4444    
,,the ,,end         99       99       99
       99       99  ,printed in ,great  

,britain by ,hazell1 ,watson  ,viney1   
,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury1 for       
,simpkin1 ,marshall1 ,hamilton1 ,kent   
,co41 ,ltd4