No danger threatened. No one would have thought we were at war. And as for the Bosches, let them go hang! The natives had certainly said, shaking their heads, that they had already seen some Uhlans on the neighbouring hills. Absurd inventions. A dragoon whom we questioned burst out laughing in our faces. The Bosches! They had indeed been across the frontier for twenty-four hours or so, over there towards Longwy. They were soon sent to the right-about. We might sleep in peace! We had the regulars in front of us, about twenty regiments1 of them!
Some trenches3 had been dug at the approaches to the village, the 21st had spent the night in them. It was one of the regular amusements to go and look over them during the day-time. They were very unconvincing, casually4 hewn out and occupied. Orne's defensive5 organisation6! Who could take it seriously?
"Blowed if I don't think our good time's beginning," said Judsi.
[Pg 161]
The villagers were really delightful7. These poor dwellers8 by the Meuse! They did not have much of a time afterwards. Who would not have become embittered9 in their place? At the outset we were touched by their cordial, almost friendly reception. Many of us went in search of a bed. I believe that but few were found which did not already boast an occupant. Lamalou's experience was a case in point. Other attachments10 were formed. On the other hand, Playoust came to grief—the thing became known immediately—with the grocer's pretty wife. He revenged himself by attributing the mishap12 to the regimental sergeant-major.
The outstanding feature—which never varied13 throughout the campaign—was the catering14. We N.C.O.'s messed together. But Descroix and his lot were already dissatisfied with this arrangement and suggested that each platoon should fend15 for itself.
I was doubtful about this, but Guillaumin took me aside.
"Leave them alone! It will suit us much better!"
He explained that he had made a great find in the shape of a top-hole cook, a real professional. He had been chef at Bernstein's!!! The fellow would perhaps consent to cook for three or four, but not a word!—or the officers would appropriate him. He made me acquainted with the prodigy16, Gaufrèteau, a smooth-skinned, cold creature, very much on his dignity, who would not bind17 himself in any way.
Our comrades had managed somehow or other to get hold of some wine at twenty-four sous the litre, good pale Lorraine wine, on which they feasted among themselves. You had to pay two francs everywhere else for a much inferior quality.
[Pg 162]
Guillaumin determined18 he would not be outdone, and went off in search of it. He ended by coming back triumphant19, bringing the same wine at 1 franc 20, and the wine merchant was to have the bottles back!
He poured out several bumpers20 and made fun of De Valpic for refusing to take any. I suggested adding some water to it. He ragged21 me in turn.
"What are you afraid of? If we've got to be knocked out at this job, at least let's have our money's worth first!"
This coarse tomfoolery maddened me. Was it an attitude of mind assumed for war-time, to match that of those poor brutes22 of troopers. I sarcastically23 twitted him with it. He was not at all annoyed.
"Just what I'm trying for!"
Thereupon he invited his corporals and mine to empty new bottles. I could not leave him in the lurch24. All these people were drinking and rotting with him round the table in the kitchen of our farm. The place was filled with the smell of burning fat. What a scene, and what a pastime! I was bored to death.
"I'll see you later!" I said, and went off making some excuse. I should have liked to meet Fortin or someone of that calibre. A pity they'd left him at F——, but perhaps it might be lucky for him.
I took a turn round the neighbouring billets. Nothing but men lying about and a lot of them had spread into the fields round about, and were taking a nap in the shade.
I got out of the village without any difficulty. A sentry26, far from stopping me, asked me for some tobacco.
[Pg 163]
A hill near by attracted me. I hoped to get a good view of the surrounding country from the top. My ideas on the topography of the neighbourhood were singularly confused. I knew the distance from Orne to Verdun, 18 km. 7., and I was inclined to think the Valley of the Meuse must lie somewhere near to southwards.
My walk was not at all satisfying. From the summit I had aimed at, I could see nothing but another ridge27, crowned with a dark fringe of trees. There was no outlet28 through which I could get a view. I came back, tired and disappointed. Up there I had tried for a moment to give rein29 to my imagination. Here is my country—Lorraine, I said to myself, and I looked in vain for that serene30 melancholy31, that voluptuous32 calm, in the landscape.... It was obviously yet another example of poetic33 exaggeration. It was not unpleasing country, but it was more like—oh, anything you like to name, Perche, or the country round Paris.
I went back. On the way I heard myself hailed from behind a hedge. It was Playoust's voice. I went up and found the whole set of sergeants34 from the 22nd. De Valpic alone was missing. I was surprised to catch sight of Guillaumin, with cards in his hands.
"What! You don't mean to say you're playing?" I said.
"Yes, they're teaching me!"
He explained with great gusto that they had come to fetch him to make up a second four (Frémont was there too). He had no gift for it. But he was sticking to it all the same. He had already lost one and threepence!
[Pg 164]
"And what about you, old boy? Do you know their blooming game?"
"Yes," I replied coolly, "but it doesn't appeal to me, you know!"
I did not linger. I bore him a grudge36. If he was going over to that lot he was quite at liberty to do so, of course, but he need no longer count, as a matter of course, on my society—Oh dear, no!
I went to lie down. I yawned. I was bored to tears.
For the sake of something to do I emptied my pockets of their miscellaneous contents.
On pulling out the packet of letter cards which I had brought quite by chance, I thought: Hello, why shouldn't I write a letter?
But to whom should it be?
Not to my father. I had nothing to tell him.
As for my brother, I had not even got his complete address. I did not know what company he was in. My brother Victor!... Why should I be thinking of him particularly just now?... Where was he?... Somewhere in the Woevre. Not very far from me, no doubt.
What spirits was he in? War was the dream of their life, their goal, their one passion, to all these soldiers. What a bizarre idea it was. Simply a case of suggestion! What did they hope for from it, after all? For the space of a second I had a strikingly clear vision of him, calm and resolute37, with his cap well down over his eyes, issuing his orders.
The idea again occurred to me of writing to someone—whom I knew. But I counted on my fingers; it was only three days; and it would be better to wait until I had something worth writing about.
[Pg 165]
When I went out again I found myself face to face with Henriot.
"Halloa, how are you getting on, Dreher?" he said.
"Pretty well, sir!"
"Pity we get no papers!"
I saw that he was bursting to have a talk, and, by Jove, it would be good policy to get on good terms with my immediate11 chief once and for all. I need only imitate Playoust; I asked him slyly what he thought was happening.
He needed no persuasion38! He was fully39 aware of the fact that I had not been among his audience the day before, and ingenuously40 expressed his regret. De Valpic and I, he said, were the two best-read men in the company. He would so much like to exchange ideas with us!
As for exchanging ideas, all I was aiming at was to get him to trot41 his out ... to get at him in that way. At my request he went to fetch a map of the whole of our eastern frontier.
I led him on to various subjects which I wished to explore, without taking great pains about it: the composition of our army, the probable figure of our effectives, our system of fortified42 towns.
He replied at length, furnishing information collected and classed without much sense of criticism. He placed the ideas he had gleaned43 from the special courses for officers, on the same level with those picked up in certain technical reviews, and a great number of commonplaces borrowed from the daily papers.
But he fancied himself particular on the questions of strategy.
The German scheme was done for! Everything was based, you see, on the complicity or, at all events,[Pg 166] the passivity of Belgium. They had concentrated four army corps44 in their camps in advance, Trèves, Malmédy, Atles-Lager. They would have hurled45 them simultaneously46 on to the left bank of the Meuse, and they could have gone straight ahead across the flat country. In five days they would have been in the Scheldt, on the way to Valenciennes. They would have reached the valley of the Oise, and from there have gone on to Paris. And it might quite likely have succeeded!...
He warmed to his subject.
They came to grief. The Belgians have demolished47 forty thousand men, a whole army corps. The English have had time to land, and we to fall into line. And what do you say to our retort in Alsace the other day? We are getting the entire control of affairs into our hands.
His forefinger48 indicated Mulhouse.
Look, we're back there again and firmly based there, for good, believe me! It's obviously ours. Take Strassburg? No, not at once. Invest it perhaps, that's all. But push straight on across the Rhine. It's not so easy, but we should spare nothing in order to do that! Just think! Once past the Rhine all we should have to do would be to go straight ahead, and cut Germany in half. Separate the Northern Provinces under Prussia, from Bavaria, which is not nearly so antagonistic49 to us really, and the Russians, after having taken Cracow and Prague, will soon be shaking hands with us!
He stopped talking and wiped his forehead. Gazing at his map he seemed to regret that it did not include the theatre of to-morrow's victories.
I gazed at him with surprise and mistrust. But he[Pg 167] seemed so sure of his ground! I knew these theories were current in higher military circles. These daring anticipations50 reminded me of those expressed so many times in my presence by my father and brother.
How the thought of Victor pursued me! I could not restrain myself from mentioning him.
"Oh! What is he in?" said Henriot.
"The 161st St. Mihiel."
"Have they been in action yet?"
"Probably!"
"And what about us?" I said. "Do you think we shall soon be engaged?"
"I should hardly think so. What is there ahead of us? Luxembourg. They violated it on August 2nd. A lot of good it did them! Their offensive turned northwards. Now they've got to defend themselves. I don't think they'll attempt anything much against the Stenay gap. I don't think we're much exposed!"
So much the better! I thought.
"I personally should have liked to fight in this part of the country."
"Do you come from near here?"
"Yes, from Villers-sur-Meuse, about fifty miles from here."
He added a few details. It was only his second post, and he asked for nothing better than to stay there as long as possible. His father had been master there before him, and was buried there.
We are Lorrains, you see, that's why I made such a point of being in the reserves.
I asked him na?vely if he had ever thought of war.
"What! We never thought of anything else!"
I suddenly recognised in him, the obstinacy51 and[Pg 168] exaltation which had surprised me, as a child, in the inhabitants of Emberménil.
I had honestly forgotten that such rancour survived. After more than forty years! Revenge then was not simply an abstract pretext52, it corresponded actually, to a desire, a hatred53! The old furnace still threw out sparks in the new generation capable of setting the conflagration54 alight at any moment.
I could not help blaming this fury. The stupid dislike of resignation and discretion55, of that which constituted men's happiness.
Why did I announce:
"I'm a Lorrain too, you know!"
"Really?" he said; "Oh well, I had suspected it, just from your name. What part do you come from?"
I told him. He was delighted. He had relations round about Lunéville.
"We are the only ones in the platoon. That ought to make us good friends, what?"
I felt that he was moved. I pretended to be. But I was chilled again. I only thought like the other evening, under my father's gaze: "I a Lorrain! In what am I a Lorrain?" And the idea that I should have brothers and foes57, just because I was born on this side, and not on that side of a certain line, seemed to me grotesque58.
It was about time for "cookhouse door" to go. Our card-players reappeared. I enjoyed first their surprise, then their only thin-veiled annoyance59. It was particularly aggravating60 for the schoolmasters. Henriot, with his hand on my shoulder, was talking to me as to an intimate confidant. They began to[Pg 169] wander round, anxious to interrupt us, but withheld61 from doing so by their deeply-rooted respect for rank.
Great Heavens! if I had guessed what would put an end to our conversation!
"Hsh! What's that...?"
The men scattered64 about in the road and in the yard, were listening intently. Corporal Bouguet who was passing muttered:
"No, it can't be...?"
Then the subaltern pronounced the word I had expected:
"The guns!"
"What?"
It ran along repeated from mouth to mouth. The guns! The guns! I shuddered65 with physical anguish66. A battle in progress over there, quite near by, which I felt would draw us in and swallow us up. The guns! Were they the ones which would make a pulp67 of my body?
Guillaumin suddenly appeared and seized me by the arm.
"My heart's beating. How queer it is!"
I was stupid enough to swagger.
"It reminds me of the Camp of Chalons!"
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1
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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dwellers
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| n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
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embittered
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| v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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attachments
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| n.（用电子邮件发送的）附件( attachment的名词复数 )；附着；连接；附属物 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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catering
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| n. 给养 | |
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fend
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| v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开 | |
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prodigy
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| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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18
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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bumpers
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| （汽车上的）保险杠，缓冲器( bumper的名词复数 ) | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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sarcastically
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| adv.挖苦地，讽刺地 | |
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lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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iodine
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| n.碘，碘酒 | |
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sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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30
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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32
voluptuous
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| adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的 | |
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poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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sergeants
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| 警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士 | |
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35
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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ingenuously
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| adv.率直地，正直地 | |
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41
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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42
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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43
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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45
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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46
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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47
demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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48
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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49
antagonistic
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| adj.敌对的 | |
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50
anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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51
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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52
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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53
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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54
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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55
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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56
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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57
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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58
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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59
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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60
aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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61
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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62
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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63
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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64
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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65
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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66
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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67
pulp
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| n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆 | |
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