.. take care! Take care!" but this morning he
also seemed kind and gentle to them, leading a small girl back to her
haggard bony old guardian, carrying her heavy can of soup for her, or
joking with some of the old men.... "Now, uncle ... you ought to be at
the war! What have they done, leaving you? So young and so vigorous!
They'll take you yet!" and the old man, a toothless trembling
creature, clutching his hunk of bread with shaking hands, would grin
like the head of Death himself! How close to death they all seemed!
How alive were my friends, strong in the sun, compassionate but also
perhaps a little despising this poor gathering of wastrels.
The work went on; then at last the final scraps of meat and bread had
been shared, the kitchen closed its oven, we took off our overalls,
shook ourselves, and bade farewell to the scarecrows. The kitchen was
then sent home and we moved forward with the tea boiler and two
sanitars further into the forest. Our destination was a large empty
house behind the trenches.
Pages:
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365