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[Page 72]
road flanked by dust-laden trees and carrying two opposite-moving, endless streams of war vehicles - almost no ambulances - a column of dust, opaque and almost white in the distance - everyone a dusty miller and cheerful. Lorries, cars, armoured cars, in fact every kind of wheeled thing drawn up under the trees - piles of beams, bricks and mortar and broken walls representing what used to be villages; and in the air planes, thick as a flight of Leonids - or rather two flights, one east and t'other west. Shell-craters, bomb-holes, trenches dug-outs, millions of loose cartridges, belts of cartridges, water bottles, shells, shell-cases, rifles, packs, every conceivable kind of munitions and equipment - captured guns - flocks, herds and mobs of ruffian looking Hun prisoners - smirking blackguards. One lot of them was told to move off, but the movement was held up for a minute by an arrogant Hun officer who declared that a horse should be provided for him - he wasn't going to walk. "Not walk'." said the corporal - the other blokes has got to walk - why not you?" "Discipline" said the Hun, "if I walk it will have a bad effect on my men" "Oh, will it? Well in the first place they ain't your men no more and as for b----y discipline you and them won't have no more use for it from now on, except what I give yer, Get a wriggle on or yer'll feel this (wheelbarrow) baynit. On the return journey I saw them, officer and all, padding the hoof, miles back. Vast energy, vast destruction and a great dust! I can't begin to paint, in case of a possible quick move. This takes it out of me as much as anything. To-day I am done up; muscle sore and dilated. A good chap has just brought me the mail, I came on (Lt. Col) Norman Marshall on a motor-bike looking very fit. He pulled up and said right away "Hullo! Jim! how's she going? Know anything about motor-bikes?" I referred him to the general's chauffeur who was near at hand and in two minutes that gentleman was N.'s willing slave. With successful results too, for I later saw Norman careering along at a great rate. That's what it is to have a way wid yer.* On the way back we saw our ordnance boys, overflowing with work re-rifling captured guns. They are packed in great quantities all along the Amiens road - hundreds of them.
*He's a great chap