THE SILENCE OF COLONEL BRAMBLE

CHAPTER I

The Highland Brigade was holdingits regimental boxing match in afine old Flemish barn in theneighbourhood of Poperinghe. At the end ofthe evening the general got on to a chairand, in a clear, audible voice, said:

"Gentlemen, we have to-day seen someexcellent fighting, from which I think wemay learn some useful lessons for the moreimportant contest that we shall shortlyresume; we must keep our heads, wemust keep our eyes open, we must hitseldom but hit hard, and we must fight toa finish."

Three cheers made the old barn shake.The motors purred at the door. ColonelBramble, Major Parker and the Frenchinterpreter, Aurelle, went on foot to theirbillets among the hops and beetroot fields.

"We are a curious nation," said MajorParker. "To interest a Frenchman in aboxing match you must tell him that hisnational honour is at stake. To interest anEnglishman in a war you need only suggestthat it is a kind of a boxing match. Tellus that the Hun is a barbarian, we agreepolitely, but tell us that he is a badsportsman and you rouse the BritishEmpire."

"It is the Hun's fault," said the colonelsadly, "that war is no longer a gentleman'sgame."

"We never imagined," continued themajor, "that such cads existed. Bombingopen towns is nearly as unpardonable asfishing for trout with a worm, or shootinga fox."

"You must not exaggerate, Parker," saidthe colonel calmly. "They are not as badas that yet."

Then he asked Aurelle politely if theboxing had amused him.

"I particularly admired, sir, the sportingdiscipline of your men. During the boxingthe Highlanders behaved as if they were inchurch."

"The true sporting spirit has alwayssomething religious about it," said themajor. "A few years ago when the NewZealand football team visited England, andfrom the first match beat the Englishteams, the country was as upset as if wehad lost this war. Every one in the streetsand trains went about with long faces.Then the New Zealanders beat Scotland,then Ireland; the end of the world hadcome! However, there remained theWelsh. On the day of the match therewere one hundred thousand persons on theground. You know that the Welsh aredeeply religious and that their nationalanthem, 'Land of our Fathers,' is also aprayer. When the two teams arrived the

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