38 
LAND & WATER 
June 7, igi; 
{Continued Jrom page 36) 
" ' Well,' said llii' ().C. after apaiisc. ' you'riiJiisoncisuf war. 
it)U must disarm,' and lir ordered tlic N ( .O.'s to stack tlir 
, drms in a sh<!d. The men were restivfi at this, the N.C.O.s 
. took counsel together apart, and at last one of em spoke up 
and said something about wliat was the use of ptoppiiij; tlicrc 
and getting their throats cut. The O.C. pondered on tiii>. 
and at last lie said it was all right, he would sec that e\ervtliint; 
was in order and have a paper ready for the Germans tellini; 
them it was a formal surrender. The men had the most 
implicit faith in their O.C, and they had t(,- he content with 
that. And mind you, that O.C. was one ot Mie bravest men 
who ever wore the King's uniform — Oh yes ! 'there's no doubt 
about that. Me didn t care a brass "farthmg for his own 
life, but he cared a great deal for the lives of the women 
and children in the town, and tired, dead tired, faint and 
drugged with want of steep, perplexed in the extreme, he - 
weli, there's no more to be said. Perhaps l:c hoped to gain 
. time — to secure a mental armistice for the conflict of ideas in 
his brain, until he and his men were lit to march and could 
relieve the town of their compromising presence. 
Anyhow, he went off to the mairic to sign that paper. 
Never mind what was in it— the' less said tiie better. Enough 
that there were two words that, as it happened, could never 
be blotted out, and-thodt two words were "uiiconditional 
surrender." 
^ ^ " The hours dragged on. The sun passed its meridian, 
he shadows deepened in the yard, and the men lounged about 
without their arms, some of them washing, some of them 
asleep. The O.C. sat in a room that looked out on the .scjuare, 
' only half awake, wlicu he was stai tied by a clear young voice 
outside. 
" ' Now then, yOu men, wiiat the devil arc you doing 
there? Turn out! Come on! Get your arms. Fall in!' 
" The oflicer sprang to his feet and rushed out. 
" There was a young cavalry subaltern — only a boy, faced 
by a group of sullen men now reinforced by an O.C. old 
enough to be his father. • ^ ^ - , . 
" ' What d 'you mean liy ordering my men about ?' said 
th.' O.C. 
" I never learnt the name of that young cub. but 1 umst say 
he was a topper. He faced the O.C. without turning a hair 
and said coldly : ' Whe»8i arc' their arms ?' 
" It was a deadly thrust, tnvon't repeat all that followed 
it was pretty painful. Let it - pass. The O.C tried to explain- 
, The explanation was horribly like an apology, and this from 
an O.C. to a subaltern in the presence of the men ! The 
subaltern turned his back and once more ordered the men to 
fall in. 1 suppose that brouglit the O.C. out of his trance. 
He stepped forward and told the men that thi; situation 
had changed and that he would march out at the head of 
them. ' * 
" ' But what about the paper ?' said a voice. 
"'The paper. What paper?' said the subaltern fixing 
his eyes on the O.C. And then the whple story came out. 
The subaltern said, nothiiy|, but when the O.C. said he 
would go to the maim and destroy the paper, the subaltern 
followed him. They walked there side by side in absolute 
silence. Whon they arrived the O.C. asked for the paper, but 
as the maire held it'out, the ^baltern stepped forward, seized 
it, and put it in Ws pocket., L 
" ' It is my duty to keep this for the G.O.C, sir !' he said 
quietly. 
" The O.C. said nothing. What could he say ? 
" A few minutes later the men limped out, their O.C. at 
the head of them, fsllowed by a string of carts carrying those 
who were'top lame to walk. When they had gone about three 
miles and were safely on the right road, the subaltern reined" 
in his horse, saluted, and said, ' I think 1 can be of no further 
use, sir — I will push on to H.Q.' 
"The O.C returned his salute, and after a inomentary 
hesitation that must have been unspeakably painful to .see, 
put out his hand. The sub. was surj)rised, as any sub. would 
have been, at this civilian gesture. But I guess he under- 
■ stood what a hell' thc^ot her must be going through, and 
leaning down from the saddle, he shook the outstretched hand. 
Then lie put spurs to his horse and" vanished in a cloud of 
dust. 
There is no London hotelier with more friends than Jules 
of Jermyn Street. He has. we regret to say, just lost his 
second son, Harry, in the war. Harry worked in the restaurant, 
where every one who knew him liked him, till last Christmas 
when he joined the H.A.C At the end of .April he went to 
France, entered the trenches on May 13th and two days later 
met a hero's death. He leaves a Nvidow and a baby girl. 
His elder brother, who is in the French Army, went through 
the Verdun battle unscathe^. Wide sympathy is felt with 
Jules and Mme. Jules and the widow m their sorrow. 
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