HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1979-09-12, Page 35Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, September 119, 119' 9—Paan 7
The sound of bursting shells in the distance,
rumbled across the battlefield, their flashes silhouet-
ting the barbed wire entanglements. The intermittent
yellow light revealed the faces of men crouching in
man-made burrows. In one corner, a young face which.
scarcely knew the pull -Pt a razor, sucked and blew on a
mouthorgan - Silent Night, Holy Night. It was
Christmas eve!
Sergeant Angus MacCrirnmon stood watch with his
section and reflected on the madness which had
labeled him a soldier. He saw again the face of Mary
MacLeod and bitterly recalled what he had told her.
"The war can't last long, Mary - 1',11 come back soon,
promise you."
It was midnight, and other thoughts came to his
mind. Five hours back, in Redtrees, hepictured his.
father James, doing the milking chores in the barn by
the light of an oil lamp. He saw the black and white
beasts chewing on the hay in the manger, heard the
squirt of milk against the side of the bucket, and saw
his father's forehead pressed against the warm belly
of a cow.
In the frame house his mother would be finishing
off thepreparations for Christmas. The air would be
filled with the smell of good things to eat and perhaps,
little candles burned on the Christmas tree by the
window.
Angus wasstanding on a wooden platform looking
out across no -man's land. It was a time when men
Watched and waited! He felt a tap on his legs and
turned to see the Company mail man handing him an
envelope. Stepping off the platform, he took the mail
and called out to one of the men.
".`Corporal Fraser, take over for a few minutes, I'm
goin' into the dugout to read this letter."
He made his way along the trench to an entrance
covered with hessian. Inside he struck a match. and
touched it to a candle stuck in the neck of a boftle. The
yellow Light revealed.a rough table - boards resting on
ammunition. boxes. There were sounds of heavy
breathing trom men sleeping on makeshift beds.
The letter was addressed in the bold, child -like
handwriting of Mary MacLeod, and. as Angus read, he
became filled with a feeling of guilt and misery. She
said she was carryinghis baby and soon she would
have to leave Redtrees. No, she didn't blarrie anyone
but herself. She alone would have to keep her secret
and protect the prestige of her father the Reverend.
Douglas MacLeod. There was one part of the letter
which filled Angus with emotion_ and it feed: ".If this
child of yours and mine is sin, theh it is a beloved sin,
and there will be part of you with me forever."
Angus snuffed the candle and went back to his post.
Throughout the night hestared out across the
battlefield - a place of blasted earth and splintered
trees. He felt he .had all the problems in the world on
his mind, but the pregnancy of Mary MacLeod would
be of minor importance compared to the misery of
many Redtrees families.when the Caledonian Scottish
went into action.
Meantime, Douglas MacLeod was preparing for the
Christmas Eve service - a most important occasion at
the church. The choir had practiced for the event and
of course, Mary was one of the choristers,. Douglas
'Went from time to time to the door of the church and
looked up the road. Fortunately, there was only a -thin
covering of snow and nothing to prevent his flock from
making their appearance. They would come from all
directions, harness jingling in the true spirit of
Christmas and oil lanterns shining from the buggies.
It seemed that the congregation. arrived all at the
same time. Ladies dressed in their very best and
chatting together in the porch, whilst their men placed
blankets on the horses in the driving shed. Altogether
a happy occasion, with shouts of "Merry Christmas"
carried on the crisp night air.
The sermon of the Minister was the usual message,
Bethlehem, Mary and the Child. If he had known the
story of another Mary and her child, he wouldn't have
.been so full of joy at that moment.
Mary MacLeod had already planned her course of
action. She would slip away from Redtrees as soon as
Christmas was over and whilst the winter was still
young. She would go to the city and perhaps find work
for as long as she could. Mary realized she would have
to tell her father about her condition.' Not by word of
mouth, but by the letter she would leave behind. She
dreaded to think, how her father would manage the
domestic affairs when she was gone.
When the service was over, Mary stood with her.
father in the porch and spoke a ,few words to each
person as they passed. A fine snow was falling and.
had already covered the wheel tracks which the
carriages had made on their way in. It was not very
cold and a few of them stood in groups gossiping for a
while. Soon, however, the last buggy had left the
churchyard. The Reverend Douglas MacLeod looked
at his beautiful young daughter.
"It -is still a joyous time of the year, in spite of so
many of the boys being away." He kissed his.
daughter on the cheek: ``Happy Christmas, Mary
The church was the very Life of Douglas MacLeod,
and had he been in any other occupation except that of
minister, Mary would have reconsidered her decision
to leave him. If she stayed, the position of both herself
and her father would have been unbearable. Douglas
found. pride in his work, and in the fact that he was the
third gener