HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Clinton News Record, 1940-11-21, Page 2PAGE 2
THE CLINTON NEWS -RECORD
INJURED DURING STORM
Mr. F. A. Rogerson, lineman for
the Blyth Munl-oipal Telephone Sys
stent, has been confined to his home,
suffering from an injury received
while repairing damage to the tele-
•yhon.e line miTinsley street, in Mon-
day night's store:
A limb of a tree, which snapped
•off, became entangled in the wires,
and being informed of the trouble,
Mr. Rogerson proceeded . to clear up.
the trouble late Monday night. In
some manner the limb struck him,
:and although the injury was nit ser
ious, iL• has confined him to his resi-
deuce ever since.
"Look here, Sarah," said the mas-
ter of the house, "how many- more
itintes have I to tell you about these
.00bwebs? I've just had to sweep ono
-off the ,bed -rail and throw it in the
fire myself."
"Good gracious, sir," exclaimed the
maid. "That's the misses' fancy dross
for tonight's dance!"
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H. T. TRANCE
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ruranee Agent, Representing 14 -Fire
Insurance Companies.
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Successor to W. Brydone, S.C.
Sloan -Blom — Clintnn. Ont.
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FOOT CORRECTION
'by manipulation Sun -Ray Treatment
Phone 201
HAROLD JACKSON
Licensed Auctioneer
Specialist in Farm and Household
:Sales.
Licensed in Huron and Perth
Counties. Prices reasonable; satis-
faction guaranteed.
For information etc, write or phone
Harold Jackson, 12 on 658, Seaforth;
IL R. 1, Brumfield. 06-012
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THE McKILLOP MUTUAL
Fire Insurance Company
Head Office, Seaforth, Ont.
Officers:
'President, Thomas Moydan, Sea -
forth; Vice President, William Knox,
Ironclesboro; Secretary -Treasurer, M.
A. Reid, Seaforth. Directors, Alex.
Broadfoot, Seaforth; James Sholdice,
Walton; James Connolly, Goderich;
W. R. Archibald, Seaforth; Chris.
Leonharclt, Dublin; Alex. McEwing,
51-'th;; Frank McGregor, Clinton.
Ltsc of Agents: E. A. Yeo, R.R. 1,
Goderich, Phone 603r31, Clinton;
Jambs Watt, Blyth; John E. Pepper,
Brumfield, R. R. No, 1: R. F, McKer-
cher, Dublin, R. R. No. 1; J. F.
Preuter, Brodhagen; 11. G. Jarmuth,
Bornholm, R. R. No. 1.
Any money to be paid may be paid
to the Royal Bank, Clinton; Bank of
Commerce, Seaforth, or at Calvin
d,istt's Grocery, Goderich.
Parties desiring to effect insur-
ance or transact other business will
the promptly attended to on applica-
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eliessed to their respective post offi-
•res. Losses- inspected by the director
who lives nearest the scene.
•
'CANADIAN .k AT 0, A' W :YS
TIMETABLE
Trains wilt arrive at and depart from
Clinton as follows:
Buffalo and Goderich Div.
Going East, depart 6.43 a.m
Going Fast, depart 3,00 p.m.
Going West, depart 11.45 a.m.
Going West, depart 9.50 p.m.
London,' Huron & Brnce
Going North, ar 11.21, Ive. 11.47 a.m.
Bloing South ar. 2.50, leave 8.03 p.m.
PUBLISHED
COPYRIGHT
GENERAL SIR -'W STON MARRhd,
•a highly -placed officer of the
General Staff visiting New Zeal-
and on duty.
LORNA MARRIS, liis pretty, luxury
loving, daughter.
SYNOPSIS OP PREVIOUS
CHAPTERS
GENERAL SIR WESTON MAR:
RIS, sent to New Zealand to }report
on certain aspects of 'Imperial de-
fence, is accompanied by his daugh-
ter, LORNA, and his sister, HILDA,
who, as an aunt, gives an eye to the
high-spirited Lorna.
The daughter is engaged to CAP-
TAIN IRLICHARDS, the General's
Aide -de -Camp, but Richards does not
arrive in New Zealand with the party,
he having been delayed on duty he
Australia.
One characteristic of the country
which rather startles Lorna is the al-
most class -less state of society which
allows the official chauffeur, loaned
to her father, to adopt a friendly, al-
most familiar, attitude towards her.
Intrigued by the man's manner and
captivated by his good looks, she goes
on a country run with him, in the
course of which he kisses her.
folly of her action, and, meeting
cold and reserved. He has learned
Next day, she feels acutely the
HAWICSFORD, she finds him very
that she is engaged to Richards, and
scorns her for allowing herself to
forget that fact.
Richards arrives, and as Lorna is
walking on the veranda of the coun-
try hotel where the party is staying,
she hears a noise in Richard's room.
Investigating, she sees Hawksford
with Richard's notecase in his hand.
Confronted by Lorna, he begs her
not to tell Richards. He would rather
she told the General.
After some hesitation, she agrees
that she will not tell anyone. but she
adds that he must not speak to her
again except on matters of duty.
(Now Read 'On)
CHAPTER VIII
LORNA DECIDES TO
INVESTIGATE
That evening Richards and General
Marris left for Wellington on the
steamer express. Determination to
investigate Hawksfeird's real char-
acter came to Lorna as she and Miss
Martis prepared to go to Harmer
next day.
Among the, things that she packed
to take with her was a brown and
white plaid coat, which she had had
at thb bottom of her cabin trunk
which had carne by rail from Auck-
land; also a hat, gloves and shoes
which'Hawksfeed had never seen her
wear. She liad her own idea about
the possibility of her needing them.
Fran that impulsive action grew
the scheme she finally Involved.
Hawksford, she found, had arranged
with her father to drive herself and
her aunt to Harmer, and leave the
car with them; after that he had ask-
ed for the weekend. off. During that
weekend, she assumed, he would be
going about his own business. It
would be the best possible opportun-
ity to find oub what his activities
really were.
When they arrived at the Shanes'
white -painted, timber house in the
foothills of the mountains, looking
over the pine forests and the wide
Plain of the Waiau river -bed, Lorna
seized an opportunity to ask Hawks-
ford stiffly as he put the scar away:
"I shall be using the car myself;
you sometimes have trouble with the
ignition, don't you? Shall I be able
to get into touch with you if any-
thing goes wrong,"
He looked a little sexprised, but fell
neatly into the trap.
"Well, as •a matter of fact, I in-
tended to go down to Christchurch on
the service -car int the morning."
"Oh, well," said Lorna carelessly,
'I suppose there's a garage in the
town. I could get a man up from,
there if anything goes wrong;"
"You're not likely to have any
trouble, everything is in good order."
"Ohl" said Lorna, "Thanks,"
And she rejoined her aunt and Mrs.
Shane on the glorious, wide sun -porch
with its view over the long vista of
the Waiau Valley. That first little
success in her investigations increas-
ed her confidence; while the stress
of her uneasy conscience about
Hawksford made the maddest scheme
seem reasonable if it would give her
any certainty about him.
She throve down into Hammer that
evening, and went to the local gar-
age, and asked if she could hire a
sight car.
"I want to drive inte Christchurch
;amorrow and I don't like driving
this thing, it's too heavy," she ex-
plained to the individual with the
mask of black grease who was in
charge.
She waited awhile until the garage
pi'opr•.ietor arrived to consider the
question and when she stated that
she was staying at the Shaves, thele
was no further difficulty. The prop,
rietor had a light car he drove him -
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
MISS HILDA MARRIS; sister of the
General, accompanying him to
New Zealand and giving Lorna
such"supervision 'as a high-spirit-
ed girl will tolerate,
CAPTAIN ALLEN' RICHAIRDS, the
General's Aide -de -Camp, who is"
engaged to Lorna.
T. H. HAWKSFORD, chauffeur to'
the General's party. A ' New
Zealander, "handsome in a rug-
ged, }arresting fashion,"
self; and she could hire that.
Lorna drove back to the Shanes
with her course still further decided.
She was lucky also in having 210 in
notes in her handbag, It was more
her habit to be short of money, be-
cause, though she had two hundred
a year of her owe and her father
made her as allowance of a hundred
in addition, it went very fast on
clothes. But in this part of the world,
where fashions followed six months
behind, like the seasons, she had
spent less than usual.
She ascertained that the service car
n
left 7 .6 ext morning. r
at nHe
only remaining difficulty was how to
get away from the Shares'. She had
only just arrived to stay; how could
she go off to Christchurch next morn-
ing without a very good excuse ?
What had seemed' the most trivial
objection of all, suddenly appeared
the most serious. What was she to
do so as not to offend Mrs. Shane?
She had to cudgel her brains while
she dressed for dinner, and had al-
most lost hope before she thought
of the solution.
She joined her aunt and Mrs. Shane
with a pensive expression, and fing-
ered her jaw thoughtfully from time
to time.
"Have you a toothache?" inquired
Miss Marris, at last.
"It isn't very bad," said'Lorna. She
looked more and more pained., and
sighed deeply now and again while
they played bridge after dinner.
"You must really do something
about it," said Miss Marris, and Mrs.
Shane proposed aspirin and a hot
mouth mash.
"I really should have gone to that
man you recommended to Aunt in
Christchurch," said Lorna.' The suc-
cess of her mild deception made het'
feel guilty. But after all, what else
was she to do. It was a matter be-
yond such small Considerations.
She went to becl early, with a look
of patient martydrom, and allowed
herself to be dosed with aspirin. She
lay awake not with toothache, but
with excitement, and at six o'clock,
when the sun was brightening the
sky behind the mountain tops, she
dressed hurriedly, tiptoed into the
room in which her aunt was sleeping,
and wakened her:
"Aunt Hilda, I'm going to drive
down to Christchurch now, I can't
stand this any longer." She clasped
her jaw in pretended agony.
"But must you go all that way?"
said the Startled Miss 1M1ar1'is. "There
may be a dentist out here, or one
somewhere nearer than Christchurch.'
"I don't believe there is," moaned
Lorna, "I'd better go to the one Mrs.
Shane recommended to you -- don't
wake her up, just let me get away
quietly, for heaven's sake, Aunt. I
don't feel I can stand a fuss."
"But are you fit to drive with a
toothache like that. Hadn't you bet
tea' ring Hawksford? He said he
would be at a boarding house in the
teem until this morning; he can give
up his weekend in a case like this
"No, please don't! Just let me go!
Goodbye - I'll be back soon, don't
worryl Apologize to Mrs: Shane for
me!" And Lorna was gone.
She let herself silently out of the
house, hastily got out• the car, and
drove off down the avenue between
the pines, before anyone could come
out of the house to make any more
difficulties. Her heart was beating
fast with the sense of daring action
ahead; the sun was peeping over the
pines, the mountain tops were gold,
and the air was like wine.
The time was six -thirty, the service
car diel not leave Hamner until seven
forty-five, and Hawksford was not
likely to be about in the town to
see her chive through.
But she hurried as she drove to the
garage, left the big Cremo'ne. and
set set off in the carr she had hired.
It was a make she had often ch•iven
at hotels, and she had no trouble with
it.
She put the town behind: her as
fast as possible, then drove slowly
across the plain of the Waiau. Her
plan was to di:ive some way ahead
on the Christchurch Road', wait for
the service car to pass her and then
follow it.
.A.e the Feted elong under the cloud-
less blue sky, she felt excited by the
adventure she had embarked on, lint
it was nota pleasant excitement: re
often as not it made her wish to turn
ba,clr. It seemed a mean thing to be
spying upon Hawksford. But it was
that after ell, or she must tell how
she had caught hint with AIlen's
notecase, which would be worse for
him.
Five miles from Hamner the road
crossed the Waiau by a narrow bridge
and then followed the river gorge;
winding through great i•ti.gged. hills,
until it came upon antothee wide plain
set round with the battlements of
distant mountains. Here; on the rib-
bon of road which ran between pine
plantations into the tremendous dis-
tance, Lorna pulled up the car and
prepared for her enterprise:
She set upa mirror from her case
rase
on the steering wheel, and set about
altering her appearance as much as
possible. She scraped' her hair back
from her face into a tight knot be-
hind; wiped all vestiges of make-up
from her face with cold dream, and
left the grease shining on it, With
a sticky powder foundation cream
she lightened her eyebrows, eye-
lashes and lips as much as possoble;
a pair of spectacles slue sometimes
used for reading on her nose, an un-
becoming brown felt hat pulled over
her eyes, the collar of her plaid coat
turned up round her chin, and, she
thought it would take her best friend
more than a casual glance to recog-
nize her.
At eight -twenty-three a Cat• app-
eared in a little puff of dust on the
road behind her. Lorna started off
and was doing about twenty-five
miles an hour towards Christchutich,
when the car overtook her; a glance
showed her that it was the service
ear, and as it' had whizzed past in a
yellow cloud, she accelerated and fol-
lowed it. There -after she was hard
put to it keep it in sight.
It pulled up at the hotel at Wai-
kari, she went on past it, and flashed
a glance at the passengers emerging
on to the road to stretch their legs.
Hawksford was there, wearing a
light-coloured tweed suit. She .vas on
the right trail!
She tried to get as much ahead as
she could, the hired car was newish,
and she dashed perilously round the
bends of the winching road through
the limestone pass at forty miles per
hour. On the straight wide roads of
the plain on the other aide she put
down the accelerator, and rushed to-
wards Christchurch at a steady fifty-
five.
The service car picked her up again
on the outskirts of Christchurch: she
fell behind and followed it in to its
final stopping place, a garage in the
centre of the town. She pulled up
at the kerb opposite the garage, and
*saw Hawksford come out, carrying a
Suitcase.
He turned to the right and walked
away.
CHAPTER IX
HAWKSFORD UNDER OBSERVA-
TION
Lorna nerved herself to the job
and, getting quietly out of the car,
walked after Hawksford a distance of
about 20 yards. He walked no fur-
ther than round the block, into an
hotel called the Leeston. A.cross the
road from it were grass lawns and
seats in a public garden. Lorna
strolled across and sat clown on a
bench from which she had the hotel
door in view.
And there she waited, looking at
the tulips and wallflowers. Presuen-
ably he was going to put tip at the
Leestoi. Time—much—time-passed
presumably he was now having lunch,
Lorna had had no breakfast either,
and she was well aware of it; she be-
gan to realize that investigation has
its arduous side after watching the
hotel door for about an hour and
three quarters.
At 12-30 pan., Hawksford emerged
from the hotel, minus his suitcase,
glanced at his. watch and began to
walk rapidly towards Cathedral
Square, the centre of the town.
Lorna took up the trail again,
warily. She must not on any account
get too near to him. Suppose, an a
close scrutiny, die were to recognize
her? Ise disappeared into the priv-
ate bar of another hotel in Cathedral
Square. She managed to .Get a packet
of chocolate, and then loitered by the
cathedral. A certain depression had
fallen noon her. Did any investigat-
or ever' find out anything' about any-
body by this sort of thing?
After ten minutes, Hawksford came
out of the private bar with another
man, a shoot, dark 'individual,. care-
iesslydressed, cut in the manner of
a gentleman. Lorna trailed them
discreetly,and they disappeared into
a plane called the "Canterbury Na-
tional Club."
If Hawksford was 'a chauffeur,
what was he doing going into a club
which she understood was reserved
for the 3nflnr itial members of the
Christchurch society? That in itself
was odd. Loitering within sight of
the club Was difficult: But the Caime
out after half an hour. In the corn's°
of the afternoon, she followed him to
the Post Office; a man's shop, a
tobacconist's, a telephone call, box
When he came out of that call box
he looked along the, street at her;
or so, it seemed to her.
Dia he suspect something? Had he
noticed her before? Was the plaid
coat conspicuous, had it drawn his
attention." She pretended to be look
ing at the stills outside a cinema
theatre, then Walked quickly away
in the ether direction.
She lost him then, But she, went
into a popular draper's and bought a
plain navy blue coat, and an ugly
but inconspicuous blue hat . She
put them cn instead of the things
she was wearing, and then bad a good
meal in a small restaurant. Going
back to her car, she found a white
paper stuck to the windscreen bidding
her roped at the City Council head-
quarters for allegedly parking her
ear overtime . . .
She took it to the garage for Pet-
rol, and shifted it to a place just
down the street from Hawksforcl's
hotel; there she sat in it reading a
sneeespape , hoping that he would
come back. He came a few minutes
before six o'clock. At 7-15 a taxi
drew up outside the hotel, and it was
Iiawksford Who came ant to get into
it.
Blessing her luck for having sat
in her car andnot on a seat in the
square Lorna started it up quickly,
and when the taxi drove away with
1•Iawksford in it; she was able to
follow immediately.
She followed it out of the city
along the North Road into the sub-
urb- of Papanui; it turned to the
right about two miles out, into a
dark side street. It drew up at a
corner a hundred yards along; Lorna
pulled in to the kerb abruptly, fifty
yards behind it, and switched off her
lights. In the dusk she dimly dis-
cerned Hawks£ord's tweed clad figure
on the pavement; the taxi drove away
and he began to walk down the street
towards her.
There was nothing to be done, but
to huddle down by the steering wheel,
and tenet that he would not notice
her in the dusk as he passed.
But he did not conte so far. He
turned in at a gate in a fence which
gleamed dimly white in the gloom...
Lorna waited an instant or two,
then slipped out of the car, and
stepped into the shadow of the hedge:
She edged her way along it, and look-
ed over the fence in time to see the
front door of the house thrown open
by a man in shirt sleeves, and
Hawksford stepped into the lighted
hall...
It was a small, neat wooden bung-
alow, not shabby, but not over -
prosperous. The door was closed.
She saw a light go on in the right
front window, and she saw -the two
step into it. The man in shirt
sleeves who had opened the door came
to the window and pulled down the
blind.
In a trice Lorna was inside the
gate, tiptoeing round under the shad-
ow of the hedge towards the house;
for the room had a second window
on the side, and the shaft of light
falling through it on to the shrub-
beries told her that the blind had
not been drawn and she would be able
to see in. She stooped under the
overhanging branches of a mulberry,
and creeping behind their shelter,
edged into a position from which
she could see through the screen of
leaves into the room.
Iiawksford was standing alone in
it with his back to the fireplace; the
man had gone. In a moment or two,
the door opened again, and he came
in, carrying something white which
he gave to Hawksford—a letter, she
judged. Hawlcsford tock it, rind lift-
ed it up, looking at it against the
light.
"Queer!" thought Lorna. Ise look-
ed at it this way and that, not open-
ing it.
(CONTINUED NEXT WEEK)
LEGION CHIEF URGES INPROV-
ED MEASURES FOR REHABIL-
ITATION
OTTAWA—Adequate measures for
the rehabilitation of mon returning
to Canada following discharge from
the overseas forces should be adopted
at once to prevent aggravation of an
acute situtatiot, it is urged by Alex
Daiker, of Calgary, Dominion Pres-
ident of the Canadian Legion, in a
letter submitted last weelc to Prime
Minister W. L. Mackenzie Ring:
Describing the matter as one that
"is giving the Canadian Legion a
great deal of concern," Mr. Walker
said through discussions between 'the
Legion and the Minister of Pensions
and National Health have resulted in
assurances that a satisfactory plan
will be formulated, the great problem
is provisions for the men immediately
ups•,their discharge.
The process of adjudicating on
claims for pensions and medical
treatment for those physically unfit
takes time, particularly if there is
delay in getting documents from their
units in, the United Kitngdomn, and
Mr. Walker urged that action be con-
sidered that would not make it nee-
esary for returned men to seek as-
sistance through relief offides.
Suggestions with a veiw to alley-
THURS., NOV. 21, 1940
Won't You Het in the
War On Tui cru de
A&. RA EA 1.51 d d�
� `.til JYt
t. ; �u(tdiwzrA,Nei IV Ira Ur 1121,
Your contribution will. assist Queen
Alexandra Sanatorium in its fight
against youth's most dreaded foe.
CHRISTMAS SEAL COMMITTEE, 299 Dundas St., London, Ont.
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BEFORE THE MORNING WATCH of the waves as they curved and
broke in gleans of grey foam. Oc-
casionally a- look -out gave tongue.
Once a floating mine was reported
and avoided, and the warning flashed
astern to the flotilla. Once the dark
outlines of a convoy glided past, un-
der guard of its escorts, silent and
dark as ghost ships.
At midnight fannies of hot cocoa
arrived from the galley.. Men strip-
ped themselves and drank, grateful
for the warmth of the thick sweet
brew, and lapsed into their thoughts
again.
Canadian sailors are in the North
Sea playing a heroic part in the
struggle against the hordes of Hitler.
The British Ministry of Information
sends a story which reveals some-
thing of the hard task they and
others are performing so nobly.
The summer dusk deepened slowly
over the North Sea as the destroyer
flotilla reached its patrol area. In
an overcast sky a bar of smoky or-
ange light held out for a while
against the darkness, and faded at
last. The long low shapes of the
destroyers glided tlu'ou.gh the night
like grey wolves whose hour for bunt-
ing had come, and presently merged
into the darkness.
In the half light the destroyers
had gone to action stations. Their
crews had done it all se often that
they gave the impression of an al-
most mechanical efficiency. The
orders, conveyed in. peace time by
pipe and shouting, were given in un-
dertones, almost superfluously, and
the reports when they reached the
bridge—such and such a gun ready
and closed up—searchlights and tor-
pedo tubes crews at their stations—
were tttade and acknowledged in
undertones, pitched just loud enough
to over core the dfone of the fan
exhausts and the sound of the sea.
"Very gond," carte the low answer
to each report.
It was in truth very good. The
flotilla, the ships themselves, every
bit of machinery, every weapon, every
officer, and ratan, the whole co-ordin-
ation of discipline and efficiency and
experience, seemed to lock together
like a breech -block slanted home.
On the bridge of the flotilla leader
the captain levered himself on to a
high wooden seat theft the compass,
turned up the collar of his coat and
stuck an .empty pipe in his mouth.
All about him were the forms of men
motionless itt the darkness. He was
conscious of them not so much as in-
dividuais but as functions, parts of
himself as it were. It was as if he
were simultaneously staring through
half -a -dozen pairs of eyes into the
darkness, listening with other Care
to the sounds of the sea, calculating
the set of currents, reading a tiny
beam of light 'fliekering a message
on the bridge of the next astern
and at the saltie tune 116 was estimat-
ing itis fuel requirements when he
returned to harbour, wishing he could
smoke, and hoping he could somehow
keep at bay for the next six hours
a longing for sleep. For the first
few hours nobody talked very Hutch.
The sky held a pale diffused light,
with patches of stars alternately ob-
scured and revealed inthe shifting
ceiling of thin clouds. This light
sufficed to show the clark shadows
iating the situtation were advanced
to the Prime Minister by the Legion
prosident, It was submitted that
meta returning from overseas
through physical disabilities should
automatically be taken en the streng-
th of the Department of Pensions and
National Health at a rate of pay eq-
uivalent to their army pay and allow-
ances and retained on that basis until
a decision as to treatment or pension
is given, or adequate rehabitation
treasures are applied.
It was :finally suggested by the
Legion president that before men of
lover category are discharged from
active service, .efforts should be rade
to determine if they are sufficiently
fit to be employed in any one of the
three services in capacities suitable
to their physical condition. It was
submitted that special officers should
be appointed to carry out such in-
vestigations. , _, i
The First Lieutenant unfastened
the belt of his goatskin coat and
nulled a biscuit out of his pocket.
He ,stood leaning against No, 3 gun
nibbling the biscuit and thinking
about his goatskin coat. It was the
type of garment worts by Palestine
shepherds and he had bought it at
Alexandria. It smelt Iike nothing on
earth when he bought it, but he
hung it in the sun and the wind on
board bis destroyer "up the straits"
and that made it all right. Shep-
herds had probably worn coats like
that in the time of Christ, guarding
their flocks from wolves on the bleak
hills of Palestine, He felt that there
was some sort of connection between
hint and the shepherds although it
was a far cry from Palestine to the
North Sea. Anyhow they both had
mach the same sort of job and they
were both wearing the sante sort of
coat, and it was a good coat for
keeping hatch in, once you got the
smell of goat out of it.
'T The loader of the foremost gun had
toothache. He'd been a fool to drink
lust cocoa because that made it terse.
He wanted to bank his head against
the gee shield. He wondered how
anybody could be unhappy who hadn't
got toothache. The world was just
composed of two lots of people, those
who had toothache and those who
hadn't. The ones who hadn't ought
to go about dancing and bashing
cymbals together like the Salvation
Army and shouting "I haven't got
toothache! Hursah! I haven't got
toothache! hallelujah!" Most people
didn't know when they were well off,
and that was a fact. IIe wondered
what the captain would say if the
ship's company started beating tam-
bourines and shouting "Hurrah!" be-
cause they hadn't go toothache. He
wished they would go fate action and
then perhaps a shell would come
along and blow his head off, That
was about the only thing that would
erre him.
The second hand of tate signal
watch was thinking about his bed at
hone. His home was a farm house
in Hampshire. There was lavender
growing in ,the front garden. His
mother dried tate flowers and hunt
them in muslin bags in her linen cup-
board. His pillow and the sheets
smelt faintly of lavender. A down
pillow. Yew head sank into it and
the scent of lavender went over you
in a soft wave. He tried to stop
thinking about it, nodding where he
stood. He thought of waking up in
the morning instead, en the first day
of Itis leave. His mother bringing
him a cup of tea, and tins noises of
the. farm coning through the win-
dow. The clang of a milk paid, The
cock crowing. Solomon, his name
was -. . The Chief Yeoman stuck
him in the ribs with his elbow, "Come
on—keep your eyes skinned. You're
half asleep."
The light in the sky strengthened
imperceptibly. The wind blew chill-
ier. The shadowy fomes on the bridge
became individuals withfeetnres and
identities, tired men in need of, a
shave. Cups of cocoa were passed
round again. Eyes were raised, to the
sky. The captain filled and lit Itis
pipe. "Keep a good lookout over-
head," he said, "This is I-Ieinkei time
—just before the morning watch."