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28 - Miss Pim's Camouflage by Dorothy Tennant · Miss Pims Camouflage

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  Speaker 1: Dorothy Stanley, chapter twenty eight. At the back of the church,
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  Speaker 1: through a great rent where the west window had been
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  Speaker 1: purty to pim scrambled out, tripping over wire, falling over graves,
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  Speaker 1: and keeping what shelter she could. She made for the
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  Speaker 1: British lines, or at any rate in the direction where
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  Speaker 1: she thought they would be. But the protection of ruined
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  Speaker 1: houses soon ceased, and she had now before her that
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  Speaker 1: sinister open country, broken up by hideous pools and lakes,
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  Speaker 1: the shell craters, after the night of rain, and the
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  Speaker 1: terrible litter of a battlefield. She thought that she ran,
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  Speaker 1: but it was only a jog trot. Hastening as she went,
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  Speaker 1: she tried to save and regulate her breathing, so that
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  Speaker 1: her very thoughts came panting, I am here to do it,
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  Speaker 1: to save those dear, dear Englishmen. It is my job, oh,
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  Speaker 1: that I may do it, not die till I have
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  Speaker 1: done it, just to save them. Their faces are so beautiful,
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  Speaker 1: so English. Deliberate. Bullets sped past her, some caught her
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  Speaker 1: streaming veil. Three bullets went through her eddying skirts. Bullets
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  Speaker 1: whizzed past her head. But in such universal frenzy, when
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  Speaker 1: the cry of approaching shells, and the crash of their
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  Speaker 1: coming seemed to disrupt and churn up the whole country.
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  Speaker 1: When the very air seemed rent in fragments, Miss Pim
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  Speaker 1: lost all sense of personal existence. She may have been afraid,
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  Speaker 1: but she did not know it. She went on because
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  Speaker 1: she had started going. She continued advancing from initial impulse
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  Speaker 1: as a top continues revolving. She passed many quiet men
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  Speaker 1: lying on the wet clay. They had finished their work.
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  Speaker 1: They were at rest, but she lived to help the living.
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  Speaker 1: Then it seemed to miss Pim that she was wandering
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  Speaker 1: in chaos. There was no indication of British lines, no
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  Speaker 1: gold to make for nothing but mud and destroyed things.
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  Speaker 1: There was no longer any meaning to anything. The shameful
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  Speaker 1: treatment of all things, from a strand of barbed wire
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  Speaker 1: to human lives took possession of her mind. She felt faith, hope,
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  Speaker 1: and that strength which gives you strength all ebbing away
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  Speaker 1: from her. She no longer believed in herself, and nothing
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  Speaker 1: was worth trying for. Tears and prayers were mere foolishness
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  Speaker 1: and high endeavor all make believe. A great weakness and
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  Speaker 1: weariness came over her. The compelling inertia of a drug
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  Speaker 1: seemed to clog her brain and weight her limbs. She
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  Speaker 1: dragged herself towards some upheaved earth, some wreckage of planks.
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  Speaker 1: She was so tired, too tired to go on. She
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  Speaker 1: was beginning to forget why she was out here, in
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  Speaker 1: this infamous region. Perhaps if she could get behind those mounds,
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  Speaker 1: were they graves? She might rest and recover her judgment.
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  Speaker 1: Surely her mind wanted rest, It was out of control.
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  Speaker 1: Why did she hear voices? Clearly she heard voices behind
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  Speaker 1: those graves? And there was laughter. Is that a blinking
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  Speaker 1: German widder taking a constitutional? And this idiotic remark brought
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  Speaker 1: back sanity to miss Pim. This was England and she
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  Speaker 1: had done her job and all was well. A joy
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  Speaker 1: the like of which she had never known, irradiated her
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  Speaker 1: as sunshine let into a shuttered room dispels cold in darkness.
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  Speaker 1: She never quite knew how she got over that embankment.
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  Speaker 1: She kept on calling out, I come from Colonel mrcott.
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  Speaker 1: I bring a message ready, hands outstretched to help her
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  Speaker 1: down to the British trenches. Right you are, madam, though
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  Speaker 1: what you might be doing in this here scrap passes me,
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  Speaker 1: said one of the men, I bring a message from
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  Speaker 1: the village of vilnickt some twenty of our west Kents
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  Speaker 1: under Colonel Murcott or holding it. The colonel is badly wounded.
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  Speaker 1: If you send men and ammunition at once, they may
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  Speaker 1: be saved. They have two machine guns but want for ammunition.
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  Speaker 1: A second lieutenant took the message down and it was
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  Speaker 1: telegraphed to the rear A few minutes later. Miss Pim
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  Speaker 1: had the satisfaction of knowing that substantial relief would be
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  Speaker 1: sent to Colonel Murcott and his men. But it was
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  Speaker 1: not thought likely we should hold the village. It was
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  Speaker 1: not desirable to get ahead of the general line, because
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  Speaker 1: that is country which we might have to barrage if
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  Speaker 1: counter attacking developed. But no great difficulty was anticipated in
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  Speaker 1: getting the men away, as the Germans had been removing
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  Speaker 1: their big guns for some time according to plan no doubt.
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  Speaker 1: So Miss Pim, now easy in her mind, allowed herself
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  Speaker 1: to be conducted to the rear. But she was more
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  Speaker 1: exhausted than she knew. The prolonged bodily and mental strain
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  Speaker 1: and loss of blood now took effect. In vain, she
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  Speaker 1: struggled against the overwhelming sense of weakness. She felt herself
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  Speaker 1: gradually sinking into an abyss of darkness. She stumbled and
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  Speaker 1: fell unconscious at the feet of the dismayed soldier. When
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  Speaker 1: Miss Pym recovered, she found herself on a truckle bed
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  Speaker 1: in the poor room of peasants, her neck and arm
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  Speaker 1: firmly bandaged. An aged frenchwoman sat knitting by the door.
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  Speaker 1: When she saw that Miss Pim wanted to speak, she
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  Speaker 1: shook her head and presented her with a cup of
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  Speaker 1: some liquid, murmuring la med sin command. Miss Pim drank obediently,
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  Speaker 1: feeling too weak to refuse, and immediately after fell into
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  Speaker 1: a deep sleep. It was the dawn of a new day.
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  Speaker 1: From where she lay, Miss Pim could see bands of
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  Speaker 1: pink and gold in a gray sky, and as the
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  Speaker 1: shadows of night rolled away, she felt all the pain
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  Speaker 1: and exhaustion had passed, leaving a delicious languor. It was
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  Speaker 1: difficult to remember where she was and what had happened,
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  Speaker 1: but she was content to drowse and drift off again
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  Speaker 1: into unconsciousness. When she awoke, the sun was high, and
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  Speaker 1: Miss Pim knew that life was good and she was
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  Speaker 1: ready for work. The old peasant woman was quite agitated
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  Speaker 1: when Miss Pim, fully dressed, greeted her cheerfully. The black
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  Speaker 1: clothes had been dried and brushed, and Miss Pym had
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  Speaker 1: pulled the bonnet into shape again. Her precious knapsack was
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  Speaker 1: at her side. The only thing she now wanted was
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  Speaker 1: the coffee, real coffee, and the bread almost white, which
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  Speaker 1: the frenchwoman put down before her, That blessed meal. Would
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  Speaker 1: she ever forget it? Miss Pym was sunning herself on
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  Speaker 1: a bench outside the cottage, watching little French children at play,
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  Speaker 1: when a group of young officers came up and congratulated
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  Speaker 1: her on her fine adventure. We were just in time
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  Speaker 1: to save the colonel, began one of them. The doctor
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  Speaker 1: thinks he has a good chance of recovery, and we
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  Speaker 1: arrived in the nick of time to take, or rather
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  Speaker 1: hold the village. Thanks to you, we routed the bosh.
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  Speaker 1: They simply could not stand our fire. We made quite
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  Speaker 1: a good bag of prisoners too. It was awfully lucky
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  Speaker 1: for you that you got through in a lull, put
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  Speaker 1: in another officer. Was that a lull? Exclaimed Miss Pim?
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  Speaker 1: Why it seemed to me a most fearful battle. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: that was nothing you ought to see a proper fight, though,
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  Speaker 1: of course, to a lady, I suppose it was pretty bad.
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  Speaker 1: Do tell us how you escaped from the Germans, asked
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  Speaker 1: a very eager young subaltern. Yes, yes, do tell us,
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  Speaker 1: chimed in the others eagerly. Miss Pim smiled at them,
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  Speaker 1: but she felt rather embarrassed. Could you send a telegraphic
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  Speaker 1: or telephonic message to the Commander in chief for me?
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  Speaker 1: She asked. You see, he expects to hear from me.
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  Speaker 1: As soon as I reached the British lines. I was
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  Speaker 1: to send word to him. I have quite special information
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  Speaker 1: for him. I should rather think you had. They muttered
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  Speaker 1: in chorus. Does the chief expect you at a certain date?
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  Speaker 1: Interjected one of them. Well, he couldn't be sure when
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  Speaker 1: I would get through if I ever did, explained Miss Pim,
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  Speaker 1: with a twinkle in her eyes. Have you been in
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  Speaker 1: Germany since the war began? Inquired the eager young subaltern. No,
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  Speaker 1: not so long as that, replied Miss Pim evasively. What
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  Speaker 1: an adventure? What an experience? Sighed an officer whose best
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  Speaker 1: friend was a war correspond and hungry for copy. Miss Pim,
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  Speaker 1: at last, in self defense, felt obliged to say Sir
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  Speaker 1: Hugh Douglas expects me to tell him everything before I
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  Speaker 1: talk to others, so you will understand and forgive my
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  Speaker 1: being so uncommunicative. I really have no choice. Oh of course,
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  Speaker 1: of course, obviously you cannot give away the show till
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  Speaker 1: you have seen the chief. They cried for all that
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  Speaker 1: they were much disappointed. English ladies do not come at
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  Speaker 1: the double over No Man's Land every day, but they
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  Speaker 1: left Miss Pim in peace. Do you think, she asked,
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  Speaker 1: doubtfully of the surgeon who came to dress her arm
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  Speaker 1: and neck that evening, that I could nurse Colonel Murcott. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: he's at Boulogne by now and will probably cross over
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  Speaker 1: to Blighty this evening. He has all possible care and
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  Speaker 1: he may recover, though of course he's in rather a
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  Speaker 1: bad way, pronounced the surgeon fastening the bandage. Miss Pym
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  Speaker 1: was much relieved. Nursing had never been her strong point.
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  Speaker 1: She felt quite out of her element in the sick room,
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  Speaker 1: being either unduly anxious and depressed or else over confident,
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  Speaker 1: too readily believing the patient was convalescent and only needed cheering.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, if Colonel Murcott had been in the village,
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  Speaker 1: she would have done her share of nursing, but she
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  Speaker 1: would not greatly have contributed to the colonel's recovery. Now, however,
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  Speaker 1: that he was in skilled hands, Miss Pym felt cheerful
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  Speaker 1: and free from responsibility and anxiety. On his account, end
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  Speaker 1: of Chapter twenty eight