Dark Terror by John Wilson

Author:John Wilson [Wilson, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-385-67833-9
Publisher: PRH Canada Young Readers
Published: 2015-08-25T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

New Boys—April 1917

“Wait till we clay-kickers get underground. We’ll show Fritz what’s what.”

Ewan and I are escorting a couple of the new boys up to the line to show them around. They are both fresh from civilian life—where they worked digging sewers beneath the city of Manchester—and have had virtually no military training. Ewan wants to see how they react to the front-line trenches.

The new pair are both short and stocky, but in personality they’re as different as chalk and cheese. Ernie is the quiet one. He has a broad, cheerful face and a snub nose. He says very little but is always looking around at what’s happening nearby. Stan, on the other hand, has a narrow face, and his nose and chin jut out aggressively. He’s full of bluff and boasting, and I’m not sure whether it’s arrogance or insecurity. Some of what he says makes me uncomfortable—it’s reminiscent of what I said to Eddie on the boat over from Halifax. I’m embarrassed by how naive I was then. I’ve learned a lot since.

“I were the champion clay-kicker in my team in Manchester.” Stan’s talking almost constantly as we move along the communication trench. “We used to have competitions to see who could work the fastest. I always won. One time—”

Stan’s story is interrupted by a shell exploding nearby. It’s a small one and the only danger is that a few clods of earth will fall on us. Stan immediately throws himself onto the duckboards on the bottom of the trench. Ernie begins to do the same, but when he sees that Ewan and I are remaining upright, he stops himself and straightens up.

“That was a close one,” Stan says, picking himself up off the ground. The front of his uniform is covered in mud.

“Not really,” Ewan corrects him. “But don’t worry—it takes a bit of practice to recognize the different shells and how near they are.”

“Oh, I weren’t worried,” Stan says. “But better safe than sorry, eh?”

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