WAR STORIES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 66, 18 March 1915, Page 10

WAR STORIES.

DEGREE. ; 'X i(By OLE-LTiK-OrE.) three instalments.) " jibe message ended; there was a r"fetop," and the sweating operator took hand from the key. The sleeve of ~43iis shirt had-ehpped down over his jwirist and had 'been JbaUdng him for -Sioine-iime: hut so elaok did he feel that •Ac lad -waited 4o signal the final meangroup o£ letters and recewe the •ackiKHriedgment-Jbef ore stopping to push attack. It-was the laet of that series of messages. He jabbed the form from which le" had teen reading on to the sharpened piece of telegraph wire, which", already crowded with _a. sheaf of similar flimsies, stuck out from the table edge. These twgre the messages dispatched and done ■with. On tie table, weighted down by a;clip of cartridges, and now much decreased, there still -remained^-the- pile wihich had to be sent. The halt was welcome to the telegraphist's cra.mped_.and..aching band.. The Eiin had g<rae""d*own;yet T the atmosphere iwas still stuffy, and it pulsated with the foaieful irregularity of fohe Morse code; and its maddening dot-dot-dash, dot-! dash-dot. Tc the tired solclier everything eeemed to move id" its measure'; his. very head throbbed in, a. dance of longs, and""shorts. Yhe-day had been' he had t on <prt-y for many hours of great pressure, for head-' qaattera—were shortianded owing—ieeiekness. He felt stale and dizzy and almost apathetic, having long been de■aied~the strmulus'o'f any interest"in his task. He knew, of course, of the Imge concentration and great movement of Troops Vutai, was going on, but most of iis work-this day had consisted in the transmission of cipher mesages, which Sonveyed n» Hiliri. ihan to ."the Srey he andt tfieHsttain of aceuS ifetely signalling endless streams-of mere ■groups of letters" TTOsTdeadening to the rSntellect. He could not understand, and Ihe did not care; he was now incapable *tof feeling anything except anxiety to -avoid erroTS and a desire to reach the bottom of the new small pile of flimsies *&. the table. They ■Tlnexpected contingencieSj tbvgend'pf-fhia ■particular job for that night. After .iiem rwould be rest—perhaps sleep. ■ He yawned and • steetehed again, the ■fcnnping of his head against -ihe dewtautened wall of the tent sounding like -a-tap on a brass drum and disturbing the <lustere of flies higher -up. The canvas ' rtwas moist and pleasantly cool; he -srubbed the back of his head against it, . -ranconsciously f allowing tie jerky "g-hyShm "which in- that enclosed space, -iwas all-pervading-. He continued with iclosed thoughts far away— ;pjsrhaps"_~df_lr6me, ofLwite and children. <fr, possibly, only of eq-ually distant beer -— a half-smoked cigarette faling 4rom behind his-ear recalled him to duty. - It was getting- dark. He rose, picked Tip tie cigarette, and from a pocket of the jacket" lying , on the floor, where he ihad placed them for shelter from the etm's rays, he drew out "tevo candles. But, in spite of his forethought, the midday heat had been too mnefij and it was a sorry couple of dips that "he produced.

He- lit t.hcTTij took: -up-the next message, and seized the key. "Click-click, clickdiek, click-click." The jerky, restkss noise xeeonrmenced, drowningija.il pther eoends. iPront tents close by, .w&ich also- had "wires leading to th<\m, emdm sounds "were proceeding, and -from one of the" first-floor windows of the inn behind there issued the comparatively soothing rattle of a typewriter. Beyond, in ihe copse, a gentle breeze rustled. Sullenly the night air wae split—"Brrrp-brrp-brrnp"—by a loud ripping sound. Startling in its clear-cut intensity, it continued in monstrous parody of the same cadence tapped out so daintily, if irritatingly, by the key in the tent. Was there no escape from the cursed code? These gashes of sound without reticence "were from the ipark "of the wireless as it sent its waves cleaving their way through the night to many miles distance—the noise of their departure a vague measure of their impetus. Though puiyosely placed at some distance from the house, the installation was scarcely far enoogh: away for the comfort of any of its occupants, certainly not far enough for the exasperated staff trying to "work." '• Presently the noise in the telegraphist's tent stopped, and the light inside ceased to glow through the canvas. The man came out of the tent, and curling himself tip in a blanket, lay down in the opening with his head outside, to get the benefit of the mere I brea4}h of eir—scarcely more than a sigh 'in the tree-tope. His bad'time was done, for, as far as he was concerned, the great concentration "was over. Without even a curee at the grinding rattle of..the wireless, he turned'ovefand'fell dead asleep, the ; cigaTfitte: still:.behind his rear. n. Not fifty yards from where the telegraphist lay sleeping another man was experiencing a feeling of relief far deeper than anything felt by that tired soldier. This was the Field-Marehal Com-manding;in-Chief t now _sittin<r in the porch of-the little lira —his present headquarteraj as was shown by the-ihree red lamps in front. -He was. a middle-eized, thick-set man; but beyond this and the expression of utter abandonment of body and mind conveyed by his attitude, it was too dark to distinguish much of his pergonal appearance. As he eat alone in fche-gloom, the slow and regular glow ofTiis cigar-end ehoiwed thai the smoker was very much at ease." After a few moments he roee from his chair to ring a handbell on the table, and the slight stiffness, or, rather, a Jack of elasticity in his movements, suggested that -ise was well over middle age, possibly a trifle old for the strenuous life demanded by •field service. A young staff-officer came out. '""Yes, sir." "Have you got the 'move complete- , reports in from the fifteenth and Sixteenth Divisions yet?" "The.Kfteenth is in, but not the Sixteenth," "When do you expect that? - ' "In about two hours, if there is no hitch." *"Whaf s the time now!" " Nine-thirty, sir." "Well, tell the chief staff-officer, please, that I wish to see him. So — don't disturb him now: tell him that I should like the ' Future' map completed up to time; to be in my room at mid

night. The Chief of Staff Teturns to- t night, and I wish, to show it to him." 1 The young officer turned to go, too £ well trained to show any surprise; but he had shared the common belief that - the Chief of Staff had died in hospital i a week ago. - * " Stop! If any fresh move reports of importance should com« in while 1 have « the map, let mc know." ' " Very good, sir." ' i Again alone, the Field Marshal went s on smoking. How fit be felt! He had < but recently shaved and tubbed, and i that delicious feeling of comfort, which i a more or less precarious attainment of < such luxuries makes so grateful, per- < vaded his being; his chin was smooth 1 and smelt of soap. How well his cigar i drew! Yet during the, last few days he c had tried smoke after smoke from the ; game box, only to throw them away in i disgust. His dinner also "bad been quite i good, and now the breeze, faint as it < was, felt most refreshing after the long, ■ hot day. In fact, all things seemed to < have entered into * conspiracy to please, < and all was going well. ' - In some ways the Commander wae as < direct as his bull neck and as simple as he was direct. But. with the defects of his qualities, he sadly lacked finesse and imagination, and consequently did not at all realise that the , taste of the inferior dinner, the aroma ' of his usual cigar, even the caress of the feeble breeze —the whole rosy out- ! look at this moment—were the outward physical signs of a mental and moral re- _ action. He had .iusf come through a very bad time,, and thouah it .would be hardly correct to 'say that he felt like the master of a vessel entering port after a stormy voyage, for he was by no means near port, vet- the fog had lifted, he could take his bearings, and knew where port lav. The responsibilities of supreme command, and the imminence of a. great battle—he wag commanding an army in the presence of an enemy—usually had no terrors for his stolid mind; but ou this occasion there had been the element of entire novelty in the situation, and in facing it he had been deprived of hi» chief source of inspiration. •He .'was placed in the position which, of all others, had most terrors for him —that of inactively awaiting the action of others. Against his will, against his principles, and against the whole bias of his mind, he had been forced to act on the defensive. Up till now he ihad always been able to assume the offensive. The contrary role, with its loss of initiative, its mystery and its suspense, was consequently all the more dreadful. Though, by all the canons of the military art, his present force was too weak for the attack, it was fairly strong in defence; quite enough so. could only the point of the enemy's intended aeeault be discovered in time for the delivery of * crushing counter-stroke. But it was not strong enough for an onslaught in an unforeseen direction to be resisted. To retain equal strength, in every part was to court certain defeat; to keep a large central reserve readY to he moved to any threatened spot was out of the question. The only couree was to massbeforehand where the attack would fall. This needed no imagination; it was obvious, and without hesitation the Commander had decided upon the third course, for it appealed to bis instincts, besides being correct in principle. His mind was set upon crushing the enemy and this gave- him the only chance. If he could only discover where the enemy were going to press—he was not abl e to offer a bait, or, indeed, any inducement

towards any special spot—lie could spin his -web in the right corner, nurse the attack, lead it on until it was well within the meshes of hU web, and then —even his appetite for the offensive might be glutted. But where to spin the web? To the north lay the enemy, about to advance. The position which the FieldMarshal held extended lor come fifty miles from east to west. .Naturally strong, it had been further strengthened during the period of occupation by eyery resource of fortification. The west, owing to its topographical features, was absolutely secure; elsewhere, except in two places, the position "was cafe enough. The only danger-spots were in lh c centre and on the oast, but they were only dangerous in the event of the unforeseen advance of the enemy. So far this wae all absolutely -plain, but unluckily there was, in a tactical sense, absolutely, no difference between these two points. There was no intrinsic reason why the centre should he attacked more than the cast, or vice versa, and therefore no hint for guidance, no basis for a scheme of defence. (To be continued daily.)