guetteur

Updated: May 13, 2025

I was in a maze of burrowing, from which the hot sun could be felt but not seen. I saw stencilled signs, such as "Tranchee de repli," and signs containing numbers. I saw a sign over a door: "Guetteur de jour et de nuit" watcher by day and by night. "Anybody in there?" "Certainly." The door was opened. In the gloom a pale man stood rather like a ghost, almost as disconcerting as a ghost, watching.

Arnold Bennett - Over There : War Scenes on the Western Front