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And the remaining sous we squandered on a glass apiece of red acrid pinard, gravely and with great happiness pledging the hostess of the occasion and then each other. With the exception of ourselves hardly anyone patronized the canteen, noting which I felt somewhat conspicuous. When, however, Harree Pompom and John the Bathman came rushing up and demanded cigarettes my fears were dispelled.
These are invaluable in keeping the Boers at a respectful distance. It is rather satisfactory to plump some shrapnel on to a group of waiting, watching Boers three miles off, who are just concocting in their sinful hearts some scheme for getting a shot at you; or to lay a necklace of exploding pompom shells among some rocks where you guess they are hiding.
Count Bragard had declined the evening promenade in favour of The Enormous Room, but I perceived in the crowd the now familiar faces of the three Hollanders John, Harree and Pompom likewise of The Bear, Monsieur Auguste, and Fritz. In the course of the next hour I had become, if not personally, at least optically acquainted with nearly a dozen others.
Right out of rifle-range, away on the open veldt on the north, I saw a party of Boers, with a white horse and a vehicle. Then I knew. But how had they managed to hit off so well the right spot to go to to enfilade our trench before they even knew where we were? Pompom pompompom again, and the little steel devils ploughed their way into the middle of us in our shell-trap, mangling seven men.
Caragol achieved equal success with the forty-five men who had taken possession of the machinery and the messrooms in the forecastle. They were dressed like seamen of the fleet, with a broad blue collar and a cap topped by a red pompom. Some displayed on the breast military medals and the recent Croix de Guerre.
B. knew all about them from Harree and Pompom, who spent nearly all their time in the cabinot. They were rooms about nine feet square and six feet high. The occupant on entering was searched for tobacco, deprived of his or her mattress and blanket, and invited to sleep on the ground on some planks.
She gave us several pompom dahlias, as pretty as you like." Miriam bowed her head and brooded. He was quite unconscious of concealing anything from her. "What made her give them you?" she asked. He laughed. "Because she liked us because we were jolly, I should think." Miriam put her finger in her mouth. "Were you late home?" she asked. At last he resented her tone. "I caught the seven-thirty."
"November 18. More shooting. Boers in all hills. "November 19. More shooting and galloping about. Reached Heilbron. "November 20. Left for Frankfort. Boers in attendance as usual. Our two guns and pompom very useful." Those were the last entries I made in my diary.
Then came a second shell good line, but short and scattered dust upon us where we stood; and then came ten of the little quick shells from the gun that speaks like a stammerer yes, pompom the Sahibs call it and the face of the house folded down like the nose and the chin of an old man mumbling, and the forefront of the house lay down.
"Planton" it cried heavily to the wooden-handed one, "Two men to go get water." Harree and Pompom were already at the gate with the archaic water-wagon, the former pushing from behind and the latter in the shafts. The guardian of the cour walked up and opened the gate for them, after ascertaining that another planton was waiting at the corner of the building to escort them on their mission.
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