ADDED LUSTRE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 229, 26 September 1940, Page 23

ADDED LUSTRE

Short Story

DATRICE panted a little, the hot sun streamed down on her red head turning it to flame, as she leaned perilously out of the second storey window. to have such a vanhere'' 11 866 cver y thi "S f">m Her father-in-law settled into his chair and stood his crutch against the wall. * "Yes indeed, but whew! what a mob! have never before seen such a tremendous crowd in Auckland." The vast concourse below seethed in the morning sunshine; the bright frocks of the women stood out, a gay protean aga,inst the fabric of more sombre masculine apparel. Loud cheers, "Tipperary", "I'm sending you the Siegfried Line to hang your washing on!" merged into "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" further down the street.

■New Zealand keeping her end up again, for had not H.M.S. Achilles arrived in thi harbour this morning, after her encounter with the Graf Spee! _ "Oh here come the bands," cried Patrice excitedly as blood-stirring music came to them above the tumult below. Cadets, territorials and men of New Zealand's Second Echelon swung gallantly along towards the Town Hall. Patrice clas]>ed her hands, "Oh Ben — isn't it glorious? I wouldn't have missed this for anything." Ben Stirling was infected with her emotion, the emotion of those thousands. He rose and adjusted his crutch under his arm. "I wonder where Alan is in this mass. Pity there wasn't time for him to come home for us after seeing the Archilles in this morning." He slipped an arm round the excited girl. "All right Patkins? You look rather

tired." "It's just the sun Ben and it was rather a miracle we got .here in one piece."

Ben eyed her covertly—funny things women, here she was burnt up with emotion and hero-worship at the return of the Achilles men; yet had been nervy and sullen the last three months, afraid that Alan would enlist against her t "CapitaHst War—what do the masses gain from it?" she had demanded with ■hysterical obstinacy "And fools of women go on having babies to provide cannon fodder in another twenty years!" Alan had tried to pacify her without retracting his desire, but she had flung petulantly from him, "What did Ben get out of it, leaving his leg behind at Mons!" Ben had patted her shoulder, feeling rather helpless, but Alan's face had stiffened. "Ben is not making a song about that," he said quietly; "I'll wait a bit; I want to carry your love and pride with me; but go, I must; think it over dear." White faced, Patrice had retreated to the spare room that night, and had since gone round with pouted lips and unhappy restless eyes. Yet only this morning, when Ben went to tell her that their taxi had arrived, she jumped up smiling from the couch and excitedly waved a copy of his Returned Soldiers Magazine in his face. "Oh Ben, I have been so blind —and selfish! I'll tell you all about it when we come home again." Her hands had caressed her side a moment as though her body was beloved, then with another excited laugh she ran out to the waiting car . . . A fresh outburst of cheering drew Ben to the window as Captain Parry's car arrived. Ben's crutch slipped unnoticed from i his grasp as he leaned far out. Patrice slapped his back in her excitement. "H'ray! H'ray!" Ben's terrific bellow of welcome was as though unuttered, lost in the counI try's welcome. I The sun glinted back from rifles and from th& instruments of the bandsmen. Blocks away came a greater surge of sound. One voice increasing in volume as thousands took up the chant, "Here They Come!" Speechless, Patrice clasped her hands to her throat, the glory of all womanhood in her eyes as khe watched the marching men. She was sister, wife, mother to each in that moment. Again her hand went caressingly to her s^e.

The '-"at grew intense —music—ambulance m:n busy with quietly fainting onlookers—cheers, cheers. Speeches—the Governor*? welcome— Captain Parry on the platform—more vociferous cheers from throats already ra/iged. "Vive la France!" the French consul commenced his speech. Patrice and Ben smiled delightedly at one another, enjoying some of the quaint turns of speech in a generally faultless oration. "These men have borne themselves •heroically and brought home their beautiful sheep!— They have fthown what they can do, what they will do; They mean beezness!" Ah! Added lustre, thought Patrice. Gallipoli—the Somme, her mind flew to the article she had read at home and 1 now this! The multitude sang to high heaven, "Hear us when w e cry to Thee, for those in peril on the sea!" Ah, those who were bereaved, God bless and keep them. Patrice took Ben's arm, "I think we could get out now Ben and slip through the back of the building. I'm feeling dead beat. I can hardly wait Jx) tell you a secret when we get home." Her rapt expression took Ben back twenty-eight years; Eveline had looked like that when she whispered the coming of Alan—A lonely sigh stirred his lips, already three years since she died. He squeezed Pat's hand, "I can gyees mv dear." , . Really Ben was a dear, no beating about the bush. „ "We have raced Alan home I think, said Ben as they entered the quiet house, no doubt he'll toe in shortly; in the meantime." Ben reached for the kettle, "tea and tomato sandwiches forthwith." "Yum yum! Ben you re a pearl among men; don't let any predatory female go snapping you up now, she met his eye. "Benny I'll need you, you see I will not stand in Alan's way any Ben patted her heartily, "Atta girl! Does Alan know that the O.P.P. is to be conferred upon him?" "O.P.P. •" "Order of Proud Pop-hood!" "Xotyet." Her merry laugh reached Alan as he came in the gate and heartened him. _ "Really, Pat had been awfully difficult the last two or three months; but that laugh sounded more like his own Pat agaia.

By ELISE VANCE

"Get a move on with those tomato sandwiches, slow-coach!" her voice floated out to him. "I'll read to you the article which changed my mind about Alan's enlistment!" Alan was struck mid-stride, heartfelt relief in his eyes; he'd wait a moment or two before going in: the blessed kid; let her have her chat to Ben first. He sat on the porcli to wait. Tatrice reached out for the magazine which she had read that morning, the VZ.R.S.A. review for Xovember 1939. "Urn—let's see, page five at the bottom. Listen Ben, shortly after the Great War, a distinguished general made a speech on loyalty and patriotism to thousands oi young French recruits; and what do you think he used as an example for them to look up to! She paused dramatically and looked up at Ben.

"I'll bite!" Ben deftly skinned a tomato. "Us!" "Er—Us?" "Yes us—at least I mean our New Zealand soldiers; this is what he said." Pat turned to her page and read aloud: " '\oung soldier* of the Republic, before I begin mv address, I wish to read to . you an Army Order recently issued from Headquarters. "Paris. November W, 1919. "ARMY ORDERS. "The President of the Council of the Ministry of War mentions the name of the following British officer: Major-General Sir Andrew Russell, of the New Zealand Expeditionary v Force, has led a splendid Division to countless victories. "Its exploits have not been equalled, and its reputation was such that on the arrival of the Division on the Somme battlefield during the most critical days of March, 1918, the flight of inhabitants immediately ceased. "The Division covered Itself with fresh glory during the battles of the Ancre. at the Sombre, at Puesceux au Mont, Bapaume, Crevecoeur and Le Quesney. "Given and by order of the President of the Council. of the Ministry of War. "(Sgd.) BOEKER (Colonel), "Adjutant-General of the Cabinet."

"'Now, I ask you,' the general continued 'to take notice of one fact; that on the arrival on the battlefield of these soldiers, the flight of the inhabitants immediately ceased.' " "'lt was indeed one of the most critical periods of the war. The line had been broken, the enemy was pressing through to anticipate victory, and the unfortunate people of the countryside were fleeing in terror from the horrors of the Bosclie invasion. " 'Figure to yourselves what it all meant. The road crowded with fugitives, old men, despairing, weeping women and children, bearing with them such household treasures as they could drag along.

"'Then the arrival.of the troop trains with reinforcements. Company after company of khaki men are detrained and hurried into the firing line. 'Qui son f . ces gens?' (Who are these men?) the "people asked, and then it was tlie flight was stayed. " 'The officer who was directing the evacuation sent his aide-de-camp to inquire the reason.

" 'He came back, "General," he said, "the people say they are not going any further, that these are the soldiers from Xew Zealand, *st tout va bein' and all's well. They will soon be back in their homes—in fact they are getting ready to -return now."

" 'Yes, such was the reputation of these men for valour and manhood and conduct, that your war-stricken countrymen knew that they could confide their goods and their chattels, their lives and the honour of their women to their safekeeping. I can hold up to you no finer model as soldiers than was shown by the men that a little nation in a far off island of the Pacific sent to the aid of France in her hour of peril! *'

Patrice clasped the magazine- to her breast and. turned a glowing face to Ben.

"Why have we never heard this before!" she demanded passionately. "Wa ■have heard about the Angel of Mons, and occult things like that in the last war, we heard of the rumoured trainloads of Russians crossing England secretly, and here is something real and glorious and we don't hear of it until it is printed in a soldiers' magazine 22 years after!" Her -voice quivered in jher excitement. "Don't you see. Ben, why I will no longer hold Alan " back? That reputation has to be lived up to, the men of the Achilles have added lustre to that name!

"These are the jewels more precious than any in His Majesty's Crown and I am sure, much more valued by him.

"Oh Ben," she flung her arms wide, "I have complained about the masses fighting wars while millionaires and big combines made money and power from war: but it is the common soldier —the ex-navvy, ex-clerk who will go down in history as having won that fame!" A faint noise at the door arrested her. "Darling," . said Alan, "I couldn't wait another day, I've joined up!" Patrice flew to his arms, "Oh Alan," and cried a little on his shoulder, while Ben reached for his crutch and tapped from the room. After a moment or two, Patrice pulled out Alan's tie and dabbed at her eyes, •with it. "Oh well, we will have Ben to keep us company until you come back." "Er—us ?" "Yes," Patrice fixed him with a bland look. "Me and junior, of course—didn't you know ?" When she could recover from the intense muscular pressure to which she as subjected for the next two minutes forty-three seconds ehe gasped. "Do you think he'd have a very bad time at school if we called him 'Achilles!'"