‘I’ll find help. You sit here!’ He pushed the red-head down onto the ground.
‘Be – careful!’ grunted Jerry through clenched teeth.
William straightened up again and stared around. In the space of just a few minutes, the attack seemed to have stopped. On all sides, men were moving back, turning to fire behind them as they stumbled along, helping others, slipping and falling in the mud. William saw Mr Gowing, one arm raised and signalling, revolver gripped in his fist.
He saw stretcher-bearers, too. Four of them, three with Red Cross armbands, labouring through the mud twenty yards away, heaving their heavy stretcher. ‘Hey!’ He began to yell as loudly as he could over the storm of the guns. ‘Hey! Over here!’
They hadn’t heard him. William struggled towards them, gasping and shouting. ‘He
