11 KENNY DID INDEED TURN UP JUST AS THE LADS WERE GETTING BACK TO THEIR DUTIES. MALCOLM RAN THROUGH THE ROUTINE TO HELP THE LIEUTENANT FIND HIS FEET.
THANK YOU, SERGEANT, BUT I AM AFRAID I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT PIGEONS.
NEITHER DO WE, SIR, APART FROM MO. ONE EXPERT OUT OF FIVE IS A PRETTY GOOD AVERAGE IN THIS MAN’S ARMY.
DESPITE HIS EARLIER DISMAY, THE LIEUTENANT FOUND HIMSELF FASCINATED BY THE WORLD OF PIGEONS AND MO’S EXPERTISE. HOW THEY FIND THEIR WAY BACK TO THEIR BASE IS COMPLEX, BUT THEY USUALLY DO. THERE WERE WORRIES THAT THIS LOFT BEING MOBILE WOULD CONFUSE THEM, BUT I KNEW THEY’D COPE.
IT’S QUITE A FEAT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
12 THEY’RE A LOT TOUGHER THAN THEY LOOK TOO. A FRENCH SOLDIER SHOWED ME ONE THAT FLEW HOME WITH A BULLET HOLE IN ITS WING.
THERE’S A LOT MORE TO THIS THAN I FIRST THOUGHT, THAT’S FOR SURE.
THE ENEMY WERE ALL TOO AWARE OF THE DANGER POSED BY THE FLYING MESSENGERS. WORD OF THE LATEST POSITION OF KENNY’S MOBILE LOFT HAD REACHED THEM AND TWO INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS, HAUPTMANN HERMAN GRABEN AND LEUTNANT JOSEF EINGRIFF HAD BEEN TASKED TO DEAL WITH IT.
SOON WE WILL HAVE A FIX WHEN THE AERIAL OBSERVERS GET BACK TO US.
AND THEN THE ENGLANDERS WILL BE SORRY!
13 GRABEN CAME FROM A WELL CONNECTED FAMILY BUT HIS BRAIN CELLS DID NOT LINK TOGETHER VERY EFFICIENTLY. EINGRIFF WAS FULL OF BRIGHT BUT USELESS IDEAS WHICH BROUGHT GRIEF TO ALL WHO EVEN HEARD THEM.
HAVE WE THE CO-ORDINATES WE WANT?
NOT YET, HERR HAUPTMANN. IT WILL NOT BE LONG BEFORE WE DO, HOWEVER.
THE TWO-MAN CREW OF ONE OF THE KAISER’S OBSERVATION BALLOONS WITH A MISTY VIEW OF THE BRITISH LINES WERE DOING THEIR BEST TO PINPOINT THE TARGET.
JA, I SEE THEM NOW.
SCHNELL THEN, JURGEN, WE DON’T WANT TO HANG ABOUT HERE TOO LONG.
14 THE GERMAN WAS RIGHT TO WORRY, AN R.F.C. SOPWITH CAMEL PILOT HAD ALREADY SPOTTED THEM.
ROVER, ONE OF THE MOBILE LOFT PIGEONS, HAD BEEN HITCHING A LIFT ON THE BALLOON TO SAVE ENERGY...
TIME TO SPOIL THEIR LITTLE GAME.
...BUT MADE ITSELF SCARCE AS THE AIRCRAFT LOOMED CLOSER. MEANWHILE, GRABEN AND EINGRIFF, NOT USED TO BEING SO CLOSE TO ANY RIFLE FIRE, DUCKED LOW WHEN THE SOLDIERS FURTHER BESIDE THEM STARTED BLAZING AWAY AT ROVER.
MEIN GOTT! ARE WE UNDER ATTACK?
I AM NOT SURE, HERR HAUPTMANN!
15 IN THEIR HASTE THEY DID NOT SEE THEIR MAP FLUTTER INTO THE MUD.
THE KAISER’S MEN HAD ORDERS TO BRING DOWN MESSENGER PIGEONS TO INTERCEPT MESSAGES AND FIND OUT WHAT THE TOMMIES WERE UP TO. THE GERMAN TROOPS WERE MORE CONCERNED IN SECURING A PIGEON FOR THE POT, BUT THEIR TARGET WAS TOO ELUSIVE.
I CAN ALMOST TASTE IT IN A GOULASH...
YOU WILL HAVE TO HIT IT FIRST!
16 THE FAST-FLYING, WINGED MESSENGER SOARED AWAY EASILY.
WHEN THE FIRING CEASED, GRABEN WAS NONE TOO PLEASED TO FIND THE MAP HAD LANDED IN MUD.
THEY ARE GOING TO BRING IN EXPERTS AT SHOOTING FOR GAME TO NAIL THEM. HAWKS AS WELL TO POUNCE ON THEM.
CLEAN IT, EINGRIFF.
THE SOONER THE BETTER, HERR HAUPTMANN.
JAWOHL, HERR HAUPTMANN.
NEITHER GRABEN NOR EINGRIFF GAVE A THOUGHT FOR THE CREW OF THE OBSERVATION BALLOON WHO HAD ABANDONED THEIR COMMAND WHEN .303 INCENDIARY BULLETS FROM THE SWOOPING CAMEL IGNITED THE HYDROGEN IN THE CANOPY.
WE ARE GOING TO LAND BEHIND THE ENGLANDER LINES! GUT! NO MORE SUICIDAL FLIGHTS FOR US!
17 THE HAUPTMANN AND LEUTNANT WERE ALREADY HEADING FOR THE COMMAND DUG-OUT. FROM THERE THEY WOULD RELAY THE POSITION THEY HAD MARKED OUT FOR THE ARTILLERY TO TURN THE PIGEON LOFT INTO A PILE OF CHARRED WOOD AND FLUTTERING FEATHERS.
YOU HAVE THE CO-ORDINATES THEN?
OF COURSE WE DO! ENLIGHTEN THIS DOLT, EINGRIFF.
ORDERS WERE GIVEN, HEAVY HOWITZERS BARKED THEIR DEADLY CHORUS AND A NEWLY-COMPLETED STRETCH OF GERMAN TRENCH WAS OBLITERATED JUST AS THE SAPPERS INVOLVED WERE ADMIRING THEIR WORK.
MEIN GOTT!
THE ENGLANDERS ARE FIRING FROM BEHIND OUR LINES NOW!
18 THE SOUND OF THE BOMBARDMENT WAS SWEET MUSIC TO GRABEN AND HIS AIDE AS THEY HEADED BACK TO H.Q. A SUCCESSFUL SORTIE, I WOULD SAY.
JA, ANOTHER PROJECT COME TO FRUITION.
AN INQUEST WAS HELD. THE MAP IN QUESTION HAD BEEN DISCARDED IN THE DUG-OUT BECAUSE IT WAS TOO GRUBBY FOR THE LIKES OF GRABEN, BUT IT HAD PROVIDED A VITAL CLUE FOR THE UNFORTUNATE MAJOR WHO WAS THE C.O. OF THE BUNGLERS. INSTEAD OF READING OUT THE POSITION YOU HAD MARKED, YOU RELAYED THAT OF A FOUL STAIN LEFT BY THE PIGEON WHICH HAD REACTED NERVOUSLY UNDER FIRE! IT WAS THE LEUTNANT HERE WHO READ OUT THE INFORMATION...
19 HIS SUPERIOR WAS NOT INTERESTED IN GRABEN PLAYING THE BLAME GAME. HE HELD THE TWO INCOMPETENT OFFICERS ACCOUNTABLE AND POSTED THEM WELL BACK FROM THE FIGHTING.
THERE YOU CAN DO LITTLE HARM! BUT, HERR MAJOR, THAT IS UNFAIR...
THE SENIOR OFFICER GLARED MENACINGLY AND THE GUILTY PAIR FLED THE OFFICE.
LIEUTENANT KENNY DEAN WAS FAR HAPPIER WITH LIFE. IT WAS CLEAR THAT MALCOLM RAN A TIGHT SHIP AND THE LADS WORKED AWAY EFFICIENTLY WITH THE TASKS IN HAND, SO HE HAD THE TIME TO PERFECT THE ARTISTIC SKILLS HE HAD BEGUN TO DEVELOP AS A SCHOOLBOY.
I’M LEARNING A LOT ABOUT FLIGHT JUST WATCHING THE PIGEONS FLYING AROUND. THIS WILL STAND ME IN GOOD STEAD WHEN I DO GET A TRANSFER TO THE FLYING CORPS.
20 HIS GOOD FRIEND GORDON AT H.Q. WAS LESS CONTENT. HE GRABBED A QUIET WORD WITH HIS CHIEF CLERK, CORPORAL FLYNN HANDY, WHO COULD TYPE FASTER THAN MOST MEN COULD TALK. CAPTAIN O’REILLY WAS SNOOPING ABOUT EARLIER. HAS HE BEEN BACK?
NOT SO FAR, SIR, BUT HE WILL BE, I BET YOU.
CAPTAIN BRIAN O’REILLY, A VERY SUSPICIOUS AND OVER KEEN MILITARY POLICE OFFICER WHOSE CAREER AS A CIVILIAN POLICEMAN HAD BEEN SPECTACULARLY DULL, WAS OUT TO MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF.
GOWRIE’S MEN AND THE PIGEON LOFT CREW ARE FAR TOO PLEASED WITH THEMSELVES. SOLDIERS ARE BORN TO BE MISERABLE...THERE IS SOMETHING ODD GOING ON HERE AND I AIM TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT.
21 THE PARKED STAFF CAR HE HAD BEEN HIDING BEHIND WAS DRIVEN OFF BUT HE NEVER EVEN NOTICED. HIS OBSESSION TO FIND SOME DIRT ON ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY HAD BEEN SHARPENED WHEN A PHOTOGRAPH OF HIM PLAYING A FEMALE ROLE IN AN AMATEUR OPERA PRODUCTION HAD SOMEHOW APPEARED ON THE H.Q. BULLETIN BOARD.
WHOEVER WAS RESPONSIBLE HAS SOMETHING TO FEAR. THEY KNOW I AM ON THE RIGHT TRACK AND THEY’RE TRYING TO DISCREDIT ME. SOME HOPE!
THE SNOOPER FELT SURE THAT GORDON WOULD NOT BE INVOLVED IN ANY FUNNY BUSINESS, SIMPLY BECAUSE HE ALWAYS GAVE HIM A SWEET WHEN THEY MET. HAVE ONE ON ME AND DON’T HANG AROUND TOO LONG OUT HERE. YOU MIGHT CATCH A CHILL.
A PROPER GENTLEMAN...HE’LL ALWAYS PLAY WITH A STRAIGHT BAT.
HE HAD NO IDEA THAT THE LIEUTENANT WAS TURNING A BLIND EYE TO A LOT OF MINOR MISDEMEANOURS – LIKE FLYNN SPENDING HIS TIME WRITING WHAT HE HOPED WOULD BE A BEST-SELLING WAR NOVEL.
22 THAT WASN’T ALL. GORDON AND HIS SQUAD WERE UP TO THEIR EARS IN SCHEMES. EARLY IN THE WAR, BRITISH AND GERMAN SOLDIERS HAD EXCHANGED CHRISTMAS GREETINGS...
...AND EVEN PLAYED A FOOTBALL MATCH FOR A SHORT TIME IN NO-MAN’S-LAND BEFORE HOSTILITIES HAD RESUMED. AS THE WAR CONTINUED AND MORE MEN JOINED UP, MANY OF THEM FOOTBALLERS, OFTEN WITH THEIR COMPLETE TEAMS, THE SPORT HAD BEEN PUT ON HOLD UNTIL THE FIGHTING CAME TO AN END.
WITH NO RESULTS FOR THE LADS IN THE TRENCHES TO ENTHUSE ABOUT, FLYNN HAD PROPOSED TO HIS LIEUTENANT THAT THEY SET UP A PANEL TO WORK OUT WHAT THE WEEKLY SCORES WERE LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN AND THEN ALLOW SMALL WAGERS TO BE LAID.
23 GORDON HAD AGREED, KNOWING FULL WELL THAT FLYNN LIKED A LITTLE FLUTTER NOW AND AGAIN. HE SAW NO HARM – BUT A LOT OF GOOD – IN THE IDEA TO CHEER THE TOMMIES UP WHEN THEY WERE NOT IN ACTION AND HAD VERY LITTLE TO DO.
IT WAS NOT LEGAL, OF COURSE, SO IT HAD TO BE KEPT UNDER WRAPS FROM THE LIKES OF O’REILLY AND OTHER SPOILSPORTS. THOSE WHO COULD BE TRUSTED WERE DRAWN INTO THE WEB AND THAT INCLUDED THE PIGEON LOFT UNIT. MALCOLM AND DONALD WITH THEIR TWO-WHEELED TRANSPORT WERE A VITAL LINK IN THE COLLECTING AND PAYING OUT OF BETS WHILE PIGEONS BROUGHT IN WAGERS FROM FAR FLUNG UNITS.
SLOW DOWN THERE BEFORE YOU COME A CROPPER!
SURPRISED YOU’RE OUT TODAY. IT’S MUDDY AND YOU JUST CLEANED THE BIKE YESTERDAY!
24 ONE OF DONALD’S TASKS WAS TO TAKE CAGED PIGEONS TO FRONT LINE UNITS SO THAT THEY COULD BE USED LATER TO FEED BACK ANY RELEVANT INFORMATION. HE DID THIS AT HIS USUAL, BONE-RATTLING SPEED.
THERE’S A SQUEAK COMING FROM THE FRONT WHEEL. I’LL CHECK IT OUT LATER.
SOMEBODY ELSE ON THE GO THAT DAY WAS HIGH ABOVE IN AN ALBATROS FIGHTER. THE GERMAN PILOT SPOTTED THE CYCLIST AND IMMEDIATELY DECIDED TO HAVE SOME CRUEL FUN.
A BURST OF BULLETS WILL END THIS TOMMY’S TOUR OF THE FRONT.
YIKES!
25 BRITISH SOLDIERS IN THE NEAREST TRENCH TRIED TO DISTRACT THE HUN ON THE HUNT, BUT WERE PUZZLED THAT DONALD HAD NOT ABANDONED HIS BIKE AND DIVED FOR COVER.
HIS LUCK WON’T HOLD!
FOR ONCE YOU COULD BE RIGHT, MATE!
DONALD SLEWED OFF COURSE TO CONFUSE HIS PURSUER UNTIL HE SPED UNDER THE REMAINING WIRES HANGING FROM A SHELL-DAMAGED LENGTH OF TELEPHONE WIRES.
THAT PIGEON IN THE BASKET HAD BETTER BE ALL RIGHT OR MO WILL MURDER ME!
26 SO KEEN WAS THE GERMAN AVIATOR FOR THE KILL THAT HE DIDN’T REALISE THE DANGER UNTIL TOO LATE.
MEIN GOTT...NEIN!
THE AIRCRAFT’S SPEED AND THE BITE OF WIRES INTO FLIMSY WINGS SPELLED THE END OF THIS PILOT’S WAR.
HIMMEL…AAGH! THAT’S GOING TO HURT!
27 IT HAD STUNG A LOT, BUT THE AIRMAN SOMEHOW SURVIVED TO BE CAPTURED BY THE NEAREST FOOT-SLOGGERS.
BIKE BRINGS DOWN FLYING MACHINE…READ ALL ABOUT IT!
THIS MUST BE A FIRST!
NOT QUITE SO HAPPY WERE THE CREW OF AN ENEMY U-BOAT TRAVELLING ON THE SURFACE OF THE NORTH SEA IN THE SEARCH OF ANY TARGETS. THE FILTHY WEATHER LESSENED THE CHANCES OF THE CRAFT BEING SPOTTED...OR FINDING ANY PREY.
WE WOULD BE JUST AS WELL GETTING BELOW AND OUT OF THIS STORM.
NO PICKINGS ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS, SIR.
28 BEFORE THE PAIR WENT BELOW, THEIR GAZE ALIGHTED ON A WEATHER-WEARY ENEMY CARRIER PIGEON SEEKING SHELTER. IT’S BEEN BLOWN OFF COURSE TRYING TO AVOID THE STORM.
AND IT’S CARRYING A MESSAGE...PROBABLY TOP SECRET.
THE STOWAWAY WAS SAFELY SNARED AND TAKEN BELOW BEFORE THE U-BOAT SUBMERGED. THE MESSAGE CONTAINER WAS DAMAGED AND LEAKING, THE NOTE INSIDE BADLY SMUDGED.
SERVING ON SUCH A VESSEL COULD BE DANGEROUS BUT ALSO BORING. THERE WAS LESS INTEREST IN THE SALVAGED MESSAGE AND MORE IN ITS CARRIER. I TOLD YOU THAT IT WOULD LIKE RYE BREAD.
I THINK IT’S IN CODE, SIR.
OF COURSE IT IS, BECKER, THAT’S OBVIOUS!
JA, BUT NOT MANY TOMMIES DO.
29 THEIR PATROL WAS OVER NEXT DAY AND THE WEATHER WAS MUCH BETTER WHEN THEY REACHED PORT. HOTSPUR, THE RESCUED PIGEON, HAD RECOVERED ENOUGH TO FLUTTER FREE FROM BELOW DECKS AND TAKE WING.
IT’S GETTING AWAY, HERR LEUTNANT!
LET THE POOR THING GO. WE HAVE THE MESSAGE... THAT’S MORE IMPORTANT.
THE CODED ITEM WAS DESPATCHED TO AN ANONYMOUS OFFICE IN GERMANY WHERE SUCH MATTERS WERE DEALT WITH. IT TOOK ALMOST A WEEK BEFORE ONE OF THE DECODERS REALISED HE HAD BEEN TAKING THE WRONG LINE ALTOGETHER.
ACH, THE TOMMIES ALMOST TRICKED ME! IT IS A VERY SIMPLE CODE INDEED...I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE MORE COMPLEX.
30 THE SURVIVING TEXT WAS INTERESTING BUT PUZZLING.
THE MESSAGE WAS RELAYED TO ALL INTELLIGENCE OFFICES AND ONE COPY ENDED UP WITH GRABEN AT HIS NEW POSTING, HE WAS STILL SMARTING FROM HIS LATEST MISHAP.
WHY WOULD THE KING AND THE HEIR TO THE THRONE ATTENDING AN ARMY FUNCTION BE SO IMPORTANT? IT MAKES NO SENSE.
THEN IT CAME TO HIM LIKE A BLINDING LIGHT WHICH MADE HIS TEMPLES THROB. HE IGNORED THE DISCOMFORT BECAUSE HE WAS SUDDENLY REMEMBERING HIS EARLIER ROLE AS AN INFANTRY OFFICER IN THE TRENCHES.
THE TOMMIES ATTACKED THAT DAWN AND CAUGHT US UNPREPARED. IT WAS THE WELLSHIRE REGIMENT AND I WAS WOUNDED IN THE ONSLAUGHT…
GIBBERISH… WHY WASTE TIME ON THIS…
31 IT HAD BEEN A BRUTAL SKIRMISH AND GRABEN HAD TURNED HIS PANIC INTO WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS TRUE HEROISM BUT WAS IN REALITY CLOSER TO HYSTERIA. STAND FIRM...WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF OUR KAISER!
MY PAPA WOULD NOT LIKE TO HEAR THAT!
GRABEN FIRED ONLY ONE SHOT IN THE FIGHT. IT WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH HIS BIG TOE WHEN HE STUMBLED. AAGH, I AM HIT...STRETCHERBEARERS!
THE DAMAGE WAS SLIGHT, BUT THE IDIOT OFFICER FEARED HE WAS BLEEDING TO DEATH. SCHNELL, SCHNELL, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
THIS ONE HAS SEEN TOO MANY WAGNERIAN OPERAS.
32 THE REGIMENT WHICH HAD SWAMPED THEIR FOES AND DONE SO MUCH DAMAGE WAS THE FEARSOME WELLSHIRES. THEY HAD BATTLE HONOURS STRETCHING BACK TO NAPOLEONIC TIMES AND THE KNACK OF FIGHTING FIERCELY…AND DIRTY.
AAGH!
I TAKE THAT AS A SURRENDER THEN?
ALL THESE THOUGHTS SPURRED GRABEN TO REPORT TO COLONEL OTTO STEINER, HIS NEW COMMANDING OFFICER, WHO HAD ALREADY DECIDED THIS NEW HAUPTMANN WAS AT LEAST ONE ROUND SHORT OF A FULL MAGAZINE. THE DECODED MESSAGE MAKES SENSE TO ME BECAUSE OF MY PREVIOUS BRAVERY IN THE FIELD ON THAT DAY…
GET ON WITH IT THEN BEFORE I SHOOT MYSELF OR, BETTER STILL, YOU!
33 GRABEN KEPT IT AS BRIEF AS HE COULD. THE ANNIVERSARY OF THAT BITTER DEFEAT WAS COMING UP SOON AND THE WELLSHIRES WERE STILL IN THE FIELD IN FLANDERS. IT IS CLEAR TO ME THAT THE BRITISH KING AND HIS SON WILL BE VISITING THE FRONT TO HONOUR THAT SCURRILOUS REGIMENT AND PRESENT THEM WITH A NEW BATTLE HONOUR. AND YOU WANT TO CAPTURE OR KILL THEM? WHAT ABOUT OUR KAISER? HE IS COUSIN OF KING GEORGE, AFTER ALL. WE WILL NEED HIS PERMISSION.
THE CONFIDENT GRABEN SAW NO NEED FOR THAT. I AM SURE WE CAN CAPTURE THE TWO REGAL PERSONS WITHOUT DOING ANY REAL DAMAGE TO THEM. THIS COULD EVEN END THE WAR. WHY WOULD WE DO THAT? I AM RATHER ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE, BUT ON YOUR OWN HEAD BE IT. I WILL ORDER A PLAN TO BE DRAWN UP.
34 THAT WAS DONE IN RECORD TIME. A UNIT OF CRACK STORMTROOPERS, LED BY A TWITCHY LEUTNANT WHOSE EYES BURNED WITH BATTLE FEVER, MADE THEIR MOVE ONE MISTY DAWN. WE SHOOT TO WOUND OUR TWO TARGETS AND NOT TO KILL. BUT IF OUR ARMS ARE JOLTED, WE CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUTCOME.
THE WORDS CHILLED THE NERVOUS GRABEN AND EINGRIFF WHO WERE BRINGING UP THE REAR. I DO NOT LIKE THIS, HERR HAUPTMANN.
WHAT IS THERE NOT TO LIKE? WE ARE HERE AS OBSERVERS. THESE FINE PRUSSIANS WILL DO THE FIGHTING.
35 THE PRUSSIANS ALSO DID THE DYING WHEN BRITISH HOWITZER SHELLS BEGAN THE REGULAR BARRAGE THAT THE TOMMIES CALLED THE “MORNING HATE.”
THAT LEUTNANT JUST DISAPPEARED! WE CAN STILL MAKE USE OF THIS BARRAGE…THE ENGLANDERS WILL BE KEEPING THEIR HEADS DOWN.
THE HARD FIGHTING SOLDIERS SOUTH OF HADRIAN’S WALL MIGHT WELL HAVE BEEN DOZING, BUT A SCOTTISH REGIMENT WAS WIDE AWAKE FOR THIS SURPRISE ATTACK. EAGER FOR THE FRAY, A BURLY BAGPIPER ADDED VENOM TO THEIR ADVANCE.
MACTAGGART PLAYS A FINE TUNE ON THE PIPES.
AND A BETTER ONE WHEN HE GETS BEHIND A VICKERS MACHINE GUN.
36 THE ENEMY SHOCK TROOPS WERE EXPERTS AT INFILTRATING BRITISH POSITIONS, BUT NOT AS GOOD AS THE KILTED LEGION WHO WERE USED TO BACK STREET PUNCH-UPS FROM THURSO TO THE TWEED.
YE SHOULD NEVER PLAY WI’ THE LIKES O’ THESE FIRE-WORKS!
HIMMEL!
THE POTATO MASHER AND ITS OWNER WERE FLUNG INTO A CONVENIENT SHELL HOLE WHERE THE RESULTING EXPLOSION WAS JUST A BACKDROP TO THE CONTINUING ASSAULT. PLAY UP, PIPER, WE CANNAE HEAR YE!
SHOOSH, DINNAE ENCOURAGE THAT CATERWAULING!
37 THE TWO SO-CALLED INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS HAD DECIDED THAT THEY DID NOT WISH TO DANCE ANY REEL WITH THE “LADIES FROM HELL” AS THE JOCKS WERE DUBBED BY THE GERMAN INFANTRY. IT HAS GONE SO HORRIBLY WRONG! HOW COULD WE KNOW THE BRITISH HAD AN ADVANCE PLANNED FOR TODAY?
ESPECIALLY WITH THOSE DEMONS IN DRESSES TO THE FORE! IT IS NOT NATURAL, I SAY!
JUST THEN A NOISE UP AHEAD SAW THEM HUGGING THE GROUND WITH NERVOUS SPEED.
DO YOU HEAR THAT?
JA, VOICES...ENEMY ONES …
38 THE SIGHT THAT MET THEIR EYES BRIGHTENED THE PROSPECTS OF THE TWO DISCONSOLATE AND INCOMPETENT GERMANS NO END. A BROKEN-DOWN ENEMY STAFF CAR WITH ONE MAN LOOKING ON WHILE THE OTHER TRIED TO FIX THE PROBLEM WAS A GLITTERING PRIZE.
LOOK, A BRIGADIER! CAPTURING HIM WOULD MAKE AMENDS FOR THE EARLIER DISASTER. AND WE HAVE THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE…
THE TWO BRITISH SOLDIERS WERE TAKEN UNAWARES AS THE HAUPTMANN AND THE LEUTNANT POUNCED. MAKE NO MOVE OR YOU BOTH DIE!
I SPEAK ENGLISH TOO, YOU REDCOATS!
39 WHILE EINGRIFF SEIZED THE FINE CLOTH OF THE BRIGADIER’S COAT, GRABEN DISCOVERED THAT THE MAN MENDING THE VEHICLE HAD A GOOD AIM WITH A SPANNER AND THE INVECTIVE TO MATCH. GET OUT OF IT, YOU HOOLIGANS FROM HAMBURG!
MEIN GOTT, HOW DOES HE KNOW I COME FROM HAMBURG?
THAT WAS THE LEAST OF THE HUN’S WORRIES AS A SECOND SPANNER ALL BUT DISLOCATED HIS SHOULDER.
AAGH!
EINGRIFF YELLED IN RAGE RATHER THAN ENCOURAGEMENT.
SHOOT HIM, YOU FOOL!
40 IT WAS THEIR OPPONENT WHO FIRED FIRST AND MISSED BY A WHISKER WITH ROUNDS FROM A WEBLEY .455.
TEUFEL, THAT CAME CLOSE!
A FEW STORMTROOPERS HAD ESCAPED THE EARLIER SKIRMISH. THEIR TIMELY APPEARANCE TILTED THE SCALES IN THE FAVOUR OF THE “BEASTLY HUNS.”
ESCORT US AWAY FROM HERE...WE HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT PRISONER!
LET US RIDDLE THIS TOMMY FIRST!
STOP WHINING AND SHOOT BACK!
41 THE THROATY ROAR OF MALCOLM’S BIKE ON A ROUTINE DESPATCH RUN INTERRUPTED THE ACTION.
JUMP ABOARD, MATE, AND HOLD ON TIGHT!
VERY WELL TIMED, CHAPPIE!
ESCAPE WAS GRANTED TO THE DEFIANT BRITISH SOLDIER WHO DISCOURAGED THE FOE WITH SOME SHOTS FROM THE PLUNGING PILLION.
ARE YOU HITTING ANYTHING?
I DOUBT IT, BUT IT’S GOOD FUN.
42 ALSO HEADING PAST WITH MESSAGES FROM DOWN THE LINE WAS DONALD. HE CAUGHT THE GERMANS UNAWARE WHEN HE LOBBED A MISSILE TOWARDS THEM. GRANATE... GET DOWN, SCHNELL! TEUFEL!
DONALD, A SELF-TAUGHT EXPERT ON WHAT HE SAW AS THE BEST DIET FOR ASPIRING CYCLISTS, HAD PARTED WITH HIS NEXT SNACK FOR THE GOOD OF THE CAUSE. NAMELY A BAKED POTATO.
MEIN GOTT, HE FOOLED US!
MAYBE NOT, HERR HAUPTMANN. IT COULD BE A FIENDISH RUSE.
43 THE SURVIVING SHOCK TROOPERS ALMOST DID CLAIM KILLS, BUT THE RESPECTIVE HANDLING SKILLS OF BOTH BIKER AND CYCLIST AVOIDED THAT.
BEST SCOOT WHILE WE CAN!
I FELT THE WIND OF THAT ONE!
FOR THE PRISONER THERE WAS NO ESCAPE. HE SEEMED TO BE TOO SHAKEN BY THE ORDEAL TO MUTTER EVEN A WORD. YOU WILL SQUAWK LIKE A PIGEON WHEN OUR INTERROGATORS GET THEIR HANDS ON YOU!
JA, IT WILL BE WORSE THAN THE SPANISH INQUISITION!
44 THE HAPLESS PRISONER WAS BUNDLED INTO THE CELLAR OF THE GERMAN H.Q. WHILE GRABEN MADE UP FOR THE ORIGINAL PLAN’S FAILURE BY PROUDLY REPORTING TO COLONEL STEINER THAT A VERY SENIOR OFFICER HAD BEEN CAPTURED. WE WERE UNLUCKY WITH THE ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP ROYALTY, BUT WE HAVE AN IMPORTANT BRIGADIER TO INTERROGATE.
HE HAS SAID VERY LITTLE SO FAR BUT THAT WILL CHANGE.
STEINER WANTED TO SEE FOR HIMSELF. HE MARCHED TO THE BASEMENT WHERE HE FOUND THE DETAINED MAN SAYING NO MORE THAN WAS NECESSARY. YOUR COAT, BRIGADIER. WE CAN AT LEAST MAKE YOU COMFORTABLE.
AND THEN VERY UNCOMFORTABLE IF YOU DON’T CO-OPERATE.
45 THE COLONEL FIRED GRABEN A WARNING GLANCE AND THEN TOOK THE BRITISH ARMY GREATCOAT. ALL THREE GERMANS DREW IN THEIR BREATH WHEN THEY SAW THAT THE MAN UNDERNEATH WAS A MERE PRIVATE.
WHO ARE YOU?
PRIVATE DAN FERGUSON, SIR. STAFF CAR DRIVER.
A QUICK GLANCE AT THE PRISONER’S PAY BOOK AND IDENTITY DISCS PROVED HE WAS WHO HE CLAIMED TO BE. HE HAD ONLY BEEN DOING THE JOB FOR A FEW DAYS WHEN THE STAFF CAR HAD BROKEN DOWN AND HE HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO. I NEVER GOT NO TRAINING YET, YOU SEE. BRIGADIER MACLOUGHLIN IS A REAL SPORT, THOUGH, AND HE JUST MUCKED IN AFTER HE CHUCKED ME HIS COAT.
46 MOODY MACLOUGHLIN? THE TERROR OF THE AFGHAN TRIBESMEN, ONE OF THE MOST DECORATED BRITISH OFFICERS EVER?
IF YOU SAY SO, SIR. I HARDLY KNOW HIM YET.
THE GERMAN COLONEL FOUGHT FOR BREATH. EVERYBODY KNEW AND RESPECTED OR FEARED THE BATTLE-SCARRED BRIGADIER, DOUGHTY DEFENDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE KHYBER PASS IN NORTHERN INDIA.
YOU LET SUCH A MAN ESCAPE AND BRING ME HIS COAT AND HIS DRIVER INSTEAD?
HOW WERE WE TO KNOW, HERR COLONEL? HE WAS DRESSED LIKE A TRAMP IN A FOUL SHEEPSKIN WAISTCOAT.
47 THE POOR COLONEL’S BRAIN ALMOST BUBBLED WITH RAGE.
HE TOOK THAT WAISTCOAT FROM THE MOST POWERFUL OF THE REBEL LEADERS AFTER HE SLEW HIM IN A DUEL...HE HAS WORN THAT GARMENT WITH PRIDE EVER SINCE!
“JUST LAST MONTH HE CONDUCTED A LONE RECONNAISSANCE PATROL BEHIND OUR LINES AND KIDNAPPED GENERAL VON SPATZEN AT GUN POINT IN HIS STAFF CAR…”
“…AND FORCED THE TERRIFIED DRIVER TO HEAD BACK TO THE BRITISH LINES! HE IS A DEVIL IN UNIFORM.”
48 BUT CAN’T YOU SEE, SIR, HOW VERY CONFUSING IT WAS FOR US IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE?
HEAT OF BATTLE? I’LL GIVE YOU HEAT OF BATTLE WHEN I...
THE REST OF THE COLONEL’S ANSWER WAS LOST AS GRABEN AND EINGRIFF, FINALLY REALISING THAT THEY WERE FAR FROM POPULAR, BACKED HASTILY OUT OF THE ROOM. DAN FERGUSON ON THE OTHER HAND, PLAYING DUMB ALL ALONG BUT ACTUALLY VERY BRIGHT, FOUND HIMSELF AN HONOURED GUEST AFTER THIS. THE RANK AND FILE H.Q. STAFF LOATHED THE OBNOXIOUS HAUPTMANN AND LEUTNANT MORE THAN ANYTHING. THE TALE OF THEIR DISGRACE SOON SPREAD.
VERY GOOD BIER AND NOW A FINE MEAL. NO BEEF CORNED AT ALL IN IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ADOLF.
49 THERE WERE MORE CELEBRATIONS LATER WHEN THE USELESS PAIR WERE TRANSFERRED TO SALONIKA AS LIAISON OFFICERS TO A BULGARIAN ARMY UNIT FIGHTING THE GREEKS AND THE BRITISH THERE.
BUT I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT LANGUAGE THE BULGARS SPEAK!
SO WHAT? I AM MORE WORRIED ABOUT THEM SLITTING OUR THROATS AS WE SLEEP! WHO KNOWS WHICH SIDE THEY ARE REALLY ON?
ANOTHER DISAPPOINTED MAN WAS SERGEANT ROD TATE OF THE WELLSHIRE REGIMENT. HE HAD TAKEN PART IN THAT EPIC DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY AND WAS HOME ON LEAVE IN ONE OF THE CHANNEL PORTS WHERE HE HAD HOPED TO MEET SOME OLD PALS.
NOT LIKE MO’S PIGEONS TO LET A MAN DOWN. SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED TO IT OR MAYBE THE LADS ARE AT THE OTHER PUB.
50 AS WELL AS HIS FLYING MILITARY MESSENGERS, MO HAD A FEW PRIVATE FEATHERED FRIENDS THAT HE USED TO SEND PERSONAL NEWS BACK TO BLIGHTY FOR ANY SOLDIER IN NEED OF THE SERVICE. THE INTERCEPTED MESSAGE HAD BEEN...
...FROM ROD TO HIS FRIENDS WHO WERE SERVING BACK IN BRITAIN IN A TRAINING ROLE BUT HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN THE EPIC BATTLE. THE DECODED NAMES HAD REFERRED TO PUBS, NOT ROYAL PERSONAGES. ALL THIS TIME MILITARY POLICE OFFICER BRIAN O’REILLY WAS SNOOPING AROUND LIEUTENANT GOWRIE’S OFFICE AND THE MOBILE PIGEON LOFT, CERTAIN THAT SOMEBODY WAS BENDING THE RULES.
THERE MUST BE EVIDENCE SOMEWHERE THAT CAN UNRAVEL THIS PUZZLE. THESE TOE-RAGS ARE UP TO NO GOOD, BUT THEY WON’T GET THE BETTER OF ME!
51 SO WELL OILED AND GREASED WAS DONALD’S BICYCLE THAT THE LURKING LUNATIC DID NOT HEAR HIM RETURN ON HIS WAY TO CAMP.
A RAT OF THE HUMAN VARIETY SCAVENGING AROUND AGAIN.
THE PIGEONS UNDER MO’S CARE WANTED FOR NOTHING. HE FED THEM WELL AND HAD JUST GIVEN THEIR QUARTERS THEIR REGULAR CLEAN WHEN DONALD REPORTED BACK IN. ALL QUIET OUT THERE, MATE?
APART FROM SOMETHING BUZZING ABOUT AT TEN O’CLOCK. THE USUAL SUSPECT.
52 WELL AWARE THEY WERE UNDER SURVEILLANCE, DONALD’S WARNING BROUGHT ACTION FROM MO.
THE SNOOPING OFFICER WAS SWAMPED IN THE SMELLY DELUGE OF PIGEON LOFT SCRAPINGS, BUT DID NOT DARE CRY OUT AND GIVE THE GAME AWAY...
TIME TO FLUSH AWAY ALL THE DIRT...
...SO HE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO ENDURE THE NOXIOUS SHOWER. A BATH AND A CHANGE OF CLOTHING WAS THE FIRST THING ON THE CAPTAIN’S AGENDA, BUT HIS ATTEMPT TO SLIP INTO H.Q. UNNOTICED WAS FOILED WHEN HE MET GORDON AND KENNY LEAVING. PHEW, THAT’S A BIT RICH, OLD BOY. BEEN SWIMMING IN A DUCK POND?
I THOUGHT IT WAS A POISON GAS ATTACK FOR A MINUTE THERE.
53 O’REILLY BIT BACK HIS ANGER AND THEN TORTURED HIMSELF IN A HOT BATH WITH A HARD SCRUBBING BRUSH TO GET RID OF THE STENCH.
SPLASHED ALL OVER WITH EAU DE COLOGNE, FROM GERMANY SURPRISINGLY, THE CAPTAIN ROUSED HIS TWO TOUGHEST MILITARY POLICEMEN AND SET OFF FOR HIS REVENGE.
THEIR ARTY LIEUTENANT IS OUT ON THE SPREE WITH THAT GOWRIE CHAP SO THERE’S NOBODY TO STOP ME.
THEY’LL ALL BE SORRY...IT’S TOTAL WAR NOW!
AT THE PIGEON OUTPOST, THE LADS ALREADY HAD A VISITOR. BRIGADIER MACLOUGHLIN HAD CALLED BY WITH A SOME BOTTLES OF FIRE-WATER TO THANK THEM FOR THEIR HELP IN HIS ESCAPE. I’M SORRY I MISSED YOUR OFFICER, BUT I’LL CALL BACK.
ANY TIME, SIR. IT WAS AN HONOUR TO HELP OUT. WOULD YOU LIKE A SLICE OF DUNDEE CAKE?
54 SITTING AROUND THE FIRE REMINDED THE BRIGADIER OF NIGHTS ON THE NORTH WEST FRONTIER. AS WELL AS HIS PISTOL, HE ALWAYS PACKED A MOUTH ORGAN AND MONTY MADE USE OF THE TIN HIS LATEST FOOD PARCEL HAD COME IN AS A DRUM. KAISER BILL HAS HAD HIS FILL OF BRITISH BULLY BEEF …
…IT RUINED HIS DIGESTION…
WHEN THEY TOOK A BREAK, THE BRIGADIER RELIVED THE OLD DAYS IN INDIA TO THE AMUSEMENT OF ALL. YOU SHOULD WRITE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR ADVENTURES, SIR.
I SUPPOSE I SHOULD. I REMEMBER ONE NIGHT WHEN WE SPOTTED SOME REBEL TRIBESMEN SITTING AROUND A FIRE JUST LIKE THIS IN THEIR VILLAGE …
…AND ROTTED ALL HIS TEETH!
55
“MY MEN HAD SUFFERED A HARD DAY SO I SLIPPED INTO THE VILLAGE, DISGUISED IN THE CLOAK I TOOK FROM THE SENTRY AFTER I HAD BASHED HIM…”
“…AND ADDED A STICK OF DYNAMITE TO THE WOOD I ADDED TO THE FIRE. THAT WORKED A TREAT, BUT I DID GET BLOWN FLAT BY THE BLAST AS I SAUNTERED AWAY.”
MOODY SIGHED AS HE FINISHED THE YARN. IT’S NOT SO MUCH FUN OUT HERE IN FRANCE, THOUGH, TOO DARNED SERIOUS. I BLAME THE HUN...LITTLE SENSE OF HUMOUR.
YOU’D KNOW, SIR.
56 THE STAFF CAR WITH THE MILITARY POLICE ABOARD SKIDDED INTO VIEW THEN. O’REILLY, RAGING FIT TO BURST, LEAPT OUT FIRST. RIGHT, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR NONSENSE. YOU WILL TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON OR YOU WILL BE VERY SORRY!
WHAT THE DEVIL?
THE BRIGADIER WOULD NEVER TOLERATE BEHAVIOUR LIKE THIS FROM ANY RANK, AND HE STOOD TO BLOCK THE M.P. OFFICER’S PROGRESS. WHO ARE YOU? WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?
ARE YOU PART OF THE GANG AS WELL THEN WITH THIS NON-REGULATION, DISGUSTING PIECE OF APPAREL?
57 A POKE IN THE CHEST FOLLOWED.
IF YOU ARE, THEN IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO FACE THE MUSIC TOO!
CALM DOWN, MAN, AND KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF. OR WHAT, YOU PEASANT?
POKING A SENIOR OFFICER IN THE CHEST IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA, ESPECIALLY ONE WITH A HAIR-TRIGGER TEMPER AND LIGHTNING IN BOTH FISTS.
YOU WERE WARNED!
AAGH!
58 THE CAPTAIN’S COMPANIONS HAD THE SENSE TO REALISE THIS WAS NOT THE TIME TO MAKE A RASH MOVE. THE M.P.s GULPED AS THEY RECOGNISED MOODY FOR THE LEGENDARY WARRIOR HE WAS AND OBEYED THE BRIGADIER WITH ALACRITY. GET HIM LOCKED UP IN HIS OWN CELLS. I’LL BE ALONG TO DEAL WITH HIM LATER.
OF COURSE, SIR, AT ONCE, SIR.
BLIMEY, O’REILLY HAS BLOWN IT BIG TIME.
MOODY MACLOUGHLIN WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE TOO, BUT HE HAD A QUIET WORD WITH THE MEN OF THE PIGEON PATROL. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT AND I DON’T WANT TO KNOW. MUM’S THE WORD.
RIGHT, SIR. WE ARE PUZZLED TOO. MUST BE THE STRESS OF AN M.P. OFFICER’S JOB.
59 STRESS OR NOT, O’REILLY WAS DEMOTED TO LIEUTENANT AND SHIPPED TO MESOPOTAMIA. THERE HE WAS PUT IN CHARGE OF A CAMEL PATROL AND SENT INTO THE WASTES OF THE DESERT TO FIND THE PERFECT SAND FOR FILLING MILITARY SANDBAGS.
WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG? I WAS ONLY DOING MY JOB...MY LIFE WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE LIKE THIS!
COMPARED TO THE OFFICER, THE ILL-TEMPERED CAMEL HE TRAVELLED UNCOMFORTABLY ON LOOKED CONSIDERABLY HAPPIER. BACK IN FRANCE, THE WEEKLY RECKONING HAD BEEN MADE ON THE FOOTBALL SCORING SYSTEM AND FLYNN HANDED IT OVER TO LIEUTENANT GOWRIE FOR CHECKING. ALL DONE AND DUSTED, SIR.
I WILL GO STRAIGHT TO THE TOP WITH THIS FOR THE FINAL APPROVAL.
60 THE SENIOR OFFICER INVOLVED IN THE SCHEME WAS A VERY BUSY CHAP WITH A LOT ON HIS PLATE. HE ALWAYS FOUND TIME TO SEE GORDON REGULARLY, HOWEVER.
STILL KEEPING THE CHAPS HAPPY, IS IT? GIVES THEM SOMETHING TO TAKE THEIR MINDS OF THE WAR?
IT CERTAINLY SEEMS TO, SIR. I THINK IT’S TIME TO EXPAND AS WELL.
WE HAVE A CHAP WHO KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT MOTOR-CYCLE RACING. WE COULD COVER THAT AS WELL FOR VARIETY.
WHY NOT? THE GEES GEES TOO...I’M YOUR MAN FOR THAT.
61 A GRUNT OF APPROVAL AND THE GRACIOUS ACCEPTANCE OF ONE OF THE LIEUTENANT’S SWEETS ENDED THE ENCOUNTER...ALMOST.
OH, AND PUT ME DOWN FOR THE GUNNERS TO WIN THIS COMING WEEKEND. TAKE IT OUT OF MY WINNINGS.
WILL DO, SIR. GOOD NIGHT.
IT WAS ALL HARMLESS FUN AFTER ALL AND IT BRIGHTENED THE HARD LIFE SHARED BY SO MANY OF THE OFFICERS AND THEIR MEN. IT WASN’T ALWAYS EASY FOR LIEUTENANT GOWRIE, HOWEVER.
POOR OLD KENNY BOUGHT A LOT MORE PAINTING GEAR ON THE ASSUMPTION HE WOULD WIN THIS WEEK, BUT HIS BET SUNK WITHOUT TRACE. NO NUMBER OF MY SWEETS WILL SOFTEN THE BLOW.
62 BUT TIME HEALS AND BEFORE LONG THERE WAS THE PROMISE THAT REAL FOOTBALL MIGHT START UP AGAIN WHEN THE END OF THE WAR WAS ANNOUNCED. LIEUTENANT KENNY DEAN AND HIS WINGED PATROL WERE AS HAPPY AS PIGEONS IN PARADISE.
I NEVER GOT NEAR AN AIRCRAFT, LADS, BUT IT WAS A PLEASURE TO SERVE WITH YOU!
I SUSPECT WE’RE NOT DONE WITH ONE ANOTHER YET, SIR!
1919 SAW THE RETURN OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE CYCLE RACE. AMONG THOSE TRAINING TO TAKE PART WAS DONALD, STILL ON HIS PIGEON PATROL BIKE AND KITTED OUT IN HIS ARMY GEAR, POSSIBLY NOT THE BEST CHOICE IN REALITY.
IT’S TOUGHER THAN I THOUGHT, BUT I HAVE TO GIVE IT A GO FOR THE LADS. WHO KNOWS, MAYBE A BRITISH RIDER MIGHT WIN ONE DAY...
63 THE WHOLE SCHEME TO PLACE A RIDER IN THE WORLD FAMOUS BIKE RACE HAD BEEN FINANCED BY THE PROFITS OF THEIR WARTIME FOOTBALL OPERATION. THE GANG AND THE ACQUIRED MOBILE LOFT WERE STILL TOGETHER AND WORKING AS A TEAM, MO’S PIGEONS RELAYING INFORMATION AND MONTY KEEPING TABS ON IT ALL.
I’M FAMISHED. ANY SCONES LEFT?
YES, WE HID SOME FROM MONTY AND THE PIGEONS.
FLYNN, INSIDE THE BUS, WAS STILL TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER HIS WAR NOVEL.
THIS IS THE LIFE... I JUST NEED TO CONVINCE GORDON AND KENNY THAT PICTURES AND TEXT MIGHT MAKE A BESTSELLER.
LESS OF THAT CHEEK!
GORDON HAD TAKEN UP ART AS WELL. HE AND KENNY WERE ENJOYING THE STUNNING ALPINE VIEWS AHEAD OF THEM.
BEST GET BACK TO WORK. WANT A SWEETIE?
NO, THANKS. TEN A DAY IS ENOUGH FOR ME.
64 STRANGELY ENOUGH, IT WAS NOT THE STUNNING SCENERY THAT GRACED THE EASELS. PERHAPS FLYNN WOULD GET ILLUSTRATIONS FOR HIS WAR YARN YET.
KIND OF YOU TO SAY SO, KENNY.
NOT TOO BAD, GORDON.
THE ODD ENTOURAGE SEEMED TO ATTRACT INTERESTING PEOPLE. ONE OF THEM, A KEEN YOUNG ARTIST WHO GAVE HIS NAME ONLY AS KEITH, WAS WATCHING AND LEARNING.
THAT’S A NICE BIKE YOU HAVE THERE. CAN I DRAW IT?
SURE, ONCE I POLISH IT UP. IT’S A NORTON BROOKLANDS ROAD SPECIAL. COME TO THE ISLE OF MAN NEXT YEAR AND YOU MIGHT SEE ME RACE IT!
65 THANKS MOSTLY TO GOOD LUCK, THE BUNCH OF FRIENDS GROUPED AROUND THE FIRE THAT NIGHT HAD SURVIVED THE SLAUGHTER IN FRANCE AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE.
WHAT THE PIGEONS PRESSED INTO SERVICE THOUGHT OF IT ALL IS OPEN TO INTERPRETATION. MAYBE THEY DO HAVE MORE SENSE THAN HUMANS…
ND 22VEMBE NO 0 2 2
That’s when the next four all-action books are on sale
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