With the Serbs in Macedonia

58 WITH THE SERBS IN MACEDONIA
ferred to our vans, and it did one's heart good
to see the wave of tenderness that came over
our men. Driving cushions were given up, kitbags
turned into pillows, and cigarettes lit and
popped into their mouths.
Some of the cases were very serious. One
wounded Serbian officer was delirious and kept
plucking the bandage from his head. Three
times it had to be rebandaged, and then one
less severely wounded was told off to prevent
such a thing happening again.
In spite of desperate protests in execrable
French— the subaltern in charge was only at
the 17th lesson of Hugo's French self-taught !—
a particularly grave case was placed in his own
van. The French doctor shrugged his shoulders.
The situation was only too clear. Obviously
the man was unfit for such a journey ; obviously
he might die on the road. But nothing could
be done for him there, and there was just a
chance that if he could be got to a decently
equipped hospital he might be saved.
So he had to take his chance, poor fellow, and
his luck was out. The life was bumped out of
him on the way back, and next day another
little wooden cross was added to those dotted
about among the hills.
The Serbians, we found later, were very
tender about their own dead. All over Mace-