Greenmantle - John Buchan

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GREENMANTLE by
JOHN BUCHAN To Caroline Grosvenor During the past year, in the intervals of an active life, I have amused myself with constructing this tale. It has been scribbled in every kind of odd place and moment—in England and abroad, during long journeys, in half-hours between graver tasks; and it bears, I fear, the mark of its gipsy begetting. But it has amused me to write, and I shall be well repaid if it amuses you—and a few others—to read. Let no man or woman call its events improbable. The war has driven that word from our vocabulary, and melodrama has become the prosiest realism. Things unimagined before happen daily to our friends by sea and land. The one chance in a thousand is habitually taken, and as often as not succeeds. Coincidence, like some new Briareus, stretches a hundred long arms hourly across the earth. Some day, when the full history is written—sober history with ample documents—the poor romancer will give up business and fall to reading Miss Austen in a hermitage. The characters of the tale, if you think hard, you will recall. Sandy you know well. That great spirit was last heard of at Basra, where he occupies the post that once was Harry Bullivant's. Richard Hannay is where he longed to be, commanding his battalion on the ugliest bit of front in the West. Mr <strong>John</strong> S. Blenkiron, full of honour and wholly cured of dyspepsia, has returned to the States, after vainly endeavouring to take Peter with him. As for Peter, he has attained the height of his ambition. He has shaved his beard and joined the
Page 4 and 5: Flying Corps.
Page 6 and 7: I had just finished breakfast and w
Page 8 and 9: He laughed. 'You do yourself an inj
Page 10 and 11: Sir Walter lay back in an arm-chair
Page 12 and 13: if a man has a special knowledge to
Page 14 and 15: years—mostly young officers of th
Page 16 and 17: and premeditated, and I didn't seem
Page 18 and 19: advantageous position to take a han
Page 20 and 21: provide food and service. I kept th
Page 22 and 23: 'V. I,' I read. 'There you have me.
Page 24 and 25: 'I should add that it's about as sa
Page 26 and 27: lack the larger vision. They can be
Page 28 and 29: CHAPTER THREE Peter Pienaar Our var
Page 30 and 31: summer. The hills of Portugal were
Page 32 and 33: Beyers would have hanged him if he
Page 34 and 35: the predikant used to preach about
Page 36 and 37: ar-keeper, with a lot of Shangaan w
Page 38 and 39: Peter grunted a deep approval. 'Tha
Page 40 and 41: I had expected a big barricade with
Page 42 and 43: men with heavy eyes. No wonder, poo
Page 44 and 45: factory look like a house, though y
Page 46 and 47: 'Maybe he wasn't,' said the giant i
Page 48 and 49: 'You need men, and the men are wait
Page 50 and 51: As I walked dizzily away the big ma
Page 52 and 53:
convalescent room, where people wer
Page 54 and 55:
I did as I was bid, he followed, an
Page 56 and 57:
a portfolio, and flung me a few sen
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shiver. But how can we strike? They
Page 60 and 61:
had only heard a gurgle of somethin
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in about a quart of water, when Stu
Page 64 and 65:
abominating the English and burning
Page 66 and 67:
The door opened and Stumm entered.
Page 68 and 69:
'There are thousands, sire,' I said
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veld ... Not but what,' he added, '
Page 72 and 73:
German Crown.' I took the card and
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helpless. The man had a gorilla's r
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'The village is five minutes off at
Page 78 and 79:
my idiot had been absorbed into the
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paling of rough stakes plaited with
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village. There were one or two peop
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Hampshire. The bouts had been short
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'Gruss Gott,' I replied. I leaned a
Page 88 and 89:
danced through my head in a crazy f
Page 90 and 91:
your stocking-foot and use it only
Page 92 and 93:
my passport inside Germany, to join
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shoulder. The others wore thick jer
Page 96 and 97:
Stumm's cordon had got busy at last
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dry crackle of wild geese going ove
Page 100 and 101:
Peter was in the middle of the conv
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others, for I was not a prisoner of
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elieved it. I was a poor Dutchman t
Page 106 and 107:
I did not pay much attention to the
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him short. 'Come along to the comma
Page 110 and 111:
The Turk swaggered up and addressed
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clearly not approving of this wet a
Page 114 and 115:
here for their pleasure, and but la
Page 116 and 117:
Then Peter fired over their heads.
Page 118 and 119:
for any trouble with demoniacs. Up
Page 120 and 121:
I had had the good fortune to colle
Page 122 and 123:
have been. Sandy had said that the
Page 124 and 125:
passage and the empty shop, and out
Page 126 and 127:
'But I don't understand,' I stammer
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statesmen don't figure enough on. S
Page 130 and 131:
understood a word of. "Maister Tamm
Page 132 and 133:
'I know,' I said; 'he is called Gre
Page 134 and 135:
mine. Meantime, I've got to clear,
Page 136 and 137:
sailor, Blenkiron flung him three o
Page 138 and 139:
Petrograd and Mr Y. in London, or,
Page 140 and 141:
He tore up the papers and enlarged
Page 142 and 143:
fellow engineer, and translated par
Page 144 and 145:
dwelling in my intestines. I'm like
Page 146 and 147:
made me sick for the burning veld.
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top of them, and the three were off
Page 150 and 151:
I told him in a hectic sentence, fo
Page 152 and 153:
She led me through a long corridor
Page 154 and 155:
Stumm and Rasta and the whole Germa
Page 156 and 157:
passports. Say, do you come from En
Page 158 and 159:
out to find my visitor in a brown s
Page 160 and 161:
for the open country.' This confoun
Page 162 and 163:
lacker one. Do you think that woman
Page 164 and 165:
'There was a time when the papers w
Page 166 and 167:
I picked up the map and pocketed it
Page 168 and 169:
different members of our gang. Pete
Page 170 and 171:
swung along at a great pace with a
Page 172 and 173:
It proved to be a wretched tumble-d
Page 174 and 175:
About midday we descended on a wide
Page 176 and 177:
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Trouble by The Wa
Page 178 and 179:
glittering like jewels. The arches
Page 180 and 181:
wretched horses. It is vitally impo
Page 182 and 183:
was difficult driving. On both side
Page 184 and 185:
With an effort Stumm recovered hims
Page 186 and 187:
Sandy's somewhere outside, and he's
Page 188 and 189:
I guessed he had gone to have a loo
Page 190 and 191:
with the impetus right on our heads
Page 192 and 193:
The Deve Boyun lines seemed to me m
Page 194 and 195:
I had learned what I needed. We wer
Page 196 and 197:
much that he broke open a wound in
Page 198 and 199:
'Drugged,' he cried, with a weary l
Page 200 and 201:
Sandy's figure seemed to shrink and
Page 202 and 203:
'That's all right,' I cried. 'It is
Page 204 and 205:
The outbuilding we were lodged in a
Page 206 and 207:
On the road itself he would soon be
Page 208 and 209:
the howitzers, and was thankful whe
Page 210 and 211:
seemed to be a kind of cup between
Page 212 and 213:
dislodge one ounce of snow. Still t
Page 214 and 215:
'They may not understand it,' said
Page 216 and 217:
and looked at his map, and then put
Page 218 and 219:
von Einem was getting ready for her
Page 220 and 221:
Beside him rode a tall figure swath
Page 222 and 223:
We stared blankly for a second, til
Page 224 and 225:
sides to prevent them getting us in
Page 226 and 227:
It was a woman's voice, high, penet
Page 228 and 229:
woman had singled me out above the
Page 230 and 231:
Blenkiron's field-glasses and had a
Page 232 and 233:
ange for his whizz-bangs. We've got
Page 234 and 235:
'Feeling good?' I asked. 'Fine. I'm
Page 236 and 237:
The choice fell on one of the Compa
Page 238 and 239:
deaf to the sound. Stumm had seen u
Page 240 and 241:
for the rear of the fugitives, but
Page 242 and 243:
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG E
Page 244 and 245:
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perfor
Page 246 and 247:
Section 2. Information about the Mi
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