No More Parades_ A Novel - Ford Madox Ford [117]
All the white tubular beings with global eyes resembled the pierrots of a child's Christmas nightmare. The general said: 'Stand at ease, men...Stand easy!' They moved as white objects move in a childish dream. It was all childish. Their eyes rolled.
Sergeant Case gazed away into infinite distance.
'My sister would not like it, sir,' he said. 'I'm better off as a first-class warrant officer!'
With his light step the shining general went swiftly to the varnished panels in the eastern aisle of the cathedral. The white figure beside them became instantly tubular, motionless and global-eyed. On the panels were painted: TEA! SUGAR! SALT! CURRY PDR! FLOUR! PEPPER!
The general tapped with the heel of his crop on the locker-panel labelled PEPPER: the top, right-hand locker-panel. He said to the tubular, global-eyed white figure beside it: 'Open that, will you, my man?...'
To Tietjens this was like the sudden bursting out of the regimental quick-step, as after a funeral with military honours the band and drums march away, back to barracks.
THE END
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