He squeezed my hand and hurried back. I never saw him again. As I proceeded onwards along my way, I continued to marvel at this peculiar coincidence. For months I had been making new friends, had been completely immersed in this new life - had seen nothing of my old friends. Within another hour we would all be flung widely apart perhaps all three of us would be among those reported missing.
War is a funny thing.
Even in the short interval of my passing a marvelous amount of work had been accomplished. Huge roadrollers were crushing down the gravel, and several miles of the surface had been smoothed. When a people really want a good road built they can finish it in an incredibly short space of time. Along both sides of the highway were piled heterogeneous masses of materials that had been abandoned by the enemy. Our salvage squads were scouring the adjoining fields and woods, collecting and bringing to the roadsides all the valuable articles for transportation to the rear.