Forever the Colours by Richard Thomas Read Free Book Online Page B

this this fella doesn’t know his history. Right then .
    â€˜So, when are going to get to Kabul, then Mark? Because at this rate, it’s gonna be next year.’
    â€˜I already said, lad, we’re going somewhere near Kandahairy. Have yer ears stopped working as well? Do ye smoke, lad? I’ve some excellent shag here.’ Mark continued to puff away at his pipe, looking at the stars as if without a care in the world.
    Bump!
    â€˜Ouch,’ said Tommy, as his head bounced off the planking to the side of him. ‘Right, that’s it,’ and with that, he pushed himself up onto his elbows to look at what he was riding in. He could just see over the rim of the cart. Cart! Why the hell have they got me in a cart? he thought, and, Oh no, not that again! He flopped down onto his back again. Another horse’s arse, albeit a live one and not covered in shit!
    â€˜Oh, stop with the game now, Mark, or whoever you are. It’s getting boring and I’m tired and I’ve got a splitting headache. Just take us back to base, would you?’
    â€˜Well, why don’t ye close yer eyes, lad, and get some rest. We have a way to go yet.’
    Tommy closed his eyes. He was, after all, far too tired to continue the game. What the hell? he thought. You win . And fell asleep.
    With a bemused look Mark Watson, private and medic, puffed on his pipe again. Finding that it had gone out, he reached into his pocket but could not find his matches. ‘Jesse, Jesse, lad, would you have a match on you?’
    Standing on the other side of the horse and cart, Private Jesse Holmes, medic, nodded and reached for his matches, ‘Ay, Mark, I do,’ and threw them to his comrade. ‘Do ye think he’s lost his mind, this one?’ Nodding towards Tommy.
    Mark shook his head. ‘I don’t know, Jesse, lad, but he don’t sound right, do he? I think mayhap the Surgeon Major can fix him up.’
    â€˜He talks funny, though, and he kept saying strange things.’ Jesse shook his head slowly. ‘Reckon he’s from London town, you think, with all those fancy words he has?’
    â€˜I don’t rightly know, lad, but hush ye now, we have a long way to go and this boy needs to sleep.’
    The horse and cart, with Tommy lying unconscious in the back, and with Privates Watson and Holmes escorting it, followed the baggage train of the 66th Berkshire Regiment, and trundled off into the night, and into history.

Chapter 4
    Dream
    T he nipples are too large and way too dark. Mind you, this bird is a darky anyway, so they’re supposed to look like that, ain’t they ? She is properly gorgeous: fantastic body, tall, slim in the waist, although her arms are way too hairy and she should get her moustache trimmed.
    The biker look is way behind the times, love , he thought. She dunked her head in the barrel again and came up spraying water in a lovely large rainbow of colours. She has unusually long hair, this one. Really long, nearly all the way down to her… Oh! Now that is kinky! She’s wearing boots. Riding boots at that, or biker boots in her case, and jodhpurs by the look of ’em. Oh, to have them wrapped round my back! Hang on, what is she doing now? She’s stretching or something, aerobics maybe. Oh, look at that. She can bend all the way down without bending her knees. Sexy! What is she throwing her arms round for? Kung fu! She knows kung fu as well! Just look at those moves she’s making. She’s well hard. Hard and sexy. Well, maybe not the moustache or the hairy arms, but everything else? Gorgeous! I wonder if she would be interested in a drink in the Lion or something. Or a movie, or we could just take a walk along the river; I don’t live far from here. Think I’ll ask her…
    â€˜Hooch.’ God my mouth’s dry . Tommy coughed. ‘Ah that’s better. Hello, how are you then, gorgeous?’
    Is that my voice? I sound like Frank