Journey's End: A Play in Three Acts

The evening of a March day. A pale glimmer of moonlight shines down the narrow steps into one corner oj the dug-out. Warm yellow candle-flames light the other corner from the necks of two bottles on the table. Through the doorway can be seen the misty grey parapet of a trench and a narrow strip of starlit sky. A bottle of whiskey, a jar of water, and a mug stand on the table amongst a litter of papers and magazines. An officers equipment hangs in a jumbled mass from a nail in the wall.

Captain Hardy, a red-faced, cheerful-looking man, is sitting on a box by the table, intently drying a sock over a candle-flame. He wears a heavy trench-boot on his left leg, and his right foot, which is naked, is held above the damp floor by resting it on his left knee. His right boot stands on the floor beside him. As he carefully turns the sock this way and that—feeling it against his face to see if it is dry — he half sings, half hums a song — humming when he is not quite sure of the words, and marking time with the toes of his right foot.