In April, in a raid near
Festubert, Mannering was badly wounded. But the change in him was
already evident when they were in Paris together. Chicksands could
only suppose it represented the mental and nervous depression caused
by Vivian's death, and would pass away. On the contrary, it had
proved to be something permanent.
Yet it had never interfered with his efficiency as a soldier, nor
his record for a dare-devil courage. There were many tales current
of his exploits on the Somme, in which again and again he had singed
the beard of Death, with an absolute recklessness of his own
personal life, combined with the most anxious care for that of his
men. Since the battle of Messines he had been the head of a
remarkable Officers' School at Aldershot, mainly organized by
himself. But now, it seemed, he was moving heaven and earth to get
back to France and the front. Chicksands did not think he would
achieve it. He was invaluable where he was, and his superiors, to
Mannering's indignation, were inclined to regard him as a man who
was physically fit rather for home service than the front.
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