CONCLUSION: BATTLE OF STOMPIES--IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY




MY LIFE ON COMMANDO

FOREWORD


Could I have known that the war would last so long, I might from the
beginning have taken notes. They would have brought back memories in a
way pleasant to me now, and perhaps also to those who have asked me to
write down my adventures.

Often it occurred to me to keep a diary, but I was obliged to give up
the idea because my clothes were sometimes so thoroughly drenched that
the letters in my pocket were not readable. Later on, when clothes were
scarce and pockets past mending, I often made the unpleasant discovery
that caused the fool, on his journey from the land of Kokanje, to cry to
the King: 'We have ridden at such a breakneck pace, see, everything has
slipped through this little hole!' Now I am obliged to write down my
adventures without any notes, so dates, numbers, and names of places
will occasionally be missing. It stands to reason that I--being an exile
in a strange country, in the fort of ... in ..., cut off from the world
outside and without any official reports--should simply limit myself to
my own personal experience. And, lastly, I must apologize to my readers
for so often speaking of myself and my friends; but that is inevitable
in this tale.