Susan stalked out to the kitchen and settled down to write to Jem ; deeming him in need of some home comfort from certain passages in his letter that day . `` We 're in an old wine cellar tonight , dad , '' he wrote , `` in water to our knees . Rats everywhere -- no fire -- a drizzling rain coming down -- rather dismal . But it might be worse . I got Susan 's box today and everything was in tip-top order and we had a feast . Jerry is up the line somewhere and he says the rations are rather worse than Aunt Martha 's ditto used to be . But here they 're not bad -- only monotonous . Tell Susan I 'd give a year 's pay for a good batch of her monkey-faces ; but do n't let that inspire her to send any for they would n't keep . `` We have been under fire since the last week in February . One boy -- he was a Nova Scotian -- was killed right beside me yesterday . A shell burst near us and when the mess cleared away he was lying dead -- not mangled at all -- he just looked a little startled . It was the first time I 'd been close to anything like that and it was a nasty sensation , but one soon gets used to horrors here . We 're in an absolutely different world . The only things that are the same are the stars -- and they are never in their right places , somehow . `` Tell mother not to worry -- I 'm all right -- fit as a fiddle -- and glad I came . There 's something across from us here that has got to be wiped out of the world , that 's all -- an emanation of evil that would otherwise poison life for ever . It 's got to be done , dad , however long it takes , and whatever it costs , and you tell the Glen people this for me . They do n't realize yet what it is has broken loose -- I did n't when I first joined up . I thought it was fun . Well , it is n't !
But I 'm in the XXXXX place all right -- make no mistake about that .
Jerry Martha Scotian Susan ditto fire first monkey-faces right year