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ОглавлениеPREFACE
IT is now eight years ago since Shorty Bill made his bow to the public in No Man's Land and The Human Touch.* And I feel that, perhaps, some explanation is needed for again putting him on the stage.
Books on the war are no longer popular, but I cannot help thinking, from remarks that have been made to me, that there are still some people who would like to be reminded, and others, of a younger generation, who would like to learn.
In that belief I have ventured to resurrect Shorty Bill. He is a character compounded of three men, whom I had opportunities of studying closely. One of those men still lives: the other two paid the price. And I venture to think that if a little more of the spirit which actuated my models existed to-day, we should not be living in a constant atmosphere of civil war which makes our present world such a bright and enjoyable spot.
H.C. McNeile, February, 1926.
[* The stories in this collection are reprinted, minus their original titles, from these two books.]
Shorty Bill, Hodder & Stoughton
