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A handful of sand dropped from the roof and crumbled between his neck and coat-collar. He had but to retire an inch or two and the pressure would be relieved, and he could widen the bottlenecked passage with his spade; but terror beyond all terrors froze him |
This is from “The Woman in his Life” in Kipling’s last collection Limits and Renewals (1932) John Marden, who has served on the Western Front as a Royal Engineer, has a crippling breakdown. He is haunted by the war-time terrors of mining under the Messines Ridge in constant fear of being buried alive. He acquires Dinah, a little terrier, who becomes his much loved companion. One day on a walk she disappears up a fox-hole and is caught on a root by her collar. Marden finds her and in great terror crawls up the hole to the rescue. Afterwards , he finds that that this act of courage had freed him from his nightmares. |
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