TCD MS 10516 folio 34 recto
[14th September 1916] ing through Harkadhoj’s head, blowing a huge bit out of his skull. He uttered a faint, broken gasp, and fell dead, with the wounded man and myself in the same heap. A bullet passing through the skull makes a sharp smashing sound, extremely unpleasant to hear, resembling, as nearly as I can compare it, to the flat blade of an oar striking the surface of the water. This must be due to the instantaneous shattering of so much bone; certainly this man’s head was so blown to pieces that I could have put my fist into his brains.
The problem of bringing back the wounded man was now more difficult than ever. For Harkadhoj, being killed at the very commencement of our first attempt, and now lying with his head pumping blood, rather took the stuffing out of us. We lay /