The rest of you, on your feet. I want you men out there. It’s a court martial for anyone who stays. (Screaming) Let’s go! Let’s go!
(Sound: the German machine guns open fi re)
CHARLIE: I’m not sure I’ll make it, Tommo. I want you to have this. (Charlie takes off his watch) It’s a wonderful watch. It will never let you down. If you wind it regular, time will never stop and when you get back home, little Tommo can have it. He’s got all the time in the world.
TOMMO (as narrator): Then Charlie spoke no more. And I must have slept, because when I open my eyes, there is Sergeant Hanley staring at me from under his helmet, cold hate in his eyes. We waited, but by nightfall there was no sign of the others who had joined the Sergeant on that futile charge.
useless, pointless
1. How does the author tell you in this short extract that the brothers Tommo and Charlie
have a deep, trusting, close relationship?
2. What threat does Sergeant Hanley make to the brothers?
3. What three adjectives would you use to describe the character of Sergeant Hanley?
