In bayonet practice, they attacked sandbags, but sandbags did not have ribs. His blade caught on the boy’s bones. Ellwood had to tug it, like jiggling a key stuck in a lock. The boy watched him, dazed, his mouth opening and closing like that of a fish. Finally, Ellwood fired his rifle into the boy’s stomach, and the force of the recoil ripped his bayonet out of his body. He fell to the ground, clutching his belly.
