Greenmantle — John Buchan

Near the same tree two more bundles of acute angles sat with their legs drawn up One with his chin propped on his knees stared at nothing in an intolerable and appalling manner his brother phantom rested its forehead as if overcome with a great weariness and all about others were scattered in every pose of contorted collapse as in some picture of a massacre or a pestilence While I stood horror struck one of these creatures rose to his hands and knees and went off on all fours towards the river to drink He lapped out of his hand then sat up in the sunlight crossing his shins in front of him and after a time let his woolly head fall on his breastbone

Greenmantle is the second of five novels by John Buchan featuring the character of Richard Hannay first published in 1916 It is one of two Hannay novels set during the First World War the other being Mr Standfast 1919 Hannay s first and best known adventure The Thirty Nine Steps 1915 is set in the period immediately preceding the war WWI spy Richard Hannay is called in to investigate rumours of an uprising in the Muslim world and undertakes a perilous journey through enemy territory to meet up with his friend Sandy in Constantinople Once there he and his friends must thwart the Germans plans to use religion to help them win the war climaxing at the battle of Erzurum