Fighting with French

or a few days, it is true, the enemy might have been unaware that British troops were in occupation; but a German aeroplane, a dove-winged Taub

uns, the passage of ambulances occasionally and of supply wagons frequently, and the passin

full marching kit. They overflowed from the little market square into the adjacent streets, and there

dle of the square. It was a dark night, and the flickering light of the lantern

be no straggling, or you'll pitch into Jack Johnson holes in the road. No talking, no smoking. I know you'll gi

n incipient cheer, and the batta

the advance guard came upon a deep cavity extending half across the road, and two men were told off to warn the succeeding ranks of the danger. Presently they passed through a ham

relieving. At length they came to a small clump of woodland, and learnt that the trenches were on the further side of it. Section by section they passed into the shelter of th

and there little cabins dug out in the banks, boarded, strewn with straw, warm and stuffy. In the darkness it was impossible to take complete stock of their surroundings, but learning that in a

They watched the British trenches with lynx eyes, and so sure as the top of a cap showed above the parapet it became the mark for a dozen rifles. There were night snipers, too, somewhere in the neighbourhood, constantly dropping bullets

ficer who directed Kennedy to his position. "Except for the snipers w

ondering what was in store for them when daylight came. Fortunately the wet weather had ceased; the bottom of the trench was still sticky, but the March winds were rapidly d

Two or three hundred yards beyond this they saw the similar entanglement of the Germans. For about a hundred yards of the line this wire was more remote, and the men learnt afterwards that a pond of that breadth filled a de

g to the rear, and emerged on the outskirts of the wood. There was instantly the crack of a rifle. A sniper had begun his day's work. The men waited uneasily, clutching their rifles, wondering if any of their comrades had been hit. Kennedy posted his men a yard apart

contained a sort of hash mixed with beans and potatoes. The men poured this into their billies, warmed them at the braziers,

nual rumble of artillery-fire; once they caught sight of a British aeroplane far away to the north-east, with li

of the men got up to stretch himself. "Keep down!" shouted Kennedy, but it was too late. There was a slight whizz; the man fell

rade through the trenches to the wood, and buried him ther

, as they got back. "She'll like to know

" said Kenneth. "

hat it comes to. It didn't ought to be, and 'pon my soul, it beats me why us millions of working men don't put a stop to it. We're in it now; I'll do my bit

sent, of the grim realities of war braced their courage. Already they had a comrade's death to avenge. To the more thoughtful of them the dead ma

e was peril is rising to stretch their cramped limbs. At dusk on the first day a man was slightly wounded. These sneaking tactics, as they considered them, on the part of an unseen enemy worried and irritated the men. Whenever a shot was heard, they tried to estimate its direction, but their guesses were so contradictory that no definite opinion could be arrived at. On on

. They thought that nothing could be more demoralising, having as yet had no experience of heavy gun-fire. The officers discussed the

f sniping overnight, and in the morning Kenneth happened to notice what appeared to be a bul

" said the captain. "Th

e chance of hitting somebody, for of course

about more freely after dark. But we ought to be able to locate him now. Stick your bayone

s bayonet, and it seemed pretty certain that the shot had been fired from the left rear, and,

he angle with that of the hole made by the bullet, the captain decided that the copse was too far to the right, and swept his glasses towards the left. The only other likely

said the captain. "Are you game to d

like, sir," Ke

, perhaps, but on the other hand a little support may be useful, so you had better take another

doing something. The other men envie

aid Kenneth. "Your tur

ches to the second line of entrenchments and thence to the road leading to the village. They waited until complete darkness had fallen before stepping openly on to the r

ossible," said Kenneth, as they se

you mean,"

ke a leaf out of the Germans' book; they prefer

ly guess distance. Kenneth took the time by his luminous watch, and allowing for the detour, when they had walked for twenty minutes he bore to the right, crossed the deserted road, and peered throu

o find the farm, but after a time came s

eft?" whisp

?" return

es

I shou

It lit up the country momentarily like a flash of lightning, and as the two men instinctively flung themselves down, they caught

shell was herald of a night attack. But the

they ain't gone home

hasn't begun work yet; I haven't heard any rifle shots about here. We'll

ught sight of it, bent down under cover of a hedge, and crept on almost by inches. Then, leaving Gin

nutes he

t in one corner; there are heaps of rubble everywhere, raft

ou go

risk it. Look out you do

quently to peer and listen, then went on again, doing their utmost to avoid any disturbance of the broken masonry and woodwork. Before they had compl

time before it came. At length there was a dull rumble of distant artillery, and in

but I think he waits for the sound of firing elsewhere before he fires

the trenches far to the left. Before it had died

ure enough," said Gi

red up and down the line. They could see only a few yards, so dark was the night. There was no glint even from the rails, wh

on would be useless and might be dangerous, so, curbing t

shot from the sniper when it was masked by some other sound, they spra

!" whisper

Presently they were brought to a sudden halt by the sound of a rifle-shot apparently almost beneath them. Dropping to the ground, they peeped over the embankment. At this spot ther

t a sniper was within a few yards of them, perhaps within a few feet. They lay perfectly still, watching, waiting for another shot. It did not come. Kennet

re cramped with cold; but as if by mutual consent they lay where they were. Neither was willing to go back and report failure. Now and again they caught slight sounds which they were unable to identify or locate. They nibbled some biscuits

. The air began to fill with the roll of artillery and the rattle of rifle-shots. Here and there in the distance they saw columns of black smoke. Two a

the darkness," Kenneth v

out," murmured

hedges divided the fields. One such, bordered by a narrow ditch, ran northward from the railway within a few yards

und them; their figures had been seen on the skyline by the Germans. Dropping instantly to the ground, they crawled along, skirting the hole made by the shell, and taking ca

eth at last. "I don't like to,

ay," said Ginger. "I'm game to

rations. We may as well lie up in

nd being now safe from German shots began to walk erect along the bottom, following a sligh

he turned his head quickly, putting his finger to his lips. Kenneth hurried up. Ginger pointed to a slight track in the grass, leading round the

g with it when Kenneth, in the rear, happening to look behind him over the hedge, caught sight of a man about half a mile away, coming apparently from the direction of the village whe

he looked behind as if fearful of being followed. They watched him eagerly, surprised, full of curiosity and sus

covered him, and he turned off sharply at right angles towards the railway. Kenneth instantly guessed that he had done this to avoid observation

until he was on the point of turning the corner, Kenneth drew Ginger through a small gap in the hedge parallel with the railway, and they waited there until the stranger came up to it on

the railway. At the end of the hedge they stooped and peeped through a gap, to see what was going on within a few feet of them. They hear

from above, established themselves on top of the brickwork at the entrance. They heard voices from below, within the culvert. Ke

the man they had followed waded out through the shallow water at the bottom of the culvert, bending almost double to avoid the arch. His basket was gone. Just as he was about to straighten himself,

NDS

per, a man of courage and daring, or he would not have elected or been chosen for thi

n eye below," he said. "Take care

ver, at the same time keeping an eye on the arch below. In a few seconds Ginger had made the man p

d, laying the man at the foot of the emb

ppened. That he had not attempted to escape by the other end was probably explained by his ignorance of the number of men he had to do with. Armed with his

inger joined him. "There's some straw in the farmhouse

d one of the trusses, and placed it at the rear end of the culvert, the quarter from which a

ath Kenneth, tickling his throat and causing his eyes to smart. Every moment he expected the sniper to make a rush from his unendurable posit

traw, Ginge

eplied, and returned to th

r sounds of movements below, heard a slight displacement of ballast on the line above him. Glancing up, he fo

nfessed--that he had a revolver, he made a spring and with his left hand seized the muzzle a few feet above him. The German held fast; there was a momentary tug of war; then the German

ew seconds they heaved and writhed like grampuses. Then Ginger, drawn by the splash, came running across the line, saw the struggling figures, sprang down the embankment, and dashed his fis

g," he said. "Where did

e presently. I'm nearly choked with m

ot where Kenneth had stood, the German had forced his way up from a small chamber excavated in the base of the embankment, where he had a folding chair, a rug, a tin plate and mug, a supply of ammunition, and the basket which the visitor had carried. It was full of food. There were two or three inconspicuous openings f

ger, with unwilling admiration. "But how did

h expl

ucky missfire

"And we can't discover the caus

We've bagged our first prisoners;

few days, unwilling to ascribe to luck something that must have a sufficient cause, he came to the conclusion t

ters in the village, keeping the embankment b

said Ginger, referring to the civilian. "He's a spy

bt. By George! I shall be glad to get bac

prisoner of war. An investigation was held. It came out that the civilian who supplied him with food was a supposed refugee, and one of the pensioners of Mon

n me. Still, it would not be just to abandon my humble efforts to alleviate distress because one man

here was no more trouble from nigh