Private Peat

not quite. No. This was bad; there was worse

had been a two-story schoolhouse or seminary. As soon as we reached this shelter we flo

entières, as a whole, had not suffered greatly from shell fire, though the upper fl

idden. Our artillery officers used every available inch of cover, for they had to screen our guns from the observation of enemy aircraft which fl

e majority were howitzers. These fire high; they have a possible angle of forty

rtillery. If ever a bunch of greenhorns landed in France,

welcoming cheers of our British brothers. Silence reigned for the two hours we had spent in resting

our shelter. Poor laddie, he was very young and his anxiety exceeded even his nervousness. Nervousness is very natural, I

sterday, and we are likely to be blown up any minute ... any minute, men! I'd advise you to stay where you are. Don't any of you go outside, and if you don't want to lose y

We looked at one another. We sat tense. Our very thoughts seem

it was a boy from the Far West who spoke-"I've come six thousand miles, a

o-morrow morning at sunrise if I could have t

llows, I wonder why he told us not to go up-stairs. I bet you there's something to be seen fro

At last half a dozen of us decided to embark on the risky enterprise. We were three miles from the enemy, to be sure, but a German at three miles seem

work. We raised our hands and shaded our eyes from the glare of the light. We scanned the horizon. We had an idea, I

f those narrow stairs, the other five boys on top of me. That is a feat impossible of repetition. When we disentangled ourselves, got to our feet and gathered our scattered

building a battery of our six-inch howitzers was concealed. When they "go off" they make a fearful racket; very likely any other bunch of

the roof. It was a simple device to keep us from exploring the boulevards of the city. We might have been

before we went "in" for the first time. He was, possibly, a little uncertain of our attitude. He knew we were fighters all right, but our discipline was an unknown quantity. Captain Straight, I understand, was A

ches. We are going in with soldiers of the regular Imperial Army. We are going in with seasoned troops.

ously excited. We st

thing about war, lads

ad been under fire that very afternoon; bu

boys, I know exactly what you are going to do to-night when you get in those trenches. You're going to ask questions

e we to know that those boys already in are not there to watch us, to report our behavior ... and, by heaven, men, if we don't make a good showing pe

u the questions. Don't you speak at all ... just you be brave. I know you are brave ... stick out your chests." The captain gave u

ness of his speech. "March right in. Don't stop for anything. Get close to the parape

very by creeping up a ruined stairway only three miles from the enemy?

idea is that he should be put in reserves and worked up gradually, but, save

trenches. The reason is obvious. Sometimes the front line is but a stone's throw from the front line of the enemy. Sometimes we can converse with the enemy from one

English, one Canadian and so on down the line. These boys belonged to the Notts and Derbys. Jolly fine boys, too. We became fast friends. They chummed to us as they would to their own. They showed us the ropes. They gave us tips on this thing and that. They told us the best w

r courage and rouse the fighting spirit inherited from long dead ancestors. It is a very-a vastly different matter. We go into the trenches

here are always a few bullets dropping near by. One will hit the mud somewhere around his feet. The boy nearest springs as from a catapult until he is close to the comrade ahe

and the man on this ticklish job is nearly always a sergeant. He has an

ep your paces." His voice boo

en a guide these many times. But we skip back to our position, six paces behind. Then another bullet drops and the whole dance-

a trotting thoroughbred. We step high, we step lightly. We tread as daintily