ines gave way.

"With barbed wire entanglements," said Cotter, "down to the water's
edge."

The weather round about Christmas-time was extraordinarily severe in
Ballyhaine. We came in for a series of gales, accompanied by driving
rain, and the days at that time of year are so short that most of our
soldiering had to be done in the dark.

I got one cold after another, and so did every other member of the
corps. Poor old Cotter limped pitifully on parade, but he did not say a
word about rheumatism. The spirit of the men was splendid, and not
one of us showed a sign of shirking, though Haines kept us at it with
ferocity.

Haines varied the digging by making us practise a horrible manoeuvre
called "relieving trenches." This was always done in the middle of
the night, between twelve and one o'clock. Part of the corps went out
early--about 10.30 p.m.--and manned the trenches. The rest of us marched
forth at midnight and relieved them.

The worst evening we had all winter was December 8th. It was blowing
terrifically from the south-east The sea was tumbling in on the beach
in enormous waves, fringing the whole line of the shore with a broad
stretch of white foam. The rain swept over the country pitilessly. I
came out of town by the 5.10 train, and called at the club on my way
home. I found a notice posted up:

"Ballyhaine Veterans' Corps.

"Tonight, December the 8th, trenches will be relieved at 12 midnight
No. 1 and No. 2 Platoons to parade at 10.30, march to north end of the
strand, and occupy trenches."

That meant a six-mile march for those platoons--three there and three
back.

"No. 3 and No. 4 Platoons to parade at 11 p.m., march to cliffs, descend
rocks, and relieve trenches as soon as possible after midnight."

I am in No. 3 Platoon, and I confess I shuddered. The rocks at the
north end of the beach are abominably slippery. A year ago I should have
hesitated about climbing down in broad daylight in the finest weather.
My military training had done a good deal for me physically, but I still
shrank from those rocks at midnight with a tempest howling round me.

When I reached home I put a good face on the matter. I was not going to
admit to my wife or Janet--particularly to Janet--that I was afraid of
night operations in any weather.

"Please have my uniform left out for me," I said, "I shall put it on
before dinner."

"Surely," said my wife, "you're not going out to-night? I don't think
you ought to."