of the machine-gun, Herr Officer, and they will
keep well within it," he added. "They are Prussians on that gun, and
they don't care who they kill as long as they hit somebody."

"Look here, Dan, you can stay where you are if you like," said Dennis.
"I'm off!"

"Wait a moment--don't be an ass," expostulated his cousin. "What's your
plan? I'm with you if there's an earthly chance of doing anything."

"It's this," replied Dennis, slipping his revolver back into its case.
"The top of our parapet is a couple of feet higher than that
machine-gun emplacement. I noticed that yesterday. I'm going to crawl
out under the line of their fire, and I'll bet you I'm back in our
trench in ten minutes."

"It's risky," said his cousin. "But not as bad as Lone Pine. What about
the prisoner?"

"If I am alive and we have not carried your trench," said the Saxon very
earnestly, "I shall report myself to your people before daybreak."

"All right, that's a promise," said Dennis, and he climbed cautiously up
to the lip of the hole and peeped over.

A wave of the enemy had just passed on, swallowed up in the dense vapour
of the smoke-bombs, and as the two cousins flung themselves on their
faces they heard the Lee-Enfields opening from their own trench.

So long as the smoke lasted they were safe from detection, but the whole
air seemed alive with singing bullets, and Dennis felt a jar all along
his right side as one of our own shots carried off the heel of his boot.

"Keep your direction, for Heaven's sake!" he called over his shoulder.
"We've a hundred yards to go in a straight line," and then no one spoke,
as the quartet wormed themselves on their stomachs as fast as they could
crawl, parallel with the two trench lines which bordered that strip of
No Man's Land.

Tiddler's bayonet was wrenched from the muzzle of his rifle, and a
bullet chipped the brim of Hawke's steel helmet.

"Now look out for yourselves," called Dennis. "We're level with the
gun," and, trying to squeeze themselves flatter, if such a performance
had been humanly possible, they heard the rhythmical tac-tac abreast of
them and the weird whistle of the deadly stream of bullets a few feet
above their heads.

"That's better," said Dan Dunn when they had left it behind them. "Where
shall we turn off, old chap?"

"Not yet," replied Dennis through his clenched teeth. "A bit farther,
and then we shall have to face the music of our own men. That's why I'd
rather have