ery six strokes of the pump, it was necessary to pack under it
more bricks, and still more, for the ground was a veritable morass. In
the ordinary way my camera takes ten minutes to refill. On this occasion
it took me forty-five minutes, and all the time guns were thundering
out.
Making my way in a semi-circle, under cover of the communication
trenches, to the most advanced outpost, I filmed a party of Belgian
snipers hard at work, cheerfully sniping off any German unwise enough to
show the smallest portion of his head. Several times while I was
watching, I noticed one of the men mark upon his rifle with the stub of
a pencil. I asked why he did it.
"That, monsieur," he replied, "is a mark for every Bosche I shoot. See,"
he said, holding the butt-end for me to look at, and I noticed
twenty-eight crosses marked upon it. Snatching it up to his shoulder he
fired again, and joyfully he added another cross.
By this time it was getting dark, and quite impossible to take any more
scenes, so I returned to the battery, where the officer kindly invited
me to stay the night. Getting some dry straw from a waterproof bag, we
spread it out on the boards of the trench-hut, rolled our blankets round
our shoulders, and lighted our cigarettes. Then they asked me about
England. They told me that as long as Belgium existed they would never
forget what England had done for her people. While talking our candle
went out, and as we had no other we sat in the darkness, huddled
together to keep warm. Heavy rain again came on, penetrating through the
earth roof and soaking into my blanket.
I must have dozed off, for after a little while I awoke with a start
and, looking towards the entrance, I noticed a blue-white glare of
light. As my companions were getting out, I followed them, in time to
see the Germans sending up star-shells, to guard against any attack on
our part.
The following day I filmed several scenes connected with the Belgian
artillery and outposts. I waited during the remainder of the day to
catch, if possible, some scenes of German shells exploding, but again I
was doomed to disappointment, for, with the exception of a few at a
distance, I was never able to get the close ones in my field of view.
Having exhausted my stock of film, I decided to return to my base, but
on bidding adieu to the Commandant he begged me to return under cover of
darkness. That night I set out for Furnes, and after walking about an
hour, I was l
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