lly
cheerful; voluble from sheer nervous reaction. They had the prospect of
getting away for a little while from the sickening horrors: the sight of
maimed and shattered bodies, the deafening noise, the nauseating odor of
decaying flesh. As they moved out there were the usual conversations
which take place between incoming and outgoing troops.

"Wot sort of a week you 'ad, mate?"

"It ain't been a week, son; it's been a lifetime!"

"Lucky fer us you blokes come in just w'en you did. We've about reached
the limit."

"'Ow far we got to go fer water?"

"'Bout two miles. Awful journey! Tyke you all night to do it. You got to
stop every minute, they's so much traffic along that trench. Go down
Stanley Road about five 'unnerd yards, turn off to yer left on Essex
Alley, then yer first right. Brings you right out by the 'ouse w'ere the
pump is."

"'Ere's a straight tip! Send yer water fatigue down early in the mornin':
three o'clock at the latest. They's thousands usin' that well an' she
goes dry arter a little w'ile."

"You blokes want any souvenirs, all you got to do is pick 'em up:
'elmets, revolvers, rifles, German di'ries. You wite till mornin'. You'll
see plenty."

"Is this the last line o' Fritzie's trenches?"

"Can't tell you, mate. All we know is, we got 'ere some'ow an' we been
a-'oldin' on. My Gawd! It's been awful! They calmed down a bit to-night.
You blokes is lucky comin' in just w'en you did."

"I ain't got a pal left out o' my section. You'll see some of 'em. We
ain't 'ad time to bury 'em."

They were soon gone and we were left in ignorance of the situation. We
knew only approximately the direction of the living enemy and the dead
spoke to us only in dumb show, telling us unspeakable things about the
horrors of modern warfare.

Fortunately for us, the fire of the German batteries, during our first
night in captured trenches, was directed chiefly upon positions to our
right and left. The shells from our own batteries were exploding far in
advance of our sector of trench, and we judged from this that we were
holding what had been the enemy's last line, and that the British
artillery were shelling the line along which they would dig themselves in
anew. We felt more certain of this later in the night when working
parties were sent from the battalion to a point twelve hundred yards in
front of the trenches we were then holding. They were to dig a new line
there, to connect with intrenchments which had