own the dark
road. The Chateau in which the General lived was two miles off, and
when I came to it, I found it wrapped in darkness. I went to the
sentry on guard, and told him that I wished to see the General on
important business. Turning my flashlight upon my face, I showed who I
was. He told me that the General's room was in the second storey at
the head of a flight of stairs in a tower at the end of the building.
I went over there, and finding the door unlocked, I mounted the wooden
steps, my flashlight lighting up the place. I knocked at a door on the
right and a voice asked me who I was. When I told my name, I was
invited to enter, and an electric light was turned on and I found I
was in the room of the A.D.C., who was sitting up in bed. Luckily, I
had met him before and he was most sympathetic. I apologized for
disturbing him but told him my mission and asked if I might see the
General. He got up and went into the General's room. In a few moments
he returned, and told me that the General would see me. Instead of
being angry at my extraordinary intrusion, he discussed the matter
with me. Before a death sentence could be passed on any man, his case
had to come up first in his Battalion orderly room, and, if he was
found guilty there, it would be sent to the Brigade. From the Brigade
it was sent to the Division, from the Division to Corps, from Corps to
Army, and from Army to General Headquarters. If each of these courts
confirmed the sentence, and the British Commander-in-Chief signed the
warrant, there was no appeal, unless some new facts came to light. Of
all the men found guilty of desertion from the front trenches, only a
small percentage were executed. It was considered absolutely (p. 212)
necessary for the safety of the Army that the death sentence should
not be entirely abolished. The failure of one man to do his duty might
spoil the morale of his platoon, and spread the contagion of fear from
the platoon to the company and from the company to the battalion,
endangering the fate of the whole line. The General told me, however,
that if any new facts came to light, suggesting mental weakness or
insanity in the prisoner, it might be possible for the execution to be
stayed, and a new trial instituted. This seemed to give hope that
something might yet be done, so I thanked the General for his kindness
and left.

When I got back to the prison, I made my way to the cell, not of
course, letting the condemned