man know anything that had happened. By
degrees, in our conversation, I found that on both sides of his family
there were cases of mental weakness. When I had all the information
that was possible, I went out and accompanied by the brigade chaplain,
made my way once again to Army Headquarters. The chances of averting
the doom seemed to be faint, but still a human life was at stake, and
we could not rest till every effort had been made. I went to the room
of the A.D.C., and was again admitted to the presence of the Army
Commander. He told me now that the only person who could stop the
execution was the Divisional Commander, if he thought it right to do
so. At the same time, he held out very little hope that anything could
be done to commute the sentence. Once more I thanked him and went off.
The brigade chaplain was waiting for me outside and we talked the
matter over, and decided that, although the case seemed very hopeless
and it was now half-past three, one last effort should be made. We
walked back through the rain to the village, and there awoke the
A.P.M. and the Colonel of the battalion. Each of them was most
sympathetic and most anxious, if possible, that the man's life should
be spared. The A.P.M. warned me that if we had to go to Divisional
Headquarters, some seven miles away, and return, we had no time to
lose, because the hour fixed for the execution was in the early dawn.

The question now was to find a car. The only person in the place who
had one was the Town Major. So the Colonel and I started off to find
him, which we did with a great deal of difficulty, as no one knew
where he lived. He too, was most anxious to help us. Then we had to
find the chauffeur. We managed to get him roused up, and told him (p. 213)
that he had to go to Divisional Headquarters on a matter of life and
death. It was not long before we were in the car and speeding down the
dark, muddy roads at a tremendous rate, whirling round corners in a
way that seemed likely to end in disaster. We got to the Divisional
Commander's Headquarters and then made our way to his room and laid
the matter before him. He talked over the question very kindly, but
told us that the courts had gone into the case so carefully that he
considered it quite impossible to alter the final decision. If the
action of the prisoner had given any indication of his desertion being
the result of insanity, something might be done, but there was nothing
to suggest such wa