There came a
time, all too soon, when a "Blighty" was the finest present a man
could get; the loss of a few fingers or even a hand or foot being
considered not too high a price to pay to get out of hell for a few
months.

When the weather was very bad there was but little sniping-going on,
so we often went in and out of the lines "overland" in broad daylight.
Sunday, November fourteenth, was one such occasion. We had not been
relieved until noon by the Twentieth Battalion who had taken a very
roundabout way to get in, so I put it up to all my crowd to choose
whether we should spend several hours going around or take a chance
down the open road. They unanimously decided on the road, so I started
out ahead, with instructions for them to follow at about fifty-yard
intervals, and in this fashion we walked down at least four hundred
yards of open road, every foot of which was in plain sight of the
German lines, and got under cover of a small hill without a single
shot being fired. From this point it was necessary to cross another
small open space but, as it was partly screened by bushes and trees,
we did not consider it dangerous.

We had a redoubt concealed in the small hill mentioned and I stopped
to arrange about the relief of the gun crew stationed there. The
remainder of the party, except Charlie Wendt, continued on their way
and soon disappeared in the woods. Charlie stayed a few minutes and
then said: "I'll go on ahead, Mac, and wait for you at the Eastern
Redoubt." He started out across the field and I continued my talk
with Endersby, who was in charge of the local gun, when, all at once,
I heard some one call out: "Oh, Mac," and looked to see Wendt on the
ground about one hundred yards away waving his hand to me. Endersby
immediately ran to him and I followed as soon as I could drop part of
the heavy load I was carrying. On reaching him I found that he had
been shot through the abdomen. Just then another bullet snapped beside
us, so I told Endersby to get back to the redoubt and telephone for
stretcher-bearers, while I bandaged the wound. Charlie remarked:
"Well, they got me, but I hope you get about ten of them for me." I
assured him that we would and told him to keep his nerve and he would
come through all right. He was a very strong, clean-living young man
and I really thought he had a chance. He did not think so, saying he
was afraid the doctors would have some difficulty in patching up such
a hole. He did n