that was my
third."

The General, suave, keen-eyed, and pleasant-spoken, came up with the
colonel and the brigade-major as we got back to the battery. The
General spoke encouragingly to most of us, and told the subalterns that
gunnery rules were as important in this sort of warfare as on the
drill-ground. "But don't forget that a cool head and common-sense are
as good assets as any," he added.

We were looking now from the Caillouel ridge towards the Bethancourt
ridge, which we had occupied in the forenoon,--another fine landscape
with a vast plain to the right which was being keenly watched for enemy
movement. My signalling-sergeant had run out a telephone line about 600
yards in front of the composite battery, and the General, the colonel,
and the brigade-major went along to the O.P. to see Major Bartlett
register his guns on certain points where the General thought it likely
the enemy would collect.

The report that our Brigade was to be relieved and our guns taken over
by our companion brigade, who had lost practically all their guns on
the 21st, became more than a report when Colonel ---- and his battery
commanders assembled to meet the General. One of the battery
commanders, a new-comer to the Brigade, was a well-known golfer whom I
had last seen fighting a most exciting match in the 1914 amateur
championship at Sandwich. He laughed when he recognised me. "A bit of
leave and a bit of golf would be a nice change now, eh? I'm afraid we
shan't know what leave is for a long time, though. But do you know what
I did the last time I was on leave and had a few rounds over my home
course----?"

But the return of the General prevented my knowing the golf exploit he
was going to tell me. The colonel called me for further instructions.

"The --rd Brigade are taking over our guns to-morrow morning at 6.30,"
he said. "I shall stay here until then with General ---- (the Infantry
brigadier). I'll keep young Bushman with me, and my groom with our
horses. You had better remain at the waggon line and keep in touch with
the battery waggon lines. Will you send up my British warm when you get
back, some sandwiches for Bushman and myself, and my Thermos flask?"

The almost paralysing block of traffic between Bethancourt and
Caillouel had thinned out now. It was easy enough also to move along
the road from Caillouel to Grandru, whither three hours ago I had
despatched H.Q. waggons to get them out of the way. For two hours,
also,