here! Who do you belong to?"

The man had calmed; but before he could reply there was another
interruption. A strained voice outside shouted, "Is the colonel there?
Is the adjutant there?" Hurrying through the doorway, I saw a tall,
perspiring, hatless young subaltern, cursing because he had got
entangled in the guy-ropes of some camouflage netting posts. It was
Hetherton of C Battery.

The colonel came outside. "The Huns came on us in the mist, sir,"
panted Hetherton, "out of the wood. They've killed Dawson, sir." His
voice broke--"and some of the others. There were only four of us got
away. I came on to tell you." He stopped and breathed hard.

The colonel looked stern, but his voice was smooth and collected.
"That's all right," he said, almost soothingly. "You cut off with your
party and report to the retiring position."

The young man looked dazed, but saluted, and was moving off when the
colonel caught him by the arm. "Come and have a drink, Hetherton,
before going on," he said; "it'll do you good."

"No, thank you, sir," replied Hetherton, and this time he saluted with
body as erect and arm as taut as if on parade. In another second he had
vanished.

There was tense silence as the colonel seized the telephone.

"Put me through to B Battery," he said. Turning towards me, he added:
"Turn out all the men not on telephone duty to take post on the top of
the quarry."

I slipped out and passed the order to the sergeant in charge of the
signallers, roused up the servants, and saw that each man had his
rifle.

"Now, Duncombe," I said to the left-handed orderly who had beaten the
infantry crack shot a few days before, "you may have a chance to see if
your eye is in to-day."

When I got back to the mess, I learned that the infantry had news that
the Boche was coming over the crest towards our battle positions. The
major commanding B Battery had told the colonel that his battery and A
had the enemy in full view, and were firing with open sights. "We are
killing hundreds of 'em, sir," he had reported with delightful
insouciance.

One sharp outburst from the colonel. As he came outside to see if our
twenty-odd men were placed in the best positions for defending the
quarry, he looked across and noted that the officers' chargers were
saddled up, and that the grooms were leading them on to the road above.

"Stop those horses!" he called out angrily. "Who gave orders for them
to leave? Have my horses unsaddled at o