her full precautions
for the safety of the horses had been taken. At 9.30 P.M. I received
this note from Major Brown:--

"The following casualties occurred to animals of this Section by
hostile bombs at 7 P.M. on 16th inst.--

"Map location D 230, c. 97: killed, 7; wounded, 11."

Half an hour later a message from C Battery, who were a mile and a half
away along the valley, informed me that their casualties in horses and
mules numbered 19.

At two in the morning I was aroused by a furious beating of wind and
rain upon the tent. Hubbard, already in receipt of wet on his side of
the tent, was up fastening the entrance-flap, which had torn loose.
Sharp flashes of lightning and heavy thunder accompanied the squall
when it reached its height. "I hope the pegs hold," shouted Hubbard,
and we waited while the tent-sides strained and the pole wavered. The
dog growled, and a scuffling behind us was followed by the appearance,
at the back of the tent, of the colonel's head and shoulders. In his
pyjamas, drenched and shivering with cold, he struggled inside. "My
tent's down," he called sharply. "Houston's got my kit into his
bivouac.... You two fellows hop outside and hammer in the pegs....
Let's save this tent if we can.... And some one lend me a towel for a
rub down!"

Wrapped in rain-coats, Hubbard and myself faced the skirling rain. When
we slipped inside again the colonel had dried himself. I lent him a
blanket and my British warm, and he settled himself contentedly on the
ground, refusing to occupy either camp-bed.

"The annoying part," he said, with the boyish ring in his voice that
made his laugh so attractive, "is that my tent was much better put up
than yours."

The wind still blew when we got up in the morning. A valiant tale came
from "Swiffy," the doctor, and M. Phineas. They occupied a tent 'twixt
a bank and a hedge, nearer to the D.A.C. M. Phineas had held up the
pole with folds of wet canvas alternately choking him or whirling round
him, while "Swiffy" yelled for him to kneel upon the tent bottom to
keep it fast, and expected him to fetch a servant at the same time. The
doctor, enfolded by the wanton canvas in another state compartment of
the blown-about tent, was cut off from communication with the other
two, and fought the battle on his own.

The struggle to keep the tents from collapsing was crowned at 6 A.M. by
the urgent and peremptory order from Division: "All tents in the
Divisional forw