ate that we have not only been to our
advanced positions but have even made a short excursion into the
debatable territory--that is, into what is commonly known as No Man's
Land?"

"All of you?" he asked doubtfully.

"All of us."

He then considered and said: "How many cigarettes have you got?"

"About a hundred packages," Tish replied. "Say, five to you, and the
rest used where considered most efficacious."

"Every man has his price," he observed. "That's mine. I'm taking a
chance, but I've seen you round, so I know you're not spies. And if you
get an extra helmet out there you might give me one. I've been here six
months and I've never seen one, on a German or off. I let a woman
reporter through last week," he added, "and d'you think she thanked me?
No. She gave me hell because the Germans had a raid that night and
nearly got her. I'm a soldier, not a prophet."

Tish left us immediately to go back to Mr. Burton, and Aggie clutched
at my arm in a frenzy of anxiety.

"She's going to do it, Lizzie!" she said with her teeth chattering.
"She's going to V---- to rescue Charlie Sands, and we'll all be caught,
and--Lizzie, I feel that I shall never see home again."

"Well, if you ask me, I don't think you will," I said as calmly as
possible. Aggie put her head on my shoulder and wept between sneezes.

"I know I'm weak, Lizzie," she moaned, "but I'm frightened, and I'm not
afraid to say so. You'd think she only had to shoo those Germans like a
lot of chickens. I love Tish, but if she'd only sprain her ankle or
something!"

However, Tish came back soon, bringing Mr. Burton with her and two
baskets with cigarettes on top and grenades below, and also our
revolvers and a supply of extra cartridges. She had not explained her
plan to Mr. Burton, so we sat down behind the wall and she told him. He
seemed quite willing and cheerful.

"Certainly," he said. "It is all quite clear. We simply go into No Man's
Land for souvenirs, and they pass us. Perfectly natural, of course. We
then continue to advance to the German lines, and then commit suicide.
I've been thinking of doing it for some time anyhow, and this way has an
element of the dramatic that appeals to me." I have learned since that
he felt that the only thing to do was to humor Tish, and that he was
convinced that about a hundred yards in No Man's Land would hurt no one,
and, as he expressed it, clear the air. How little he knew our dear
Tish!

As it is not my inte