remaining
trenches.

Our progress was frequently interrupted by flares sent up from the
trenches somewhere in front. To our inexperienced eyes it seemed that
the lights were very near us, for they showed up vividly the whole
ground over which we were moving, every little clump of scrub standing
out sharp and distinct as in the glare of a powerful searchlight. From
repeated study of _Notes on Trench Warfare in France_, we had become
permeated with the theory that where one's presence is revealed by a
flare, safety from rifle or machine gun fire is only to be attained by
lying down and remaining perfectly motionless. So to the first few
flares we made profound obeisances, grovelling on the wet ground or
behind the nearest patch of scrub as long as the stars illuminated the
landscape. But familiarity breeds contempt, and as we gradually realised
that the flares were much further to our front than we had thought, the
necessity for this uncomfortable performance became less and less
obvious until we discarded it altogether.

After ages of fruitless wandering we stumbled against a landmark which
our guides recognised as within a hundred yards of the long sought
trenches--a large tree marking the sight of an Artillery Ammunition Dump
known, inappropriately enough, as Trafalgar Square. Here were one or two
dug-outs in which the party in charge of the Dump slumbered peacefully.
After we had circled the tree several times without result, the gunner
N.C.O. in charge of the station was roused and questioned. Yes, he knew
where the trenches were--quite close at hand.

With great good nature he rolled out of his blankets, and clambered out
of his subterranean shelter to find them for us. The prospect brightened
considerably, but only to become darker than ever when after a quarter
of an hour's further walking he, too, proved at fault. Then suddenly it
occurred to him that he had turned to the left on leaving his dug-out
instead of to the right, and had been leading us away from our goal.

Wearily we retraced our steps, and then finally we found the trenches.
The manner of the discovery was simplicity itself. As a matter of fact
the C.O. fell into one of them, getting rather wet and clayey in the
process.

In the meantime the second half of "A" Company had arrived on the scene,
but we now found ourselves faced by another problem--the locating of the
trench (or ditch) in which we had left Major Downie with his
half-company. This