cupy, while he had to attend to
merely mechanical duties.

Still he did not complain. The work he was doing had to be done, and
since some one must do it, why not he as well as another? The great
fact which cheered him was that little by little the Allies were slowly
gaining ground in this "Battle of the Rivers," even although he saw but
little of it. Neither, for that matter, did he know very much of the
progress which was being made generally. He was so situated that he
heard very little of what was being done. People in England were far
better informed of what was taking place than the soldiers, except in
some little corner of the great battlefield where they were
individually engaged.

He saw enough, however, to realise the horror all around him, and to
become inured to the life he was living.

"Oh, to be in the thick of it!" he cried again and again, as day after
day passed, and he was continually delegated to what seemed to him
unimportant duties. He little realised that his time was coming, and
that he was to be baptized with a baptism of fire more terrible than
befell many, even in that time of horrible carnage.

It was on a Sunday morning in October, in this year of our Lord, 1914,
that the events which I have now to describe, began. In England I
remember it was like a summer day, while in France it was even warmer,
and more cloudless. The night had been comparatively still, and the
enemies' guns had scarcely been heard since sunset.

The sentries had reported all well, and when the morning came, it
seemed to be generally believed that it would be a quiet day. On the
distant hills, several miles away, the German hordes were entrenched
and alert. The day previous the Allies had been less harried, and tens
of thousands who had been well-nigh worn out by continuous fighting had
gained some measure of respite.

Bob awoke just before dawn. All along the lines were watchful
sentinels; but many thousands, assured by the reports of those on
outpost duty that all was well, were asleep. Presently the _reveille_
sounded, and then, what had seemed an uninhabited tract of country, was
peopled by a great armed host. Men in khaki were everywhere. On every
hand were preparations for breakfast; laughter and shouts were heard on
every hand. As the light increased, Bob saw thousands upon thousands
of men. They literally swarmed everywhere.

"Colonel Sapsworth wants you, sir."

Bob turned and saw a soldie