ved a walk through the trenches
of several hundred yards.

In a moment of weakness, having learned that I had been called from
the trenches and would not be waiting for him at the communication
trench, he gave in and took the short cut. The Germans, who were
always on the alert at this point, and only about one hundred yards
away, let drive a volley, and a bullet caught him in the back under
the right shoulder blade. As he was stooping it penetrated his body
and came out above the right collar bone. The wound was a clean one
and bled very little. The bullet had not pierced his lung. He was
resting quietly when I saw him. He had very little pain, was quite
cheerful and told me he would be back to duty in a few weeks. He had
left a youthful bride behind him in London and was anxious to join
her, so I gave orders that he was to be sent as quickly as possible to
England. General Turner seconded me in this, but he was kept in France
a week after he was wounded, the reason given being that they wanted
to make sure that the bullet had not penetrated the lung cavity.

I immediately offered the vacant adjutancy to Captain Warren, but he
declined it, saying that he now had the cares of a company on his
shoulders and was taking a great deal of enjoyment out of it. I
sympathized with him, for I knew his men would miss him very much for
he was an ideal company officer. Captain Dansereau, who had been my
scoutmaster and signalling officer, and who had learned all the
topography of that part of France on his hands and knees at night,
laying wires and hunting broken ones, consented to take over the job.
We took on Lieutenant Hamilton Shoenberger as signalling officer.
"Shon," as he was affectionately called by his comrades, and Dansereau
were graduates of the Royal Military College. Captain McLaren raised a
storm when I asked for Shoenberger, but when I pointed out that
Darling expected to be back in a month or so he consented.

The men took all the fun there was in life out of things when they
were back in billets. They fed, slept and played football, and had a
good time generally while they were resting. Beyond furnishing
fatigues for the engineers, a few hours' physical drill or a march,
they had very little work to do.

The motto of the Canadian Engineers is, "We never sleep." They were
very keen and ardent and were constantly working to strengthen the
trenches. Major Wright of Hull, who was at the head of our section,
was a v