all the doboys got up an went out. Then we sat in
the mud and waited for three hours. Angus found some duck boards and
went to sleep.

Some time after midnite a lot of oficers came out of the room. We
walked thru the tunnel so far that I figgered that we must be comin
out somewhere behind the German lines. At last we climed a flight of
stairs an there we were right out doors. Id expected thered be an
awful battle goin on by that time but everything was as quiet as
church except for a few big ones that would sail over every once in a
while. The stars were all out just like it was an ordinary nite. We
walked along a lot of paths an fell over a lot of old barb wire, then
dropped into a trench. It struck me that was the time to go across
while things were quiet. But I heard the doboy Major say that there
was only four more hours to wait. These fellos are worse than your
family for gettin to places on time.

Everything was quiet for a long time. Then all of a sudden all the
guns in the world began bangin away at the same minit. Over the top of
the hill behind us an as far as you could see ether way it was just
one big flash. Then the shells began racin over, squealin an whisselin
an rumblin along like they was racin each other to see who was goin
to get first crack at the Fritzes.

Every one of them seemed to have its own speshul whissel tied onto it.
Some of them rumbled along like a fast train hittin a down grade. Some
would just sing an hum to themselves sort of quiet an happy while
others would go yellin an screamin across like the fire department on
an exhibishun run. There was one bunch that squealed like a trolly
goin round a turn on dry rails. You sort of felt as if someone ought
to grease it.

Besides all these noises over our heads there was the poundin an
hammerin behind us from the guns themselves. The big fellos just boom
boomed away like a bunch of base drums. Up nearer tho it was like a
mountin of giant fire crackers goin off together. Then thered be a let
up for a second like a fello thats awful mad but runs out of words.
After that theyd go at it agen harder than ever.

The best part of it was that most of them was our own shells. The
Fritzes didnt seem to get into the spirit of the thing at all. Every
few minutes theyd sail over a big one right near the tunnel where we
came out. That was about as safe a place as he could have put em cause
there wasnt anybody there.

At first the noise an everything