ion, and then revenge took
possession of him as he cursed the Hun for bringing upon the world
such slaughter. It seemed as if his great heart would burst as he
realized the suffering and the sacrifice of _his boys_ whom he had
ordered to _hold_ at any cost. His voice choked as he cried, "My God,
but they are punishing my boys."

As we walked on in a driving rainstorm and through mud and underbrush
and wormed our way amid wire entanglements, we came upon a field
kitchen and were invited to supper. We gladly accepted and sat down in
the rain to potatoes and meat, bread, butter, and coffee, with a
dessert of pancakes and syrup. It was a meal fit for a king, and no
food ever tasted quite so sweet. It was about fifteen miles to our
hut, and darkness had overtaken us. While we were eating, an empty
ammunition cart drawn by four horses came along, and the sergeant in
charge offered us a ride. The offer was gladly accepted because we had
no guide, and for two hours we bumped over the rough forest trail.

On the way we overtook many of our wounded, who after receiving first
aid had attempted to walk back to the camps in the rear. Wherever we
found them we gave them a lift to the nearest rest camp or ambulance
station. Some whom we were privileged to help seemed completely
exhausted and unable to drag any farther.

When at last the forest trail opened into the highway the going was
faster. When within three miles of Avoncourt we were stopped by a
tieup in traffic. After a few minutes' wait, seeing that there was no
sign of advancing, we decided to walk on. For two solid miles the road
was blocked, the rains having made the roads almost impassable. We
worked our way in and out past ammunition wagons, Red Cross
ambulances, officers' cars, and army trucks. Just before midnight we
reached our huts at Avoncourt, where hot chocolate was being served to
never-ending lines of tin-helmeted, khaki-clad wearers of the gas
mask.

Through this town, now leveled to the ground by four years of
intermittent bombardment, we groped our way to a temporary "Y" supply
hut, where we hoped to spend the night. Upon opening the door we
discovered that every available foot of space on the bare ground
floor was occupied by "Y" men rolled up in their blankets. They were
so exhausted from their long hikes to the front, or their continuous
serving at the chocolate canteen, that they could sleep anywhere. We
quickly decided to continue our tramp another e