ayonets, going towards the scene of the
disturbance. Before reaching it they unslung their rifles and fixed
their bayonets, doubled round the corner of the building, expecting to
surprise the unfortunate Englander. But to their disgust they only
found empty chairs and returned very dejected.

After this episode we had a dance in the dining-room, several fellows
making up into the most charming girls, and did our best to forget our
unpleasant surroundings. At ten o'clock, when we had gone to our
barracks, according to the rules, Pohlman conducted an armed party of
half a dozen Huns with fixed bayonets round the huts and every part
of the camp, but failed to find the excuse he was longing for. Now
what about the Cambrai officer's question, "Why do you call us Huns?"
_Why, indeed?_

The German captain nearly always took roll call. Though fairly
harmless, he was quite mad. He seldom brought an interpreter on parade
and made long speeches and read orders to us, all in German, the great
majority, of course, not understanding a single word! One day we heard
the new commandant was coming on parade for the first time that
evening, so therefore looked forward to some fun. When the time for
the roll call arrived we were inspected as usual, and were standing
waiting, when the little captain suddenly drew himself up to his full
height, and screamed out: "_Augen Rechts--Augen Links--Gerade Aus_."
As we were standing in three sides of a square it was an order to make
every one face the commandant with a martial air. The net result of
this "Double Dutch" was that everyone broke into an amused smile,
which increased almost to hysterics when we caught sight of the
recipient of this honour. The commandant was a tall, doddery,
antediluvian Prussian colonel, with long grey moustaches, the very
image of the Monkey Brand advertisement, only perhaps not quite so
good looking. Why he did not fall over his trailing scabbard in every
step remains a mystery to this day.

There was another curious little trick the captain sometimes indulged
in. In the middle of delivering a tirade he would suddenly point to
heaven with a dramatic gesture, as if to prove the truth of a recent
statement by invoking the Kaiser's God. Perhaps some day he will learn
that the popular spirit of Germany lives not above but very far below.

Soon after our arrival the prison was enlarged, as it always has to be
when the camp becomes British. Fellows were often sent there