e talkin' over things, as friend to friend,
And through it all the blessed certainty
As this war's working out for you an' me
As we would have it work.

Fritz maybe, and the Turk
Feel that way, too,
The same as me an' you,
And dream o' victory at last, although
The silly cows don't know,
Because they ain't been born and bred clean-free,
Like you and me.

But this is Christmas, and I'm feeling blue,
An' lonely, too.
I want to see one little girl's sly pout
(There's lots of other coves as feels like this)
That holds you off and still invites a kiss.
I want to get out from this smash and wreck
Just for to-day,
And feel a pair of arms slip round me neck
In that one girl's own way.
I want to hear the splendid roar and shout
O' breakers comin' in on Bondi Beach,
While she, with her old scrappy costume on,
Walks by my side, an' looks into my face,
An' makes creation one big pleasure-place
Where golden sand basks in that golden weather--
Yes! her an' me together!
I do me bit,
An' make no fuss of it;
But for to-day I somehow want to be
At home, just her an' me.

(From the Sydney "Sunday Times")

CONTENTS

An Introduction Mainly About Scouts

PART I

"THE CALL TO ARMS"

CHAPTER

I. The Call Reaches Some Far-Out Australians
II. An All-British Ship
III. Human Snowballs
IV. Training-Camp Life
V. Concentrated for Embarkation
VI. Many Weeks at Sea

PART II

EGYPT

VII. The Land of Sand and Sweat
VIII. Heliopolis
IX. The Desert
X. Picketing in Cairo
XI. "Nipper"

PART III

GALLIPOLI

XII. The Adventure of Youth
XIII. The Landing That Could Not Succeed--But Did
XIV. Holding On and Nibbling
XV. The Evacuation
XVI. "Ships That Pass . . ."

PART IV

THE WESTERN FRONT

XVII. Ferry Post and the Suez Canal Defenses
XVIII. First Days in France
XIX. The Battle of Fleurbaix
XX. Days and Nights of Strafe
XXI. The Village of Sleep
XXII. The Somme
XXIII. The Army's Pair of Eyes
XXIV. Nights in No Man's Land
XXV. Spy-Hunting
XXVI. Bapaume and "a Blighty"

PART V

HOSPITAL LIFE

XXVII. In France
XXVIII. In London
XXIX. The Hospital-Ship
XXX. In Australia
XXXI. Using an Irishman's Nerve

PART VI

MEDITATIONS IN THE TRENCHES

XXXII. The Right Infantry Weapons
XXXIII. The Forcing-House