n who are cut
off from sight of their neighbors. Of these half-dozen men one or, at
most, two are on the lookout while the others are sleeping, and a
well-placed hand-grenade will put the whole six of them out of action.
Experience has shown that where there has been much shell-fire the
sentry's observation is very lax, as men will not stick their heads
above the trenches any more than they can help and at night periscopes
are not much use. I have repeatedly come back into our own trenches
from a night's excursion without being seen by our own sentries, and on
two occasions, in the daytime. There are some sectors that are only
held by battle outposts with gaps of fifty and a hundred yards without
them. Of course, it is an easy matter to get past in these places.

We have sometimes to get the artillery to make a way for us. We will
have them bombard a hundred yards of German trench very heavily for
about ten minutes while we lie within fifty yards waiting for the
prearranged second when we will scuttle across; the enemy having been
compelled to vacate that sector during the bombardment, it is some
minutes before they realize that the shelling has ceased and return.

Once behind the German front trench, the work is easy, for they never
look behind or imagine that any of their enemies could be in their
rear, and there is no observation from the second or third line
trenches. On other occasions we do without the help of the artillery,
bombing a gap for ourselves. We arrange to have rifle-grenades fired
along three hundred yards of trench except for fifty yards where is our
gateway. Here we sneak up and carefully roll hand-grenades into two or
three bays. The Germans on either side do not take any notice of these
explosions as the same thing is happening all along the line, and the
Germans _in the bays_ are not in condition to take much notice either.
We may have to administer the "coup-de-grace" with our hand-bayonets.

Getting back is fairly easy, for the sentry's back is toward us, and a
scout should never have to strike twice. He may leave a Mills grenade
with the pin out as a gift to the sleeping men in the bay. He only has
a two or four-foot-wide trench to cross, and even if the alarm be given
he is back among the million and two shell-holes of No Man's Land
before any action can be taken: even though they bomb their front
thoroughly the chances are in the scout's favor; though they make No
Man's Land brig