butt right on top of a sleeping enemy sentry.
Daylight revealed the white patch on the tree, but nobody seemed anxious
to investigate too closely the tale of the cigarette.

[Illustration: VIEW OF THE AGHYL DERE.
Looking North-West. Cheshire Ridge position on the left. In the
foreground are reminders of the August fighting.
_Official Photo. No. G. 2002. Copyright by Australian War Museum._]

About this time occurred one of the Mohammedan festivals. High authority
considered that this fact might engender an offensive spirit in the
opposing force. Patrols, therefore, were instructed to be especially
vigilant. Nothing important was discovered. One patrol did report that
it had heard some musical instrument being played in the enemy's area,
the sound of voices, and the barking of a dog. The officer who compiled
the daily intelligence report wrote: "sounds of jollification were heard
issuing from the enemy trenches." This phrase seemed to tickle the
official ear, and was repeated by all reporters, and appeared finally in
Sir Ian Hamilton's summary.

Patrols also performed a good deal of salvage work and brought in a
considerable quantity of material from between the opposing lines.
Several identity discs were likewise collected and forwarded on for the
information of the records section of the Army.

On the evening of the 11th October a welcome addition was made to the
strength of the Battalion by the arrival of portion of the 2nd and 3rd
Reinforcements under Captain E. A. Coleman and Lieut. A. M. Hope. These
were distributed the following day amongst the four companies, and
Captain Coleman took over command of "B" Company. As was the case with
the later drafts, these newcomers proved themselves to be excellent
fellows.

The death of Lieut. F. E. Jensen had created a vacancy in the
commissioned ranks which was filled by the promotion of Sergeant C. R.
Field--a trainee under the Australian Universal Military Service scheme.
Casualties amongst the non-commissioned officers were replaced by the
appointment and promotion of men who showed themselves possessed of the
necessary qualifications. In a few instances promotion was declined by
the individual. Various reasons were given for this step. Some
individuals lacked ambition, others were reluctant to accept
responsibility, and again others preferred to retain the close company
of the friends of their section--promotion resulting in a mild form of
aloofness and isolation, a