ted themselves on the board floors of the
tents that night. There was no room for packcarriers and other
paraphanelia in the tents. Most of the soldiers deposited their excess
luggage on the outside. About midnight it started to rain. There was a
scurry to get the equipment in out of the rain, which also disturbed
the sweet slumbers as water trickled in under the canvass or else came
through leaks in the roof.

Reveille sounded at 5:30 the next morning. Orders were given for packs
to be rolled preparatory to moving. A move was made from Section C to
row 19 of D Section of the same tented area. The remainder of the
morning was set apart for Battery D to take a bath. The soldiers' bath
had been a negligible quantity since leaving Camp Meade, with the
exception of some few who attempted to work up a lather with salt
water on the Morvada. To the boys, therefore, the prospect of a good
bath was hailed with delight.

No dressing room was attached to the bathhouse that was situated at
one end of the Cherbourg rest camp. Therefore the boys had to make
ready for the bath in their tents. With slickers and shoes on the
battery lined up and marched to the bathhouse, while the rain came
down and the wind was wont to play with the flaps of the raincoats, as
a battery of bare-legs was exposed to the elements.

Arrived at the bathhouse, it was discovered that the showers would
accommodate eight at one time. The first squad in line went into the
water sanctum, while everybody else waited their turn on the outside.

The showers consisted of three half-inch pipes suspended from the
ceiling. There were three lengths of pipe, each length being
perforated at two places to emit the shower of water. The perforations
comprised about four holes, each hole about one-sixteenth of an inch
in diameter.

The first eight who entered the bathhouse were eager to get under the
showers and consequently did not glance about to inspect the equipment
of the room. The eight soldiers braced themselves under the showers
and yelled for the man in charge to turn on the water. Instead of
being washed away by the force of the current, as the firmly braced
attitude of each gave evidence that such was to be the case, the
opening wide of the flood-gates let four needle-like streams of water
descend upon each figure.

The eight took the bath good-naturedly and as they passed out of the
bathhouse, making room for the next eight to enter, they passed word
along t