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LONG SPELL IN THE TRENCHES.I

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LONG SPELL IN THE TRENCHES. I CASUALTIES "VERY SLIGHT." SONAEWIIE-RTII IN ?. ? ,.I I- I We "have just returned once again to "rest billets" after a spell of sixteen days in the trcnclw-s. This is the longest. time we have experienced riinoe coming out, and we are all more or lezk jaded, or, to use a phrase so idear to the Jipd of Tommy Atkins, "beaten to th,) wit-d." Nothing very exciting occurred during the present "trip," and our easuaHies were very slight. Tho most noteworthy event occurred during the early hours of a (-old l'Vbruary morning. I was on sentry r.t the time with iny old comrade "Private Ik* t'eau Chu-udc," a« I low to call him. He is a man who has J>a.?dcd through iiiiny of life, and. js so resourceful on all possible occasions and in all emergencies that I have come to pay liirn tho homage due to a man possessing suck .varied talents. If is caustic remarks on life in gen-:ra!, and the Army in particular, have provided for m-e- many a pleasant and amus- ing hour. Aud the bounder has the sauce to threaten to leaves us. Shame on you, Private Do l ean Chati-de For i net a no?, a few nights ago we had been engaged on come devilish fatiguc to the front line, and returned in that state of mind when a. man is inclined to that love- sick swain who Kings to Annie Laurie, "I'd lay ill;) down and dee." All the romance of war had vanishes! from our thoughts. We didn't feel in the least heroic. We were cross and irritable, and very, very tired. We enine into the billets and flopped on to tho damp floor. Our officer came into the lam looking aggressively fresh. We were all too tired even to pay auy regard to his con- cern for onr welfare. "Well. Do l'eau Chaudc," he said to my com- fade (who, by tho way, in quite a favourite x- (.-with iiiiii as ho is with all of us. An' I "voukl I could a tale unfold of how he escaped an afternoon's fatigue becauso he had been too energetic. But I forbear), "and how liava you got "ou ?, Larding tho green earth, otherwise tho mud-stained floor, with tho perspiration which 'fell from his forehead. Do l'eau Chaude mut- tered something which wouldn't be good for the son of a minister to hear. "Oh damn this infantry work, sir," ho said tn his droll way. "Is there any chance of getting a transfer to tho Army Scrvice Corps, sir:" Dead tired as wo were we couldn't resist ■this thrust, and a roar of laughter echoed through the old barn. co Ah my dear old feIlow, you will in very truth be the death of mo ono of these days ckyitil vour unconscious humour. But I am godting right away from my j ,arn. I was about to tell you that De l'eau Chaude (v. hat. a swagger name!) was the sentry on duty and I was by his side, as I usually am. Everything was almost intolerablv quiet. Wo had &iit out a patrol party so that we .ivere even deprived of the pleasure of sending a few shots over into "no man's land." Sud- denly, without any warning, there was a terrifio ■explosion, apparently right in our faces. It was so unexpected that we were frightened out of our wits. I went stagger- ing across the trench, landing in about two feet of water. For th-e moment I was abso- lutely dazed and $WORE I HAD BEEN HIT. I 1. I vviien l was able to loolc around 1 round my imperturablo friend crouching behind the parapet. Everybody was taken by surprise and no one had tho remotest idea as to what had actually happened. At first we were under the impression that wo had been surprised by the enemy's bombing party. All our fellows turned out—wo were holding a kind of isolated I)ost-ind lined the para-pet. The order was given for "rapid tire," and we Ib'afced away for dear life into the blackness of the night. Then we waited and listened expecting to hear cries of agony from- the enemy we had pulverized. But only the occasional crack of a sniper's riflo broke the unearthly silence. Ia fear and trembling we peered over the parapet expecting to meet we knew not what. I'erhapri, after all, the fiends were lurking right nudor our very noses only waiting for the opportunity to blow us into smithereens. Nothing happened, and we breathed more freely. After all, wo may have been unduly alarme-d; our distress may have been caused by a well-placed shrapnel shell. When calm reigned once more, the corporal, his spirits revived, commenced to revile its on our negligence, emphasising again and again that on no account must we leave our post. "Who was on duty?" he asked. D'leau Chaud-e did not hesitate to respond. "We-II, didn't you hear anything?" D'leau Chaudo wtu-i pained. He looked it, too. II iuI h-e possessed the gift would have told the corporal quietly hut. firmly not to ciist such insinuations upon his powers of observance. As he couldn't, he growled out: "Gclr on. I bet yer £ ~> no bloomin' German could creep up '{'HI wi.thout my 'oarin.g him. That were no bloomin' bombing party, were it?" He appealed to me. I had to confess I thought it was, but with such an iron-cast nature as D'leau Chaude can boa.st. of I felt it almost impertinent to challenge his views. on another occasion you musn't leave your post," said the corporal. "Ger on with yer," came in a dignified tone, I didna leave mv noat. I were I KNOCKED OFF THE FlilE STEP, I but I ,(,on got back agin. I corroborated this indisputable evidence, and once more wo settled down to our vigil. But it had upset our nerves for the time being, and we felt relieved when morning dawned. On another occasion a heavy mist enveloped the trenches. Wo couldn't see a yard in front of U". It was a night on which anything m ight happen. Even when the star shells went up we couldn't penetrate tno mist to our own eiitangieinent-s. On such occasions it is ,iliv-ayci wise to be prepared for any emer- gency, but it was a bitterly cold night, and when the order ciinie to "stand to" we all swore that tho captain had got the "wind up" him. For several hours wo stood ready to meet any movement by the enemy. But again nothing happened. The mist rolled away, and once- more we returned to the comparative comfort of our dug-outs, I On the day we left our reserve billets the I enemy's artillery were particularly activa shelling one of our batteries only a few yards away from us. In quick succession their shells carao whistling over our billet, falling with a tremendous crash all around the bat- tery. I am given to understand that all their efforts failed to put the gun out of action. Wo reached our rest biUcto late last night, and were patting ourselves on the back at the thought that at last we were in for a slpell of relaxation. But everything is so uncer- tain in the Army. We slept the sleep of tho worn-out warrior until about 6.30 this morn- ing, when wo wore rudely awakened by our sergeant-major, who excitedly told us that the alarm had gone and we must fall in with full packs. We cursed and swore as good soldiers should curso and swear, and declared that it was only a lioax We had been packed like her- rings in a barrel and our equipment was scat- tered all over the place. As best we could we gathered the material together, and under the half lioiir the whole company was ready to move off. No one knew what we wore wanted for, but the general opinion was that a small at- tack was being made on the front, and we wero to liold oursolves in readiness to act as I supports. For over an hour we stood ready for action, but at last a messenger came riding up, and without any explanation wo were dismissed. Once more nothing happened, but in war- faro it is always the unexpected one has to eruard aeainst. I RA.E. I

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