g was even then thinning out, and, if the column were discovered, in
silhouette, artillery would speedily destroy it. He therefore directed
Major Black to have his troops wade the river, keeping on the sheltered
side of the bridge.

Holding their guns clear of the water the men waded across in silence,
keeping single file. The first man to step into that icy water was the
gallant little Colonel, his blue French gas mask at "alert," his
"forty-five" and precious bars of chocolate held safely above the water.
I was directly behind him. A long column marching in single file through
a muddy stream soon cuts a deep channel; and the last two hundred men
to cross made wet work of the wading.

That our thoughts were at least partially human at that time, I now
recall the following form of reasoning expressed by a Buddie near by. "I
am going to get pneumonia out of this wetting; but, most likely, I'll be
killed anyway in this hill attack, so I should worry!"

Just at the river edge, a boy suddenly dropped his rifle and began to
alternately wildly laugh and cry. A sergeant quickly placed his hand
over his mouth to silence him lest his calls might reveal our presence
to the enemy. Gently leading him to one side he left him for the First
Aid detail. His poor mind had given out under the terrible strain; shell
shock, it was called. No comment was made by the men marching past; they
pitied him, knowing it was not that he was a coward or a quitter, but
simply that he had gone insane under the deadly reality of it all. Why
more did not go mad in that Valley of Death only God can explain!

Emerging on the far shore, we picked our heavy way across the stretch of
swamp, that led toward the base of our objective. Although the enemy
was not aware of our presence in force, he was keeping up a desultory
shelling of his hill base as a matter of ordinary precaution. Like the
flare of June bugs along the roadside in summer, high explosive shells
would burst every few minutes, here, there, and in most unexpected
places. Colonel Lewis ordered that the men be kept in as open formation
as possible, so that fewer would be hit at a time, and falling shells be
reduced to minimum zones of destruction.

Here we had just assembled and were forming for the attack when the
sheltering fog suddenly lifted. It was now eight o'clock. We had not yet
been discovered. The men were ordered to lie in their tracks and await
orders.

From the spiritual point of