sh Tommy remyns as cheerful as ever." He brought it out just
like a Cockney, and I just had to smile. Shortly after this along came
"Fat." He and Bink had been up at the culvert, and they were supposed
to be on their way out, but poor old Fat was so stiff with the cold
that he couldn't walk. We offered to fetch him a snort of rum, but he
said he wouldn't take it. I suppose he had promised some darn girl
back home, and he would die rather than break his word. Well, we gave
him some hot tea, took off his socks and rubbed his feet; and I got him
a pair of my dry socks. After awhile we coaxed him to eat a little,
and we joked with him, till at last he gave a bit of a smile--and soon
we heard his familiar "Tee he, tee he!"--he had the funniest laugh I
ever heard. Well, he stayed with us till we were relieved.

A funny thing happened up the trench that same day. Marriot and some
of the other boys were sitting in one of the bays of the trench cooking
some Maconachie rations, when _bang_! right through the parapet came a
shell. It went between Marriot and the next chap, and the shock must
have been awful. Marriot rushed into the next bay, and meeting our
Sergeant he spluttered, "Oh say, old chap, ain't I a lucky devil? All
those fellows in the next bay are blown to hell, and I escaped." The
Sergeant rushed around to find the bay empty except for the shell which
hadn't exploded, but was reposing quietly in the bottom of the trench
and Marriot had been too excited to notice. Maybe he didn't get
chipped about it afterwards. That night we were relieved by the
Coldstream Guards; and say, Jack, they are soldiers! They came in like
clockwork, every man knew his place, and exactly where to go. They
fixed bayonets on entering the trench and there was no confusion. They
had taken over the trench almost before we knew it.

How glad we were to be relieved no one knows but those who were there.
We were not sorry to see the last of Hooge. They gave us about a
week's rest and then we went back to our old trenches at ----. It was
quiet there, and for awhile we had it pretty easy. Just after taking
over these trenches we were treated to a great sight. Our aeroplanes
made a general attack all along the British front from the coast to the
Somme, and they burned all the German observation balloons. We stood
and watched them come down in flames, and it was great. Mind you it
meant a lot to us; while they were watching us the