k throwing over six bombs for every one Fritzie
sent, and the Germans evidently thought we were too wide-awake, for
they failed to show up.

Next day I missed fourteen days' leave, and gee! I did feel sore over
it. I was on sentry duty with Ernie Rowe, and I was just in the act of
changing my boots for a pair of rubber waders when along came an
officer. I paid no special attention to him, as a sap ran underneath
Hill 60 and there were always engineering officers around. This chap
stopped and passed a few commonplace remarks about the wetness of the
trench, etc., and then passed on. I thought no more about it and was
taking my turn at looking through the periscope, when along came
Captain Breedan and a bunch of scouts. "Did you see an officer go by
here?" was their excited greeting. I answered, "He went past about
fifteen minutes ago. What about him?" "He's a spy, that's all, and if
you had caught him it would have meant fourteen days' leave for you,"
said Captain Breedan. Just my luck to miss a nice fat chance like
that--the beggar was never caught, he seemed to vanish into thin air.
After he left me the boys kept up the hunt for a long time and then
gave up in disgust.

That day I left the battalion to take a course of instruction in the
Stokes trench mortar. I always had a fancy for it, as it seemed to
offer a chance at getting back at Fritzie. This sitting down and
taking everything he had a mind to send over, and giving nothing in
return, was not my idea of fighting. I hated to leave the boys, but I
was "fed up" and I wanted a change. Bink took a machine gun course at
the same time and we were at the same school. When we finished he went
back to the platoon and I went to the Stokes gun. The first time I
went in with the gun crew, they sent us to the old St. Eloi craters.
There was always lots of trench mortar fighting here, and we had orders
to send over six shells for every one that came across. They put me on
lookout; that is, to watch for sausages and give the boys who were
working the gun time to get away. We hadn't been firing more than five
minutes, and the sausages were coming thick and fast, but most of them
were landing about fifty yards away, when all at once something hit me
in the face. I turned around with my fists clenched, for I thought
that some one had hit me. One of the boys looked at me sharply and
began getting out his bandage. He said, "You're hit," then I felt the
blood tr