e 27th.
We struck a trench and worked our way down, for this was our objective.
On the way we came to a large dugout, and it was full of Germans. As
soon as we appeared at the entrance they started to holler, and one man
tried to get out the other entrance, so our Sergeant shot him. We took
the rest of them prisoners (about twenty altogether, officers and men)
and we lined them up and went through their pockets. We took away
their revolvers, badges, photos, and all sorts of things--in fact, we
stripped them of everything but their lives and a few clothes and sent
them back to our lines.

We set up our gun in the trench and waited for a counter-attack. While
we were waiting we regaled ourselves on the good things we had found in
the dugout; black bread, bottles of wine, and cigars. Tommy and I had
to stay out on the gun, and pretty soon the German heavies began to
shell the trench, and we had to dig ourselves in to protect us from the
shrapnel. To make things more comfortable, it commenced to rain and
all that night it poured. We were right on the crest of the Ridge and
a number of the boys were hit carrying messages back to Headquarters.
When morning came we found that our position overlooked miles of the
enemy's country. We could look down on green fields and little
villages, and close to the bottom of the hill lay the railway and the
little town of Tarbus.

The boys had turned the German guns around and were firing at the
retreating Huns. Some of the guns we had captured were in big concrete
emplacements with six feet of concrete and steel on top of them. They
were still hot from firing when our boys took them and our crews with
them. The Germans gave up very easily, and I don't wonder, for our
artillery fire had demoralized them. One of our men had a German belt,
and on the buckle were the words "Gott mit Uns" or "God with Us," but
they must have a different God from ours if they expect help from Him
after the deeds they have done.

That night, after Tommy and I had taken our turn on the gun, we went
down into the dugout and made some tea. Tommy lay down on the floor,
but the only space I could find was on a bench beside a dead German;
but I slept just as soundly as I would have in a feather bed. The next
day about noon our officer came and said, "Well, boys, we've got to go
over again, and a dirty job we are in for too." Then he told us that
at three o'clock we had to be down and have our guns set