had ceased. He seemed to be peering out of the shell-hole
and talking to me. I think he was planning escape. It must have been
dark, for he seemed uncertain about the direction.

Then I began to vomit; I seemed to be vomiting my heart out, while
Arnold seemed to be trying to comfort me.

I again became unconscious. When I regained consciousness for the
third time it seemed to me that I had been insensible for a great
length of time. But I seemed to be much refreshed, although very weak.

Everything was silent, uncanny; I could see nothing, hear nothing.
Yes, I remembered; I was shot blind, and I was still in the
shell-hole. I felt my head; there was a rough bandage round it,
covering my eyes. The bandage over my right eye was hardened with
blood, and dried blood covered my left cheek. My hair was matted with
clay and blood; and my clothes seemed to be covered with loose earth.

But what did this uncanny silence mean?--Arnold, where was he? I
called him by name, but there was no response. I remembered the firing
I had heard: yes, he must be dead.

In my blindness and despair I groped on my hands and knees around the
shell-hole to find his body. He was not there. _I was alone!_

CHAPTER XIX

THE JAWS OF DEATH

LONELINESS, DARKNESS, AND SILENCE. A LAST EFFORT. I PREPARE FOR DEATH

I did not know at the time, of course, what had become of Arnold; but
I found out later.

Fearing I was dying when I lapsed into unconsciousness again, after my
fit of vomiting, he decided under cover of darkness to try and find
his way back to the British lines to bring me aid.

After stumbling about in and out of shell-holes, he suddenly saw the
barrel of a rifle pointing at him from a trench close by, and
following him as he moved; and a moment later he was a prisoner.

Understanding German, he told his captors that I was lying out in No
Man's Land, and begged them to send me medical aid; and they answered
that stretcher-bearers would be sent to make a search.

Whether the stretcher-bearers were sent or not I do not know; but if
they were, they were not successful in finding me; for to the best of
my belief it was on the Monday morning that I again regained
consciousness, to find myself alone--two days after I had been shot.

It is difficult for me to describe my feelings when I found myself
alone. I had no pain, I seemed to feel very small and the world very
large. I sat up and felt my head; my face felt twice its usu