urths
pound of cheese, twelve ounces of bacon, one tin of bully beef, nine
ounces of jam.

Each unit had to be dealt with separately, so that each unit presented
a mathematical problem of the most perplexing kind. Each unit sent up
its fatigue party to draw rations, whilst I and several officers who
had volunteered to assist me made a bold attempt at distribution.

"Come along, first man, what's your regiment?"

"Manchester, sir; 59 men."

I looked through my volume of papers to check his figures.

"Quite right! Fifty-nine men."

Fifty-nine men meant fifty-nine times two and one-fourth ounces of
tea, one-fourth ounce of mustard, two and one-fourth pounds of
biscuits, three-fourths pound of cheese, twelve ounces of bacon, one
tin of bully beef, and nine ounces of jam. My brain whirls when I
think of those problems.

The next unit consisted of 9 men; the next of 1; then came a long list
of 2's, 5's, and 7's, and so on; and in each case the mathematical
problem had to be worked out; and when the figuring was finished, the
stuff had to be cut up.

Seventy-nine pounds of cheese for the Manchesters; does any one know
what seventy-nine pounds of cheese looks like? No one did; we had
never seen so much cheese before in our lives.

"Give him a whole cheese and chance it. And now tea; the Manchesters
want one hundred and thirty-two and three-fourths ounces of tea. Give
him about three handfuls and chance it."

The next party consisted of 2 men.

"Six ounces of jam for the 19 Canadians; how much is that?"

"Nearly half a pot."

"What are you going to put it in?"

"Got nothing."

"Can't have any, then?"

"Come on, next man."

When I saw the last of that stack of food it was 11.30. We were hungry
and tired, and we made our way to the nearest hotel, fervently hoping
that we might never see food in bulk again.

CHAPTER VII

ST. AMAND

I REPORT AT HEADQUARTERS. THE PROBLEM OF VENTILATION

We made our way back to the station and secured a very luxurious
compartment; and to my intense relief on this occasion I found there
was an officer senior to me present, who succeeded to the duties of
O.C. train.

The duties of O.C. train are a new sensation to most officers; and it
is particularly difficult to know just what to do, and how to do it,
when you have an unorganised body of men made up of sundries from
every part of the British army.

Our new O.C. train evidently felt the difficulties of his posit