orses were being led to a stable. The Cross
stood alone.

CHAPTER XXVIII

SIR JOHN FRENCH

The next day I was taken along the English front, between the first
and the second line of trenches, from Bethune, the southern extremity
of the line, the English right flank, to the northern end of the line
just below Ypres. In a direct line the British front at that time
extended along some twenty-seven miles. But the line was irregular,
and I believe was really well over thirty.

I have never been in an English trench. I have been close enough to
the advance trenches to be shown where they lay, and to see the slight
break they make in the flat country. I was never in a dangerous
position at the English front, if one excepts the fact that all of
that portion of the country between the two lines of trenches is
exposed to shell fire.

No shells burst near me. Bethune was being intermittently shelled, but
as far as I know not a shell fell in the town while I was there. I
lunched on a hill surrounded by batteries, with the now celebrated
towns of Messines and Wytschaete just across a valley, so that one
could watch shells bursting over them. And still nothing threatened my
peace of mind or my physical well-being. And yet it was one of the
most interesting days of a not uneventful period.

In the morning I was taken, still in General Huguet's car, to British
Headquarters again, to meet Sir John French.

I confess to a thrill of excitement when the door into his private
office was opened and I was ushered in. The Field Marshal of the
British Army was standing by his table. He came forward at once and
shook hands. In his khaki uniform, with the scarlet straps of his rank
on collar and sleeves, he presented a most soldierly and impressive
appearance.

A man of middle height, squarely and compactly built, he moves easily.
He is very erect, and his tanned face and grey hair are in strong
contrast. A square and determined jaw, very keen blue eyes and a
humorous mouth--that is my impression of Sir John French.

"We are sending you along the lines," he said when I was seated. "But
not into danger. I hope you do not want to go into danger."

I wish I might tell of the conversation that followed. It is
impossible. Not that it dealt with vital matters; but it was
understood that Sir John was not being interviewed. He was taking a
little time from a day that must have been crowded, to receive with
beautiful courtesy a visit