and another chap, name o'
Macdonald--Bombardier he was--along with him as signallers.

"This was a daylight raid, d'ye see, gentlemen? Our chaps went
over at four o'clock in the afternoon. They was to enter a sort
o' bulge in the German front line wot they called Hohenlinden
Trench, bomb the Gers. out o' that, push on to the support line
and clear out that and then come back. The rocket to fetch 'em
home was to go up forty minutes after they started.

"Well, me and Mac--that's the Bombardier--went over with th'
officer here just behind the raiding party. O' course Fritz knew
we was comin' for it was broad daylight, and that clear you could
see for miles over the flats. First thing we knew Fritz had put
down a roarin', tearin' barrage, and we hadn't gone not twenty
yards before ole Mac. cops one right on the nut; about took his
head off, it did. So me and the captain we goes on alone and
drops all nice and comfortable in the trench, and I starts
getting my line jined up.

"It was a longish job but I got the brigade line goin' at last.
Our chaps had cleared out the front line and was off down the
communication trenches to the support. What with machine-guns
rattlin' and bombs a-goin' off down the trench and Fritz's
barrage all over the shop the row was that awful we had to buzz
every single word.

"There was a bit of a house like, a goodish way in front, X farm,
they called it, and presently the Brigade tells the Captain, who
was buzzin' to them, to register B battery on to the farm.

"'I can't see the farm nohow from here,' sez the Captain. I could
see it as plain as plain, and I pointed it out to him. But no! he
couldn't see it.

"'I'll crawl out of the trench a bit, gunner,' sez he to me, 'you
sit tight,' he sez, 'I'll let you know when to follow!"

"With that he up and out o' the trench leavin' me and the
instruments behind all among the dead Gers., and our lads had
killed a tidy few. It was pretty lonely round about were I was;
for our chaps had all gone on and was bombin' the Gers., like
they was a lot o' rabbits, up and down the support line.

"I followed the Captain with me eye, gentlemen, and I'm blessed
if he didn't walk straight across the open and over the support
trench. Then he drops into a bit of a shell-hole and I lost sight
of him. Well, I waited and waited and no sign of th' orficer. The
rocket goes up and our lads begin to come back with half a dozen
Huns runnin' in front of them with their