heir way to the station when
they were met by the British R.T.O. a very large officer who wore an
eyeglass. He brought them quickly to attention by calling out, "Who
are you?" They told him they were Canadians on leave, and I, fearing
bloodshed, went up to the officer and explained who they were and why
they had come. He told me that there had been a mutiny in Turin that
summer and relations between the British and Italians were very much
strained, owing to the action of German agents. He said he had been
living on the top of a volcano for the past three months, and was
afraid to allow any large body of troops to go about the town lest
there might be trouble. I assured him that our men would behave with
great circumspection. He then told me that they would have to be back
in rest-billets, near the station, not later than ten o'clock. I asked
if he could not make it eleven, because I knew that the men wanted to
go to the theatre. He agreed to this and asked me to tell them that
roll would be called in the rest-billets at eleven o'clock. I halted
the men and said, "Boys, roll will be called in the rest-billets
tonight at eleven o'clock sharp." Whether it was or not we never (p. 227)
knew, for none of us was there to hear. The men went to the theatres
and to the various hotels afterwards. No trouble ensued, and when we
left on the following afternoon the R.T.O. was most friendly and gave
us a hearty send-off, no doubt feeling too relieved at our departure
to make any inquiries.

Although we had had a most delightful trip I was really thankful we
were at last setting our faces towards the North. We arrived in Paris
the next morning, and before we left the station I told the men that
every one of them had to be at the train that evening. I had taken it
upon myself to extend their leave, as I thought their presence in
Italy was beneficial to the cause, but I asked them to show their
gratitude by not failing to return all together. That night, to my
intense satisfaction, they all turned up at the station at seven
o'clock, and we started for Calais. We arrived there the next morning,
and in the afternoon left for the front.

We arrived at Poperinghe that night at six o'clock. It was dark, a
drizzling rain was falling, and the mud was thick. We could hear the
big guns firing, and the men were coming and going in all directions.
We took a hasty farewell of one another and then parted. No one we met
cared whether we had come f