in villages in (p. 249)
the Scarpe Valley to have plenty of water, and in the various
mill-ponds they found swimming-places. Our front line at this time
extended for quite a long distance north and south of the Scarpe. In
fact the river acted for a short distance as No Man's Land. On the
north of the Scarpe were the ruins of the village of Fampoux, and on
the south those of Feuchy. How well our men will remember the towns of
Maroeil, Anzin, St. Nicholas and St. Aubin. I used to go off across
the meadow lands, now bright and fresh with spring verdure, till I got
to the St. Eloi road, and then by jumping lorries would make my way to
St. Nicholas and on to Cam Valley. On the east side of the valley were
quaint dugouts which were occupied by the battalion in reserve. A path
up the valley led to the communication trench, and finally down
Pudding Lane to Pudding Trench. The ground was elevated, so that from
one of the trenches which led down towards Fampoux I was able to see
with my glasses the country behind the German lines. I saw quite
distinctly one day the spires of Douai, and in another direction on a
hillside I could make out a railway train which must have been
carrying German troops. I had many interesting walks through the
trenches, and slept there several times. On one occasion I took
Alberta with me, but she would persist in going off into No Man's Land
hunting for rats. The arrival of a minnenwerfer, however, gave her a
great fright and made her jump back into the trench with alacrity,
much to the amusement of the men, who said that she knew the use of
trenches.

One day I went down the trench which led into Fampoux. Whizzbangs were
falling every now and then, so the men were keeping low. At one place
there was a good view of the German lines. An officer and a sergeant
stood there looking through their glasses and pointed out to me a spot
in the hillside opposite where we could see a number of the enemy.
They came out of one trench, crossed the road, and went down into
another. The officer told me that he had counted over a hundred that
day. I asked him why he did not telephone to Battalion Headquarters to
inform the artillery. He told me he had no telephone. Then I said,
"Why don't you send a runner?" He explained that Fampoux was occupied
as an outpost, and that no runners were allowed to be sent from there
during the daytime; orders to this effect being very strict. "I am not
a runner," I said, "and I am no