hands and said, "Kamarad! mercy! mercy!" It
was most humorous to think that three human beings should appeal to me
to spare their lives. I told them in my best French to get up and
follow me, and I called out to the sergeant, "Sergeant, I have got (p. 278)
three prisoners." My desire to take a prisoner had been a standing
joke among our men. Whenever they were going into action I used to
offer them $25.00 to bring out a little German whom I might capture
all by myself. I used to tell them not to bring out a big one, as it
might look boastful for a chaplain. Here were three ready to hand for
which I had to pay nothing. We moved on through the smoke, a most
comical procession. The sergeant went ahead and I brought up the rear.
Between us went the three terror-stricken prisoners, crouching every
now and then when shells fell near us. At last we stumbled on a
company of the 2nd Battalion coming forward, and I called out to them,
"Boys, I got seventy-five dollars worth of Huns in one shell-hole."
Our gallant Canadians at once took the three unfortunate men, who
looked as if they expected to have their throats cut, and having
relieved them of the contents of their pockets and removed their
buttons and shoulder-straps, gave me one of the latter as a souvenir.

When the prisoners were disposed of and sent back with others under
escort, I started forward again and seeing a tank coming down the hill
got on it and so went back into the battle. We passed quite easily
over some wide trenches, then when the machine came to a stop I got
off and made my way to the end of the valley and climbed to the higher
ground beyond. There I found myself in a wide expanse of country
covered by yellow grain and rolling off in hills to the distance. Here
and there I met wounded men walking back, and many German prisoners.
In the fields in different directions I could see rifles stuck,
bayonet downwards, in the ground, which showed that there lay wounded
men. I found that these were chiefly Germans, and all of them had
received hideous wounds and were clamouring for water. Poor men, I was
sorry for them, for I knew it would be long before they could be
carried out or receive medical attention, owing to the rapidity of our
advance. I made my way to each in turn and gave him a drink from some
of the water bottles which I carried round my belt. I think all the
Germans I saw that morning were dying, having been wounded in the
stomach. After attending, a