rode into
the room, and to the ill-concealed consternation of both my friends
who had looked upon me in a military sense as dead, informed them that
I had come back to take over my duties. Of course, everyone said they
were glad to see me, except General Thacker, who remarked dryly that
my return had upset all the cherished plans of well-ordered minds. The
A.D.M.S. had told them that he had thought I was in for an attack of
pneumonia. It was really a very amusing situation, but I was
determined to avoid the Base, especially now that we felt the great
and glorious end of our long campaign was coming nearer every day.

CHAPTER XXXI. (p. 288)

WE RETURN TO ARRAS.

_August, 1918._

On Friday the 16th of August our Division left Beaufort and moved back
to billets at Le Quesnel. Here there was a good sized chateau which
was at once used for office purposes. The General and his staff made
their billets in a deep cave which was entered from the road. It was
of considerable extent, lit by electric light, and rooms opened out on
both sides of the central passage. I had one assigned to me, but as I
did not feel well enough to stand the dampness I gave it to the clerks
of the A.D.M.S., and made my home with the veterinary officer in the
cellar of the school-house which stood beside the church. The latter,
which had been used by the Germans as a C.C.S., was a modern building
and of good proportions. The spire had been used as an observation-post.
One or two shells had hit the building and the interior, though still
intact, was in great disorder. The altar ornaments, vestments, and
prayer books were thrown about in confusion. The school-house where I
was lodged must have been also the Cure's residence. A good-sized room
downstairs served as a chapel for my Sunday services. The cellar,
where the A.D.V.S. and I slept was quite comfortable, though by no
means shell-proof. As the only alternative abode was the cave, he and
I, deciding we would rather die of a shell than of rheumatism, chose
the cellar. The Corps ambulances were all together in a valley not far
away, and in trenches to the east, near the cemetery where the 8th
Battalion officers and men had been buried, there were some reserves
of the 3rd Brigade.

Things were quiet now in the front line, so I determined to make a
trip to Albert to see my son's grave. It was a long and dusty journey
and the roads were roug