on, but it was a temptation
too hard to resist. I crawled back through the trench to the road, and
there finding a man who had just lost his hand, directed him to (p. 316)
the aid post near Battalion Headquarters. I accompanied him part of
the way and had reached the edge of the sunken road, when a major of
the Engineers came up to me and said, "I have got a better pair of
German glasses than you have." It was an interesting challenge, so we
stood there on a little rise looking at the spires of Cambrai and
comparing the strength of the lenses. Very distinctly we saw the town,
looking peaceful and attractive. Suddenly there was a tremendous crash
in front of us, a lot of earth was blown into our faces, and we both
fell down. My eyes were full of dirt but I managed to get up again. I
had been wounded in both legs, and from one I saw blood streaming down
through my puttees. My right foot had been hit and the artery in the
calf of my leg was cut. I fell down again with a feeling of exasperation
that I had been knocked out of the war. The poor major was lying on
the ground with one leg smashed. The same shell had wounded in the
chest the young machine-gun officer who had shared his bunk with me
the night before. I believe an Imperial officer also was hit in the
abdomen and that he died. The chaplain of the 10th Battalion who
happened to be standing in the sunken road, got some men together
quickly and came to our help. I found myself being carried off in a
German sheet by four prisoners. They had forgotten to give me my
glasses, and were very much amused when I called for them, but I got
them and have them now. The major not only lost his leg but lost his
glasses as well. The enemy had evidently been watching us from some
observation post in Cambrai, for they followed us up with another
shell on the other side of the road, which caused the bearers to drop
me quickly. The chaplain walked beside me till we came to the aid post
where there were some stretchers. I was placed on one and carried into
the dressing station at Haynecourt. They had been having a hard time
that day, for the village was heavily shelled. One of their men had
been killed and several wounded. I felt a great pain in my heart which
made it hard to breathe, so when I was brought into the dressing
station I said, "Boys, I am going to call for my first and last tot of
rum." I was immensely teased about this later on by my friends, who
knew I was a teetotaller