lintered forest, the Major led us to a place where
the recent shelling had changed twenty feet of trench into a gaping
gulley almost without sides and waist-deep in water. A working detail
was endeavouring to repair the damage. In parties of two, we left the
trench and crossed an open space on the level. The forty steps we
covered across that forbidden ground were like stolen fruit. Such
rapture! Bazin, who was seeking a title for a book, pulled "Eureka!"

"Over the top armed with a pencil," he said. "Not bad, eh?"

Back in Seicheprey, just before the Major left us for our long trip back
to quarters, he led the way to the entrance of a cemetery, well kept in
the midst of surrounding chaos. Graves of French dead ranged row upon
row.

"I just wanted to show you some of the fellows that held this line until
we took it over," he said simply. "Our own boys that we've lost since
we've been here, are buried down in the next village."

We silently saluted the spot as we passed it thirty minutes later.

CHAPTER IX

THE NIGHT OUR GUNS CUT LOOSE

As soon as our forces had made themselves at home in the Toul sector, it
was inevitable that belligerent activity would increase and this, in
spite of the issuance of strict orders that there should be no
development of the normal daily fire. Our men could not entirely resist
the temptation to start something.

As was to be expected, the Germans soon began to suspect that they were
faced by different troops from the ones who had been confronting them.
The enemy set out to verify his suspicions. He made his first raid on
the American line.

It was in a dense mist on the morning of January 30th that the Germans
lowered a terrific barrage on one of our advance listening posts and
then rushed the position with a raiding party outnumbering the
defendants ten to one.

Two Americans held that post--five more succeeded in making their way
through the storm of falling shells and in coming to the assistance of
the first two. That made seven Americans in the fight. When the fighting
ceased, every one of the seven had been accounted for in the three
items, dead, wounded or captured.

That little handful of Americans, fought, died or were wounded in the
positions which they had been ordered to hold. Although the engagement
was an extremely minor one, it being the first of its kind on the
American sector, it was sufficient to give the enemy some idea of the
determination and fight