t would
but before I could finish the remark, the Major was back asleep in his
blankets.

By daylight, I explored the town, noting the havoc wrought by the shells
that had arrived in the night. I had thought in seeing refugees moving
southward along the roads, that there was little variety of articles
related to human existence that they failed to carry away with them. But
one inspection of the abandoned abodes of the unfortunate peasants of
Serevilliers was enough to convince me of the greater variety of things
that had to be left behind. Old people have saving habits and the French
peasants pride themselves upon never throwing anything away.

The cottage rooms were littered with the discarded clothing of all ages,
discarded but saved. Old shoes and dresses, ceremonial high hats and
frock coats, brought forth only for weddings or funerals, were mixed on
the floor with children's toys, prayer books and broken china. Shutters
and doors hung aslant by single hinges. In the village _estaminet_ much
mud had been tracked in by exploring feet and the red tiled floor was
littered with straw and pewter measuring mugs, dear to the heart of the
antiquary.

The ivory balls were gone from the dust covered billiard table, but the
six American soldiers billeted in the cellar beneath had overcome this
discrepancy. They enjoyed after dinner billiards just the same with
three large wooden balls from a croquet court in the garden. A croquet
ball is a romping substitute when it hits the green cushions.

That afternoon we laid more wire across fields to the next town to the
north. Men who do this job are, in my opinion, the most daring in any
organisation that depends for efficiency upon uninterrupted telephone
communication. For them, there is no shelter when a deluge of shells
pours upon a field across which their wire is laid. Without protection
of any kind from the flying steel splinters, they must go to that spot
to repair the cut wires and restore communication. During one of these
shelling spells, I reached cover of the road side _abri_ and prepared to
await clearer weather.

In the distance, down the road, appeared a scudding cloud of dust. An
occasional shell dropping close on either side of the road seemed to add
speed to the apparition. As it drew closer, I could see that it was a
motor cycle of the three wheeled bathtub variety. The rider on the cycle
was bending close over his handle bars and apparently giving her all
th