raffic. But the
chief trouble was that the French "75's" coming up to relieve us had
had to turn and go back the same way as ourselves. For the best part of
a mile both sides of the narrow roads were occupied, and only patience,
forbearance, and steady command eased the block. The Boche could not be
far behind, and there was just a possibility that we might be trapped
with little chance of putting up a fight. It was a lovely day again,
baking hot, and the birds were singing their gayest; but most of us
felt savagely doleful. "I hope it is a strategic retreat," said
Fentiman viciously, "but we've had no letters and no papers for days,
and we know Blink All of what's going on. A strategic retreat is all
right, but if the fellow behind follows you close enough to keep on
kicking your tail hard all the time, you may retreat farther than you
intend. When the Boche retreated last year we never got close enough to
kick his tail--damn him."

Two welcome diversions! The road at the point we had now reached rose
to the level of the stubble-fields, and three batteries of "75's," with
much "_Hue_-ing" of the horses, pulled off the track and made across
the fields to another roadway. At the same time the "heavies" woke up,
and the sound of the big shells grunting through the air above our
heads and on towards the enemy who pursued us was _tres agreable_.

When we reached the village of Bethancourt we found two brigades of our
divisional infantry already there. Trenches were being dug, and our B
Battery had pulled their six guns behind the mile-long ridge that ran
southward from the village. The colonel joined our brigadier, who was
conferring with the two Infantry brigadiers and the G.S.O. I., and as a
result of this war council, D Battery was ordered to continue the march
and take up a reserve position on the next ridge, two miles farther
back, south of the village of Caillouel. A and C, the composite
battery, would come into action alongside B.

Telephone lines were run out from the two batteries to look-out posts
on the top of the ridge 700 yards away, and the colonel ordered firing
at the rate of one round a minute. Half a dozen "75" batteries were
being loosed off with what always looks like gay abandon on the part of
the French gunners. Young Bushman was whisked off to inform the staff
captain, now at Caillouel, of the batteries' new positions, so that
ammunition supply should be kept up. We then awaited developments.

The