live on them--a bite off one, a slice off
another, a merry-thought off another. And so we learn the news of the
world. Papers when we get a chance of going into some town, and then
only two days old, or else French, which are very scrappy. Often we get
no news at all for three or four days, except what some passing
ambulance will vouchsafe. And usually they don't really know much. So
when there's an extra heavy strafing or an extra quiet lull we learn
that the entire German staff has been captured, or Rheims evacuated, or
Holland sunk, or something else equally strange. The M.G.'s were
hammering away furiously last night, and the whole line was lovely with
star shells hanging like arc lights in the air, and then dropping slowly
to earth. They light up everything like immense moons.

_June 28._

Starting from the farm where the horses are hidden at nine o'clock last
night (twenty-one, as we call it out here), after a hot meal, we
marched through Bedfordshire-like country, along ascending paths, to the
bottom of a wooded hill where a motor lorry with picks and shovels met
us. Thence along a narrow muddy path through a wood. The path circles
round the hill. The east side of the hill faces the Boche front line. It
was still quite light. The undergrowth thick and dank. Our fellows very
merry. The Boches know this path, which is pitted with shell holes. They
shell the place by day, oddly enough, but hardly ever by night.

It was raining gently. Turtle-doves continually crossed our way. I felt
much intrigued. A very weird wood. The guns crashed lethargically,
intermittently.

When we got round to the east side of the hill, the R.E.'s, who were
acting as guides, comforters, and friends, showed us what we were to do:
to dig a line of trench 6 feet deep, and as narrow as might be, for some
cables that were to lead into a very important set of dug-outs for
certain pink and gold people.

The dug-outs are deep in the side of the hill. It's what is called an
advanced H.Q.--_i.e._, when the Push begins, the gilded ones will crawl
in and rap out messages to the various commanders, and watch the battle.

The R.E. officers showed us what was wanted, and each man put in his
pick or shovel to mark the line. This is the procedure: each pick or
shovel about 2 yards apart, and each man delves on that spot till he is
6 feet down. If it were not done like this, then (when it became too
dark to see) the line would be lost. This only app