e the thing seems more serious, it may mean something; so you
reach for your glasses and carefully survey the scene beyond through
your loophole. To remain absolutely hidden is the order of the day. So
there is nothing much to be seen. Far away, and very near, lie the
enemy's barricades, some running almost up to your own, but quite
peaceful and silent, others standing up frowningly hundreds of yards
off, monuments erected weeks ago. These latter are so distant that
they are unknown quantities. Then just as you are about to give it up
as a bad job, you see the top of a rifle barrel glistening in the sun.
You ... bang! perilously near your glasses another bullet has struck.
So you pull up your rifle by the strap, open out your loophole a
little by removing some of the bricks, and carefully and slowly you
send the answering message at the enemy's head. If you have great
luck a faint groan or a distant shout of pain may reward your efforts;
but you can never be quite sure whether you have got home on your
rival or not. Loophole shooting is very tricky, and the very best
shots fire by the hour in vain. I have seen that often....

Yesterday I directly disobeyed orders by opening the ball myself. I
had been posted in the early morning very close to one of the enemy's
banners--perhaps not more than forty feet away--and this gaudy flag,
defiantly flapping so near the end of my nose, must have incensed me;
for almost before I had realised what I was doing I was very slowly
and very carefully aiming at the bamboo staff so as to split it in two
and bring down the banner with a run. I fired three shots in ten
minutes and missed in an exasperating fashion. It is the devil's own
job to do really accurate work with an untested government rifle. But
my fourth shot was more successful; it snapped the staff neatly
enough, and the banner floated to the ground just outside the
barricade.

This Chinese outpost must have been but feebly manned, as, indeed, all
the outposts have been since the armistice, for it was fully ten
minutes before anything occurred. Then an arm came suddenly over and
pecked vainly at the banner. I snapped rapidly, missed, and the arm
flicked back. Another five minutes passed, and then a piece of curved
bamboo moved over the barricade and hunted about. It was no use,
however, the arm had to come, too. I waited until the brown hand
clasping the bamboo was low and then pumped a quick shot at it. A yell
of pain answere