which they bundled the soldiers away and evidently
reported our offence. At least our guards came up shortly afterwards,
marshalled us, and led us through a small wood into a low-lying field.
It was apparently another fiendish inspiration of Major Bach to confine
us here, because the field was nothing but a swamp. It was not so
soddened as to allow the feet to sink ankle deep into the mire, but was
like a wet sponge. It was impossible to sit down or one would have got
wet through.

We were left standing in this uninviting quagmire for four solid hours.
The interpreters were pestered unmercifully to secure us something to
eat and to drink, but they were as helpless as ourselves. They were
well-nigh distracted at the ugly turn which things were taking. Matters
were certainly becoming alarming among the weaker prisoners, who were
now in a pitiable condition.

It was not until five o'clock in the afternoon that the authorities
suddenly remembered us. Then we were lined up to secure some food. But
we passed three hours in that queue only to receive a small dole of
filthy looking thin cabbage soup. This was all that had passed our lips
since the wretched black coffee served fifteen hours before!

Yet we were thankful for such a meagre mouthful. We were all so famished
that we took no heed of the noisomeness of the ration. Now we began to
grow anxious as to the arrangements for enabling us to pass the night.
Our interpreters had been questioning one or two of the younger officers
who were mounting guard over us in this field.

"Oh! That'll be all right," was the retort. "We're going to put you into
tents!"

"But where are the tents?" persisted the interpreters, looking around
wonderingly.

"Oh," was the evasive reply, "they have commenced to put them up. But we
find we shall not get all the tents for a few days. They haven't come in
yet! You'll be a bit crowded at first but it'll soon be straightened
out."

Again our faces fell. We had been turned out of our barracks before our
tents had been procured. This was a dismal look-out, but we hoped that,
as the officers said they were putting up tents, we should be able to
squeeze under cover, if in discomfort.

We were lined up again in the twilight to receive marching orders. We
were escorted into the field, which is set upon the side of a hill, and
as we swung into this space we could not suppress an exclamation. The
field was alive with men. All the other prisoners had