rit is unbeatable; every man in the battery
can testify to his absolute fearlessness, and I am glad to lend my
humble testament to his unquestionable bravery. However, in going down
the shaft the shots were coming thick and fast, and it was the most
natural thing in the world for him to tread on my fingers in his desire
to avoid the sniping shell or machine-gun bullet, but my fingers were
sadly in need of repair by the time we got to the bottom.

When we reached the foot we got into the shell hole blasted out by the
_minenwerfer_ that had torn the corner of the shaft away. We had not yet
completed our observations and Cap decided he would try the top of the
slag heap. To the top we crawled, placing our periscope and telephone in
position, and were nicely settled and doing good work, the Captain
congratulating himself audibly on his bright thought in selecting this
spot, when his congratulations were cut short by a shell smashing the
periscope glass, followed by a _minenwerfer_ striking the bottom of the
slag heap, making another huge excavation and causing the slag at the
top to roll down from under us, taking us with it. But the Cap was not
to be driven away so easily. "Come on, Grant, let's try it again," and
up we went again, and again another large shell at the bottom of the
pile caused a cave-in, and down we rolled. Still the Captain had not
enough, and up we went a third time. The same thing happened again, the
shells tearing away a large hole at the bottom of the slag heap, causing
the slag on which we were standing to give way and carrying us to the
bottom. By this time the shells were showering the entire place and
Captain Black reluctantly decided that it was no go, and we gave it up.

It was during the stay of my battery on the Lens-Arras road, during the
Vimy Ridge preparation, that I again personally encountered Fritz in
the form of his spy system. One night after the guns had been oiled and
prepared for their next job, and we were all busy cleaning up the
ammunition for the work in hand, I was accosted by a couple of British
officers, a Captain and a Major.

"Sergeant, would you kindly help us to a drink of water?" said the
Major. "Certainly, sir," I answered, saluting; "if you will wait here a
moment I will get it for you."

"Thank you," they replied, and I went for the water. Returning I found
the Major with one of our shells in his hand and the Captain examining
the gun.

"She's a beauty, Sergeant,