e adjutant. "Enquire at the
Keep."

The trench was wet and slobbery, every hole was a pitfall to trap the
unwary; boulders and sandbags which had fallen in waited to trip the
careless foot. I met a party of soldiers, a corporal at their head.

"This the way to the firing line?" he asked.

"You're coming from it!" I told him.

"That's done it!" he muttered. "We've gone astray, there's some fun up
there!"

"A mine blown up?" I asked.

"'Twas a blow up," was the answer. "It almost deafened us, someone
must have copped it. What's the way back?"

"Go past Gunner Siding and Marie Redoubt, then touch left and (p. 163)
you'll get through."

"God! it's some rain," he said. "Ta, ta."

"Ta, ta, old man."

I turned into the trench leading to the Keep. The rain was pelting
with a merciless vigour, and loose earth was falling from the sides to
the floor of the trench. A star-light flared up and threw a brilliant
light on the entrance of the Keep as I came up. The place bristled
with brilliant steel, half a dozen men stood there with fixed
bayonets, the water dripping from their caps on to their equipment.

"Halt! who goes there!" Pryor yelled out, raising his bayonet to the
"on guard" position.

"A friend," I replied. "What's wrong here?"

"Oh, it's Pat," Pryor answered. "Did you not hear it?" he continued,
"the Germans have broken through and there'll be fun. The whole Keep
is manned ready."

"Is the pantomime parapet manned?" I asked. I alluded to the flat roof
of the stable in which our Section slept. It had been damaged by shell
fire, and was holed in several places, a sandbag parapet with (p. 164)
loop-holes opened out on the enemy's front.

"Kore, Bill, Goliath, they're all up there," said Pryor, "and the
place is getting shelled too, in the last five minutes twenty shells
have missed the place, just missed it."

"Where does the sergeant-major stick?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know, not here I think."

The courtyard was tense with excitement. Half a dozen new soldiers
were called to take up posts on the parapet, and they were rushing to
the crazy stairs which led to the roof. On their way they overturned a
brazier and showers of fine sparks rioted into the air. By the flare
it was possible to see the rain falling slanting to the ground in fine
lines that glistened in the flickering light. Shells were bursting
overhead, flashing out into spiteful red and white stars of flame, and
hurling their bul