ws, in the usual grotesque attitudes of animals in death, were
scattered over the green grass.

He selected his hole, and then began to take careful stock of his
surroundings. The fact that he could see no sign of the opposite
trenches perhaps lulled him into a sense of false security. Anyway,
after having disposed of his haversack, and the sacks he had brought up
with him, he got up from his hole, and began to walk along behind the
holes. On the extreme left he found his Sergeant.

"Well, this looks a pretty safe position," he said.

"Yes, sir. I've just had a shot at a man's head that I thought I saw out
there. I can't say whether or no I shot him. He disappeared quick
enough. I should put the range at two hundred and fifty, sir."

"I wonder what is on our left, here?" he asked.

"I don't know, sir. I haven't had time to look."

"I think I had better go and find out for myself."

He set off, pursuing his way through the thick undergrowth and trees. It
was longer than he thought. But all was still quiet, so the thought of
being "spotted" in the open did not occur to him.

He found the edge of the next trench. It was thrown forward in front of
the wood. After making the usual arrangements that are vaguely called
"establishing touch," he turned back out of the shelter of the parapet,
over the dangerous ground.

Twilight was deepening every second. He did not run; and he only
hurried, because he wanted to get really established in his "funk hole"
before it grew too dark to see what he was doing.

Then, almost simultaneously, the enemy and the regiment in the trenches
opened fire. He stopped short, and turned round to watch. He could see
nothing but thin red spurts of fire in the grey twilight. He turned
quickly on his heel, meaning to reach his own men before the attack
should develop on their front, where, as yet, all was quiet.

He almost reached the end of his trenches....

* * * * *

There was a crisp crash, a blinding light flew up like a circular sunset
around him, a dreadful twinge, as of hair and skin and skull being
jerked from his head with the strength of a giant! For the millionth
part of a second he was at a loss to understand what had happened. Then,
with sickening horror, he realised that he had been shot in the head.

It is impossible to convey with what speed impressions rushed through
his mind.

The flaring horizon tilted suddenly from horizontal nearly to