aked as he was born.

"I just wanted to ask you," he said, "whether Katharine married Frank?"

The sergeant at Gommecourt was anxious to show me his own Street of
Adventure.

"I belong to Toc-emmas," he said (meaning trench--mortars), "and my
officers would be very pleased if you would have a look at their latest
stunt. We've got a 9.2 mortar in Pigeon Wood, away beyond the infantry.
It's never been done before and we're going to blow old Fritz out of
Kite Copse."

I followed him into the blue, as it seemed to me, and we fell in with a
young officer also on his way to Pigeon Wood. He was in a merry mood, in
spite of harassing fire round about and the occasional howl of a 5.9.
He kept stopping to look at enormous holes in the ground and laughing at
something that seemed to tickle his sense of humor.

"See that?" he said. "That's old Charlie Lowndes's work."

At another pit in upheaved earth he said: "That's Charlie Lowndes
again... Old Charlie gave 'em hell. He's a topping chap. You must meet
him... My God! look at that!"

He roared with laughter again, on the edge of an unusually large crater.

"Who is Charlie?" I asked. "Where can I find him?"

"Oh, we shall meet him in Pigeon Wood. He's as pleased as Punch at
having got beyond the infantry. First time it has ever been done. Took a
bit of doing, too, with the largest size of Toc-emma."

We entered Pigeon Wood after a long walk over wild chaos, and, guided by
the officer and sergeant, I dived down into a deep dugout just captured
from the Germans, who were two hundred yards away in Kite Copse.

"What cheer, Charlie!" shouted the young officer.

"Hullo, fellow-my-lad!... Come in. We're getting gloriously binged on a
rare find of German brandy."

"Topping and I've brought a visitor."

Capt. Charles Lowndes--"dear old Charlie"--received us most politely in
one of the best dugouts I ever saw, with smoothly paneled walls fitted
up with shelves, and good deal furniture made to match.

"This is a nice little home in hell," said Charles. "At any moment, of
course, we may be blown to bits, but meanwhile it is very comfy down
here, and what makes everything good is a bottle of rare old brandy and
an unlimited supply of German soda-water. Also to add to the gaiety
of indecent minds there is a complete outfit of ladies' clothing in a
neighboring dugout. Funny fellows those German officers. Take a pew,
won't you? and have a drink. Orderly!"

He shouted for his man