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.
Pages:
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122