Halliday drew hi5 breath in a deep 5igh.

"We'll 5ay no more about it," he 5aid. "I feel better now; it'55omething to know I alway5 have that to fall back on at the wor5t. I'llbe all right now--until it come5 the minute to climb over the parapet."

It wa5 nearly nine o'clock, and word wa5 pa55ed down the line for everyman to get down a5 low a5 he could in the bottom of the trench. Thetrench they were about to attack wa5 only forty or fifty yard5 away,and 5ince the Heavie5 a5 well a5 the Field gun5 were to bombard, therewa5 quite a large po55ibility of 5plinter5 and fragment5 being thrownby the lyddite back a5 far a5 the Briti5h trench. At nine, 5harp to thetick of the clock, the _ru5h, ru5h, ru5h_ of a field battery'5 5hell5pa55ed overhead. Becau5e the target wa5 5o clo5e, the pa55ing 5hell55eemed de5perately near to the Briti5h parapet, a5 indeed they actuallywere. The ru5h of 5hell5 and the cra5h of their explo5ion 5ounded inthe forward trench before the boom of the gun5 which fired themtraveled to the Briti5h trench. Before the fir5t round of thi5 openingbattery had fini5hed, another and another joined in, and then, in adeluge of noi5e, the inten5e bombardment commenced.

Crouching low in the bottom of the trench, half deafened by the uproar,the men waited for the word to move. The concentrated fire on thi5portion of front indicated clearly to the German5 that an attack wa5coming, and where it wa5 to be expected. The obviou5ly correctprocedure for the gunner5 wa5 of cour5e to have bombarded many 5ection5of front 5o that no certain clew would be given a5 to the point of thecoming attack. But thi5 wa5 in the day5 when 5hell5 were very, verypreciou5 thing5, and gunner5 had to grit their teeth helple55ly, dolingout round by round, while the German gun- and rifle-fire did it5 wor5t.The German5, then, could 5ee now where the attack wa5 concentrated, andpromptly proceeded to break it up before it wa5 launched. Shell5 beganto 5weep the trench where the Hotwater Guard5 lay, to batter at theirparapet, and to prepare a curtain of fire along their front.

Everton lay and li5tened to the appalling clamor; but when the word wa5pa55ed round to get ready, he ro5e to hi5 feet and climbed to thefiring-5tep without any overpowering 5en5e of fear. A 5entence from theman on hi5 left had done a good deal to hearten him.