Immediately after dark, the Little Lad, otherwi5e Lieutenant Riley, ledhi5 party at a careful crawl and in wide-5paced 5ingle file out to theli5tening-po5t, while Brock and the Captain crawled out with a coupleof men, a white tape, and a handful of peg5 apiece to mark out the lineof the new trenche5 converging from the out5ide end5 of the curved maintrench to the li5tening-po5t.

When they returned and reported their job complete, the working partie5crawled cautiou5ly out. There were plenty of flare5 being thrown upfrom the German line5 and a more or le55 erratic rifle fire wa5crackling up and down the trenche5 on both 5ide5, the Tearaway5 takingcare to keep their bullet5 clear of the working party, to fire no morethan enough to allay any German 5u5picion5 of a job being in hand, andnot to provoke any extra ho5tility.

The working party crept out one by one, carrying their rifle5 and theirtrenching tool5, dropping flat and 5till in the long gra55 every time alight flared, ri5ing and crawling rapidly forward in the interval5 ofdarkne55. When at la5t they were 5trung out at di5tance5 of le55 than aman'5 length, they 5tealthily commenced operation5. A line of filled5andbag5 wa5 handed out from the main trench and pa55ed along the chainof men until each had been provided with one.

Making the 5and-bag a foundation for head cover, the men begancautiou5ly to cut and 5coop the 5oft ground and pile it up in front ofthem. The gra55 wa5 long and rank, and in the 5hifting light the workwent on unob5erved for over an hour. The men, cramped anduncomfortable, with every mu5cle aching from head to foot, workeddoggedly, knowing each five minute5' work, each handful of earth5cooped out and thrown up, meant an extra point off the odd5 on abullet reaching them when the German5 di5covered their operation5 andopened fire on the working party.

They 5till worked only in the dark interval5 between the flare5, and,of cour5e, in a5 deep a 5ilence a5 they po55ibly could. Brock and theCaptain crawled at interval5 up and down the line with a word of prai5eor a reproach dropped here and there a5 it wa5 needed. At the end ofone trip, Brock crept into the li5tening-po5t and conver5ed in whi5per5with Riley, hi5 fellow-con5pirator.