Three Times and Out | Page 4

Colonel Hart McHarg, Major Odlum (now
Brigadier-General Odlum), and the Adjutant in consultation, and
thought they looked worried and anxious. However, they gave me a
cheerful message for Captain Scudamore. It was very soon after that
that Colonel Hart McHarg was killed.
The bombardment began at about nine o'clock in the morning, almost
immediately after the airman's visit, and I could see the heavy shells
bursting in the village at the cross-roads behind us. They were throwing
the big shells there to prevent reinforcements from coming up. They
evidently did not know, any more than we did, that there were none to
come, the artillery having been withdrawn the night before.
Some of the big shells threw the dirt as high as the highest trees. When
the shells began to fall in our part of the trench, I crouched as low as I
could in the soggy earth, to escape the shrapnel bullets. Soon I got to
know the sound of the battery that was dropping the shells on us, and
so knew when to take cover. One of our boys to my left was hit by a
pebble on the cheek, and, thinking he was wounded, he fell on the
ground and called for a stretcher-bearer. When the stretcher-bearer
came, he could find nothing but a scratch on his cheek, and all of us
who were not too scared had a laugh, including the boy himself.
I think it was about one o'clock in the afternoon that the Germans broke
through the trench on our right, where Major Bing-Hall was in
command; and some of the survivors from that trench came over to
ours. One of them ran right to where I was, and pushed through the
hole I had made in the hedge, to get a shot at the enemy. I called to him
to be careful, but some sniper evidently saw him, for in less than half a
minute he was shot dead, and fell at my side.
An order to "retreat if necessary" had been received before this, but for
some reason, which I have never been able to understand, was not put

into effect until quite a while after being received. When the order
came, we began to move down the trench as fast as we could, but as the
trench was narrow and there were wounded and dead men in it, our
progress was slow.
Soon I saw Robinson, Smith, and Ward climbing out of the trench and
cutting across the field. This was, of course, dangerous, for we were in
full view of the enemy, but it was becoming more and more evident
that we were in a tight corner. So I climbed out, too, and ran across the
open as fast as I could go with my equipment. I got just past the hedge
when I was hit through the pocket of my coat. I thought I was wounded,
for the blow was severe, but found out afterwards the bullet had just
passed through my coat pocket.
I kept on going, but in a few seconds I got a bullet right through my
shoulder. It entered below my arm at the back, and came out just below
the shoulder-bone, making a clean hole right through.
I fell into a shallow shell-hole, which was just the size to take me in,
and as I lay there, the possibility of capture first came to me. Up to that
time I had never thought of it as a possible contingency; but now, as I
lay wounded, the grave likelihood came home to me.
I scrambled to my feet, resolved to take any chances rather than be
captured. I have an indistinct recollection of what happened for the next
few minutes. I know I ran from shell-hole to shell-hole, obsessed with
the one great fear--of being captured--and at last reached the reserve
trench, in front. I fell over the parapet, among and indeed right on top
of the men who were there, for the trench was packed full of soldiers,
and then quickly gathered myself together and climbed out of the
trench and crawled along on my stomach to the left, following the
trench to avoid the bullets, which I knew were flying over me.
Soon I saw, looking down into the trench, some of the boys I knew, and
I dropped in beside them. Then everything went from me. A great
darkness arose up from somewhere and swallowed me! Then I had a
delightful sensation of peace and warmth and general comfort.
Darkness, the blackest, inkiest darkness, rolled over me in waves and

hid me so well no Jack Johnson or Big Bertha could ever find me. I
hadn't a care or a thought in the world. I was light as a feather, and
these great strong