A column of infantry-munitions wagons halted at the fork in the road from Beaumont and Ornes; a 305 shell had dug a deep crater in the road which was cut in two. These light wagons, in good order, could pass neither to the right nor to the left of the hole on account of wire entanglements. Observed by the enemy, the convoy, after some moments, met with a veritable rain of projectiles, time and percussion, which fell around us. Men, horses and mules were killed or wounded. A _poilu_ spontaneously took command of the column, his immediate superiors having been killed. The beasts reared and plunged, frightened by the flashes and explosions which succeeded each other rapidly. The men clinging to the bridles were killed on the spot before they could make a move! A little soldier is lifted high by his frantic mule, which stands, straight up on its hind feet. He curses, he yells, while the timed shell churn the air with wailings like a dying child---- "I say you will not go back--at a time like this, _you_ mules _must_ not go _back_!" * * * * * A few seconds later he and his mule are on the ground, fastened, one to the other, by the bridle: the shell which killed him has almost stripped his body of clothes. I also was thrown to the ground, but I am not hit---- Bending over the man, I attempt to find, but vainly, his identification tag, so that some day the name of this obscure hero may be known---- The mule, stretched out at full length, essays to raise its head, still grasped by the hands of the corpse, and gives a couple of useless kicks---- It commences to snow---- THE DAY OF FEBRUARY 23, ELEVEN O'CLOCK AT NIGHT. The major, commanding Ornes, says to me: "This is what must be done! Our left has completely collapsed and we can be flanked at any moment. I have sent a reconnaissance to Herbebois Wood; the patrol has returned and tells me no one is there any longer---- "As you know the sector perfectly, you must go to Louvemont yourself to inform the Division of our situation. Take someone with you so that if one is killed the other can carry the information just the same! Be careful along the Chaume Wood, because from here to Chambrettes, you will meet up with a boche patrol. It has now become a first-line position. Keep your revolver in your hand----" "Yes, major." "Go, my friend." "Thank you." "Good luck----" THE MATCHLESS POILUS, BEFORE CHAUME WOOD. _February_ 23, 1918. The road from Ornes, before Chaume Wood, has assumed a fantastic appearance! The trees are fallen and the branches are entangled---- The beautiful countryside has become chaotic following this avalanche of projectiles of the preceding days. The bombardment is always frightful. The snow which has fallen the night before makes going bad and one slips and stumbles incessantly. How difficult it is to follow such a road at night when you haven't slept for three days!