Last night was very quiet and a lot of good work was done. The men went back about 4 a.m. and I turned into Battalion H.Q. for a pow-wow with the Colonel. As I was walking home about half an hour afterwards the Hun put down a very heavy gas-shell bombardment, particularly around the track. I lay in a hole for half an hour with my mask on and was frightened to death lest I should be splashed with some of the infernal liquid. The shells were not more than 18–pounders, but some of them were unpleasantly close. This morning Division reports that some 3000 shells came over in the half-hour. A new officer joined us to-day. He is about thirty, wears gold-rimmed glasses, and has never seen the war before. He looks around with the wonderment of a little child and will be an infernal nuisance to us. Still, I suppose there are no real men left now. _Sept. 17._ Spent the night by myself crawling around in front and noting the places most in need of wire. I came across a German post with four men in it and a light machine-gun. They were well forward, quite isolated and obviously nervous. I told the nearest company, but they wouldn’t do anything, and even looked frightened to think that there were real live Germans so near them. A sod splashed down in the trench outside, and I noticed the orderly at the door, a lad about eighteen, jump and nearly drop his rifle. It all makes one very sad if you look back upon the days when there would have been a clamour to go and snaffle that post. And this is the Division which captured and lost one village seven times on one bloody day, and finally held it against all attacks with a fifth of its effectives on their feet. _Sept. 18._ The men went back into reserve billets to-day, but I stayed on with the relieving sections. The ground is beginning to dry again and life becomes more pleasant. There is great aerial activity and the Hun shoots very much on our roads and back areas—surely we are not preparing a stunt? _Sept. 19._ Received orders to return to reserve billets as we are going out of the line. Spent a busy day handing over work and packing up, as the whole company moves to-morrow. _Sept. 20._ Trekked to our new billets in reserve, which are almost out of the war—even the 60–pounders are well in front of us. Spent a quiet day making cover for the men, rigging up horse-lines, and generally settling down. There is more billeting accommodation than we have seen for months and, greatest joy of all, we can sleep in our pyjamas. _Sept. 21._ Apparently there is some kind of a stunt coming off, because we have instructions to rest the men as much as possible and give them an easy time. Accordingly we do a little drill, paint our transport, clean rifles and ammunition, overhaul explosives, etc., etc.