Compared with the strenuous activity of the past week, the two-day tour which followed was quiet. Both the wood and the village were frequently shelled, and there were several casualties. But worst of all was the gas shelling. The night after the relief Villers-en-Cauchies was deluged with mustard gas. All the 6th Battalion H.Q. officers and details were gassed, and Major Clarkson, M.C., had to be summoned from the Divisional Reception Camp to take command. Over forty of the 4th Battalion H.Q. details were also so seriously gassed that they had to be sent down. The cellars occupied by the officers and the Aid Post were saved only by the lighting of great fires of straw at the entrance. Box respirators had to be worn for a great part of the night. Nightly, the enemy was expected to fall back to a fresh rearguard position. Everyone was very much on the alert for signs of a withdrawal, in order that the operation might be harassed by a rapid British advance. The early morning of October 17th was very misty, the enemy was exceptionally quiet, and the Commanding Officer, who was up in the line at the time, began to fear that a withdrawal actually had taken place. About four hundred yards in front of Vordon Wood, and lying roughly parallel to it, was a sunken road, from which the ground sloped gently to the river. This Lieut.-Col. Mowat determined to reconnoitre in person, with the object of locating the enemy if possible. Setting out from the right flank of the Battalion with four others, he reached the road and proceeded along it. The mist had lifted considerably by this time, and, as the patrol came round a slight bend, it almost ran into an enemy post. Not more than fifty yards away was a German sentry. With rifle slung over his shoulder, and wearing greatcoat and soft cap, he was pacing up and down the road like a sentry in front of the guard-room. Fortunately, when first seen, he had his back turned, which gave the patrol a moment’s grace. Withdrawing a few yards down the road, the men climbed the bank and made off towards the wood. The Germans, who proved to be about twelve strong with a light machine gun, opened fire, but their shooting was very bad. Retiring by bounds and covered by the fire of individual men, the patrol reached the wood without loss. Machine and Lewis guns were immediately brought to bear on the German post, its garrison was driven from its position and retired towards the river. The encounter had established the fact that the enemy had not yet withdrawn.