While adventure of every kind and character abounds on all sides in the trenches, in billets and in the rear of the front line, yet the grim seriousness of the business soon possesses a man with but a single idea in life, especially when in the vicinity of No Man's Land--to get the Hun and get him as quickly as he can. In these pages I have but lightly touched on the awfulness in the sections of country over-run by the human devils. I have two reasons for so doing: First, because I do not believe it lies in the power of human ken to adequately describe the inferno created by the Hun, and, secondly, if I were to devote my lines solely to that phase of my life while in active service, every page should be deeply edged in black, because--"I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul." Such is not my purpose. I am blest by nature with the most intense optimism and this spirit has never deserted me but once; and I think under the same strain it would have taken leave of any man; and since I returned from the front I am more than ever determined that for the balance of my time on earth I shall endeavor to radiate optimism whenever and wherever I can. I think I will live the longer for so doing, and maybe those who come within the zone of my voice and my pen may also be the better for the dissemination of my love in the joy of living. Therefore, the purpose I have undertaken has been to faithfully relate my experiences, and those of my chums, from the point of view of one who looks at the brighter side of life while undergoing the most severe test of grit and endurance that ever tried mortal men. Contents CHAPTER I Answering the Call II En Route to Valcartier III Canada's War Camp IV Soldiers in the Making V Crossing the Atlantic VI Land Ahoy VII Salisbury Plain VIII Life in the English Camp IX Getting Ready to Go X Leaving for France XI Landing in France XII My Baptism of Fire XIII In the Front Line XIV Saxons and Prussians XV Training for Runner XVI By the Wayside XVII Steenvoorde XVIII Ypres XIX Battle of Ypres XX Hell Let Loose XXI Hanging On XXII Here They Come XXIII Fighting for Our Lives XXIV The Boches Balked XXV Fun and Fury XXVI Yser XXVII The Fun of It XXVIII Leaving Yser XXIX More Hell XXX The Last Fight XXXI The Aftermath XXXII In Heaven XXXIII Back to Earth XXXIV Home Epilogue Illustrations Harold Baldwin ... Frontispiece The Bull-Dog Behind the Flag The Remains of a Once Prosperous Village Instruments of War and Peace Working Side by Side Our Nest (Dugout) Is on the Right Meals Are Any Time When One Is Hungry What a First-Line Trench Looks Like German Shell Exploding Near British Battery A Monster British Gun Moving a Gun into Position A Winterly Morning Writing to the Old Folks at Home What Is Left of Ypres Cathedral There Are Leisure Hours Even in the Front Trench