He lay flat, his face on his hands, his legs stretched out to their full extent, and listened. Well to the left a mate whistled; something had aroused his suspicions, probably the enemy patrol. A bird rose from the grass, shrieking as if in pain, and flew away. The lights died out; the level fields looked deathlike. A starshell rose up to the sky and settled over Reynolds' head. Under its light the country seemed to become more immense, it stretched out on all sides into endless distances.... He lost consciousness for an instant. "Well, the night is very long in passing," he said in an audible voice, opening his eyes for a moment. "I am very sleepy, but if I doze off something may happen." He had a desire for something exciting to take place, something that would keep him awake. He even felt hungry, and did not particularly want to fight. Even a sleepy boy does not like fighting at two o'clock in the morning on an empty stomach when there was so much to eat near at hand.... How strange that he had not noticed it before. Probably he had been looking in the wrong direction. But there out in front in the midst of the poppies stood a house with the windows brilliantly lighted up and a girl standing at the door. From the way she laughed when he approached he knew that she was glad to see him. She made way and he entered the dining-room, where the table was spread out for dinner. The food was not laid yet, but on a table in the corner he could see a grand array of steaming dishes. "It's splendid," he said. "Not like army stuff. It's...." The girl whom he met at the door came into the room, approached the table in the corner, and brought over a plate of soup, which she placed in front of him. He looked for a spoon, but could not find one. "You've forgotten," he said to the girl. "I haven't got a spoon." "How stupid of me," she replied. "I'm awfully sorry. I was thinking of something else. But now I'll get a spoon. I always carry a spoon no matter where I go." "So do I," was Reynolds' answer. "I always carry a knife, fork and spoon in my pack. They're gone now." The girl disappeared for a moment. When she came into the boy's world again she carried a spoon in her hand. "This is for you," she laughed. "It's silver-plated with a monogram--your own monogram." As she spoke she lifted his soup and rushed off with it. "Come back with the plate," cried Reynolds, rising to his feet. "I haven't eaten yet." "Don't get excited," she called back over her shoulder, "I'll pass it along in a moment. I'll pass it along, pass it along." A strange harshness had crept into her voice, and the youth swept back into reality. The man on his right was calling to him. "Pass it along," he called out in a loud whisper. "Pass it along." "What's the message?" Reynolds asked. "The right flank reports seeing an enemy patrol," was the answer. The boy passed the message to the left but got no acknowledgment.