In the meantime, Lieutenant Lord Congleton, finding how weak the right of the line was, had moved his platoon to the right of the Sussex. He had lost a number of men, but at the same time had managed to collect several Irish Guardsmen. They had no rifles or ammunition, but he placed them at intervals among the men of his platoon, and went and collected rifles for them himself from the casualties. Then he went round a second time with an orderly and collected ammunition. By this means he was able to hold the gap all through that night, and next day was specially mentioned by Lieut.-Colonel Smith, who wrote that the intelligent way in which he handled his platoon on his own initiative was beyond all praise. Much help towards keeping the right of the line intact was also given by Colonel Davies, commanding the Oxfordshire Light Infantry, who throughout the afternoon kept sending up any men he happened to have in reserve. When darkness fell Lord Cavan gave Lieut.-Colonel Smith these directions: Can you establish a line between the Brown Road and your original line so as to keep touch for certain with battalions on your left? I want to make sure that my line for the night is in touch all along. I have ordered two battalions to establish the line of the Brown Road up to south-west edge, where I hope to establish touch with the French. I have told General Kavanagh he can withdraw his Cavalry Brigade directly the whole of the Brown Road is established. The new line was arranged about midnight, and at 1 A.M. the men began to dig, although they were dead tired. The trenches were completed by 4 A.M.--a fine performance on a pitch-dark night, with the additional handicap of the trees. [Sidenote: Nov. 7-9.] For three days the battalions remained in their trenches at Klein Zillebeke without any direct attack being made. Shelling went on all day with monotonous regularity, but on the whole little damage was done, though the German howitzers made spasmodic efforts to demolish the trenches, and occasionally managed to blow in a bit of trench and bury some men. The nights were comparatively quiet except for some sniping, and though the mornings were generally foggy, anything in the way of dirty weather was welcomed by the men, as it made artillery observation impossible. [Sidenote: Nov. 10.] The shelling increased enormously on the 10th, and owing to the right having been thrown back, that part of the trenches was open to enfilade fire from the German guns. By this time their artillery had the range of our trenches pretty accurately, and obtained a large number of direct hits. Further, the wood, always a trouble, became more and more difficult to hold: trees cut down by the shells fell crashing to the ground, and made communication impossible. About mid-day the bombardment became terrific, and it seemed as if it would be impossible for any one to live under the storm of shells.