At last, about 6 P. M., we came to the head of the valley. There we spied the Colonel and his car, on a road up on the top of the hill. We climbed up to the road, pushing a stalled rolling kitchen ahead of us. We were urged to “Step out,” and showed our military discipline and Christian forbearance by not saying what we thought of this request. We got on a good road that led over the hill and up toward the front. Along this we hiked a little way, then turned off to the left, and up a lumber road that led straight up the hill into the woods. It was nearly dark; the road was so steep that I could never understand how six inches of liquid mud stayed on it. The climb up this road soon put our feet into their usual muddy and wet condition. We turned off into the woods, the Bois de Hoquemont, and were told that we would bivouac here for the night. Our kitchens pulled up along the main road shortly, and the cooks, tired as they were, got to work at once. The rations consisted mostly of dehydrated vegetables. They say they are good if you can soak them for twenty-four hours. A stew and coffee were soon under way. I toiled back up the hill and found a message to report at once to the regt’l commander. On a hunch, I had Schuyler get a detail out and bring up the chow right away. Sure enough, at the officers’ meeting we were ordered to make combat packs and be ready to move again in twenty minutes. We got our coffee and slum, though; and the half cooked stuff tasted pretty good at that. Then we again donned our equipment, and plashed down the sloppy road on weary feet. The night was very dark, and the road, as usual, jammed with transport, our kitchens among others. As we threaded our way through, we got mixed up somehow with a company of Marines going in the same direction. Finally the jam thinned out, and we turned off on another road, though we had to sort out B company and the Marines almost man by man. And so we plodded on. It is remarkable how much a man can do after he thinks he is all in. We picked ’em up and put ’em down for three hours. At last we drew near some woods. Our orders were to proceed to Bois d’Euvezin and bivouac, and show no lights. Well, we couldn’t see a map, and didn’t know where we were on one anyhow, so this wood looked pretty good. At any rate, we turned off the road and headed for it. Easy enough for a staff officer to look at a map and say, “Bivouac in these woods.” Unfortunately, there was a 30 foot belt of wire fringing this particular one. Orders are orders, though, so we scrambled through somehow, and pushed in far enough to hide from any further marching orders that night. Then we flopped down, any place at all, and dropped off. It seemed but a couple of minutes before the sun came prying through the leaves and under my eyelids. I rolled over, and saw Lt. Col. Budd, sitting up with his back against a tree, wrapped in his trench coat--no better off than we were. Right away my morale went up.