As he nodded in agreement, I ventured on to more ticklish ground. With all sorts of precautions, and wordy extenuations, I let him see how necessary it was, in the present circumstances, not to let the men's morale be shaken. It was for us in particular, who mixed with the troops to preach it to them, and to practise what we preached. There were so many shining reasons to hope. Complaints were so harmful. It was a dangerous subject, I repeat. Humel was already chafing under my remarks and beginning to protest--(Where is the man who will submit to being taught his business?)--I went off at a tangent, just in time, and roundly abused Playoust and Descroix--Humel I affected to accept, to consider that as far as he was able to, he tried to react against a troublesome state of mind; I considered him the only N.C.O. who counted in No. 1 platoon, as De Valpic was too ill but I hoped that he would redouble his efforts! The most transparent ruses were successful. Humel gave up rebelling. I do not know whether he flattered himself that he was like the portrait I drew of him, but he nodded approvingly. When you catch people doing wrong they are so grateful to you when you do not humiliate them. We shook hands heartily when we separated. I kept his youthful fist in mine for a minute: "_Au revoir_, my lad!" "See you to-morrow!" One more on our side, perhaps! I went to lie down on our dung-heap. My companions were already asleep. I looked affectionately at Bouillon and Guillaumin for a moment--then I scribbled a few lines to Jeannine, and lay down at peace with myself. _BOOK VIII_ _September 2nd-7th_ CHAPTER X NEWS AT LAST! The next day reinforcements arrived from our depôt. There were forty men for the company, one of whom was an N.C.O. called Langlois--seven men for the section. The poor wretches were very much depressed. They had been detrained at Bar-le-Duc, and sent off to find us, in charge of a subaltern. They had been wandering about for three days, with little or no food. They were worn out when they joined us. Their feet were bleeding, and in their eyes was the reflection of horrible visions. Oh, those fields of corpses! And the smell! Several of them were sick once more at the mere recollection of it. Or again, in other places--those bodies buried in haste--the arms and feet sticking out of the ground! And then, on the second evening they had suddenly found themselves in the firing line. Bullets whizzed past their ears--Zzp, Zzp--and shells surrounded them. Several of their men had already been killed.