A few days before the big show I was sent out on a scouting party of twelve, with Lieutenant Fife in charge. We succeeded in getting over to the German wire, and I don't know whether the Germans got wise to our coming, through the sneezing of one of the party, or whether the clipping of the wire was heard. But we were greeted with, first a rifle shot from a sniper, then a bomb; then a dozen, but only two of the boys were killed. We moved further up the line and a little closer to "Fritzie's" line. There we remained quiet for a few seconds. I, being near Lieutenant Fife, was asked by him to follow, which I did. He went up to a part of the Hun's line that was built of old sand bags, where we could look right up the German line, as the star-shell burst and lit up the place. [Illustration: MEMORIAL DESIGN IN HONOR OF LT. COL. FARQUAHAR, P.P.C.L.I.] As everything was quiet, the boys were anxious to start something, so a few bombs were hurled in, but in return we had the same amount, and had to return to our own lines minus two of the boys. It was on a working party that some fun occurred, as it always does in the trenches. We were moving from the road, to proceed up the "China wall," in the Ypres salient, which led to the trenches, running through the shattered village of Hooge, when the sergeant-major said to me: "Aylen, special duty, step out." I thought, "I wonder what is coming now." After he had the number of men he wanted, and all the other boys were up the line, he called me and pointing to twelve large thermos soup tanks, said: "See those, Aylen?" I said, "Yes, sir." "Well," he said, "take them up the line." I looked at him and then at the tanks and said: "Shall I take them all up at once, or one at a time?" He gave me one look and said, "Don't get funny, this is a soft job for you." I said, "But I can't carry those up." He said, "You must." Now the soup tanks were about four feet high and about a foot in diameter. I said again, "Sir, I can't carry that up." He, a little angry, said, "You must." I said, "I can't carry it--it is bigger than I am." Then he said, "Well, a man is to help you."