"Hullo!--our fellows have reached the houses." Looking through my glasses, I saw some of our men in the gardens of the houses, and as there was no fighting going on the Germans had evidently withdrawn. Goyle decided that we would push on, and told Evans and me to join up by the houses with two platoons which had gone round by the flank. We were to search the houses thoroughly, and take up a line on the other side of them. On our way forward we came on the results of some work we had heard going on during the night. Just before we reached the houses we found three men from the Westshires in a ditch. One was dead, the others too badly hit to crawl. It appears they had been sent out on patrol the night before, and, coming on the German lines, had got shot down. As I had been out on patrol myself on the other side of the road the same night, I reflected that my patrol had been lucky to escape the same fate. The two wounded men had been lying there for some time, and were very glad to be found. The worst side of patrol work is the risk of not being found or it not being possible to bring wounded men in. We sent the two wounded men back to the ambulance, and asked for a party to be sent up to bury the other. I took the dead man's rifle myself. It was very bloody and nasty, but I felt it would be a good companion, as apart from a rifle and bayonet being twice as useful as a revolver and sword (no one carries the latter), a rifle is also a very good disguise for an officer. If he is holding his rifle, as the men always do, at the trail in an advance, he is indistinguishable to the enemy. Especially was this the case at one time, when the enemy had got used to looking out for a gentleman with a revolver in one hand, a walking-stick in the other, and a pair of field-glasses slung round his neck, advancing slightly ahead of the line of men, and waving instructions to them with the stick. Nowadays the wise officer keeps well in a line with his men, and gives as few indications by hand signals to halt or advance, etc., as possible.