"Has Fritz been sending you these souvenirs very often?" I enquired.
The doctor rose, and mopping his forehead, grinned and replied: "Yes; the blighter won't let us alone. Why doesn't he play cricket? He must know this is Red Cross. That sign there," pointing to a large Red Cross lying on the ground, "is large enough to be seen by the men in Mars. Only this morning he put one bang through the roof of our dug-out, rewounding a lot of our chaps lying there. By the way, are you leaving your car there?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Well, you had better say good-bye to it; several of our ambulances have been strafed there."
"Well," I said, "can't be helped; it must take its chance. I'm going to take a few scenes of you at work. Where did these Bosches come from?"
"This morning, from Guillemont; our boys had a bit of a stunt on and landed a few of the beggars."
I filmed various incidents showing the treatment of wounded prisoners. They received the same careful attention as our own men; whatever they asked for they had. Several padres were kneeling down beside our boys, taking down messages to be sent to their relatives.
Stretcher after stretcher with its human freight of Briton and Hun was deposited on the ground. Immediately doctors and orderlies were upon their knees tending to their wants with a gentleness that was wonderful. While I was there several shells fell and exploded only a short distance away.
I left the dressing station and paused upon a mound near a tree stump, the top of which had been carefully split off by shell-fire. I stood looking in the direction of Trones. The Bosches were "strafing" it pretty thoroughly. Away across at Montaubon village the same thing was happening. They were fairly watering the place with H.E. and shrapnel. Our guns were rattling out as well, and I am glad to say that it sounded to me as though ours were at least ten to their one.
Well, the scenes had to be obtained. I admit the job looked anything but pleasant. "Well, here goes!" I said, and putting on a cigarette, I trudged off with my apparatus across the open, making a bee-line midway between Montaubon and Bernafay Wood. I gave both places a wide berth, thereby steering clear of possible Bosche shells. How hot it was. Perspiration was literally pouring from me. I kept on over the ground captured from the Germans. The smell in places was almost unbearable. I puffed away at my cigarette, thereby reducing the stench to a minimum.