"Yes, sir," said he.
We ran round the next traverse, and had to scramble over a heap of débris caused by a shell a few moments before.
"Look out, sir! There are some dead men here, and the parapet has practically disappeared. Get down on your stomach and crawl along."
Phut-bang! The shells crashed on the parapet with the rapidity of machine-gun fire.
I went down, and crawled along over the dead bodies of some of our lads killed only a few minutes before. It couldn't be helped. Purgatory, in all its hideous shapes and forms, could not possibly be worse than this journey. It seemed years getting through that hellish fire.
"How much more?" I yelled out.
"We are quite near now, sir; about twenty yards."
"Rush for it, then—rush."
I did, and my guide pulled up quickly at the entrance of what seemed like a mine.
"Incline in here, sir," he said, and disappeared. I followed. Never in all my experience had I welcomed cover as I did at that moment.