The adjutant had advanced to meet the news and he came back on the run.
“It’s come this time. They are distributing the playthings to clear the trenches and they’re going to give out an additional cup of brandy.”
“Do you believe it will be before to-morrow morning?”
“Do I believe it. It’s sure, by God! Perhaps you want them to wait until next winter!”
“No, but you know. There have been so many orders and counter-orders that one can never be sure. It ought to rain.”
“Do you think it will rain?”
“Good God! I wish it would. The sooner we finish the performance, the sooner we’ll get to bed.”
The colonel’s orderly arrives with the orders:
“The Casanova company of machine guns will support the second battalion and will take the designated objective (Hill 707) directly after the third wave.”