"Well, I'll let you through on condition that you come back at once if you see anything worth reporting. You're a public school man, aren't you?"
"Yes, sir. Haileybury."
"O.T.C.?"
"Yes, sir."
"Couldn't wait for a commission, I suppose? Well, remember your work on field days. I can trust you to use your intelligence."
"Thank you, sir."
"By the way, I must tell you that a field telephone has gone ahead. Look alive; the gunners are in a hurry."
They remounted and rode on, passing a screen of scouts lying over a wide front below the crest of the hill. As they were nearing the foot of the farther slope they saw the telephone wagon coming towards them. On meeting it they stopped and asked the driver what was going on.
"Nothing yet. We've laid the wire to a cottage you'll see in the distance when you get beyond those trees. There's a lieutenant and four men in charge. You'd better hurry up."
"What, are there any Germans in sight?" asked Harry.