They began again to creep forward, now flat upon their stomachs, and only raising themselves from the ground a little way, but at infrequent intervals, in order to make sure of their position and that they were not being watched.
"Listen!" hissed Frank Hoskins, who was a little to the left of where the others were snaking their way along.
They all stopped moving, almost stopped breathing.
"What was it?" Lieutenant Mackinson barely breathed, after several minutes of silence.
Hoskins crawled nearer before he spoke.
"How near are we, Lieutenant?" he asked:
"I should say about a hundred yards."
"Look straight ahead of us when the next rocket goes up," Hoskins suggested.
They had not long to wait for one of the great sky torches to come sailing over the side of the German trench, but from a considerable distance ahead of them.
"Did you notice anything?" Hoskins asked.