"Perhaps," Armande admitted with a shrug. "At any rate I shall now crawl over and have a look at the German trenches while it is yet dark. I shall be back before long."
"I hope so," muttered Dubois soberly.
Armande crept out of the trench and disappeared into the night. It is one of the remarkable things about war that men soon seem to lose all fear of death. The noise of the big guns and the shell fire terrifies them at first, but they rapidly become accustomed to it and it makes but small impression on them. Life in the trenches becomes very dull and the men do all kinds of foolhardy things just to experience a thrill. They laugh at death and even play with it.
Such a man was Armande and though Dubois had tried to prevent his leaving the trench, the fact that he insisted upon going did not make much impression upon him. Many others had done things equally foolish.
"He may get back," remarked Leon.
"Oh, yes," said Dubois lightly. "The night is dark and he may not be seen."
"How far is it to the German trenches from here?" asked Earl.
"A hundred yards I guess," said Dubois. "I'm not quite sure though."
"About that," said Leon. "What's he going to do?"
"He said he was going to go over and take a look at the German trenches," said Earl. "I suppose that's where he's gone."