A struggling dawn breaks, bringing with it promise of rain, and the regiment begins to marshal in the trench called Fountain Alley, along which it is to wind, snake-like, in the wake of the preceding troops, until it debouches over the parapet, a full mile away, and extends into line.

Presently the order is given to move off, and the snake begins to writhe.  Progress is steady, but not exhilarating.  We have several battalions of the Division in front of us (which Bobby Little resents as a personal affront), but have been assured that we shall see all the fighting we want.  The situation appears to be that owing to the terrific artillery bombardment the attacking force will meet with little or no opposition in the German front-line trenches; or second line, for that matter.

“The whole Division,” explains Captain Wagstaffe to Bobby Little, “should be able to get up into some sort of formation about the Bosche third line before any real fighting begins; so it does not very much matter whether we start first or fiftieth in the procession.”

Captain Wagstaffe showed himself an accurate prophet.

We move on.  At one point we pass through a howitzer battery, where dishevelled gentlemen give us a friendly wave of the hand.  Others, not professionally engaged for the moment, sit unconcernedly in the ditch with their backs to the proceedings, frying bacon.  This is their busy hour.

Presently the pace grows even slower, and finally we stop altogether.  Another battalion has cut in ahead of us, and we must perforce wait, snapping our fingers with impatience, like theatre-goers in a Piccadilly block, whose taxis have been held up by the traffic debouching from Berkeley Street.

“Luckily the curtain doesn’t rise till five-fifty,” observes Captain Wagstaffe.

We move on again at last, and find ourselves in Central Boyau, getting near the heart of things.  Suddenly we are conscious of an overpowering sense of relief.  Our guns have ceased firing.  For the first time for three days and nights there is peace.

Captain Wagstaffe looks at his watch.

“That means that our first line are going over the parapet,” he says.  “Punctual, too!  The gunners have stopped to put up their sights and lengthen their fuses.  We ought to be fairly in it in half an hour.”

But this proves to be an under-estimate.  There are mysterious and maddening stoppages—­maddening, because in communication-trench stoppages it is quite impossible to find out what is the matter.  Furious messages begin to arrive from the rear.  The original form of inquiry was probably something like this:  “Major Kemp would like to know the cause of the delay.”  As transmitted sonorously from mouth to mouth by the rank and file it finally arrives (if it ever arrives at all) in some such words as:  “Pass doon; what for is this (asterisk, obelus) wait?” But as no answer is ever passed back it does not much matter.