It seemed strange that the ruined houses, the belt of poplars, the damaged farm, and the wood with the white chateau were still standing there so peacefully after the bombardment of the previous night.  The frogs, charming creatures, were still croaking merrily.

When we had unloaded the trucks we sat down in the grass and awaited the return of the engine.

The trees were dim in the warm haze.  I gazed at the white chateau.  It fascinated me, for some inexplicable reason, and I felt an impulse to go and explore it.  I was seized by a mood such as I had rarely felt since childhood, when almost every lonely and desolate building filled me with a sense of awe and mystery, as though it were the home of ghosts or fairies or witches.  I was conscious of the absurdity of the emotion, but I surrendered to it and even enjoyed its strangeness.

There was no sound of firing.

I obeyed the impulse and strolled down the little winding lane.  It led through a gap in the green hedge that surrounded the wood.  Knowing that the enchantment of the chateau would vanish as soon as I entered it, I dawdled on the way so as to prolong my pleasure.  Suddenly the bushes in front of me caught fire and a bright sheet of flame shot upward and almost simultaneously there was a sharp report.  I was so thrilled by the mysterious attraction of the chateau that I barely noticed the event.  As I passed a small ruined cottage, which I had not observed before, for it was hidden amongst the trees, there was a short whizz on a high note, and then a loud crash.  Smoke issued from the windows and the riddled roof, and bits of wood and debris hurtled through the air.  Then there was a loud wailing noise followed by a terrific detonation.  The chateau was blotted from view by a dense mass of black smoke that rose out of the ground in front of me.  The spell was broken.  I hesitated whether to go on or not, when I became aware of a voice behind me.  I looked round and saw one of our Corporals shouting and gesticulating.  I turned back and rejoined the others, though not before I had been called a “bloody fool” and threatened with arrest for walking off without permission.

Suddenly the loud, rustling wail was repeated and a portion of the wood was enveloped in a dark cloud.  There was a deafening thunder-clap and jagged shell fragments sailed over our heads or dropped in our midst.

Then shell followed shell in rapid succession, all bursting in the wood.  A piece of metal whizzed past the ear of a man standing a few yards away.  He became unnerved, dashed towards one of the trucks and cowered down by the wheels, trembling in every muscle.

None of the others showed any sign of fear except anxious looks.  We had been in no danger at all during the previous night’s bombardment, but many of the men had been terrified.  Now, when they were in considerable danger, they felt nothing more than anxiety, simply because there was no awe-inspiring display of flame and thunder.