It was impossible, when a boy was a member of a great army facing another great army, to remember the fallen long.
Although the long summer days passed without more fighting, there was something to do every hour.

New troops were arriving almost daily and they must be broken in.

Intrenchments were dug and abandoned for new intrenchments elsewhere, which were abandoned in their turn for intrenchments yet newer.

They moved to successive camps, but meanwhile they became physically tougher and more enduring.
The life in the open air agreed with Harry wonderfully.

He had already learned from Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St.Hilaire how to take care of himself, and he and St.Clair and Langdon suffered from none of the diseases to which young soldiers are so susceptible.
But the long delays and uncertainties preyed upon them, although they made no complaint except among themselves, and then they showed irony rather than irritation.
"Sleeping out here under the trees is good," said Langdon, "but it isn't like sleeping in the White House at Washington, which, as I told you before, I've chosen as my boarding house for the coming autumn." "There may be a delay in your plans, Tom," said Harry.