He sincerely hoped that he too had reached a covert and that they should meet again.
No rumbling came from the bridge below, and, glancing down the stream, John saw that it was empty.

There must be many other bridges over the Marne, but he believed that the German armies had now crossed it, and would devote their energy to a new attack.

He was squarely between the lines and he did not see any chance to escape until darkness.
He looked up and saw a bright sun and blue skies.

Night was distant, and so far as he was concerned it might be a year away.

If two armies were firing shells directly at a man they must hit him in an hour or two, and if not, a polar stream such as the Marne had now become would certainly freeze him to death.