One of the lads had lost his nerve and was lying under a wooden bench.

I tried to cheer them by telling them it was very unlikely that any more shells would come in our direction.

I remembered reading in one of Marryatt's books that an officer in the Navy declared he had saved his life by always sticking his head into the hole in the ship which a cannon ball had made, as it was a million chances to one against another cannon ball striking that particular place.

Still, at regular intervals, we heard the ripping sound and the huge explosion of a shell.

Later on, two members of the 14th Battalion came in, and a woman and a little boy carrying milk.