“ What’s left of it, sir,” said Kentucky. “Mighty near blotted out, though.”
“ Open fire,” said the officer. “Straight to your front. You’ll see ’em in a minute. I must try’n find the others.”
But evidently the word of warning had reached the others, for a sharp crackle of rifle fire broke out along to the right, came rattling down towards them in uneven and spasmodic bursts. The men in the shell-hole lined its edge and opened fire, while the officer trotted on. A dozen paces away he crumpled and fell suddenly, and lay still. In the shell-hole they were too busy to notice his fall, but from somewhere further back, out of the smoke-oozing, broken ground, a couple of figures emerged at the double, halted by the limp figure, lifted and carried it back.
“ There’s still some of us left
