beyond the ridge. Being under hostile observation, we all feel that we may be fired on ay any moment, so have split up in small groups. We were told that we were only going in reserve, but now orders are that we take over the front line & go "over the top". I feel a little downhearted because one never knows how lucky he will be when in the thick of another battle. I have been picked to take the first gun in action. A letter just came from my mother. I wonder how she would feel if she knew I was preparing to go into battle - to kill & perhaps be killed. Later. - We advanced night after dark. As we stood on the edge of of the woods forming our ranks, the Germans put a box barrage over on us & killed about 15 of our boys. The colonels horse was also killed. A German spy in a nearby town signaled our positions to his artillery. The Australians captured the spy, also his orderly, & shot both. I am under cover in an old filthy horse stable, just a few yards behind the front line. The air is full of gas & many dead men, women & children lay around here. An old man is dying just a few feet from me. About midnight I was awakened, or rather startled by rifle fire just outside of my barn. Drum was with me & we both jumped to our feet thinking that Fritz had come over. It was strange to stand in the dark, facing the door, ready to shoot down the first man who entered, but lucky for us the firing was merely to