* * * * *

Then we are off, bound for Albert, though first of all for the
Headquarters of the particular Army which has this region in charge. The
weather, alack! is still thick. It is under cover of such an atmosphere
that the Germans have been stealing away, removing guns and stores
wherever possible, and leaving rear-guards to delay our advance. But
when the rear-guards amount to some 100,000 men, resistance is still
formidable, not to be handled with anything but extreme prudence by
those who have such vast interests in charge as the Generals of
the Allies.

Our way takes us first through a small forest, where systematic felling
and cutting are going on under British forestry experts. The work is
being done by German prisoners, and we catch a glimpse through the trees
of their camp of huts in a barbed-wire enclosure. Their guards sleep
under canvas! ... And now we are in the main street of a large
picturesque village, approaching a château. A motor lorry comes towards
us, driven at a smart pace, and filled with grey-green uniforms.
Prisoners!--this time fresh from the field. We have already heard
rumours on our way of successful fighting to the south.

The famous Army Commander himself, who had sent us a kind invitation to
lunch with him, is unexpectedly engaged in conference with a group of
French generals; but there is a welcome suggestion that on our way back
from the Somme he will be free and able to see me. Meanwhile we go off
to luncheon and much talk with some members of the Staff in a house on
the village street. Everywhere I notice the same cheerful, one might
even say radiant, confidence. No boasting in words, but a conviction