'WE WERE PALS.'

A man came to the D.B.O. just after a certain engagement in connexion
with which the Australians did splendid work. They secured a great
victory. They got to their objectives on time and took quite a large
number of prisoners. Every victory has its price, and it was
concerning part of the price of victory that the young man had made
the visit. He told of his pal, a D.C.M. man, who had been killed,
whose body was lying out on the ridge. He wished to know whether
arrangements could be made for the body to be brought down to a back
area cemetery for burial. Whenever practicable such is done. The
D.B.O. made inquiries, and learned that no transport was available.
The roads were in a frightful condition, and in view of the incessant
enemy shelling of the area, decided that the body would have to be
buried in the vicinity of where it had fallen. Arrangements were made
for the man to return on the morrow for the purpose of acting as guide
to the Padre who would conduct the service. Next day, he came to the
Burials Officer. Surprise was evinced at the change in his appearance.
His uniform was covered with mud and wet through, and he seemed to be
quite exhausted. 'I have come about the burial, sir,' he said. 'Could
it be fixed up for this afternoon, I have brought the body down?' Upon
making inquiries as to how he had managed it, he replied that he and
another had asked permission to go out and bring the body in. It
meant a carry over broken ground of about five miles, under heavy
shell fire most of the distance; but these faithful comrades gladly
endured the hardship and braved the dangers to ensure the burial of
their deceased mate in a cemetery which is one of the few that has not
been disturbed by the bursting shell. Thinking that the deceased was a