hospital an old umbrella. Its ribs stuck out and it was full of holes,
but it gave him the idea of royalty, and daily he sat up in bed in the
ward with the umbrella unfurled whilst he laid down the law to his
comrades. The nurses endeavoured to persuade him to hand it over at
night. He obstinately refused, insisting that "he knew his comrades,"
and he feared that one of them would certainly steal the treasure, so he
preferred to keep it in the bed with him.

At Villers-le-Sec we came upon the headquarters of the cooks for that
section of the front. The cook is one of the most important men in a
French regiment; he serves many ends. When carrying the food through the
communicating trenches to the front-line trenches, he is always supposed
to bring to the men the latest news, the latest tale which is going the
round of the camp, and anything that may happen to interest them. If he
has not got any news he must manufacture and produce some kind of story.
It is really necessary for him to be not only a cook but also an author.

There is a tale going the round of the French Army how one section of
the cooks, although unarmed, managed to take some twenty German
prisoners. As they went on their way, they saw the Germans in the
distance approaching them; the head cook quietly drew the field-kitchens
behind a clump of trees and bushes, placed his men in a row, each with a
cooking utensil in his hand, and as the Germans passed shouted to them
to surrender. The sun fell on the handles of the saucepans, causing them
to shine like bayonets, and the Germans, taken unawares, laid down
their arms. The head cook then stepped out and one by one took the
rifles from the enemy and handed them to his men. It was only when he
had disarmed the Germans and armed his comrades that he gave the signal
for them to step out, and the Germans saw that they had been taken by a
ruse. One can imagine the joy of the French troops in the next village,