state of enthusiasm that was caused by this news. They felt that, no
matter what might happen to them on the battlefields of France, their
homes at any rate were freed from the menace of the German. To add to
their jubilation, instead of having to spend the night in the trenches
they had dug, they were marched back, for some inexplicable reason, to
their billets in the village.

Next morning they paraded as soon as it was light, and the retreat was
continued throughout the day.

There was a very marked change in the country. The open cornfields were
replaced by woods of such a dense nature that any operations would have
been impossible. Curious as it may seem, the Subaltern had in some way
been upset by the previous day's break in the usual marching routine.
The heat seemed more intense than ever; his haversack and equipment more
cumbersome. But the roads were now avenues, and the overhanging branches
provided very welcome shade.

They emerged from the woods, once more to strike out in the glaring
sunlight. Soon a hill was seen in the distance, surmounted by a quaint
and squat tower, very reminiscent of Windsor. The houses which clustered
beneath it formed the little town of Coucy-le-Chateau. They camped out
in an open field beneath the hill, and by stripping a couple of
haystacks made themselves fairly comfortable. They must have very
effectually shaken off the enemy, for the General did not think it
necessary to put out outposts.

The next morning, this time well before dawn, the retreat was continued,
apparently on Soissons. Precisely the same thing happened on this day as
on the march to La Fère. Soissons was no great distance from Coucy, only