"And there are many wounded."

I made no answer. Oh! it was horrible! Two poor fellows so full of
life and spirits not an hour ago! In spite of myself I could not help
thinking for a few minutes of the two shattered, quivering bodies
lying among the grasses of the forest. But I thrust away the gruesome
vision resolutely. We could only think of doing our duty at this
supreme moment. Later we would remember the dead, weep for them, and
pray for them.

The darkness was no longer so dense. The tangle of trees in front of
us was less thick, the branches seemed to be opening out, we were near
the edge of the wood. And at the same time, in spite of the mad
beating of my heart and the buzzing in my ears, I was conscious that
the cannonade had ceased, at least in our direction, and that the
bullets were no longer coming so thickly. The German attack was
probably relaxing; there was to be a respite. So much the better! It
would enable us to pass from the wood to the trenches without much
danger, thanks to the darkness.

We had arrived! One by one our men slipped into the communication
trench. What a sense of well-being and of rest we all had! The little
passage in the earth, so uninviting as a rule, seemed to us as
desirable as the most sumptuous palace. We drew breath at last. We
felt almost safe. But still, there was no time to be lost.

While the Major hurried off to take the Colonel's orders I climbed up
on the parapet. Night had now fallen completely, but the moon was
rising. Indeed, it would have been almost as light as day but for a
slight mist which was spreading a diaphanous veil before our eyes. In