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S.O.S. Stand to! by Reginald Grant
page 60 of 202 (29%)
of fire would increase; when it moved left, it decreased; each jump of
the hand five minutes meant 25 yards increase or decrease, as the case
might be. Every time the small hand moved one minute right, it meant
three yards right; two minutes, six yards, and so on; and the same if it
veered to the left. And when both hands turned at once to 12:00 o'clock
we deduced from their fire that some object was registered and when that
was done the large hand would go all the way around and the fire would
increase to a regular hurricane; if it went half way round, it would
decrease. The small hand going all the way round, the fire ceased.

We watched intently for some time, keeping our eyes glued on the
movement of the hands in conjunction with the fire, and then the matter
was phoned to headquarters. A result of their combination guns and
clockwork was the destruction of one of our pieces and two of the
French battery. Another battery observer had noticed the clockwork at
the same time that we were watching it, and the gendarmes were notified;
they made a trip to the top of the tower in double quick time, finding
there a man in a British uniform and one in French uniform; the man with
the British uniform wore a French cap and he in the French had a British
cap. They were taken and confined in the basement of a ruined building
and a guard set.

That night I was sent to the trench headquarters to do guard duty and
next day, about 11:00 o'clock in the morning, I was standing in the
doorway of the farmhouse where the pump had blown in on Scotty, and I
was accosted by two men who were walking rapidly. They asked me where a
certain Algerian Regiment was lying and I directed them, after giving
them a drink of water and a biscuit. They also asked me what those
headquarters were, and a number of other questions. However, no
suspicion of there being anything wrong entered my mind, as they spoke
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