"Nice thing ter do. The old man'll go ravin' mad."

"It was a ravin' mad thing to put the poor feller in charge . . . "

"Don't criticise yer officers," said some wit, quoting the Army
Regulations.

The adjutant and a string of squads turned out, and we went back again
to the spot where we had left the young officer the evening before.

The cook and an orderly man remained, and we heard from them the
details of the mystery.

Early that morning they had formed up, and gone off under Lieutenant
S--- along the mule track overlooking the Gulf of Saros. That was
all. There was still hope, of course . . . but there wasn't a sign of
them to be seen. The machine-gun section had seen them pass right
along. Some officers had warned them not to go up, but they went and
they never came back.

There were rumours that one of the N.C.O.'s of the party, a sergeant,
had been seen lying on some rocks.

"Just riddled with bullets--riddled!"

The hours dragged on. I begged of the adjutant to let me go off along
the ridge on my own to see if I could find any trace.

"It's too dangerous," he said. "If I thought there was half a chance
I'd go with you, but we don't want to lose any more."