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Grant, Reginald

"S.O.S. Stand to!"

For a front-line trench
and an attack started by the enemy, the S.O.S. signal is passed from the
trench, either through the telephonist in the trenches, or by means of
colored star shells. Immediately upon receipt of this signal by our
S.O.S. sentry or the telephonist at the battery, we get the order
"S.O.S. stand to the battery," and in the space of four seconds from
the time we receive that order, our first shell must be exploded in the
German lines under pain of the severest penalty. If a man were taking a
wash, he would have to jump out of the water and get to the guns as
quickly as God and nature would permit him.
Before retiring for our billets, Mac and I decided that we might as well
get some more honey, as we felt that the bees had done about all that
they could to us and we were deserving of a little further reward for
what we had endured, and arming ourselves with smoke helmets, we made a
further sortie on the camp of our winged enemies. As fast as if I were
ramming home a shell, I lifted off the hive while Mac pulled out a
couple of combs swarming with bees.


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