And so, while I was
fulfilling my duty, I had the double satisfaction of having combined
with it the pleasure of association with a fellow whose tastes and
ideals were absolutely akin to my own. There was no confidence we did
not share; we laid bare our hearts to each other; in short, we were
chums in every sense that the word implies.
Billy was ready for breakfast a second or two ahead of me, and he
started up the steps, out through the door of the dugout. "I'm coming,"
I called, and grabbed my mess-tin and went up the steps two at a time.
I reached the top and the door of the dugout, and, simultaneously, a
roar and rush of air struck me, and I was thrown to the floor, stunned
for the moment. My senses quickly recovered themselves, and I found my
face and clothes dripping with blood. I commenced looking for my wound,
but failed to find any. The discovery momentarily mystified me. It was
blood, but whose? There was no report or explosion. A dead shell! A
terrible fear took possession of me, and I shot up the steps into the
trench.
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