Chicken wire on
top, covered with grass and brushwood, completed the scenic protection.
Our work was the well-known ruse of a night raid in preparation for the
attack on Vimy Ridge, and carried out for the purpose of keeping the
Germans guessing as to where the next drive would be driven.
Leaving four men and the telephonist with the guns that night, we went
to Anges, half a mile from the gun position, to our billets; this was an
old French chateau, and comfortable beyond expression. As the foes of
our anatomies had again attacked in mass formation, this time we were
annoyed to a degree. Procuring creolin, we rubbed it on our bodies pure;
it should have been adulterated. During the night the natural
perspiration of our bodies caused the vermin grease to work through
the pores, and excessive stinging and smarting was the outcome. One
fellow awoke with a grunt of impatience and then a snort of anger, as a
sense of the stinging brought him to a realization of his discomfort;
then another, and another, until the entire bunch was in a fine frenzy,
fanning our bodies and running into the night air for relief.
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