Page:History of the 305th field artillery (IA historyof305thfi01camp).pdf/236

208 shell fragments. They seemed to follow us wherever we went. They disturbed our consultations, and they hur. ried our walks, Even so it was nearly six o'clock before we got through and took the road home, dodging along the line of funk boles to Chery Chartreuve.

We noliced, as we walked, hot, dusty, and tired, through the town, a Y. M. C. A. canteen in a half ruined building. That place was to impress us less pleasantly later on, but now we greeted it with joy. Chalked across the door by some German was the legend:

"Hier wasser."

A big, cool looking pump stood inside, and the next room held a counter with chocolate, cakes, cigars, and cigarettes. We wandered on, refreshed, to Chartreuve Farm where our horses waited for us.

Regimental headquarters, we learned, would not remain there. There was a farm house a mile or so farther back-considerably safer to all appearances named La Tuillerie, Nesles Woods impressed us as exceedingly peaceful and remote from danger when we trotted in just before dusk. We smiled. Clearly the lesson of the previous night had not been wasted on those who had stayed in the woods that day, Let the Hun airmen come! The floor of the forest was fairly honey-combed with elaborate funk holes. Some were even covered with sheets of elephant iron. The 305th learned early the wisdom of taking every precaution possible, and undoubtedly, it is due to that habit that our casualty list is no greater.

We faced that night the Les Près Farm facts. We had to go there, and it was clear that, because of the amount of artillery already in and the nature of the terrain, there were no really good positions to be had. Those on the slope above the farm, however, probably could be improved on, and it was decided not to use more than two