We have been waiting for the best part of two days and nights
listening to the thunder of the big guns, but as yet we have received
no invitation to "butt in."
"Plenty of time yet," explains Captain Blaikie to his subalterns, in
reply to Bobby Little's expressions of impatience. "It's this way. We
start by 'isolating' a section of the enemy's line, and pound it with
artillery for about forty-eight hours. Then the guns knock off, and
the people in front rush the German first-line trenches. After that
they push on to their second and third lines; and if they can capture
and _hold them_--well, that's where the fun comes in. We go for all we
are worth through the gaps the others have made, and carry on the big
push, and keep the Bosches on the run until they drop in their tracks!
That's the situation. If we are called up to-night or to-morrow, it
will mean that things are going well. If not, it means that the attack
has failed--or, very likely, has succeeded, but it has been found
impossible to secure the position--and a lot of good chaps have been
scuppered, all for nothing."