78 Pages - The Black Vault

their waving or signaling to the enemy. The existenceof this ravine, therefore, saved much digging, as itonly required some hollowing out at the bottom anda little excavation to suit admirably,All dug with a will, and by night the shelters for thewomen and children, men prisoners, and the firingtrench, were nearly done. All arrangements for tt~eguards and sentries were the same as those describedin the last dream, and after seeing everythingwas all correct and the ladies provided withtents to crawl under (they had their own blankets),I went to sleep with a feeling of well-earned security,At daybreak next morning, as there were r]o signsof any enemy, we continued to improve our trench,altering the depth and alignment where necessary,each man suiting the size of the trench to t~is ownlegs. In the end the trench looked quite neal--’’almostas nice as mother makes it’’—with the fresh redearth contrasting with the yellow of the velcl. As oneof my reservists remarked, it only wanted an edgingof oyster shells or gingerbeer bottles to be like hislittle broccoli patch at home. Upon these importantdetails and breakfasta good two hours had beenspent, when a force was reported to the north in thesame position as described in the previous dream.It advanced in the same manner, except, of course,the advanced men were met by no one at the farm.When I saw this, I could not help patting myself onthe back and smiling at the Dutch ladies in the pit,who only scowled at me in return, and (whisper) spat!The advanced party of the enemy came on, scoutingcarefully and stalking the farm as they came. Asthey appeared quite unwarned, I was wondering ifI should be able to surprise them, all innocent of our39