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[Page 52]
out for a stroll. I wish he had thought of it earlier, for then I would in time have seen that the clouds had blown off and a glorious late afternoon such as I'd been longing for, for a week, was in full swing. In the earlier afternoon, riding cross-country to H.Q. the view from the uplands, plus the horse's back, was fine enough. In some places, showers dropping from mother of pearl spheres, wind-driven across the woody valleys and sprinkled the parquetted arena of the vast amphitheatre; in other places, sun-searchlights turned the dark tapestry into pale Japanese gold-leaf; while above, were a series of blue sky gaps, graded, in their ascent, from turquoise green at the horizon to butterfly blue at the zenith. Pale opal clouds; black opal clouds; lilac clouds; silver clouds;, gold clouds: pale green crops; ivory crops; tan crops; sage green crops; old grey and dun walled houses, with faded red tiles, some of the roofs wet and reflecting the sky and appearing like blue enamel; pools mimicking them and framed in golden clay. All the slopes dotted with horse, transport and motor lines and dug-outs. Our boys stripped to the waist, brown as gipsies and muscled like athletes, busy at their various jobs or playing football; improving their dug-outs; mending; repairing; grooming; gambling; scrapping or yarning in groups. But in the evening, all the clouds, but a few to decorate the sky, were blown away. The air was lens clear and every local-colour patch at full chromatic value. High in the air, like amber pendants lying on Chinese blue silk, the stupid-looking, ram-faced balloons hung dead still, looking over the Hun lines.
Soon the guns, cunningly placed in well-chosen places, began to flash and we lay in the shade of a side of the wood and watched the effect. Then out came our raiding 'planes, in wild swan formation - scores of them. As fast as they emerged the Hun barrage developed, until the middle of the valley was one wavy line of little, smoke smudge-clouds; Shrapnel. We stayed until the balloons were hauled down. At that time the view had turned to all the different varieties of copper colour one can think off with two pink peony clouds resting in the eastern sky: a new coined, almost full, silver moon rose out of them and we got back. Jerry came over in