Carrying it into the first-line trenches with them, they have constructed a niche for the Virgin in the sandbags.
With her open arms and sad air she seems to say to them:
"Our Lady of the Sandbags, pray for us; A simple figure in the niche am I, Pitying my children constantly; Die or win the war they must!"
Some yards farther is found, a little back of the first line, a large projectile, about three feet in length, fortunately unexploded, of the kind the boches have been generously distributing among us with their "minnenwerfer" for some time. A notice of warning says:
The sand creeps into everything; that is why the _poilus_, for the entire length of the first-line trench, have placed cigar-boxes in which to keep their cartridges.
On each one is written: "Alms for the boches!"
My concièrge brought me the following letter this morning:
"My Dear Capart: A sad thing has happened since your departure. Our poor Kuhn was killed two days ago. This is what occurred:
"You know that the enemy and ourselves have been carrying on mining warfare; so three days ago the Brigade decided to execute a 'coup de main' and destroy the work of the boches.
"The 'coup de main' was carried out by volunteers from the 4th Zouaves, who acted as a covering party for the sappers charged with the operation. Kuhn asked to lead the volunteers who came forward.
"Everything passed very well at the beginning, the artillery preparation was perfect and at the given hour they went at it lively. The sappers captured in the mine twenty-two Germans, all very young, and an officer. They passed them rapidly back and it was at this moment enemy reaction was felt. Kuhn remained the last--the mine blew up--we saw him totter and fall on the parapet of the boche trench, among the partially cut barbed wire. Whether he was killed by the explosion of the mine or a German bullet no one knows--we were forced back and it was very late.
"That night there was general consternation: his men cried. A little sapper went out all by himself to recover the body. He could not endure to see the body of his lieutenant remain in the hands of the enemy.
"Three times he tried to reach Kuhn's corpse in spite of incessant enemy fire which remained on the _qui-vive_.