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inspect a relief meant a two-hour and forty-five minutes jaunt.  I did this once at 7 P.M. and again, with the officer of the day (O.D.) after midnight.
Most of the men were untrained in their duties and their attempts to prevaricate and evade questions were funny.  Some who spied the officers approaching would industriously head in a new direction -- especially at night was this true.  Several times the clearing of the suddenly-parched throat, the wetting of lips, eloquent armwaving to facilitate speech, gave evidence of panic under the most ordinary questioning.  One fellow cried "Halt!" at a man and, not receiving any answer, fired - and made a very neat hole through a post.  All kinds of laughable stories are rife about the doughboy on guard-[[??]] for the boys are on the job and will do their duty, but [[strikethrough]] the [[/strikethrough]] awe inspired by a cross-examination while holding a loaded gun and being made to realize the responsibility of his sentry work ties the tongue under circumstances when the spirit is not carefree.  One story from a nearby field is to the effect that an officer returning to a post late at night was accosted by a "Halt!" which was strangely repeated after a short interval.  The