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Captain Woodward. He was expecting momentarily to be promoted and to move up to a higher commands. That would leave Murphy the senior officer in Battery C and Woodward's prospective successor in command. Everything considered, my prospects for happiness with Battery C did [[strikethrough]] n [[/strikethrough]] not seem bright.

The billet assigned to me at [[strikethrough]] Marley [[/strikethrough]] ^[[Morley]] was the guest room of an elderly peasant couple. It was never heated, but the old people kept a small fire going in their living-room fireplace until bedtime. They invited me to sit with them whenever I wished. There was always an appetizing smell from their pot-au-feu. My room had a featherbed which I was allowed to use. Having had no sleep the night before my arrival, and having been chilled for most of the preceding 24 hours, I was especially grateful for that featherbed the first night. It reminded me of one I had slept on as a child when visiting my Elliott grandparents. That January was rather cold in Lorraine. My bed was the one place where I could count on a few hours of warmth.

Two or three days went by at [[strikethrough]] Marley [[/strikethrough]] ^[[Morley]]. Then I got a telephoned order to bring two supply wagons to join the battery on maneuvers. The journey was to a village called Houdelaincourt, 15 or 20 miles away. I rode horseback, and half a dozen men went in the wagons. It was, you might say, my first command of troops in the field. We were passing through friendly territory on a cold but sunny day, and I enjoyed it. At Houdelaincourt I met Captain Woodward, and saw Sands again. Sands gave an order to all the new officers from Saumur, in his battalion, to join him [[strikethrough]] fro [[/strikethrough]] ^[[for]] a ride next morning over the area where war games were going on.

I was the only one of the new officers who had known Sands before. I could guess why he had planned the next day's excursion. He wanted to see how well his new officers could ride. He also wanted to give them a personal exhibition of horsemanship. I did not tell any of the others what was in store. I looked up our stable sergeant and told him that I would need a horse next morning. And I asked him to give me the best jumper he had.

That evening I made a contribution to friendl[[strikethrough]]a[[/strikethrough]]^[[y]] relations with the French. I was billeted with a family which included a grandpa, and I was invited to sit with them by the fire. The old man turned out to be a veteran of the Chasseurs d'Afrique. He had been sent to Mexico when the French were trying to help Maximilian take over that