midday
There was nothing to say . With the opening up of the spring came increased movement and activity among the troops . The beach and the sand dunes round La Panne were filled with drilling men , Belgium 's new army . Veterans of the winter , at rest behind the lines , sat in the sun and pared potatoes for the midday meal . Convalescents from the hospital appeared in motley garments from the Ambulance Ocean and walked along the water front , where the sea , no longer gray and sullen , rolled up in thin white lines of foam to their very feet . Winter straw came out of wooden sabots . Winter-bitten hands turned soft .