seven
o'clock
`` We 're ready ! All you 've got to do is to say the word . '' No undue familiarity was intended ; respect for their commander was in no degree lessened , but they loved him and would have followed him anywhere , and they wanted him to know it . The unusual activity in the Allied trenches , observed by enemy aircraft , combined with the terrific cannonading of their lines , had evidently convinced the enemy that some aggressive movement against them was in contemplation , for their artillery fire now , at seven o'clock , was directed squarely upon the outer lines of British trenches , bringing havoc and horror in the wake of the exploding shells . It was under this galling bombardment that the men of the second section adjusted their packs , buckled the last strap of their equipment , took firm bold of their rifles , and crouched against the front wall of their trench , ready for the final spring . -LSB- Illustration : Into the Face of Death He Led the Remnant of His Brave Platoon -RSB- At seven-thirty o'clock the order came . It was a sharp blast of a whistle , made by the commanding officer .