a rapid and concentrated rifle fire on a particular spot in the dark, and are therefore invaluable to the defence during a night attack.
The detachments of guns on outpost duty at night should be told off into three watches of two men each, whose duty it will be to remain with the gun in readiness for instant action. The gun should be loaded and laid, and the men on duty should watch the front. Where the gun is in an emplacement or other loop-holed work, one man should watch through the loop-hole in turns of half an hour at a time. The strain of peering into the dark and listening for the sound of an approach at night is so great that no man should be required to do this duty for more than half an hour at a time, while the chance of a man dozing during a short spell is much reduced and the acuteness of the senses has not time to get dulled. Very strict orders must be given to insure that fire is not opened prematurely; and where infantry sentries are on duty near the gun, it may be advisable not to load the gun, but merely to insert the belt in the feed-block in readiness.
It is always advisable to have the gun ready for any emergency at night, and the following will be found an effective method of preparing the sights for aiming in the dark. Cut a piece of white paper, previously prepared with luminous paint, into the shape of a triangle, and paste it on the slide of the tangent sight so that the apex of the triangle touches the bottom of
