I moved slowly, only one step every two or three minutes, feeling carefully with my toes to ensure that there were no loose rocks or twigs to make noise.

It was just after midnight on a new moon night, with only a little bit of starlight illuminating the night. My eyes were well adapted and it had always seemed to me that my night vision was a bit better than average.

I kept my head turned slightly to the side, looking ahead with my peripheral vision. The sandbagged position was three meters ahead of me. The head and shoulders of the sentry were just the hint of a shadow against the lighter terrain in front of the position. I avoided looking at him and kept my thoughts empty to avoid giving him any warning or reason to suspect that I was there.