After supper I read "The Man in Evening Dress"--a darn cheap story.

Through the late summer and into autumn of 1918 Grant had much to record in his diary as the build-up of men and materiel for the Battle of St. Mihiel (September 12–15, 1918) went on all around SSU 647. 

As you'll see, Grant was about to lose a bet! 

Tuesday, September 3, 1918:

Worked like a slave all day in the shop until 3 o’clock this P.M. when Johnnie, Fraser, Kirkpatrick and I went swimming in the Moselle. Afterwards I washed clothes and shaved. After supper I wrote a letter home and read The Man in Evening Dress--a darn cheap story. Got a letter from Bill Sloan today which relieved some tension as the last we knew he was up in the western fighting and we haven’t heard from him for a long time. He is at Fontainebleau studying in the French artillerie school. He likes it there very much though the course is stiff. Tish [Libby] has already graduated and is now an aspirant. Ralph Jacob and Henry Kingman graduate in about 2 weeks. Aviators (Boche) kept us awake for several hours. Spent the later evening in the cellar.

Wednesday, September 4:

Spent the day in the shop after making a route trip as aide to Tichener. Took out, relieved and put back two sets of transmission bands. A dirty job and tiresome, but I’m not sick of my new position yet.

Big preparations are being made in this sector for something or other. Schmittie swears there is going to be an attack here by the 11th of this month. I bet him a dinner that there would be no attack here by the 11th. Later he crawfished and said he bet it would be sometime this month. I bet him another dinner on that. What if I lose two of them! There are several reasons for believing that there is to be no attack here:

1. Everybody seems to know about it and are talking about it. 

2. They haven’t enough troops up here yet to attack in this sector. Troops are coming up, but most of them are down from the western front where they have taken part in the Franco-Amex drive and it isn’t logical to suppose they would put them right into action again. This is a rest sector -- always has been and, I think, will continue to be one until next spring. To be sure, this is the logical place for a drive should the English advance be checked and threatened by counter-attack. It’s a good betting proposition. Troops are coming in every day. The roads are busy with ammunition and supplies. Planes on observation are thicker. Observations balloons are more plentiful. A prisoners’ pen is being built near Belleville. Artillery activity is increasing. A couple of our posts have been shelled. It is very interesting to watch and we are wondering what is going to come of it all. Our work remains about the same except we have eight posts now instead of seven.

Three letters -- Mother (July 30), Dot (July 31), Connie Wright (July 30).