ABOVE THE HUN LINES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 42, 14 November 1918, Page 8

ABOVE THE HUN LINES

- . A EECON-NAISSAXQE STUNT, ' (Alexander Dobree, in the "Daily Mail") There is (rouble brewing behind tlie Oerman lines, where tihe Kiiisjr's hordes r.vt preparing for another desperate as«i\ilt, urn! long.bt'l'ore the sun is due to use yoiir maeiur.u is.epctding eastwards 10 reconnoitre l!ie position and give Uuwly inforniatioii to-the.citizen army calmly awaiting the blow. Icokins over lie side of the corkpit, yotit cull'make-out in the growing light that great ■■■ network of trenches marking the- British front-line system, which a minute or iwo Inter gives place to a strip of shelkscirred .territory,, unutterably desolate-looking, devoid of cultiva; tion, cn-d spotted with derelict trees—Mo Han's Land, . . . "Yon have work to do here, and losing -height: rapidly, your, eye.? travel rearcliingly along the wilderneps of ml r.u'-t in front : of the Genviuii.parapet.. Several Raps have .been cut' in the wire during the night , , and. you mark those eagerly on your "situation map.". It i« through these gaps the assntilting •p_arty must pass iii' Order to rciu.fi the British lines. Your height is iiuiYly Sttni., and yuu can distinguiah the helnietcd sentries on their firesteps firing round after round in your- direction -in. a vain attempt to guard their secret. But ignoring theiv bullets,, which occasionally pierce the fabric of its wiuji, your machine is siuing eastwards once more, nnd presently you arc whirring- to and tro nlong this second ana'third line of ■ supporc ti'enclies. '' .. ■' . Here the bullets fly thick, nnd.getting annoyed,; the observer'points his gun downwards and subjects the trenches to a hail of lead!. '~..' : . The spitting rifles suddenly ceased but the real fun ,is only just-beginning! With a.rattle and a roar niachine-"guns open up from thirty directions.' Whole sheets of tracer bullets whizz past your eays, riddling the muchine in fifty places! . , A ' Your attention is recalled fi'ohi n splitting outer strut.by n terrific- crack,.as.a "landing wire" is cut 111 two' ami trails astern. ' Two bullets chas° each other into tiie magneto self-starter at your Bitli?, and only the thick metal saves you from instantaneous death! Two more pass through.tap fabric walk uf the cookpit within six inches of your body, and ii-'glnnce through tiic corner of yoiir ey-3 shows you that two mors struts are pierced.

All this.happens in-,the space of a few seconds, and you lean forward quickly, opening the throttle wide. The engius responds with an increased roar, and, with the flames policing J'rom the "exhausts,", you nijt the machine througn every conceivable 'manoeuvre, praying inwardly that those.splintered struts will stand the strain .and marvelling at the same time that the engine has apparently escaped untouched! ~ .

. The observer is 'busy with' his iiiarhhicgun, and hundreds of rounds chase the German' gunners as eagle eyes discover their positions. • ' The cjueU'finUhes as suddenly as . it begun, and the ri.-iug sun discovers a group of mechanics' gathered round a bullet-riddled machine, whilp in tho squadron office you take down (he telephone receiver : and shout happily, "Hiillo,, Exehangfy-'jive me Corps Intelligence, please!" > ■