“WINGED.”

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1881, 24 September 1918, Page 1

“WINGED.”

A FRENCH ADVENTURE. Two French’ soldiers in stained and dusty uniforms of horizon blue —this story, by the way, is a true one —emerged with precaution from a shell-hole and swiftly reconnoitred the ground before them.

What was behind they knew—the Marne, the Germans, and the other men of their section, most of them dead, the remainder prisoners. For a brief, but more than sufficient space they, too, had been in the hands of the “sale Bache,” and, having found, without surprise, that he can be more than usually “sale’’ when he happens, for the time being, to be on the winning side, they had signalled to each other with their eyes, and profiting by a moment of sudden disorder, had made a dash for it. Somewhere not very far ahead there must he French troops, but many dangers lay between. There were the shells of friend and foe, whipping and whistling bullets from unseen machine-guns, flanking parties of the enemy; and there was an aeroplane. It was (lying very low, and, as it seemed to them, with a horrible directness of purpose, so (hat in a few seconds it would be close upon them. The black crosses were plain upon its wings; presently the cross upon the fuselage would swerve into view, and then, if the machine carried an observer, they would be hunted across the open until the slinging heal: of the airmail's sharp nosed bullets darted through (heir doomed bodies. Their feelings were much the same as those of the man in “The Thirtynine Steps," who was stalked across (lie bare hills of Galloway by relentless adversaries in a monoplane.

From (he litter of the battlefield they had nicked out a rilie apiece. Their own (hey had lost in the handle hand fighting when their section was surrounded. Their pouches still contained a few cartridges.

The aeroplane slewed around, and instantly they were on the defensive. Concealment being impossible, they stood up boldly, their rifles raised at a sharp angle. Apparently there was only one man in the German machine, and as soon as his head became visible they fired, rammed their bolts home a second time and fired again. The aeroplane leapt, regained its poise, dipped its nose earthwards, and came heavily down, with a splintering of wood and rending of fabric.

They were only boys, so heedless of discovery they hastened towards a thick spiral of blue arid brown smoke now beginning to mount into the sky out of which their victim had fallen, and as they did so a German officer in flying attire came to meet (hem, with his left arm raised in token of surrender. His “control” arm had been crippled by one of their bullets. They bandaged him up, and, assured of their success, hurried on in (he direction of the French lines. In order to leave no clue, they took the German offieor with them.— “Ashair,” in the Daily Mail.