Show r rt t cAPr enD V RI KEAi by sp ap 5 11 1 with the Cop rl ht In III r at until SI McClure ic t t p P pcr r Syndicate 1919 1319 I Canada C rna l and UH AU fish rt for forb forby bv by the tho Fredrick A. A Stokes Stoke company Copy FranCi ell nm Holland Italy Spain 11 1519 1919 by Edward 1 V. V All Ail aryl the Scandinavian Above O all aU was blackness Away wa to the north fitful flashes o of fire firo dotted dotted dotted dot dot- ted the ground Ov Over tr r my head our aerodrome searchlight ht cut a yellow slice of ever widening sky until it Il lost ft Itself elC among amons- the stars Several other searchlights were also ao playing about the heavens hea I 1 noted carefully the angle ansle ours m made dc with the Uie horizon so H that I could recognize It from any distance How arc those boys bos faring tonight I 1 wonder thought I to myself as I 1 flew Clew at a foot GOO level over o tho the marooned marooned ma ma marooned doughboys doughboys' heads For I had left leCt Verdun to m my right and d was on a a. route straight over Montfaucon 1 I must have passed over o tho marching thousands who were advancing ad under undercover undercover undercover cover of the night to get gel a favorable Ca po position for the next days day's ayl work U. U S. S Engineers n Toll roll Like Titans On the roads below me I I saw oc occasional occasional oc- oc lights where bridges es were be being being be- be In ing stealthily repaired and shell holes refilled with earth cath an and r rock k b by our i engineers So congested were these I roads and so badly torn b by tho the enemy's 18 fire Ire th that l our supplies could not be brought ht up fast J eno enough h to keep our front line going Our own artillery was as well advanced nd but ha had no nu shells to fire liven Even en during the pauses inthe in inthe the enemy's barrage e no food could b be betaken betaken I I taken to those regiments that were were- c t ff b L t 1 h ds la h had rt been almost u O o l obliterated ed e b by row the the b bursting s shells o of the enem enemy I Later I heard o of the herculean efforts ef efforts efforts ef- ef forts made b by our Engineer o corps to repair these roads road b by night nl Enlisted men were sent up from rom miles behind the tho lines to assist in this emergency emers Even E one elderly colonel who happened happened hap hap- along alons and discovered cred the situ situ- situation situation allan took the po post t of or an able bodied able t I j military policeman and ordered the thc younger ouner man to 10 work on the tho roads And all through the night the German German German Ger Ger- man shells continued rt to drop in their midst undoing their frantic construction construction construction tion and killing man many o of the thc workers In the process process Against this point pont the Prussian guards were com coming In for an attack I wondered how h headquarters got ol that tha t information and how the Huns Buns knew wo we were in such a bad condition In Death alle valley Aeroplanes probably had brou brought ht the Information to both sides Grimly I J assured myself that aeroplanes aeroplanes' could prevent some of oC the thc Pru Prussians from ever reaching their objective I If we should hould discover er their coming this night Irn In Discovered No So Troops Troop Turning east I 1 soon discovered the Mouse Meuse river shining in tho the starlight ann following its cour course e at or OO feet above C Its surface I 1 flew on deeper and deeper into hostile territory Barring Barring Bar Bar- ring motor failure I had little to fearNo fear Cear No 0 enemy searchlights appeared ahead of oC me mc me and so 50 far Car as I know not a bullet was fired at me mc There is a distinctive sound to the Suiza Hispano-Suiza motor that should have betra betrayed e Its nationality to any attentive Hun ear familiar WI with h aeroplane engines but despite this fact and the low altitude at which I was compelled to fly to find my WI way WImy my passing seemed to arouse no interest Soon I passed the wide In lagoons of or Mouzay and realized that I 1 was almost forty miles behind our lin lines And there And between me mc and the next town of Siena I saw the glare lare of or an cn engine box on the tracks ahead of me me Bopping still lower I prepared to count the coaches as the they passed under me when I discovered ered it was only a short freight trel train which was wal proc proceeding proceeding pro pro- c away awa from Cram the front Instead ad ado o of toward It Paying no further at attention attention at- at to Its progress I 1 continued along alons over o the tracks until I reached the tho station at Stena Stenay Back flack and fort ort over the sid sidings In 8 and switches I 1 I flew one eye 00 upon tho the dusk dusky ground round and andone andone andone one in the direction of the tho enemy agro- agro a aero aerodrome ro- ro drome which I 1 we well ll kne knew v occupied the I hilltop just cast casl of tho town No unusual unusual unusual un un- un- un usual aggregation of oC railroad cars was wason wason wason on the tracks and no lt activity whatever what what- wh whatever ever In railroad d circles appeared I doin doing do- do in ing in Stenay this night Picking up the main line to I 1 cast one more glance behind mo me at the thc Fokker Fok Fok- ker aerodrome and faded awa away into tho the nl night ht Over ten minutes later I found one train going towards Stenay and one ono towards Metz but neither was wat wasa a It aln No other coaches whatever whatever what what- ever cr occupied tho sidings s. J Iq Jt t In I I. I began bes-an to think that Intelligence bureaus might sometimes be mistaken and despite myself 1 l felt a little pointed For or I had an e extra tra supply of oC machine gun un ammunition with me ie and and had pictured to m myself the amount of or ord d damage o mas-o one small aeroplane might doto doto do doto to the gentlemen of the Pruss Prussian Ian guard s inside tho the windows of oC their troop trains All the way along alons the mainline main line lino from to Metz I hoped rather than feared that I 1 would meet the expected guests of oC tho evening c But I I Iwas was doomed to disappointment The nearer to Met Mete I got the more I realized that If lC th their trains had left Metz Metr at al noon as advertised they must certainly have ha reached or passed Mont- Mont mN b by now I was absolutely positive positive tive that not a 1 single coach had slipped under mo me unnoticed for most of or tho the way I had flown lown high enough to clear the telegraph wires that occasionally occa occa- cros crossed e the tracks at m my compass I swung off to the ri right ht and l left Ct tho the tracks It was vas evident that the Prussian lan guards scare was a fal false e alarm In n five I minutes I should be e over O Verdun Ten minutes passed passed and and then twenty twenty twenty ty and still no Verdun Jf If I ha had been misled b by rn my compass and had kept too far ar to the west west even even so o I should have o crossed d the Meuse long Ion ago 1 I leaned over O and shook th the compass It whirled a few Cew times then settled it itself itself it- it self In exactly the thc opposite direction Again I shook It an and 1 again aln it pointed to to a nc new direction Never have ha I Been Beena a compass except compass except those captured from Boche nacho machines that machines that even cen pretended to disclose e the direction of north Mingled Min MIn- sled Bled with m my rage was a fear that was getting almost panicky I searched the horizon for our searchlight hl but bul not one me was 0 I In n I h t Thi 1 kl I Y L. L L j 11 g n ng i J 1 DC De in If In ground round mist I rose higher her and c circling about scanned sc the horizon and blackness blackness blackness black black- ness below Not even en the flash of or a gun that ml might ht direct me to the battlefront battlefront battle battlefront front was as visible North Star Fn laves a e it itce ce Ace Three-quarters Three ot or an hour of gasoline gasoline gaso SO line remained to me An And a much overrated over overrated over over- rated rat s sense of or direction direction and and no compass com com- pass Then I 1 thought of till the north star Glory be There she shines I 1 ha had been going west Instead of oC south II an and would have ha ha had 00 OO miles or so of fast flying before striking the British lines near Ypres on my present course Ke Keeping the star behind m my rudder I flew flow south for or fifteen minutes then down almost immediately found m myself above e a bend in a n stream of water that resembled a familiar spot In tho the River Rl Muse With a sudden sudden sudden sud sud- den return o of self confidence I 1 followed followed fol fol- lowed the river rI until I struck Y Verdun picked up our faithful searchlight and amI ten minutes later landed safely below the row o of lights that marked the thc ed edgo o oot of ot our aerodrome Continued tomorrow w. w |