Air Stories, April 1936 — page 25: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

bit. WINGED WARRIORS frightened horse, then slowly rolled over sideways on to its back. A black object detached itself from the fuselage and dropped away beneath it. From the shape Warton knew that it was a man. Almost unconsciously he glanced at the altimeter, and said to himself : ‘Seventeen thousand! He’ll be dead before he reaches the bottom.”’ Meanwhile, Fories and the remainder had turned and attacked the six scouts who were stalking the artillery machine. It was a brief contest, for two went down to the first dive, and the remaining four scattered and fled east, hotly pursued by Savage. Warton, coming up to his assistance, was only in time to see one of the Germans dip his nose down and down till it pointed at the ground ; then fall vertically and vanish. Of the three that were left, he selected one, swung into his favourite position on its tail, and fired about fifty rounds. Desperate to escape, the German swooped upwards in the first part of a loop, but, before reaching the zenith, the fuselage of his machine bent at its thinnest part, the tail twisted itself and broke off, and the whole machine fell to pieces, fluttering and buckling like leaves in a gale. That ended the fight. After they had landed, Savage walked over to Warton, shouting : ‘‘Gad! But wasn’t that a topping scrap? Six down out of eight ! Yours were jolly good Huns, too! One bundled out, and the other shot to pieces in the air. Guess they won’t trouble us again ! ’’ Warton was silent for a few seconds before replying : ‘‘ Confound it all, but it was beastly! You know I hate these melodrama affairs. When I shoot a Hun down I should like him to get only a Blighty one, and go into hospital for a I don’t want the poor wretch to fall out.”’ CHAPTER II A Triplane Makes a Kill HE following day was rainy in the morning, so Warton and Lastor visited the mess of some machine- gunners who were billeted in the neigh- 311 bourhood and borrowed a couple of horses. These they obtained in return for a promise that the creditors should go up for a joy-ride. They spent an hour running races over the flat fields, but the sport was brought to an end by Lastor’s horse, which suddenly stopped dead and threw him heavily. Lastor picked himself up laughing, and pro- ceeded to brush the mud from his tunic. As he did so, he gave a sharp exclama- tion, and fingered his right wrist tenderly. ‘‘Damn!’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve sprained my beastly wrist again. It’s as weak as water. You might catch that brute of a horse, will you, Warts, and I’ll get it seen to before it swells up.’’ By the afternoon, however, in spite of the attentions of the medical orderly, his wrist was so painful and stiff that he had to carry his arm in a sling. It was impossible for him to swing a gun-mounting with one arm, and as Fories declared that he could not spare Warton from the next show, it was arranged that he should take up Coote, a new sergeant-observer who had recently arrived. Warton sought the sergeant after lunch, to give him instructions, and find out what sort of an _ observer he might be. He discovered the man sitting in one of the hangars, working on a very crude sketch of the aero- drome. The new observer was a pleasant little man, with a small black moustache. He spoke quickly, and seemed very pleased that he was going to fly with Warton. The latter admired his artistic effort, whereupon Coote produced a large packet from one of his pockets. ‘* Perhaps you’d like to look through these, sir,’’ he remarked rather self- consciously, ‘‘they’re some drawings by my little son. Cute little nipper he is, sir. Only a six-year-old.”’ Warton examined the scrawling repro- ductions of cows and railway trains with as much appearance of enthusiasm as he could assume, made a few banal remarks, and handed them back. ‘* Thought you’d think ’em good,’’ said Coote, chuckling with satisfaction. ‘‘ He’s a rare un is my little nipper ! ’’ COnniclooo SJ (Cl Q)