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I-WHO SKETCHES. Ie■—_____…

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I- WHO SKETCHES. Ie — r — I I. RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON.  THE DAY'S WORK.  FBy E. O.J 4 rBy E. O,j Four o'cl oc k si r Bit misty, but looks as if it rni<rht clear." j* The orderly left a steaming cup of tea on the draped box which formerly con- tained rations and now did dutv as a com- bined bookcase and wardrobe. Half an hour later, the door slammed. The tea was still standing there, but cold and the whirring of propellers announced that cur machines were off to do their sheets. We next met at breakfast, and I asked the observer how lie had fared. Oh, we had quite a good shoot got them on to tha Hun batterv pretty quick, f and they were soon getting O.K.'s with wonderful regularity. It was t,, ) -,),-)d to last, and I soon saw the Boches skedaddl- ing. I had to come down a bit low though, because of the mist." It was still early, and tliev were shott- ing splendidly, so we tackled the old rail- way station at They were a bit longer finding- this, but. when thev did, they made a job vi it, and I saw a couple t h e y r!t:tr l ea, j o b?fit,and lsawacou p !e of 'ie?litliv ErEs going as I came home. As I went off across the aerodrome, a machine was landing a sudden cross gust took it. one wing tip touched the ground, and it toppled over looking a very ungainly object on the ground Xo one was hurt, and the damage was less than we expected, v so that we were able to arrange what re- pairs were needed without troubling the de-pot. The afternoon was bright, with a few floating clouds high up, when our machines left, some to spot" for our batteries, others to take some much-needed photo- graphs or a bit of t he line in our sector. They returned with an excellent batch, which were promptly developed, and printed, and landed at headquarters by tea-time. One machine had been attacked by three Germans, but. when it had suc- cessfully downed one, the other two fled. Two of this ma-chine's planes, and the tail, were ratner badly s.hot about, and she was wheeled off for repair. Later ill the afternoon, just before dusk, two more machines, with racks full of light bombs, left on the regular trench- strafing expedition. Fiviii, low over the German lines, thev dropped their bombs and fired several Lewis drums among the harassed trench garrison. One returned to time the other had been bad- ly peppered from the ground, hall stunteel freely to dodge the attack, had lost his "bearings, and had onlv found himself in time t > make the aerodrome just at dark The enemy had suffered a y-ood deal at ■our li,]IL(! t!t dav. and he took the usual form of revenge by trying to bomb us just a f t-er had turned iii, Fortunately, all his shots went wide, and we spent the rest of the night in a profound peace. II. ATALE FROM THE SEA BY A.;ax. The ship was ladeti with food and bound for Lngland. She was <uie of that. great fleet of merchantmen which is constantly moving across the seas, bringing homo the provisions without which this country vuld seriously suffer. Like every other rchantman in the service, she steamed -in hourly peril of enemy mine and torpedo. It was about the middle of the after- noon, when, without warning of any kind, two torpedoes struck the food ship almost simultaneously on her starboard side. Alone in mid-ocean with an invisible enemy bent on their destruction, the crew might have been expected to seek safety in their boats. But the British nierohant- sailor is no coward—he knows that his fellow-countrymen at home look to him for the bread and meat, bacon, tea, and other provisions which come from overseas, and he does not lightly abandon ship. And so now the crippled merchantman struggled along, with every man aboard her doing his best to pull her safe through this deadly peril. For a quarter of an hour she held to her course as best she could, and then came another torpedo, and this she dodged, and it passed harmlessly ahead of her. 1 he snip s gun was trained in the direction ,f t-lie torpedo track, and a few rounds were fired, but the enemv submarine was still invisible. Then the ship's head plunged iow in the water, her propellers rose above the surface, she lost wav. and it looked as though the end were near. But no, presently the propellers took the water again, and again she gathered wav. All through the night s he. moved forward. Early next morning two more torpedoes struck her. exploding m the stokehold and killing three men. The vessel then lost an way. her machinery stopped, and she took a heavy list to port. Then, just when her case seemed desperate, a destroyer came racing up and began to hunt the U-boat. While this was going on. three tugs arrived and took the merc hantman in tow. For two clays and one night they towed the. shattered vessel, bringing her safelv into harbour late in the second night. Then she was bniched. Three merchant sailors had hist their livp? in the f?'thfu' discharge of their d:nv. lives is .f tiietl- (t?ltv. Su,ch I)v tlies- Itlell. .!11

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