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[Page 45]
they couldn't see him. After a while they tired of make believe and began to bawl a ribald song, "The one-eyed Reilly"; so he thought it time to ask his way. No sooner did he put his head in the door way than the host grabbed a hand-bell (the one the officer had heard and roared "Alfonso! set a place for the noo guest - 'nother bottle of grief and pain and a glass that aint cracked – at the tootl" The officer extended his visit till next day. On the slopes beyond the town there are a lot of batteries but this morning they were only registering, and talking of that, the great line of trenches that runs along where I am working has been registered in very business-like fashion by the Hun. The shell holes follow all along the tortuous course of the trench, which keeps pretty well at the same elevation. Their observation balloons are quite easily seen from here and from them their observers with glasses can probably see me very plainly. Immediately to my right and left are two of ours, and thereby hangs a tale. R's batman came along about one o'clock for me and when I got back my hosts were having their after-dinner smoke. I had only got half way through my meal when there was a commotion outside and we rushed out to the clearing to see what was on. Out of the blue, like a big black wasp a Hun 'plane had dashed like lightning and was bearing down on the balloon on our left. The two men in the balloon were out in their parachutes, quick and lively, before he got there and by the time he opened fire, were floating down looking like little cream coloured medusae. "Out with those Lewis guns!" yelled Reid and quick as a wink the boys had them chattering away and some Archies behind us began to bark. But the Hun utterly disregarded them and bore down, his machine gun squirting one continuous stream of fire at the balloon as he passed. He looked like a huge sword fish with a long, red hot snout. As he fired he swerved in a splendid quarter circle - we could see the pilot - and without the least halt in his roaring flight sped for the balloon on our right. He reached it in a flash but the men in it were well away, the little, champignon - like parachutes being half way down to earth. The first balloon by this time had gone up in smoke and flames