The Winslow mail., 1914-10-03
THE WORLD SET FREE.

Continued from Page Five
flight OF birds. Then ] perceived that
they were only the extreme wing of a
great feet that was advancing in a
long line very swiftly from the direc.
ton OF the frontier and my attention
tightened.
Directly / saw that feet was as
tonished not to have seen it before.
II stood up softly, undesirous of dis
turbing my companions, but with my
heart beating now rather more rapidly
with surprise and excitement. | strain
ed my ears for any sound of guns
along our front Almost instinctively
l turned about for protection to the
south and west and peered. and then
I saw coming as fast and much. nearer
to me. as If they had sprung out of the
darkness. three banks of aeroplanes,
group Of squadrons very high, a main
body at height perhaps of one or two
thousand feet. and a doubtful number
Tying low and very indistinct The
middle ones were so thick they kept
putting out groups of stars. And
realized that, after all. there was to
be fighting In the air.
'"There was something extraordinarily
strange In this swift, noiseless con-
vergence of nearly invisible combat
ants above the sleeping hosts. Every
one about me was still unconscious
There was no sign as yet of any agita-
ton among the shipping on the main
canal. whose whole course, dotted
with nnsuspicious lights and fringed
with fires, must have been clearly per-
ceptible from above. Then a long way
Off toward Alkmaar I heard bugles.
and after that shots, and then a wild
clamor Of bells. I determined to let
my men sleep on for as long as they
could.
'The battle was joined with the
swiftness of dreaming. do not think
it can have. been five minutes from the
moment when first became aware OF
the central European air feet to the
contact of the two forces. | saw it
quite plainly In silhouette against the
luminous blue of the northern sky.
The allied aeroplanes-theyw were most
ly French-came pouring down like a
fierce shower upon the middle of the
central European feet. They looked
exactly like a coarser sort of rain.
There was cracking sound-the first
sound l heard. 1t reminded one of the
aurora borealis, and | suppose it was
an interchange of rifle shots. There
were flashes like summer lightning,
and then all the sky became a whirl-
ing confusion Of battle that was still
largely noiseless. Some of the central
European aerOplanes were certainly
charged and overset; others seemed to
collapse and fall and then fare out
with SO bright light that it took the
edge off ones vision and made the rest
of the battle disappear as though 1t
had been snatched back out of sight.
'And then while still peered and
tried to shade these flames from my
eyes with my hand and while the men
about me were beginning to stir the
atomic bombs were thrown at the
dikes. They made a mighty thunder
In the air and fell like Lucifer in the
picture. leaving flaring trail in the
sky. The night, which had been pei
lucid and detailed and eventful, seemed
TO vanish, to be replaced abruptly by
black background to these tremendous
pillars Of fire.
Hard upon the sound of them came
a roaring wind, and the sky was filed
with f1ickering lightnings and rushing
clouds.
There was something discontinuous
In this impact. At one moment | was
a lonely watcher in sleeping world;
the next saw every one about me afoot
the whole world awake and amazed.
"And then the wind had struck me
u buffet, taken my helmet and swept
aside the summer house of Vreugde biz
grede as a scythe sweeps away grass
[ saw the bombs fall and then watch
ed a great crimson fare leap respon-