Evening star., 1915-12-12
English Reporter at the Front
Scoops" His Competitors
and Is Comp|imented.
SPENDS THREE HOURS
MILE HIGH IN THE AIR
I'll Never Step in an Aeroplane
Again" He Declares. When In
vited Second Time.
BY HERBERT COREY.
Copyright, 1879

Copyright. 1879
PARIS. November 6.-This story must
be written circumsDectiy. FOR II !.
contains so much convincing deta'i
that the hero can recognize hiihsel' =,
it. the hero may possible come arouhu
and hit the author in the eye. hei
as, il il is short on internal evidence =
will not be a good story. suppose :"
try 10 hover between the frying pan
and the fire.
Tommy" said his mates, has had
fuss with the office.
The hero isn't a soldier at all. re -
a little English newspaper man
is Just touch of cockney on No
ton-ue. There are times when ne IS
intellectually conversational. One hiiu'
in his dress evidence of a liking To-
color and line. The indulgence OF '',is
liking is checked by the fact thdt nc
has wife and two children ana IND
the salary of an English ne"spapei
man is a continuous encouragement ~
thrift. He might conceivaoiy speaA
harshly to waiter.
II wasn't a real fuss with the oInGe'
Ii was only that Tommy had peeh ,, .ah
or On tn III a vacancy that had been
unexpectedly created. He had pesi W
of job, Tommy had. With a VIE arv CIV
children on ones hands one -
ouicbly gets up against the cushion d.
srcb Times Tommy was unspeakaply
anxious 10 make the appolhtHeh' q
permanency. 1t could be oone :
could step into a position OF coIiip ps.i.
rive affluence He merely mad 10 ma
good. So that when a copy reaael, ehl.,
who knew nothing whatever u
situation in France copy No
who in his heart belleFed sna. @ NV
whole situation should have ehaeu VIII ~
Enriand chanted "Britons never shai, ~
be slayes.-wrote sharp ny.
Tommy the reporter was trerlpiiiei'
anxious to explain. r.s ex-
No one knows what Tommy -
MIA nation may have been. 1t surely M naa =
been couched in propitiating terms. nn
chances are that Tommy a uiuT r,,; ;ob
much the night he wrote IT, ms TIa
Won see means so much 10 Min ne
iosine of il means so much to him. feI-
hans he made the error OF tT!ihS "
explain map distances 10 tne oopy
reader That should never De dohe. !.
merely makes poignant TO the cops
reader the knowledge of his imperIeG-
tions. Tommy received no direct rep!
to that note. BY and by he got announcer
communications: ootl
Why do you not Try 10 Se' eo0
exclusive story?
Tommy had tried. OF course: ne nau
spent his days and nights trying. w
or three times the 'good eAciuSlne
seemed in sight. Always something
happened Either other newspapermen
we're taken in on it-bluff, wei! dressed
newspapermen who were not 1orceu 70
count pennies for the support OF "lIe
and two children--or else the good ex-
elusive caved in. Tommy began to wear
a worried look about the eyes. II was
about that time that ii became known
among Tommy's acQuaintances that ms
English Office had notified him that his
contract might not be extended Ior
another year. English newspaper offices
are REQUIRED to do that if they wish TO
get rid of reporter otherwise the re.
porter need not worry about his wife
and two children for twelve more
months.
Good Luck Comes Tommy's Way.
Then bit of good luck came Tom
my's way. There are more reasons
than one for not going into details on
this matter. But Tommy was offered
the chanc of an aeroplane ride along
tine front. Other men-squads of other
mcn-have taken aerop!ane rides at
the front There is a difference. Tom
my was TO go up with military fier
in place of the military observer. He
was 10 fly right over the German lines
and be shot at and perhaps killed.
None of his journalistic predecessors
had been offered this inestimable priv
ileye Tommy leaped at the chance. He
had never been in an aeroplane before.
His head swius when he looks over
the edge of a roof. But that greatly
desirable good exclusive" was in pros
pect.
III was ell" Tommy said to me.
Perhaps my ears deceived me. but /
thought he dropped the aitch. He
looked as though ne had been i'll. That
is he looked as IL he were just not
quite well. His eyes showed too much
white. His cheeks were slightly sunk
en- "-I'Il never do il again. | feared
for my life all the time.
had seen his story in his paper and
complimented him it. He had told
graphically how TIE Shrap pnel burst
around the plane. Three shells explod-
cd so near the machine that the great
car bounded IN the air as an automo-
bile does when it strikes a thank ye-
rlarrn on Il New England road. Sew
eral bits struck the machine. They
Rad Iook-d down upon the earth--down
mans assauitinS the English trenches
They seemed TO pour out OF holes IN
the ground. said Tommy. just like
litile gray specks they were. We sa "
them rul toward the English We
"GIldu't aear anything, os course, be.
cause Of the noise a. the motor
bur could see the machine gun.
spaf l.iiu-. They locke just like matches
being lighted. The Germans didn't
seem 10 run very hard BY and by they
formed and ran back Many little graz
sDcckS ~ere left lying on the Srount
whore they had been
Believes He tainted.