The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1917-12-22
HUMDRUM LIFE
OF AIR THRILLS
Reads Like Page From Book of
Fairy Tales.
Tells OF FIGHT WITH HUN
Boy Sees Nothing in His Exploit, But
Is Willing to Spin the Yarn II Any
body Cares to Hear It-PIays Pos
sum on Fritz and Then Gets Him.
Clouds Help Ambush.

The everyday humdrum life of the
boy airfghters on the western front
reads like a page torn from book Of
fairy tales. Here is a story of one of
the dull days as told by a rosy-faced
youth of nineteen. He was back in
"Blighty" recovering from a machine
gun wound.
what, you want to write a story
about how I got this?" He laughed in
embarrassment. "It was just an Ordi-
nary day-no story in it-Americans
wouldn't care to hear it.
"This particular Hun had got old
Regan-sent him down blazing. So we
were after him. He usually came
shopping over our way bout sunup.
Poor old Regan. His old fault was
that he adopted stray dogs.
Anyway, this Hun bird came sail
Ing over impudently the other morning
about five. 1 skipped out to the aero
drome. All the boys yelling good luck
to me. After that nothing but the roar
of the engine.
Clouds Help Ambush.
"There were few chunks of white
cloud-bully for .ambush-if the other
fellow doesn't do the ambushing.
"Once before this bird had caught
me with nothing to feed my Lizzie,
my domesticated machine gun, and
jolly we'll chased me right down to
our back door.
Before got up much was get
ting 130 out Of her-old engine sing
ing like a cricket. I went up 10000
feet, keeping an eye peeled for Fritz.
He was sitting under a cloud some
where, evidently. While was nosing
around the corners Of the clouds I
caught sight of a shadow on a cloud
bank below. It was my meat.
"You bet took quick look at my
fixtures, got a trayful Of food ready
for Liz, hummed the Invitation to the
Waltz and began to slide bit. But
I fell clean into pocket, did slide
slip. While was getting her
Strengthened out, Fritz saw me and
started to get up over me. He few
better'n I did, had more parlor tricks,
but I'd got the best machine. He
knew it.
"The boy leaned forward and his
eyes sparkled with the memory.
Plays Tricks on Fritz.
"Y'know what that son-Of-a-gun did?
he'd lured me over their Arches
First thing I knew a puff of shrapnel
left off below me, then one above, then
one on my port side. I turned her nose
up and got out Of their reach. Mean
time I'd lost sight Of my Fritz.
"Then / got an idea. began to
wabble around like 1 was hit. Began
to fly like lame ducks was eagles COM
pared with me. And it worked. He
barged right out of a nearby cloud
and opened up on me. / swung over
him-two struts and a landing wire
cut clean off. I whirled-and let Liz
zie sing her favorite hymn to him. He
swerved and began to settle. Then
his machine caught fire and began to
whirl like falling leaf.
"Only then I felt my arm stinging
and q funny feeling across my back.
He'd got me with his first beltful.
81 turned back toward home. Bout
twenty feet rom the ground I lost
control-probably fainted-and ruined
our flower patch. Had bullet in arm,
skin wound across the back and
sprained leg in the bungled landing.
That's what sent me over here.
"But let me tell you, old man-and
put it in the paper-I wasn't fighting
that particular Fritz; it was the whole
outfit of skunks that bomb defenseless
cities and kill women and children.
"Now let me buy you a drink for
boring you"