The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1918-09-27
STORY OF A SCOUT BALLOON
Typical Scene Behind Our Lines
When IA Sausage Goes Up.

l N w
When A Sausage. Goes Up.
v It All great game this world ~ar
in WHICH AElerica I'D getting ready I'd
play The decisive part. Hidden in its
\ bigness are stories OF adventure and
daring and bravery. each one of
which is story worth the telling
over and over if there were not so
many other stories that for the mo-
ment look bigger. For instance:
The scene III the Headquarters or an
American unit. It is what wars raw
lagos have left Of .an ancestral
chateau with Alt its past grandeur
and present pathos. Grouped about
the big house are dozen or more
stables and barns and outhouses, each
of which now harbors Americans
busily engaged in thwarting the
sworn purpose of the Hun to carry
his hatred and hating into the capital
Eof France. Talking To one Of our
generals, A am standing by THE side
IOf an old stone fence watching a
herd Of COWS chewing their cud, while
a few kilometers away the boom OF
the guns Is constant The day Is
beautiful, with here and there a patch
EOf white clouds floating lazily across
the heavens. Were it not for tile
never-ending boom and the ugly shell
holes here and there the scene would
be peaceful.
Y And then from behind clump of
trees rises slowly ta cornpl dictated look
ing shape which shows itself soon tO
De one Of our observation balloons
As the cable unWinds slowly from a
windlassf on the back end of a motor
truck the sausage goes up and up,
while from the depending basket two
young officers who little more than
IA year ago were students at Column
Dla University wave greeting To
their general. Up and up they Eo at
\ tn end Of their tether, and while
\ they are going lid and up "A soldier
liarranges "a field telephone with II lit
tie box on which rests a pad OF pa
per on which he is to write the mes
! sage from the sausage telling of what
the two observers can see behind the
German lines. Finally the cable
stops paying out and the sausage
stands STILL
German airmen and IA prize for enemy
iartillery- Around the waist Or each
or the observers Is tied rope which
Has fastened 10 q parachute which they
will use. If a Boche airman's incen-
diary bullet hits their big bag. Then
I'VE hear the telephone man talking
and see him busily writing. and we
turn away, a. 1T seems that the OBJ
servers have settled down To their
allotted ffve-hOlr stunt.
Suddenly the sharp whistle -of the
M- P- guard sounds. It means sun
der cover" The general and move
quickly under the bough of low
hanging tree, and just then there
were many muffied explosions. We
knew which way to look, and far up
in the air could be seen myriad puffs
Eof white smoke. looking for all the
world like 20 many cotton bolls as
the shrapnel burst in pine, which
played Ca with "a grayish-w white bug
like thing, which was "a Boche avion
on its way TO shoot down our balloon.
The sound of those bursting shells
was mixed with the whirr Of the mo-
tor of the windlass as it hauled the
balloon downward
The shrapnel burst and burst. trac-
ing a white line around the German
flyer For "a moment he was lost be-
hind "a cloud, and then there went uD |
a shout from hundred Oh more Off
GERS watching: looked and strained
my eyes and shooting down along
the under edge OF the cloud was al
mass Of smoke and flame. Our, gun
ners had bagged their game. The
smoking avion traced a line down
ward toward the German lines. we
walked into the generals office as a \
lieutenant was taking down mes
sage from "a outpost To the effect n
that the German machine had fallen
in flames three kilometers behind our
lines and the aviator had been burned
to death before he reached the earth.
And then the windlass creaked and T
saw the balloon come up from be-
hind the trees again, its rudders fan
ping i'm the breeze like elephants
ears, going again on its dangerous
but valuable mission. Perhaps the |,
next time, which would come within
an hour OF sO, the Bocha flyer would
get close before our gunners saw
him-and then perhaps he wouldn't.
1t was all just one little sidepIay in
the great game Of nations.
---1a-1-
Paris, Satarday.-The Germans a3-
pear to be Fastening the removal of
"A