The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-20
ENEMY AIRCRAFT FLEE

T turned, desperate, with no more shots, and saw my companions coming after the three enemy aircraft who were making off in wide circles, and the other two Huns were just in sight. The French bomber was crossing the lines safely. Three of us had been attacked by F planes and had shot four into
 flames and two completely out of con trol, and one shot with an engine out
 of control, and we-including our bomb
 er-were still there.
 "Odds--Twelve enemy aircraft to three
 allied
 .Score-Seven Huns down; allies, none
 down.
 I've had gone quite a ways hscIS east. and my engine went bad again and kept getting worse. The other two, typi- cal British soldiers, stayed with me above, until near the lines, when my engine cut out altogether, and was getting all the anti-aircraft and ma chine-gun fire from the newly estan. lished enemy lines, and they couiu ho' give me any help. l saw l couiuii make our lines, as they were In oeep wood, so I dived on to some Germans coming up behind their lines, havlns fixed my other gun after the nght. scattered them with hail of machine gun bullets.
 Then I landed in sloping depres. sion near a wood, about an elghth oi Ia mile beyond the enemy outposts III 2 wheat field, and about l00 yards from some thick trees that were being swept lby enemy machine guns. The enemy outposts couldn't see anything but the top wings of my machine, but they began to shell it, so l tore out the round iron compass and maps and tried 10 burn the machine with the maps, but only set the wheat afire. Shells were getting close so I crawled for the wood I came to small, water-filled ravine, and there I lost my heart and was sure I was after all in the German lines, for there-on the other side-were three Germans crawling my way. l was unarmed, but remembered my com- pass, so I hauled it back as if to throw it. Two of them jumped and ran, one falling, hit by his own fire.
 The third yelled "Kamerad' and threw down his rifle. I got to that rifle, and then took his pistol and ordered him to crawl ahead. He looked startled when I spoke English, and in good Eng fish answered and begged me not to kill him, as he was married man. l told him to shut up and crawl on. and if he didn't try to run he would be un- harmed.
 We got to the wood of thick bram- bles, which was swept by machine guns and shells. In the middle of the wood there was a stream about five feet wide and four feet deep. As we came to it we heard a whispered road in French, so crawled up a few yards and there lay a French colonial. hit in the leg and neck.
 "The Hun prisoner followed me and without word started to give the man a drink out of his canteen, but I took
 the canteen, washed it out and then
 gave the African a drik dna washed his wound so he could move. Then
 picked him up and ordered the German to wade across with his hands up-all
 this whispered. He did and drew no fire and then I went Some German
 snipers took three shots at me. but they only splashed about me. The brush was very thick on the opposite bank and l
 had to drag the French colonial-with
 the German helping the thick
 ct. Then suddenly we were fired on
 and then challenged in French. l re-
 piled in very bad French, officer mili-
 taire aux blesse colonial aviator Ameri-
 can," about all the French l knew. Then
 a string of French came back and l re-
 heated "adyance." Then the German
 said, they say crawl into the open with
 your hands up.'' So I did. Then two
 men and French officer came to me.
 He bristled at the Hun, but l pointed to
 my gun and the wounded colonial ana
 the colonial talked fast-whereupon the
 Frenchman threw his arms about me and
 talked a lot.
 .sWe crawled to the outpost and l
 helped the wounded colonial to dress
 ing station that was also being shelled,
 the Hun acting as assistant and ln-
 terpreter as he also spoke good French
 He said he had been in England and
 the United States. He gave me lot Of valuable information and l took him
 back to division headquarters. After
 time I succeeded in getting to a phone
 And renorted to my commander.'