The Dolores star., 1918-07-26
you. but the constant casualties among

you. but the constant casualties among
your friends are very depressing.
You 60 out with your "fiIght' and
get into Q muss- You get scattered,
and when your formation IL broken up
you finally wing your way home alone.
Perhaps you are the first to land.
Soon another machine shows in the
sky. then another. and you patiently
wait for the rest to appear. Within IN
hour. perhaps, all have shown up save
one. and you begin to speculate and
wonder what has happened to him.
Has he lost his wayf Has he landed
at some other airdrome7 Did the
Huns get him1
When darkness comes you realize
that, at any rate. he won't be back that
night. and you hope for . telephone
call from him telling Of his where
abouts.
II the night passes without sign or
word from him. he IL reported a. miss
Ing and then You watch for his cas-.
ualty to appear In the war once Lists.
One day, perhaps q month later. q
message II dropped over the line by
the German flying corps with q list Of
pilots captured or killed by the Huns,
and then. for the first time, you know
definitely why 1t was your comrade
failed to return the day he last went
over the line with his squadron.
I was still musing over this melan-
choly phase Of the scouts life when
an orderly told me there was beauti-
full battle going on In the air. and he
volunteered to help me outside the
hospital that l might witness 1t, and
I readily accepted hiS assistance.
That afternoon I saw one Of the
gamest lights I ever expect to witness.
against perhaps sixteen Huns. From
the type Of the British mechfnss I knew
that they might possibly be from my
own aerodrome. Two Of our machines
had been apparently picked out by
six Of the Huns and were bearing the
brunt Of the fight. The contest seemed
to me to be 20 unequal that victory for
our men was hardly to be thought Of.
and yet ut one time they 20 completely
VOSuA8uCuvSkGO Iuo kxUn0 Lk40& =
thought their superior skill might save
the day for them. despite the fact that
they were 10 hopelessly outnumbered
One thing I was sure Of: they would
never give In.
OF course, It would have been q COM
paratively simple matter for our men,
when they saw how things were going
against them, to have turned their
noses down, landed behind the Ger
man lines and given themselves up as
prisoners, but that II not the way Of
the r. +. q.
A battle Of this kind seldom lasts
many minutes, although every second
seems like an hour to those who par
ticipate in 1t, and even onlookers suf-
fer more thrills In the course Of the
struggle than they would ordinarily
experience in q lifetime. 1t is appar-
ent even to novice that the losers
fate Is death.
OF course, the Germans around the
hospital were all watching and roofing
for their comrades, but the English,
too, had one sympathizer In that group
who made no effort to stife his admira-
ton for the bravery his countrymen
were displaying.
The end came suddenly. Four ma
chimes crashed to earth almost stimuli
taneously. 1t was an even break-two
of theirs and two Of ours. The others
apparently returned to their respective
lines.
The wound In my mouth made It i'm
possible for me to speak. but by means
Of pencil and paper requested one
of the German officers to find out for
me who the English officers were who
had been shot down.
A little later He returned and handed
me a photograph taken from the body
of one Of the victims. It was a picture
Of Paul Raney Of Toronto, and myself,
taken togetherl Poor Raney! He was
the best friend I had and one of the
best and gamest men who ever fought
in France.
1t was he learned long after, who,
when was reported missing. had
checked over all my belongings and
sent them back to England with a
signed memorandum-whic is now in
my possession. Poor fellow. he little
realised then that but a day or two
later he would be engaged in his last
heroic battle with me helpless on
ld6kerl
The same German ofdcer who
brought me the photograph also drew
Q map for me OF the exAct spot whore
Raney was buried IN Flanders. I
guarded II carefully all through my
Subsequent adventures and finally
turned Il over TO his father and mother
swhen visited tasm IN Toronto to per