The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1918-01-03

Reads Like Page From Book o.
Fairy Tales.
TELLS OF FIGHT WITH nun
Boy Sees Nothing In His Exploit, But
10 Willing to Spin the Yarn II Any
body Cares to Hear lt-Pfays Pos
sum on Fritz and Then Gets Him
Clouds Help Ambush.

' -- .ELE-S N.
The everyday humdrum life of the
boy airfghters on the western front
reads like a page torn. from a 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 q machine
gun wound.
"What, you want to write q story
about how I got this?" He laughed in
embarrassment. 1T 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
We're after him. He usually came
shopping over our way bout sunup.
Poor old Regain. His old fault was
that he adopted stray dogs.
Anyway, this Hun bird came sail
ing over impudently the other morning
about five. I 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 a 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 well chased me right down to
our back door.
0Pnf0rn I rpnf I'M YNN10h II yry0C oR0f.
ting 100 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 I was nosing
around the corners Of the clouds I
caS,ght sight of a shadow on a cloud
bank below. 1t was my meat.
"You bet I took a quick look at my
fixtures, got. a trayful of food ready
for Liz, hummed the Invitation to the
Waltz and began to slide a bit. But
I fell clean into a pocket, did a slide
slip. While I was getting her
Strengthened out, Fritz saw me and
started. to get up yer me. He flew
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 sporkled with the memory.
Plays Tricks on Fritz.
"Y'know what that son-of-a-gun did3
he'd lured me over their Arches.
First thing I knew a puff Of %shrapnel
left off below me, then one above, then
n on my port side. I turned her nose
up and got out Of their reach. Mean
tine I'd lost sight Of my Fritz.
"Then I got an idea, I began tc
.wabble around like I vas hit. Began
to fly like lame ducks was eagles COM
pared with me. And 1t worked. He
barged right out Of a nearby cloud
and opened up IN me. I swung over
hin,-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
Wtirl like a falling Leaf.
"Only then I felt my arm singing
and q funny feeling across my back.
He'd got me with his first beltful.
II turned back toward home. Bout
twenty feet from the ground I lost
ccoantrol-probably faiptteed1-and ruined
our flower ppaatcn. 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-1 wasn't fighting
that particular Fritz it was the whole
outfit Of skunks that bomb defenseless
cities and kill ONE and children.
snow let me buy you a drink fol
boring you."