12 
LAND & WATER 
August 9, 1917 
arriving at the Gare du Midi were followed for some time 
and finally arrested. NN'hon searched they proved to be young 
German officers who had adopted that dress m order to conceal 
carrier pigeons which they were about to deliver m Brus^ls. 
Wireless outfits are said to have been discovered m several 
houses belonging to Germans. I cannot '■emenibcr all tnt 
yarns that aregoingabout but. even if a part of tliem are true 
It should make interesting work for those who are loot^i^g J^^ 
spies. The regular arrests of proven spies have been numerous 
enough to turn every Belgian into an amateur spy-catcher 
Yesterday afternoon Burgomaster Max was chased tor 
several blocks because somebody raised a cry ot /s.v/);on . 
based on nothing more than his blond beard and chubby 
' face 1 am just glad not to be fat and blond these days. 
The gossip and " inside news " that is imparted to us is 
screamingly funny-some of it. The other day the news came 
that the Queen of" Holland had had the Prince Consort locked 
up becau'se he was pro-German. The next day she had hun 
As things shape up now it looks as though we were the only 
life-sized country that could keep neutral for long, and as a 
consequence all the representatives of the countries in conflict 
are keeping us pretty well posted in the belief that they may 
have to turn their interests over to us. We shall probably 
soon have to add Austrian interests to the German burdens 
we now have. If there is any German advance some of the 
Allied Ministers will probably turn their legations over to us_ 
The consequence is that we may see more of the inside ot 
things than anybody else. Now, at least, we are everybody s 
friends. This 'is undoubtedly the most interesting post in 
Europe for the time being, and 1 would not be anywhere else 
for the wealth of the Indies. 
(3'o he continued). 
Merchant Seamen 
By N. M. F. Corbett. 
THE North wind flays them or, in wrath. 
Shatters their frail ships with his breath. 
Fog-wreaths becloud them and their path 
Is fraught with peril, sown with death. 
Yet with unconquered hand and eye 
They guide our freighted argosies 
That England may be fed thereby, 
There are 00 words for such as these. 
The slinking death that lurks unseen 
Beneath the sea's unruffled face 
From mine or coward submarine 
That stabs and flees without a trace 
Cannot affright them or restrain 
Their keels from furrowing England's seas 
Wherefore our foemen boast in vain : 
There are no words for men as these. 
The shrieking winds, the sateless seas, 
Bear witness to the deaths they die. 
The gulls have seen their agonies 
In open boats. The pitiless sky 
That mocks their failing sight, is spread 
In flaming splendour o'er their graves 
And sees the Merchant Flag, bloo^-red 
Stain at the last the encroaching wsyves. 
No ribbons on their breasts tHey bear ; 
No gilded scroll records their names ; 
Who daily out or homeward fare 
From Falmouth, Mersey, Clyde or Thames, 
And in frail ships to sea go down 
With none to mark their perilous ways 
Save where, perchance, in some grey town 
A lonely woman waits and prays. 
Yet in this hour of England's need 
They come to serve Her still the same : 
The lion-hearted, sea-dog breed 
No foe may daunt, no sea may tame. 
Unconquerable as they live 
Unconquered, drowning in the seas. 
What words of homage can we give ? 
There are no words for such as these. 
A Flying Episode 
By Morley Sharp 
The Reprisal 
THE sun rose gradually over the hillside and shone on 
the hangars of the aerodrome, and the loose canvas 
flapped lazily in the early morning breeze. Above 
in the clear air circled two planes, rising ever 
higher and higher, " getting their altitude " before proceeding 
eastward to the battle-.-ionc, where the thunder of the guns had, 
with the advent of day, increased tenfold. Others could 
be seen far up in the sky, darting to and fro, turning and 
diving, while the white puffs burst ever and anon close to them, 
showing the effect of the shrapnel, ten thousand feet aloft. 
In his office sat the Squadron-Commander, a Major still 
several years below thirty. He was a short wiry little man, 
and his face bore the expression of one who had early learnt 
to laugh at death. The look in his restless grey eyes belonged 
to no particular age, and his dark hair was sUghtly tinged 
with grey. He was engaged, over an early cup of tea, in look- 
ing over the pilots' reports of the previous day while the 
Recording Officer, seated in a comer, strove to stifle his 
yawns over a newspaper. 
A knock at the door roused the sleepy gentleman, and the 
Orderly Officer entered and saluted. 
" Well ? " said the CO. 
" There's a Boche overhead, sir," replied the young officer, 
" mancEuvrin' to bomb us." 
" What the ! " exclaimed the CO. 
" Two of ours are engagin' him, sir," replied the Orderly 
Officer, " he's that fast new plane of their's that's been over 
two or three times and " but the CO. had gone through 
the door of the office, and the Recording Officer was making 
tracks to follow him with all speed. 
Outside, group.5 of officers and mechanics stood gazing 
upwards at the three planes, whose continued humming 
sounded loud above the roar of the guns. The CO. strode 
up to a group who were stationed outside the mess. The 
senior Flight Commander saluted. 
" That's that one of their's, sir," said he, "which came over 
yesterday. I think he reckons he's found us out. He came 
right over the top of our fellows — must have been fifteen 
thousand at least. He's coming down now to aim." 
All eyes remained riveted on the three planes, which 
circled and dashed hither and thither, while the tap-tap of 
their machine-guns sounded faintly to the spectators. 
" He was right over us once," said the senior Flight Com- 
mander, " and we thought he'd got us. It was just when he 
first arrived. They seem to be keeping him off now. Hah ! 
" Look out !" yelled the CO., and every officer threw him- 
self flat on the ground, as the large German plane separated 
itself from the two others and made straight over the 
aerodrome. 
A dull thud close by, and nothing more. A few seconds and 
everyone was on his feet, some looking round to see where the 
bomb had fallen, others up at the planes again, as the large 
Boche made off, hotly pursued. Cries of " a dud," " Didn't 
explode," " Where is it ? " " Good shot," " What was it ? 
A figure appeared from between the hangars and came 
quickly across to where the CO. was standing. It was the 
Sergeant- Major and he held an envelope in his hand". 
" It was a weighted sand-bag, sir," said he, in answer to the 
Major's look of enquiry, " fell be'ind the second 'angar, sir, 
an' burst as soon as it touched the ground. That's what was 
inside of it, sir." 
The CO. took the envelope. It was addressed, in type- 
writing, to the Commanding Officer, Royal FTying Corps. 
He opened it and read the contents. They were as follows : 
"A sguadron of fifteen of our aeroplanes have carried out 
a successful attack on London. Many bombs were dropped 
ivith considerable effect. All our machines returned safely." 
The CO. slowly tore the message up and scattered the pieces 
on the ground. Then he looked up again at the two planes 
in which his officers were chasing the bearer of it, and his teeth 
clenched and he held his breath. 
The three were now some distance away, speeding towards the 
German lines, the Boche in front with his pursuers close behind. 
The rattle of their machine-guns was prolonged, though very 
faint. The spectators strained their eyes. Suddenly a shout 
came from several. It was the sight of the Boche plane fall- 
ing slowly but surely while its pursuers remained aloft. Lower 
and lower it came until the difference. in height between it and 
the two others had become several thousand feet. Then it 
was that, as those on the ground watched, they saw it burst 
into flames and fall like a stone. 
A grim smile overspread the C.O.'s features as he turned 
away and went back to his office. 
