"But what effect can it possibly have?" "It might take him different ways," said the philosopher cautiously though sombrely. "But it's a good thing, anyway, Miss Farmond, that the laird of Stanesland is no likely to get married." "Isn't he?" she asked again, with that encouraging note. Bisset replied with another question, asked in an ominous voice. "Have ye seen yon castle o' his, miss?" Cicely nodded. "I called there once with Lady Cromarty." "A most interesting place, miss, illustrating the principle of thae castles very instruotively." Mr Bisset had evidently been studying architecture as well as science, and no doubt would have given Miss Farmond some valuable information on the subject. But she seemed to lack enthusiasm for it to-day. "But will the castle prevent him marrying?" she inquired with a smile. "The lady in it will," said the philosopher with a sudden descent into worldly shrewd ness. "Miss Cromarty! Why?" "She's mair comfortable there than setting off on her travels again. That's a fao', miss." "But- but supposing he --"Cicely began and then paused. "Oh, the laird's no' the marrying sort, anyhow. He says to me himself one day when I'd taken the liberty of suggesting that a lady would suit the castle fine-we was shooting, and I was carrying his cartridges, which I do for amusement, miss, whiles'Bisset,' says he, 'the lady will have to be a damned keen shot to think me worth a cartridge. I'm too tough for the table,' says he, and not ornamental enough to stuff. They've let me off so far, and why the he-' begging your pardon, miss, but Stanesland uses strong expressions sometimes. 'Why the something,' says he, 'should they want to put me in the bag now? I'm happier free-and so's the lady.' But he's a grand shot and a vera friendly gentleman, vera friendly indeed. It's a pity though he's that ugly." "Ugly!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I don't think him ugly at all. He's very strikinglooking. I think he is rather handsome." Bisset looked at her with a benevolently reproving eye. "Weel, miss, it's all a matter of taste, but to my mind Stanesland is a fine gentleman, but the vera opposite extreme from a Venus." He broke off and glanced towards the house. "Oh, help us! There's one of thae helpless women crying on me. How this house would get on wanting me- !" He left Miss Farmond to paint the gloomy picture for herself. (To be continued.) I EASTERN NIGHTS-AND FLIGHTS. (BEING AN INTERRUPTED SEQUEL TO 'AN AIRMAN'S OUTINGS.') A RECORD OF CAPTURE IN PALESTINE, ADVENTURE IN BY "CONTACT" (CAPTAIN ALAN BOTT, M.C.) CHAPTER I.-THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS. Most of us who were at close grips with the Great War will remember the habit of speculation about life on the far side of the front. Somewhere beyond the frontier of trenches, we realised, were our opposite numbers - infantrymen, gunners, aviators, staff officers, mess orderlies, generals, captains, lance - corporals each according to character, rank, and duties, and to the position he occupied by reason of ability, courage, initiative, old age, selfadvertisement, or wire-pulling. We saw them through a glass, darkly-a glass that, being partly concave, partly convex, and almost impenetrable throughout, showed us our opposite numbers as distorted reflections of ourselves. We knew well that if we went through, round, or over this glass we should find ourselves in an unnatural world, where we should be negative instead of positive, passive instead of active, useless scrapiron instead of working parts of a well-construoted machine. Yet we never considered the possibility of being obliged, in that unreal world, to live such a life of impotence. Our eompanions, now, might have the bad luck to be dragged there; but our sense of normality would not let us reckon with such an unusual happening in our own case. And then, perhaps, one fine day or night found us isolated in an attack, or shot down in an air fight; and we would be in the topsy-turvy country of captivity. captivity. Some of us, who passed into this country from the curious East, tumbled headover-heels upon adventures fantastio 25 those of any fictional explorer of the wonderland Through the LookingGlass of fancy. The particular job of our detached flight of Nieuports was always to be ready, between dawn and sunrise, to leap into the air at a moment's notice and climb towards whatever enemy aircraft were signalled as approaching from the north. Usually we flew in pairs, for the work was of the tip-and-run variety, and needed, above all things, speed in leaving the ground and speed in climbing; and a larger party would have been slower, because of the exigencies of formation flying. two pilots on the waiting list would come within easy reach of their flying kit. Even with the fast-climbing Nieuport it was difficult indeed to reach a height of 10,000 to 12,000 feet in time to get to grips with machines which were at that height while we were reading monthold newspapers on solid earth. But practice, and co-operation with the Archie gunners by means of directional shots, enabled us to find the blackcrossed trespassers often enough to give them a wholesome fear of venturing any distance beyond the lines. Indeed I never found a group of German machines, however many they might be, attacking a pair of Nieuports, or S. E. 5's, or Bristol Fighters. "A A A four H. A. flying S. Up till the last few weeks towards Mulebbis 10,000 feet of 1917 the Flying Corps in A A A" would be telephoned Palestine had, frankly, a diffiby an anti-aircraft battery. oult time. This was by no The bell (made out of a Le manner of means the fault Rhone cylinder) would clang, of the pilots, nor of the the "standing by " pilots R.F.C. Staff on the spot. would fasten caps and goggles It was an inevitable result as they raced to their buses, of the poliey of gentlemen the mechanics would swing in England who were giving the propellers into position as the Eastern fronts certain the pilots climbed into the types of machine which seemed cockpits, the engines would specially designed to give swell from a murmur to a their crews a minimum chance roar, and, three minutes after of defending themselves-types the sentinel - operator had which had to be dumped scribbled the warning, two somewhere, because other genNieuports would would be away tlemen in England had oracross the sun-browned grass dered them in hundreds and and up into the cool air. A thousands long after they olimbing turn, at about 100 should have been obsolete feet, and they would streak as regards active service. upward, at an angle of 45 Thus, apart from a few Bearddegrees, to the air country more Martinsydes-excellent above Mulebbis. And the next as light bombers, but never much good as fighting craft, even when they were first used on the French front in 1916the only British aircraft in Palestine prior to the last few weeks of 1917 were the much too "inherently stable" B.E. brands, officially designed, officially promoted, officially ordered by the thousand, while better privately-designed types were ordered by the score, and officially foisted on oversea squadrons so that they be the unofficial bugbear of active service pilots. And the German fighting pilots in Palestine, particularly one Oberleutnant Felmy, with their Albatross single-seaters, enjoyed themselves immensely for a while. With the arrival of a few Nieuports on the British side they enjoyed themselves rather less, and when some Bristol Fighters, and later still some S.E. 5's flew into the arena, the Air Boche, Palestine species, had a perfectly beastly time. The R.F.C. Brigadier-General used his reinforcements to the best advantage, and after one or two special exploits (like that of Captain Peter Drummond, D.8.O., M.C., whe, on a Bristol Fighter, destroyed three German machines over their own aerodrome within ten minutes of attacking them) we seldom found any black-crossed oraft over our part of the lines. At the period of which I write-March to May 1918-it was not too much to say that enemy machines, even when in superior force, never fought our Bristol Fighters, S.E. 5's, or Nieuports unless there was no chance of keeping at a safe distance. Once three of us were able to chase five German scouts and one two-seater for twenty miles over enemy country until they reached their hangars at Jenin, out-dived us because of their heavier weight, and landed without the least pretence of showing fight, while we relieved our feelings by looping the loop over their aerodrome. Those were pleasant days, in pleasant surroundings. Our tents were pitched in an orange grove, which provided shade from the midday sun, privacy from the midnight pilfering of Bedouins, and loveliness at all times. The fruit had just ripened, and by stretching an arm outside the tent-flap, one could pick full-blooded, giant Jaffa oranges. Passing troops bought at the rate of five a penny the best Jaffas, stolen from our enclosure by young imps of Arabs. In the heat of afternoon the four of us who were not standing by for the next call would moech through the orange-trees for a siesta; and in the cool of the evening we would drive to the sands for a moonlight bathe in the shimmering Mediterranean, For the rest, one could always visit Jaffa, where were some friendly nurses, and a Syrian barber who could out hair quite decently. Apart from these attractions, however, and the mud hovel that may or may not have been the house of Simon the Tanner, Jaffa was just like any other town in the Palestine zone of occupation, were splendid, but too reckless, he thought. As for the maohines, the Bristol Fighter was the work of the devil, and to be avoided at all costs; the B.E. 8 might safely be attacked unless it were well protected, the British single-seaters were good, but the German Flying Corps regarded the B. E. types as "sehr komisch." Later, when I was myself a prisoner, I found these statements echoed by other German pilots. and occasionally informative, and as he had been a flying contemporary of mine on the Western front in 1916 and 1917, I took him for a 808bathe before he went back to his oage, while taking the precaution to swim closely behind him. with its haphazard medley of Arabs, Jews, and Syrians, all bent on getting-rich-quick by exploiting that highly exploitable person the British soldier. On the evening before my capture I bathed in the company of a German cadet; a circumstance which I thought unusually novel, not foreseeing that my next bathe would also be in the company of a German, albeit under very differ. ent conditions. Оде Offizierstellvertreter As Willi was well-behaved Willi Hampel had been shot down and captured, and was in the prisoners' compound at Ludd. It was decided that before forwarding Hampel to Egypt, the best way to milk him of information would be for another aviator to entertain him, while discussing aeronautios on a basis common interest; and I was detailed for the duty. This rather went against the grain; but Willi knew neither French nor English, and I was the only pilot in the Brigade who could talk German, so that there was no alternative. From his oage I motored Willi to lunch in our mess, showed him our machines and our monkey, and even took him to tea with an agreeable compatriot, in the person of a beautiful German Jewess who was the landlord of some houses at Ramleh. of The information he let slip was not very illuminating-a few truthful statements about machines, pilots, and aerodromes, and a great many obvious lies. But his opinions on our airmen and machines were interesting. Our pilots Next day the heat was intense, so that I was glad indeed when the arrival of a A.E.G. from the north gave me the chance to climb to the cool levels of 8,000 to 10,000 feet, flying hatless and in shirtsleeves. The trespassing twoseater spotted us, and retired before we could reach its height. But the next turn of my flying partner and me, in the late afternoon, brought us the good fortune of sending a Hun bus to earth-from sheer fright, not out of control, unfortunately-in open country. I was well content on landing, for the atmosphere was cooler, less oppressive, and almost pleasant, and my day's work should have been done. But a pony, a monkey, and mischance conspired to send me |