Tam O' The Scoots

as to be one painted sky blue that would "hairmonise wi' the blaw skies," was not a success, nor was his scheme for the creation of artificial clouds attended by any encouraging results. Bu

ain Blackie, who elaborated Tam's rough notes and condensed into a few lines Tam's m

begun somewh

t he has nae ineetiative. He squints oop in the mo

h, A'm thinkin'-go you, Fritz an' Hans an' C

'Nein,' he says, 'ye daunt knaw w

nant. 'Are ye Gairman heroes or just low-d

feller is Tam o' the Scoots

ask the lad to coom doon an' tak' a soop wi

form the preliminary chapter of the

ptain Blackie at breakfast; "he br

demanded half a dozen vo

said young Carter regretfully.

through H. Q.

ining yesterday that life was getting too monotonous. By th

s liked von Zeidlitz-he called him 'Fritz Fokker' ever

w with his hands thrust into his

come

little machine came skimming across the broad ground of the aerodrome and in a fe

went out

m-anything

s hand-he ne

look at me eenstruments

y,

ye,

into the fuselage. What he saw made him gasp, and he cam

nd feet, Tam?" asked the astonished Bl

d Tam; "if A' were no' at fo

ie la

y thousand feet-no human being can rise eight miles. To get up fi

slapped his long

reakfast, so A' went oop a bit an' a bit more an' two fellers came behint me. There's an ould joke

ll right, anyho

cht. Attacked by owerwhelmin' foorces, shot at afore an' behint, the noble laddie didna lose his nairve. Mutterin' a brief-a verra brief-prayer that the Hoons would be strafed, he climbt an' climbt ti

es were

rt were

Scoot was

Captain, at a height of twenty-three thoosand feet.

far wrong-well

in o' yon Hoons did no' get hame. Mon!

or him, he found him lying on his bed smoking a long black cigar, his

," said Captain Blackie, "

r' doon? Puir laddie! He were a

the man you shot

re bright wit

him. He wis above me, d'ye ken? 'Ah naw!' says I. 'Ye'll no try that tailbitin' trick on Tam,' says I; 'naw, Freetz-!' An' I maneuvered

a wreath over-he'll b

eartily, "and if ye'll no mind, Captain, A'd l

At the end of that time he produced with awkward and unusual

n to Mr.

of th

lackie, sir-r," said Tam nervously

d an' no

lyin' her

at half-p

rra well

that God

n who die

pathy wi' a' his loved ains,'" said Tam. "A' d

ane-his own machine being in the hands of the mechanics-and Tam climbed into the seat. In five minutes he was pushin

g for Ludezeel. Archies blazed and banged at him, leaving a trail of puff balls to mark his course; an enemy scout came out of the c

the earth, for the anti-aircraft batteries suddenly ceased fire, and when, approaching Ludezeel, Tam sighted

on making its way to the grounds. He came down to a thousand feet and dropped his parachute.

m, and began to

redoubtable fighter, Baron von Hansen-Bassermann, and he p

auled the German to safety, and, beyond a bur

-looking youth. He was, moreover, an undergraduat

said Blackie, an

war. Where's

looked up at the unflecked blue of the sky,

odded and s

ought I knew his touch-does he 'l

" said a cho

ng for me," said the baron ruefully.

looked

ench machine within fifty mi

ke a Frenchman's holiday. It is curious how one gets those quaint impressions in the air-it is a sort o

ry," said Blackie, and they all went into the mess-room together, and for an hour the ro

ny story to tell about the driving down of the baron's machine. He could only say that he "kent" the baron and had met his Albatross

e wing commander. "He's just off to the

r and shook hands w

m to remember yer face though A' hae no' met ye-only to shoot at

e smile. "Oh, before I forget, we very much appreciated your

crimson wi

"Ye couldna' 'a' made me more

w back his hea

elf. There's a new man come to u

r MacMuller?" a

tain Müller?" asked the

d, mon-sir-r, A'

her case. From this he extracted two or three newspape

m, "'yesterday shot doon hi

carefully. "I can tell you no

that, sir-r," said

ns received from headquarters to "search enemy territor

led down with his report as

ke a doormoose-A' haird his snoor risin' to heaven an' ma hairt wis sick wi' disappointed longin'. 'Hoo long

t of the American Squadron-Lefèvre, the wing commander, was up to-day. Apparently Beaumont is an exceedingly rich youn

heir hands upon and watched the two tiny machines that

e chaser, as though despairing of overtaking his quarry, wou

ever looked upon his face! Isn't it weird? That's von Hansen-Bassermann's ninth sense. They can't speak-they can't even see on

m supposed

sently and we'll ask David how he came to meet Jo

s sporting companion and came round in a little more than twice his own length. He saw his strange friend's hand rais

ite dragon-fly, and as he looked the

have been doing one hundred and twenty miles an hour, but for the fact that he was climbing at

s plan that he did not see Tam until the Scot was driving blindly to meet him-until the first shower from Tam's Lewis gun rained on wing and fuselage. The German swerved in his driv

se-dived with Tam behind him, but now his nose was for home, and Tam, after a five-mile pursuit, came round and made for home also. Near his own lines he came u

d Tam, shak

sing?" asked Blac

but a wee bit too canny an' a big bit too fast. Captain Blackie, sir-r, can ye no get me a machin

t machine in France, T

no

aged by the fine things that the baron said aboot ma poetry. Ech! A've got a graund vairse in ma heid for Mr. Muller's