Tam O' The Scoots

ere was no surname, though there was no excuse for the timidity which stopped short at "

e, unpolished cedar cabinet with two doors and a key that dangled from one of the knobs. Tam opened the case aft

a card i

d in the Me

acqueentance, who dispoorts hi

e in to inspect the unpac

ways coming over here to see you," he s

ay laugh, Mister Carter, but A' reca' a case wheer a bonnie detective wi' the same name as ye'sel, though A' doot if he wis related to ye, was fo

to his officer, after a brief but baffling examinati

yeer ain seegairs never taste so bonni

r; "we'd started a League for t

Ah weel, a wee seegair is no muckle to gie a

g and laughing at yourself when you're talking about 'Tam,

red for a second about

k about Tam-would ye talk aboot ye'sel's? Naw! Ye'd go oop an' doon, fichtin' an' deein' wi'oot a waird. If ye'll talk aboot ye'sel's A'll no talk aboot Tam. A' knaw

her like you, Tam

Glasca,'" rep

r of duty" soon after and Tam was o

rols were in, "I liked that cigar-

dly at the very last inch of his own; "the watc

ared Carter, for now

machine skipped and ran over the grou

himself to the examination of a new batch of bl

's down, Ta

oo

up, a frown

e our lines-go up and see

as he had been fond of so many boys who had gone up in the joy and pride of their youth, and had earne

n. He waited temptingly in reachable places a

ming German aeroplane shot downward from the clo

cative. His anger was increased when the inte

ot down his twenty

ting around after dinner, Tam app

with 'em?" asked Bl

d Tam untruthfully, "an' A' thocht ye'd wi

nd Tam went back to his quarters lighter of heart. He slep

m, taking the steaming mug of tea from his ser

lear sky an' all

've no patience wi' the stars-puir silly bodies winkin' an' blinkin' an' doin' nae

e reliefs stood on the groun

?" asked Tam; "wi' a wan face an' a haggaird een, he'll

says the Croon Prince,

on's-blow. Ech!' says Mister MacMuller, 'for why did I leave ma fine job at the gas-wairks to encoonter the perils an' advairsit

-man is soorin' to the skies. He looks oop-what is that se

e devil," said Bl

p his balance. It was as though he were leaning back without support, with great weights piled on his chest. He saw nothing

aight course and knew exactly where he was by a glance at his barometer. At six thousand feet he was behind the British lines at the Bois de Colbert, at seven thousand feet he shoul

spotters lumbering along like farm laborers to their monotonous toil. A gentlemanly fighting machine was doing "stunts" over by Serray and there was no sign of an enemy. Tam looked down. He

pproached so that it seemed that they touched. In other places they drew apart from one another for no apparent reason and there was quite a respectable distance of ground between them. Th

es. From where Tam hung he could see billowing smoke clouds appear in every direction. Far behind the enemy's lines

n shell in the air-he glimpsed it at that culminating point of its trajectory where the shell begins to lose its initial velocity and turns earthward again. It was a curious

nd presently came above a certain confusion of ground which marked an advance depot. He pressed his foot twice on a lever and circled. Looking down he saw two red bursts o

ept him. Already the Archies were banging away at him, and a fragment of shell had actually struck his fuselage. But he was not bothering about Archies.

Müller machine. It was the great white dragon-fly he had seen two days before. Apparently Mülle

to attack. Tam's engine was running beautifully, he could feel a subtle resolution in the "pull" of it; it almost seemed that this thing of steel was po

re less than half a mile from each other and were drawing together at the rate of two hundred miles an hour. There were, therefore, ju

uck his wheel and sent the smashed wood flying. He nose

rome and was laughing qu

me at sixteen thousand feet-Oh, yes. I came down,

dquarters full of schem

ckie. "Why, Tam, it's fine! Müller never goe

a' Ganymede-A'm no' so sure o' Ganymede; A' got him oot of the sairculatin' library an' he was verra dull except the bit whe

, but stopped

itled to a Wee Kirk meenister. Mony's the time A've put a penny i' the collection. It sair grievit me to waste guid mo

communications, fighting his way back from the interior of Belgium single-handed, for he had allowed himself to be "rounded out" and had to dispose of two enemy machines before he c

e heavens in one straight plummet dive which brou

lackie; "he's about-he shot down Mr. G

aking, "puir soul-he wis a verra gui

id Blackie to Bolt, the observer; "he does

could bring him down. He was out for a collision, I'll swear, and Müller knew it and lost his nerve for

e. The new B. I. 6 is rea

other machine could do, and could also behave as no self-respecting aeroplane would wish to behave. For example, she was an involuntary "looper." For no apparent reas

is probably without foundation. Then an ingenious American had taken B. I. 5 in hand and had done certain things to her wings, her tail,

portunity without any

ma ain idea what B. I. stands for. It's no complimentary to the inve

is tha

hile A'm on the subject of leeterature A'd like yee

d sheet of paper, o

seelance o

on dooty m

ngels

gaillant b

t lairst!' th

ho'll teach

e, he's

h a smile, "but suppose

ain wreath," said Tam si