Anti-aircraft guns now opened up on it from our lines in an endeavor to
destroy it and prevent it getting into the hands of the enemy, and
German airplanes and anti-aircraft guns were also firing at it, so that
it was a target for all concerned. This, perhaps, is about the only
incident in the entire war to date where both the British and the
Germans were equally bent upon the destruction of a common object.
The wind suddenly changed and a steady current of air in the other
direction brought it back over our own lines; then the two remaining men
seized the opportunity to leave the floater in their parachutes,
dropping to safety. A bevy of our planes then went after it, riddled it
with rifle bullets, causing the gas to escape, and it finally sank
majestically to the ground.
After the battle, I resumed my place at the gun and the usual day's
work. Two days later I was detailed to watch for airplanes and was
sitting crouched under a culvert, when the familiar humming struck my
ear. I could not at first locate it, and crawled out to have a better
look skyward, but still failed to place it.
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