Shell-torn areas between the trench lines, the yellow earth
showing its wounds plainly from well above, caught the eyes of the
fliers.
The bark of a bursting anti-aircraft shell heralded their arrival in
the danger zone. From the earth the tiny white shell clouds have a
fascination for the onlooker. More so perhaps, than for the man
in an aeroplane, not many yards distant from the bursting shrapnel.
The ball of fluff that follows the sharp "bang" is small at first,
but unrolls itself lazily until it assumes quite a size. That morning
the anti-aircraft gunners seemed unusually accurate. The third shell
burst not far below the plane, and two bits of the projectile
punctured the canvas with an odd "zipp." Some shells came so close
that the explosions gave the machine a distinct airshock, though no
other shell struck the plane.
Archie swung his plane now this way now that to render the aim of the
"Archies" below ineffective, smiling to himself, to think that the
nickname given to the anti-aircraft guns was his own given name.
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