sked artillery which broke in upon their absorption. Looking
round, they observed three French aeroplanes soaring around and above
them at high speed. Scarcely had they realised the situation before
a spirited mitraireuse fire was rained upon them. One of the German
aeroplanes was speedily disabled. Its fuel tank was riddled and it sank
rapidly, finally crashing to earth in the deadly dive head foremost,
and killing both its occupants in the fall. The second aeroplane hurried
away with its pilot wounded. In the excitement of the aerial melee the
first French aeroplane had been forgotten. It was now scarcely 100 feet
above the German artillery. A capture appeared to be imminent, but the
Germans received a rude surprise. Suddenly the aeroplane exploded and a
hail of shrapnel burst over the heads of the artillerymen.

The circumstance was decidedly uncanny, but after two or three such
experiences of exploding aeroplanes the matter was explained. The
apparently helpless aeroplane was merely a glider, which, instead of
carrying a man, had a booby-trap aboard.

It appears that the French airmen have found a use for the aeroplanes
which are considered unsafe for further use. The motor and propeller are
removed and the dummy of explosives is strapped into position. The
laden glider is then taken aloft by means of an airship, and in the
concealment of the clouds is released, the rudder being so set as to
ensure a gradual vol-plane towards the suspicious position below. The
explosive cargo is set with a time fuse, the arrangement being that the
contents will be detonated while the machine is near the ground, unless
this end is accelerated by a well-planted shell from an anti-aircraft
gun. The decoy glider is generally accompanied by one or two aeroplanes
under control, which keep under the cover of the clouds until the
hostile aviators have been drawn into the air, when they swoop down
to the attack. The raiders are fully aware that they are not likely to
become the target of fire from the ground, owing to the fact that the
enemy's artillery might hit its friends. Consequently the antagonistic
airmen are left to settle their own account. In the meantime the
dummy machine draws nearer to the ground to explode and to scatter its
death-dealing fragments of steel, iron, and bullets in all directions.

Possibly in no other phase of warfare is subterfuge practised so
extensively as in the concealment of guns. The branches of trees
co