e and
fell within thirty yards of our tail. These were "onions," the flaming
rockets which the Boche keeps for any hostile aircraft that can be lured
to a height between 4000 and 6000 feet.

I yelled to V., my pilot, that we should have to dodge. We side-slipped
and swerved to the left. A minute later the stream of onions had
disappeared, greatly to my relief, for the prospect of a fire in the air
inspires in me a mortal funk. Soon we were to pass from the unpleasant
possibility to the far more unpleasant reality.

Once outside the unhealthy region, we climbed to a less dangerous
height. Again we became the target for a few dozen H.E. shells. We broke
away and swooped downward. Some little distance ahead, and not far
below, was a group of five Albatross two-seaters. V. pointed our machine
at them, in the wake of the flight-commander's bus.

Next instant the fuselage shivered. I looked along the inside of it and
found that a burning shell fragment was lodged on a longeron, half-way
between my cockpit and the tail-plane. A little flame zigzagged over
the fabric, all but died away, but, being fanned by the wind as we lost
height, recovered and licked its way toward the tail. I was too far away
to reach the flame with my hands, and the fire extinguisher was by the
pilot's seat. I called for it into the speaking-tube. The pilot made no
move. Once more I shouted. Again no answer. V.'s earpiece had slipped
from under his cap. A thrill of acute fear passed through me as I stood
up, forced my arm through the rush of wind, and grabbed V.'s shoulder.

"Fuselage burning! Pass the fire extinguisher!" I yelled.

My words were drowned in the engine's roar; and the pilot, intent on
getting near the Boches, thought I had asked which one we were to
attack.

"Look out for those two Huns on the left," he called over his shoulder.

"Pass the fire extinguisher!"

"Get ready to shoot, blast you!"

"Fire extinguisher, you ruddy fool!"

A backward glance told me that the fire was nearing the tail-plane at
the one end and my box of ammunition at the other, and was too serious
for treatment by the extinguisher unless I could get it at once.
Desperately I tried to force myself through the bracing-struts and
cross-wires behind my seat. To my surprise, head and shoulders and one
arm got to the other side--a curious circumstance, as afterwards I tried
repeatedly to repeat this contortionist trick on the ground, but failed
every time. Ther