Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XVII. Two More Days on the Channel Coast
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
TWO MORE DAYS ON THE CHANNEL COAST 287
over the guns. Now and again he disappeared among the httle
white clouds ; the rascal was evidently following the coast to
see what the Germans were up to in the neighbourhood of
Ostend. When he was at his nearest, we could hear the droning
of his engine. As usual, it was with a certain feeling of satis-
faction that I saw him diminish in size and gradually vanish.
Once more we took our seat on the edge of the trench and
were just being threatened with coffee when Haak, sweeping
the misty horizon with his telescope, reported that a destroyer
was in sight. We went up to have a look. Quite right ; the
outline of the boat was quite distinct, though faint. The
distance was gauged at three kilometres. Things suddenly
became livelier. One could not tell exactly what might happen.
The coast batteries had fired on British ships earlier in the day
and it was thought that two of them had been hit, seeing that
the squadron withdrew. Perhaps it was now returning at full
strength. We had reason to think that the ships were receiving
heliographic signals from the coast. Yesterday a couple of
spies had been caught, who could not give a satisfactory
account of themselves and who, if convicted, would land in
the churchyard.
So the order rang out to man the guns. The men scuttled
off to their posts like as many rats. " Ready to fire !
" The
first shot rang out, and the other three followed at short
intervals. We could see where the shells struck from the
cascade of spray that formed on striking the water, but could
not tell whether any hits had been scored. In any case, the
destroyer remained where she was. She seemed to take it
very quietly but could not tell where the fire came from, and
her crew had long been inured to the rough music.
On the way back we stopped a moment at Mariakerke and
peered out from behind the cover of a house. A battery
further west had also begun to fire and the little water-spouts
were clearly discernible. But the destroyer’s guns had not
seemed anxious to join in the tune and the boat soon dis-
appeared in the mist.
This had, however, given me an opportunity of seeing how a
coast battery is worked and what sort of a time the officers
and men have of it. Constant watchfulness day and night !
" Ever ready !
" That is their motto. The discipline is of the
very strictest and the officers expect the most absolute and im-
mediate obedience to their orders. The result is that the under-
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
