BLAKE OF THE R.F.C.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17459, 1 May 1920, Page 2 (Supplement)

BLAKE OF THE R.F.C.

AN AIRMAN'S LOVE STOEY.. BY LT.-COLONEL H. CURTES. \ Author of "When England Slept," jjj| : \ (COPYRIGHT.) ■ '.X^\ CHAPTER XXVl.—(Continued.) ':•'% "You have your clever husband, Helen. I you have reason to be proud of him." - '-' C "And I am, dear, very pruud; but lafWl is only clever in a qitet way, and most ' \ of his work is beneath the surface. Yon \ i see he succeeded a very brilliant man, ad : f i oh! Vera, you fortunate girl, {Jure ir'N|i another relative to be proud of, your half. *' brother, Lord Salvington. Have ynu heard ' 1 of him lately? Tell me all the news, \Mt have heard nothing." '"s : f "Yes, he has reached England safelv ; @| although his ship was torpedoed. Ho',, ||| ever, they think little of that now-a-dayj . \ They all got into the boats, ard no oci '~s]l was lost. Salv'ngton has taken up com. v! mand of his regiment, and expects to 55 ||| to France soon." . i|fj "I believe he will make a great name and so do others. He has wonderful genre,'-ipj and more thr.n that he is thorough." '%% "Oh! for a great general'" cried Vera. \ "Another Napoleon, when is he going to 'f j arise?" A| "Who knows," answered Helen Rath. M; urst;"it may be your brother. And oa» Ip more question. Where is Hugh Vereker'" '%'-\ Vera laughed. |§ J "He went away perfectly ha,)py, and I 3$ have had a letter from him since he has »*a rejoined his regiment. He says that he k 1 feels a man now that he has got away from the enervating air of Egypt. Com. '%< plimentary to me, isn't it? Do yon knoir 'te ] what he did the night before he left? He-HI took off his red tabs and publicly burnt W them with his staff cap in front of fte«|| mess of the' Fusiliers, who gave him iJI send-off dinner." ;'■;;' Helen laughed. W "I don't think he was ever cut out for i|S staff officer," she 'but he may make - ; S' a very gallant leader of men. And now ; dear, one more question. When are yon vto be married?" fci^k "Well," answered Vera with a pretty £ smile, stroking her glove, "we have settle:!: '¥■ on the second week in February." "And where are you going for the honsy-.;/ moon?" ' r ii< "To Assouan, I think, and then hom* with father on a warship via Teranto." "You will have a lovely time ai!|f| Assouan, it will be at its best then, bai '.. hush! here comes the C. in C." ' "H The popular commander-in-chief arrived 11 in a motor with his "chief" and other l| officers, and took up his stand at the fl saluting base, for there was to be a march fl past. J But first of all another ceremony was to : |J be performed. -^? Immediately facing the general was an 'f officer, carrying his left arm in a sling. ® One of the staff officers stepped forward > and commenced reading — "Extract from London Gazette of 15th December:—■ "His Majesty has been pleased to confer I upon Major Arthur Blake, M.C., D.5.0., * Royal Flying Corps, the decoration of j the Victoria Cross, for the following gall- | ant conduct | "Being on the 14th November last in % command of the air defence of Cairo daring \ the enemy raid in the early hours of that •' day, Major Arthur Blake attacked a large \ Gotha machine heavily armed, and after ' a combat of considerable duration succeeded in killing its observer. At very great risk of his own machine being % shelled Major Blake then forced the Gotha | with great skill into such a position that 1 its pilot had either to run the gauntlet of * the barrage or descend and surrender. The pilot— was subsequently discover- ' ed to be Hauptmann Von Schenck, the head of tLa Turco-German Air Service— ' chose the former caurse, was caught by a shell and blo'vn to pieces." I The staff officer made a motion with, j his hand, and Major Arthur Blake advan- \ ced, and stood before the commander -in- i chief. I "Major Blake," said the general, "it I is £. very great pleasure to me to fulfil the i order* of His Majesty, and in his name % to pin upon your breast this, the highest honour for valour your countrv can be- { stow." " 1 Then there was a hurricane of cheering, j and Arthur, to the strains of "See the Con- = quering Hero Comes," saluted and walked % across to where Lady Vera was waiting t for him. |

"Are you happy now, dear?" he asked. "Yes, a3 happy and as proud as a she answered.

It was sunset at Assouan on the Upper Nile, and the river and the town were bathed in those beautiful tints so well known to all travellers in Egypt. Arthur and Vera were walking on the great road by the river after a long day on the water. "And how do you like being Lady Vera Blake?" Arthur asked, banteringly. She looked up in his face, "I am getting almost used to it now, dear," she answered. "I have been using the name for the last ten days. Yes, thank you," she answered in'the same tone in which he asked the question; "I like it very much, sir, thank you. And how do you like having a wife?" He put his arm round her, and cast a giant 3 up and down the road for lurking, spying natives; there was none; he bent down and kissed her.

"That's how I like having a, little wife," M he said. "And now," he continued, "we 'M have to brace ourselves up for our voyage gp rome. Are you sad at leaving all these W beauties?" he indicated the red sheen of % the setting sun on the water. jf§ "I am sorry, and I am not sorrv," she J|l I answered. "I believe, as Doctor L'stowef f&£t i says, that there is an atmosphere of wick- fft j edness in Egypt which is of the absoime % soil; for that reason I am glad to leave || I it; but I have found yon. dear, a loving ® J husband, here in Egypt, and we have been £§ , married here, and for that I am sorry to "fjjf j leave it for those dear associations." " ~M J "And what is to be cur future?' he "j I asked as they moved on. ':-*.'! Her eyes were look : ng far away as she ;. ; .i j answered him. " T see in the future, you %\ I being yery useful to you. country," she I answered. "I see you ris'rg, as they say v ! I you will—" He interrupted. ' .«'.! "As vour brother .>.i!vit has : a Bri- '• i I gadier-Oeneral already, and a man of mark ."_; after that landing at Ostend." She pressed his irm. 1..|*l "Yes. as successful a? he is. Ynu shall ' jfi,: rise together. I see you, dear." she con- rV j firmed, resting her head on his shoulder, -S.. "being very helpful to your country in i times even harder than these, aid I see ~A you with other strong Englishmen saving 'Jthe old country almost at the eleventh ;il hour from its entnres both within and ;> without, and I see- von coming home to mo • % at night tired and full of your work of the' '&. day." *is£ He pressed her head against his should- js er, and kissed her. "And shall I tell you what I see?" &8 *#' asked. -ilf "Yes." |i "I see the great m'jht of {he British "4§ people, which is its intellect, ris'ng and ||| sweepiu? away Ike cobwebs old moth- ||| eaten customs and fads, which have ham- ||§ pered and hefneced its soldiers and sail- , 'J|| ors from the beriming of this war, I see 'sll the army ru'ed bv tried, strong-willed : j;g; sold : ers, wno have learned their work on j|g these modern fields of battle. I see the xM : navy ruled by great sailors who have ;'||| risen vith fewer and greater schemes born • of the times, I see England, as she ever M| was. Queen of the Sens." ?tfi "And when you come home, dear." she ?|Ni§| a-V?cl i-xiously, "what do you see there?" !*ilfei "I fee the sweetest little wife <'n all the f'ljjrfj world, and the dearest little children.'- J] THE EKD. ; $'llf