When at last I walk back alone, under the starlit sky, to my cabin, it seems utterly impossible to believe that I _have_ been actually to Namur--that I have actually travelled over three hundred miles since I last walked along that path a few hours ago. It seems incredible that my soft right hand has actually this night caused damage and brought death to that far, far remote place, which even now is in a state of confusion. Vividly I realise the amazing wonder of flying; vividly I feel the strange fascination of night-bombing, with its long journeys and sense of domination--its sense of being almost divine. Five weeks later, to the mapping office comes the intelligence report-- "_A Rapatrié reports:--On the night of September 29th Allied aircraft successfully attacked the Luxembourg bridge at Namur, which was badly damaged. 17 German civilians were killed._" IX. TRAGEDY. "No gold of poetry will deck this tale, This gloomy record of an awful night; With pleasant words my fear I will not veil, Or hide the horrors of the fatal flight. So all seemed peace to us as we flew on, When suddenly the hand of heartless fate Passed lightly over us, and then was gone, But it had left a legacy of hate." --_The Ordeal._ "To-night an attempt is going to be made to sink blocking vessels, filled with cement, in the harbour mouths at Ostend and Zeebrugge. It is intended, as a distraction, to land specially trained men on the Mole, where they are going to burn down and destroy everything they can. "The whole plan has been under consideration for weeks, and has been carefully worked out. We have been given the task of lending assistance by two methods--by desultory bombing, and by dropping flares. I have here a number of cards--one for each machine. On these cards are given the exact details of the duty given to that machine. If you follow them exactly the aerial operations will work without a hitch. Roughly, the idea is like this: From 10 o'clock till 1 A.M. machines will be bombing Zeebrugge Mole and Batteries incessantly--as one machine finishes, another will carry on. Then, beginning from one o'clock--when the bombing parties will be attacking the Mole--you will begin to drop parachute flares to help the people on the ground to see what they are doing. A great flare will be lit on a vessel twenty miles north-west of Ostend to show that up to then operations are proceeding satisfactorily, and also as a final check for time. "This is a great opportunity for the Squadron. The work given to us, if carried out satisfactorily, will be of enormous value to the Naval units. I know I can rely on you to do what is required. Now this is the list of the machines: First machine--Pilot J. R. Allan, Observer P. Bewsher--bombs Zeebrugge Mole from 10.30 to 11.30--drops flares at 1 o'clock...."