mbled forward, with slow, jerky,
uncertain movements. The sight of it was weird enough in all conscience.
At one moment its nose disappeared, then with a slide and an upward
glide it climbed to the other side of a deep shell crater which lay in
its path. I stood amazed and watched its antics. I forgot all about my
camera, and my desire to obtain a picture of this weird and terrifying
engine of destruction. Like everyone else, its unexpected appearance on
the scene first surprised and then held me under its strange influence.

So that was the "Hush! hush!"--the Juggernaut Car of Battle. One of the
Tanks, the secret of whose appearance, and indeed of whose very
existence, had been guarded more carefully than all the treasures of the
Indies.

Truly Bosche was in for a big surprise.

[Illustration]

All this time I had scarce taken my eyes off the ugly-looking monster.
It waddled, it ambled, it jolted, it rolled, it--well it did everything
in turn and nothing long--or wrong. And most remarkable of all, this
weird-looking creature with a metal hide performed tricks which almost
made one doubt the evidence of one's senses. Big, and ugly, and awkward
as it was, clumsy as its movements appeared to be, the thing seemed
imbued with life, and possessed of the most uncanny sort of intelligence
and understanding. It came to a crater. Down went its nose; a slight
dip, and a clinging, crawling motion, and it came up merrily on the
other side. And all the time as it slowly advanced, it breathed and
belched forth tongues of flame; its nostrils seemed to breathe death
and destruction, and the Huns, terrified by its appearance, were mown
down like corn falling to the reaper's sickle.

Presently it stopped. The humming ceased. The spell was broken. We
looked at one another, and then we laughed. How we laughed! Officers and
men were doubled up with mirth as they watched the acrobatic antics of
this mechanical marvel--this Wellsian wonder.

Now the metal monster was on the move again. It was advancing on the
German position. The Bosche machine-guns got busy and poured a very hail
of shells and bullets upon the oncoming death-dealer. It made no
difference. The Tank pursued its way, unperturbed by all the racket of
the exploding metal on its sides. Shells seemed to glide off it quite
harmlessly. Bullets had no effect upon this extraordinary apparition.

Fritz must have thought the devil himself had broken loose from hell and
was advanc