y away in the darkness some fifteen miles to the
south-east--awake, watchful, but unsuspecting--when the British
bombarding squadron steamed in towards the coast to take up its allotted
position and wait for daybreak.

It was a heterogeneous fleet, screened by fast-moving destroyers,
torpedo-boats, trawlers, M.L.'s and C.M.B.'s. The great hulls of
monitors loomed black against the paling east, and the long thin lines
of destroyers moved stealthily across the shadowy sea. No lights were
visible, and only the occasional rhythmic thud of propellers and the
call of an awakened sea-bird broke the stillness of the morning calm.

The sky was not yet alive with the whir of seaplanes, and the air
remained undisturbed by the shattering roar of guns and shells. It was
that brief space of time in which even Nature seems to hold her breath
and make ready for the coming storm. The only movement other than the
continued circling of destroyers was towards the shallow water close
inshore, where powerful tugs were towing large barges--flat-bottomed
craft carrying gigantic tripods made of railway metals. At predetermined
places these were dropped overboard into the shallow sea and, with their
legs embedded in the sandy bottom and their apices towering high above
the surface, they formed observation platforms from which, in
conjunction with aerial scouts, the fire of the big ships could be
accurately directed on to the fortifications ashore.

These tripods were laid a distance apart and quite away from the
bombarding ships, but a system of range-finding and signalling had been
organised and an officer chosen as a "spotter" in each trestle.

The post of honour was on one or other of these observation towers,
alone with the necessary instruments. The big shells from the shore
batteries would scream overhead; some would plough up the water close
by, smothering the tripod with spray, and the smaller guns would direct
their fire against these eyes of the bombarding fleet. The chances were
in favour of a hit, then there would be nothing left of the tripod or
the spotter, simply a brief report to the Admiral Commanding that No.
---- observation post had been destroyed and later a fresh name in the
casualty lists. It was, however, accepted as the fortune of war, and
many volunteered.

The sky brightened until a pale yellow glow suffused the east, while
behind the bombarding fleet the western horizon was still a cold, hazy
blue. A flight of se