When the Germans occupied Brussels Nurse Cavell was allowed to remain at the head of her hospital. She and her assistants nursed German and Belgian wounded with equal devotion. During the retreat of the Allies from Namur and Mons a large number of British and French soldiers were cut off or lost their units. Many of them were discovered and shot; others hid themselves in trenches, woods, or deserted houses, and some of them were sheltered by friendly farmers, who gave them civilian clothing and helped them to escape into Holland. Many Belgian soldiers also lay in hiding, waiting for a chance to get out of the country. Some of the fugitives, hearing of Nurse Cavell, managed to get into touch with her, and asked her to help them to escape. This she did. She believed that she was only doing her duty to her country in coming to their assistance.
Spies informed the Germans of what she was doing, and on August 5, 1915, she was arrested and put in prison. Mr. Brand Whitlock, the American Minister in Brussels, pleaded for her, but in vain. Her trial began on 7th October, and she was found guilty of acting as a spy. The Germans kept the sentence as secret as possible, and on the evening of Monday, 11th October, Miss Cavell was informed that she would be shot at two o'clock the next morning.
The British chaplain who visited Miss Cavell on the eve of her execution found her very calm and resigned. "She was brave and bright to the last. She professed her Christian faith, and said that she was glad to die for her country."
It is said that the final scene was horrible. Miss Cavell, so it was reported, fainted on the way to execution, and was shot by the officer in command of the firing party as she lay unconscious. When the news leaked out a wave of horror and loathing swept over all the world—except Germany. At home Nurse Cavell was mourned alike in palace and in cottage. A memorial service was held in St. Paul's, and many plans were proposed for keeping her beautiful memory green. On the battlefield our men charged with the cry, "For Miss Cavell!" and the French hailed her as a new Joan of Arc. In the long, black list of German atrocities there is no more inhuman deed than the murder of Nurse Cavell.
CHAPTER XLVII.
THE WAR IN THE AIR.
Over and over in these pages you have read of "airy navies grappling in the central blue." Every soldier, fighting his battles over again by the home fireside, loves to describe the aeroplanes that hovered above his trench while white, fleecy clouds of shrapnel burst around them. No returning soldier but can thrill his hearers with stories of deadly combats in the high heavens. The exploits of aircraft in this war open a new chapter of military history.
Nothing is more remarkable than the rapid progress which has been made in the conquest of the air. In October 1897 a daring man succeeded in flying about three hundred yards; in October 1915 men frequently made flights of hundreds of miles. Twenty years ago the aeroplane was unknown; to-day it is a recognized arm of warfare. No army or navy dare enter upon war without its air service.
Our French allies were the pioneers of these new powers of the air, and when war broke out they were well equipped with aircraft. It is said that at the close of the year 1915 they possessed more than three thousand aeroplanes, and that the number was being constantly increased.