JACK'S YARNS: WAITING FOR THE DAY (1915)

Description

Date: 22 April 1915

Transcript:

WAITING FOR THE DAY.

“Another Zeppelin Airship Raid.”
I read this t’other day.
They’d tried their luck this time, it seemed,
Somewhere Newcastle way.
But, bless yer heart, that airship crew
Were poor hands at the game.
They were so bloomin’ nervous that
Their bombs they couldn’t aim!

They missed the shipping, missed the yards,
Missed everything they tried;
The bombs meant for Newcastle, lor’,
Went all ‘bout ten miles wide!
A bloomin’ failure. Bless yer heart,
Old Billy will be wild
When told they didn’t even kill
A woman or a child!

[cartoon of Jack discovering footprints]
Square-toed footprints.

And next they went to Lowestoft.
It somehow ‘pears to me
We’ve far too many Germans here
Enjoying liberty.
I’ve heard that signal lights were seen
Down near the cliffs that night.
I’ll take a run down there, and try
And find out if it’s right.

So off I set down to the cliffs,
And hunted carefully
For any signs o’ signalling,
But nothing could I see;
And just was giving up the job
When something made me stare.
It was some footprints—and, what’s more,
The toe marks all were square!

[cartoon of Jack crouching on the ground]
Sometimes I lost the trail.

You’ll understand its import, when
Nine out of every ten
‘Mong Germans wear a square-toed boot!
I started there and then
To follow up that square-toed trail.
Where would it lead me to?
I felt convinced that they were mixed
Up with that airship crew.

I couldn’t say how long I tracked
Those footprints; all I know
Is that my progress seemed to be,
At best, extremely slow.
Sometimes I lost all trace o’ them,
And had to hunt about
Down on my hands and knees, until
Again I’d traced them out.

[cartoon of Jack discovering a cave]
Some bushes hid a hole.

On, on again, until at length
The footprints ceased just where
A clump o’ bushes grew. I stopped
And hunted closely there,
And found the bushes quite concealed
A hole ‘bout two feet high.
Some burnt-out matches, too, I found.
“You’re getting hot,” says I.

I crept in for a yard or two.
Then, there in front o’ me,
I finds a cave, which had a hole
A-facing out to sea.
And in a corner signal lamps,
Code books. “Great Scotland, Jack,
You’ve tumbled on a traitor’s den;
Just wait till he comes back.”

[cartoon of Jack pulling a German man by a rope around his neck]
Out ye come!

Then right away I gets a rope—
I found lots lying loose;
And quickly, ‘fore he would return,
I made a running noose.
And then, when all was ready, I
Back to the entrance stole,
And—what was that? Some living thing
Was creeping thro’ the hole!

A head appeared! Quick! Like a flash
On went the noose! A shout
In German. Then I gives a heave,
And hauls the beggar out.
I caught a half a dozen more,
All in the self-same way.
They’re waiting trial just now—in fact
They’re waiting for The Day!

Source:
McMann, W. ‘Jack’s Yarns: “Waiting for the Day”.’ The Brecon County Times. 22 Apr. 1915. 7.

• https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3857605/3857612/99 (link opens in new window)