大象传媒

Davy Mitchell鈥檚 German Spy
By Bernard Mc Cormack
Location : Derry, Northern Ireland

All of our gang knew that Davy had very poor eyesight. We would say 鈥渉e was blind as a bat鈥�, One Saturday morning we were playing around the lampost at the bottom of our street when Jimmy Taggart, the smallest member of the Dervock street gang, happened to look up at the top of the trees in Boyd鈥檚 Avenue he couldn鈥檛 believe his eyes, a silver coloured shape rose slowly above the topmost branches, he had never seen the like of it before and he became very excited. His mouth wide open he pointed it out to us, but we were none the wiser either.

It so happened that Davy Mitchell was also standing there framed in his own open doorway. He too was squinting at the sky as he ran his hand over the grey stubble on his chin.

鈥淚鈥檒l be damned鈥� he stammered, 鈥渋s it a parachute?鈥� he asked, addressing no one person in particular. 鈥淪urely that means only one thing鈥� he went on, 鈥渋t must be a spy鈥�. Without waiting he went into his house and fetched his 鈥楤鈥� special rifle. Then like a sergeant leaping his platoon into action the whole ragged band of children trailed after him towards the trees in Boyd鈥檚 Avenue. Between times a breeze had sprung up and the barrage balloon had drifted some distance to the right revealing its full length and also the anchoring cables at its base. Five or six tiny figures wrestled with the cables while others winched the balloon higher and higher.

It was the first time we glimpsed an anti-aircraft balloon in action. Dejected we made our way back to Davy鈥檚 house when you think of it though, how many others could boast they had a barrage balloon at the bottom of their street?

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