Our Pilots in the Air

urning from a long scouting raid over in the enemy's territory, met the boy in the broad drive of the aerodrome looki

great! They asking 'bout you the

ike talking, shook h

nt along with your squad

. There was where we were to unload most of our bombs. But Archi

d. "Nothing mor

works hell for about fifteen or twenty mi

s looking, thoughtful, "has it ever struck y

eared the club door. "Stow that sort of talk and thought

these thing will run across my mind. Wh

d - that we're on for a job of sausag

observe the enemy's positions or maneuvers before and during battle on the earth below. Sa

ered, Blaine pushing his comrade for

at Appincourte Bluff, the Boches came mighty nigh doing him. But here he is, what's left of him. Jol

e air. Towards Erwin, now recovered after nearly a three week's "lay-off" on account

so busy would have gone round to jolly you up

ow in the Royal Flying Corps for more than a year. "Don

lk much about it. When we bombers got back from the raid that night and neither you nor Lafe had showed up, I felt bad en

t or incredulity, but only to hear his friend reemphasize it. One likes at ti

ex Brodno, yo

en in joke I am an American, it my

rits. "All one in the good old U.S. All one over here - eh? Oh, you sinner!" The two walked over

hangar where he had usually gotten his machines a bright new scouting plane, small, with a tail like a dolphin's, an up-

informed Erwin, much pleased. "It's - let's see."

ine and Finze

ied Blaine, throwing open wider the hanga

me type and monogram, all with machine guns strapped solidly to t

would take you a long way. As for stunts like diving, circling, dipping, playing dead and the l

hat was like the others, only a trifle larger

queried Erwin, slightly e

on the last word. "As for yours, take your pick. They're al

ed out the machine he had first exami

e much like the planes we

stronger motors added

give it

ormation." He nimbly vaulted into his seat over the rim of the fuselage, o

the air, and Erwin was off. His head was cool, his

ed out another plane and almost

ee thousand feet they began to circle, climb and dip in a way that reminded one

al attack. Suddenly Finzer turned his nose earthward and began a whirling dive. Erwin followed; the other coming at once

ng aviator, through which he keeps brain, eye and hand in trim against the p

o others, strolled about, lazily watching the maneuvers above, and telli

of that fresh buoyancy which short, lively flights are apt to create. Bo

e, Milt. But you wait until we go out

od-naturedly caustic. "Perhaps I'll

n as the lads adjourned to

aw Commander Byers on the field, watching the mechanics roll out the machines. There were a dozen or more of the fighting planes, like those which Erwin and Finzer had used for morning

y. Erwin took his, while Finzer, Brodno, and a real American lad from Butte, Montana, were assigned to others of these fast,

hanism until all were satisfied. Up they went, singly or in pairs, gyrating playfully, always cli

rom Commander Byers down below they began maneuvering like two hostile squadrons about to engage in aerial bat

of air insects than of birds. In their forward rushes

er, his glass at his eyes. "T

a daring angle, all of them straight and level again. The first plane in the other line, driven by Erwin, began to loop the loop sidewise, rolling over and over, not

playing with each other like kittens with wings. One was making rapid evolutions, the other fo

the staff surrounding the Comma

ere! Was tha

e general verdict. "Fritz will

he show going on above - far above! And now they were descending in long spirals, each squad by itself, yet preserving the mathematical distan

in, they rolled, they did the wing and tail slides, doing the last until they fell almost perpendicularly a thousand

e ground, some falling, drifting like dead leaves, others slanting lazily as they passed

idly until those below felt the whirring rush of air as the two planes

tch those steel engines falling down on you from the skies took the same kind of

rlwind. Yet, dizzy as it looked, it was mathematically timed. The two planes flattened as if by magic; they rose, dipped again and, passing each other in the down grade, saluted methodically as they passe

were over f