Charles Amory Beach

“ Suddenly the electric lights went out, leaving the region about the station, and indeed all of Paris, in comparative darkness.
At the same time a motor fire engine rushed screeching through the streets, giving an alarm.
"What is it?" cried Boughton. "Is the big gun firing?"
"It's a Zeppelin raid! I was here once before when they had one," said the Englishman coolly. "Mind your heads, boys. Just our rotten luck not to have a machine to go up after it." ”

“ For, more than any other branch of the service, is aviation uncertain as to life or death. Tom and Jack well knew that some, perhaps many, of those who wished them "au revoir," and "bonne chance," would not be alive when they returned. And Tom and Jack might not return themselves. True, their chances were comparatively good, but the fortunes of war are uncertain.
And so, after certain preliminaries, Tom and Jack, their pet machines in the hangars, left behind their beloved comrades and were taken by motor to the nearest railway station. ”

“ There are cooks, photographers, mechanics of various sorts, telephone, telegraph and wireless operators, orderlies and servants.
Of these Tom and Jack had their share, for it is the business of an airman to fly and fight, and he does nothing except in that line. He is catered to and helped in every possible way when not in the air. He has some one to wait on him, to look after his machine, and to attend to his hurts, if he is unlucky enough to get any. Of course each flier goes over, personally, his own craft, but he has oilers and mechanics to do all the detail work. ”

“ I reckon the Boches won't treat us any too well, when they know what we've done."
"And the other plane got away, they tell me," observed one of the French crew.
"Yes, I saw her rise and light out for home, after dropping a ton or so of bombs on this district," said Tom. "Well, she can go back and report a success."
"And let the folks know we're prisoners," said Jack. "It's tough luck, but it had to be, I suppose! We're lucky to be alive."
"You said it," agreed Tom. "We came through a fierce fire, and it's a wonder that we weren't all shot to pieces. As it is, the plane is as good as ever." ”

“ Tom and Jack kept within sight of one another, and also within view of their comrades. Each plane was marked with a big number so it could be distinguished, for the aviators themselves were so wrapped in fleece-lined clothes, so attired in gauntlets, goggles and fur boots, as protection against the terrible cold of the upper regions, that one's closest friend would not recognize him at a near view. ”

“ It was early the next morning, when Tom and Jack were getting ready to go back to the ruins in the Rue Lafayette, that, as they left their lodgings, they heard in the air above them the familiar sounds of aeroplanes in flight, and the faint popping of machine guns, to which was added the burst of shrapnel.
"Look!" cried Jack. "It's a battle in the air. The Huns are making another raid. Now we'll see how they bomb the city."
But it did not turn out to be that sort of raid. The German craft were flying low, apparently to get a view of the havoc wrought the day before. ”

“ It asked:
"Are you American, French or English prisoners?"
"Some of each variety," answered Jack, while at the sound of that voice Tom Raymond felt a thrill of hope.
"If you get out, is there a chance for you to get away in your aircraft?" the figure in the shadow questioned. "Be careful, don't let the guards hear."
"There are only two, and they're over at the front gate," said Jack, as Tom drew nearer in order better to hear the tones of that voice. "They seem more occupied in watching the fire than in looking at us," went on Jack. ”

“ Some one shouted at him, not stopping to realize that the noise of the motor drowned everything else in the ears of the pilot.
The luckless man tried to make a sharp turn, to get out of danger. One of his wing tips caught on the canvas tent, or hangar, and in another instant there was a crash and a mass of wreckage. From this, a little later, poor Parla was carried.
But the others did not stay, for though the shadow of death hovered over the Escadrille, the business of war went on.
After three days Tom and Jack could not stand it any longer. They begged for permission to go up into the air. ”

“ There are mighty serious times all about us, and it's terrible to think of those poor women and girls being killed like rats in a trap. I'd just like to be in my plane, and with a full gun, and then have a go at the Hun who did this."
"So would I," agreed Tom, as they made their way out of the crowd and in the direction in which many of the populace were hurrying to go to the scene of the second explosion. "But, Jack, do you know I shouldn't be surprised to learn that the shell was not from an airship at all." ”

“ Tom and Jack, like all the other American fliers, were in high favor with the French officers. In fact every aviator of the Allied nations, no matter how humble his rank, is treated by his superiors almost as an equal. There is not that line of demarcation noticed in other branches of the service. To be an aviator places one, especially in England and France, in a special class. All regard him as a hero who is taking terrible risks for the safety of the other fighters. ”

“ There was but one way for Tom to be near Jack when the latter landed—if such was to be his fate—and to give him help, provided he was alive. And that was for Tom himself to go down in a spinning nose dive, which is the speediest method by which a plane can descend. But there is great danger that the terrific speed may tear the wings from the machine. ”

“ The last slowly flying machine came to a landing finally, and there was a rush on the part of the other aviators to see what had happened. When Tom and Jack saw a limp form being lifted out, and heard murmurs of admiration for the pilot who had brought his machine back with a crippled engine, they realized what had happened.
The two brave men had fulfilled their mission; they had released their bombs over an important German factory, and had the terrible satisfaction of seeing it go up in flames. ”

“ It is a life full of dangers and surprises. It is this which makes it so appealing to the young and brave.
On and on flew the Allied planes, and the eager eyes of the pilots were alternately directed toward the earth and then ahead of them, and upward to discern the first sight of a Hun machine, if such should venture out.
The fliers were now well over the German lines, and the batteries from below began firing at them. This was to be expected, and Tom, Jack and the others had gotten used to the bursts of shrapnel all around them. ”

“ Tom Raymond's first few shots went wild, as he noted by the tracer bullets. Then, steering his machine with his feet, he brought it around a trifle, and, having by a quick action risen above his antagonist, he let him have a good round, full in the face. The result was disastrous to the German, for suddenly the Hun machine burst into flames, the gasolene from the punctured tank burning fiercely, and down it went a flaming torch of death. ”

“ Jack said, a moment later, "tell me about your father. Is the French government going to give him a big order for his stabilizer, now that we got that paper away from that sneak of a Tuessig?"
"Well, I guess dad's trip here has something to do with his aeroplane device, but he hints in his letter about something else. He said he didn't want to write too much for fear a spy might get hold of the information. But you know my father is an expert on ordnance matters and big guns, as well as in other lines of fighting."
"That's so, Tom. He certainly is a wonder when it comes to inventing things. ”

“ Tom and Jack knew, slightly, the officer to whom Major de Trouville referred. Lieutenant Laigney was an ordnance expert, and the inventor of a certain explosive just beginning to be used in the French shells. It was simple, but very powerful.
"You must tell him what you observed—the strange colored lights, my boys," said the major. "By the way, I hope you carefully noted the time of the colored flares."
Tom and Jack had. That was part of their training, to keep a note of extraordinary happenings and the time. Often seemingly slight matters have an important bearing on the future. ”

“ Of course I know, in theory, a gun can be made that will shoot a hundred miles, if necessary, but the cost of it, the cost of the charge and the work of loading it, as well as the enormous task of making a carriage or an emplacement to withstand the terrific recoil, makes such a gun a military white elephant. In other words it isn't worth the trouble it would take—the amount of damage inflicted on the enemy wouldn't make it worth while. ”

“ Tom and Jack did valiant work in carrying out the dead and dying, in both of which classes were men, women and children.
The German beasts were living up to the mark they had set for themselves in their war of frightfulness.
Each time a dead or injured man was reached, to be carried out for hospital treatment or to have the last sad rites paid him, Tom nerved himself to look. ”

“ The spinning nose dive was discovered by accident, but is now part of the regular flying features, and is often used by aviators to escape from an enemy.
It is almost impossible to hit a plane doing a spinning nose dive, and if an aviator is over his own lines he may be able to come out of it before he reaches the ground, and so be safe. Many German planes have escaped in this way, and often a French airman has thought he has sent his enemy down disabled, when, as a matter of fact, the other has merely adopted this ruse to get away. ”

“ Tom's father was an inventor of note, and had perfected a stabilizer for an aeroplane that was considered very valuable, so much so that a German spy stole one of the documents relating to the patent.
It was Tom's effort to get possession of this paper that led him and, incidentally, his chum Jack into many adventures. From their homes in Bridgeton, Virginia, they eventually reached France and were admitted into that world-famed company—the Lafayette Escadrille. Putting themselves under the tuition of the skilled French pilots, the Air Service boys forged rapidly to the front in their careers. ”

“ France owes you much, messieurs. Keep your lives save for her!"
"We will," promised Tom, as he hurried on, followed by Jack.
They came to the head of the street they sought, and, looking down it, beheld ruins greater than they had seen before. As the officer had said, two buildings had been completely demolished, and a third partly so, the wreckage of all mingling. And amid these ruins police and soldiers were working frantically to get out the injured and remove the dead, of whom there was a sad number. ”

“ Both Tom and Jack had to hold themselves in readiness for instant service. They might be sent out on a bombing expedition at night in the big heavy machines, slow of flight but comparatively safe from attack by other aircraft.
They might have the coveted honor of being selected to go out in the swift, single Nieuports to engage in combat with some Hun flier. To become an "ace"—that is a birdman who, flying alone, has disposed of five enemies—is the highest desire of an aviator. ”

“ Some of us thought there might be a big airship, stationed high above the clouds, dropping bombs. Others inclined to the theory of a double shell; that is, after one had been fired from the cannon it would travel, say, half way and then explode a charge which would impel another shell toward Paris. A sort of cannon within a cannon, so to speak. But this is not so. Nor did the theory of a shell with a sort of propeller device, like that of a torpedo, prove to be right. It is much simpler—just sub-calibre work. ”

“ They were the men in the missing machine, the Caudron that had not come back.
"Did you see what happened?" asked Jack.
Picard, to whom Tom had first spoken, answered briefly.
"They caught them full in the glare of a searchlight and let them have it. We saw them fall. There didn't seem to be any hope."
"But the battery that did the firing—it is no more," added De Porry, the companion of Picard. "The bombs that Quarre and Blas carried went down like lead, right on top of the Hun guns. They are no more, those guns and those who served." ”

“ As soon as word comes from the front, about eighty miles from Paris, that a Zeppelin is on its way to raid, an elaborate system of defense is put into operation. There are some airmen above Paris all the while, frequently as many as forty on sentry duty. But when word comes of a Zeppelin raid the whole squadron, numbering close to three hundred, goes aloft. By their searchlights, aided by those on the surface, these fliers endeavor to pick up the German machine, and, too, they endeavor to get near enough to attack it. ”

“ So the airmen would have to spend some time—perhaps half a week—in preliminary work.
Meanwhile the great cannon would keep up its deadly, though, from a military standpoint, useless work.
And so began the preparation, if such it might be called. Every one, from the most daring "ace" to the humblest kitchen helper in the camp, was anxious for the day when it could be said that the gun was out of commission, or guns, if, as was likely, there was more than one. But the men in command knew the value of thoroughness. There must be no failure through lack of making proper plans. ”

“ This means that two men go up in a big machine that carries a large equipment. Their craft is heavy and unwieldy, and has such a spread of wing surface that it is not easily turned, and if attacked by a German Fokker has little chance of escape. A machine gun is carried for defense.
It is a function of those in the machine to send word back to the battery officers of the effect of the shots they are firing, that the elevation and range may be corrected. And those who go out on "relage" work are in danger not only from the fire of the enemy's batteries, but often, also, from their own. ”

“ It's a bombardment of Paris all right, by German shells. If they don't come from an aeroplane, high up, they must come—"
His words were drowned by another great concussion, but farther off. The ground trembled, but there was no sign of flying debris.
"Another!" cried the gendarme. "There goes the gun again!"
"I didn't hear any gun," observed Jack. "What we heard was the explosion of the shell. Look up, Tom, and see if there's a Hun plane in sight. If there is, pity we haven't our machines right now." ”

“ It was a fight above the clouds, for both the French and the German machines were flying high, and had gone up above the bunches of fleecy vapor that now hid the ground from sight.
Tom headed straight for one of the Hun machines, seeking to get above it, always a point of vantage in an air battle, and as he rushed on he realized that his machine was being hit by bullets from one of the Hun guns. ”