for the first time. The lucky arrival of the French Spads, they
now knew, was not a matter of luck at all, but a daring plan to
overwhelm the greedy German war eagle and rid the air of him. Yes,
Siddons had courage and brains. There was no longer any doubt of that.

Yancey voiced the thoughts of every man present when he said: "It
wouldn't be so tough if he could get it in the air. But this way--at a
wall--is tough."

"What about von Herzmann?" Fouche asked. "I guess it was tough for him,
too."

Yancey grinned and scratched his head. "You know," he drawled, "down in
my home state, we sometimes make a mistake and slap a brand on a calf
that's not really ours. Well, that's not so awful. But when somebody
else makes the same mistake, it's stealin'--pure and simple. War's a lot
like that. We only see one side of it, and for my part, I'm fed up with
seein' that side. Boy, I hone for Texas."

5

McGee and Larkin, as flight leaders, had been called to Major Cowan's
headquarters for the usual evening conference. The Major declared
himself as displeased with the work of the day, but both of the young
pilots, experienced in the ways of the army, realized that Cowan's
displeasure was but a reaction from pressure being put on him by the
"higher ups." The General Staff, they knew, must be gratified with the
success of the day, for all objectives had been taken and the enemy
sorely pressed. It was true, however, that communication had been far
from perfect. Liaison had broken down, and the ground gained, therefore,
was the result of the grim determination of the soldier of the line to
end the thing speedily rather than to a perfect coordination of all
arms.

"But, Major," McGee was defending the work of the squadron by pointing
out the unusual and unforeseen obstacles, "we couldn't see our wing tips
until after nine o'clock, and when we could see, those doughboys
wouldn't display their panels. They acted like they thought we would
drop bombs on them. It's hard, Major, to get men to show white panels
when they are under fire. They are afraid that the enemy will see them,
too, and blow them off the face of the earth. It is always a hard
problem."

"All battle problems are hard," Cowan replied. "The commanders of the
troops in the line are being ridden just as we are. The General Staff
feels that victory is in sight. They will accept nothing but the best of
work, and we must do our full share."

"Yes, sir, of course. But I