seemed not at all
impressed.

The captain was six feet tall, burdened by the weight of rank and the
ripe old age of twenty-four or twenty-five years, and was somewhat
skeptical of McGee's judgement. He wondered, vaguely, what this
youthful, freckle-faced, five-foot-six Royal Flying Corps lieutenant
could know about nice work. Why, he couldn't be a day over eighteen--in
fact, he might be less than that. A cadet who had just won his wings,
probably.

"Oh, fair," the captain admitted.

McGee, sensing what was running through the captain's mind, and having
no wish to set him right, winked at Larkin and said:

"Let's go, Buzz. It isn't often that two poor ferry pilots get a
twenty-four hour leave."

Later, as they were bounding cityward in a decrepit, ancient taxi driven
by a bearded, grizzled Frenchman who without make-up could assume a role
in a drama of pirates and freebooters, McGee said to Larkin:

"You know, Buzz, I think a lot of these American pilots are better
prepared for action right now than we were when we got our wings. And we
had hardly gotten ours sewed on when we were ordered to the front. These
fellows will give a good account of themselves."

"I think so, too. Do you remember how the Cadets of our class were sent
up for solo in rickety old planes held together by wire, tape and
chewing gum? Poor devils, they got washed out plenty fast! I've seen 'em
go up when the expression on their faces told that they had forgotten
everything they had learned. No wonder a lot of them took nose dives
into the hangars and hung their planes on smokestacks and church
steeples."

McGee frowned, remembering some of the friends who had tried for their
wings and drew crosses instead. Quickly he threw off the mood with a
laugh.

"Yes, and I was one of those 'poor devils' who forgot. I'll never forget
_that_! I had no more right being up in that old Avro than a hog
has with skates. But England needed pilots and needed them badly. I
guess it was a case of 'what goes up must come down' and the government
gave wings to the ones who came down alive. The others got angels'
wings."

"I suppose so. And before another month passes the need will be greater
than ever. Look what the Germans did to the British Fifth Army just last
month. I'll never know what stopped 'em. But they're not through. What
do you make of that long range gun that is shelling this very city?

"Um-m. Dunno. Seems to me that well directed reconnaissanc