werved in a wild bacchanalian dance. Airplanes, British and German
alike, fell flaming to the earth before the second in command of the
enemy squadron signaled, "Retire."

A mile away a battery of A-A guns waited, its commander's eyes glued to
a telescope.

"They're breaking off--stand by! Range 4300 yards--deflection--There
they go! Commence firing."

A dozen batteries were waiting the signal. The air was filled with the
shriek of speeding shells, the skies were mottled with patches of smoke,
white and brown, where the charges burst.

Von Rheinhoff's battered squadron rode raggedly to safety.

"Got him--whoop!" yelled a thousand voices, as from one machine there
came a scatter of pieces as a high-explosive shell burst under the wing,
and the soaring bird collapsed and came trembling, slowly,
head-over-heels to the ground.

Von Rheinhoff, that redoubtable man, was half conscious when they pulled
him out of the burnt and bloody wreck.

He looked round sleepily at the group about him and asked in the voice
of a very tired man:

"Which--of--you--fellows--bombed--our Kaiser?"

Tam leant forward, his face blazing with excitement.

"Say that again, sir-r," he said.

Von Rheinhoff looked at him through half-opened eyes. "Tam--eh?" he
whispered. "You--nearly put an empire--in mourning."

Tam drew a long breath, then turned away. "Nearly!" he said bitterly.
"Did A' no' tell ye, Captain Blackie, sir-r, that ma luck was oot?"

CHAPTER VIII

A QUESTION OF RANK

Tam stood in the doorway of Squadron Headquarters and saluted.

"Come in, Sergeant Mactavish," said Blackie, and Tam's heart went down
into his boots.

To be called by his surname was a happening which had only one
significance. There was trouble of sorts, and Tam hated trouble.

"There are some facts which General Headquarters have asked me to
verify--your age is twenty-seven?"

"Yes, sir-r."

"You hold the military medal, the French _Medaille Militaire_, the
Russian medal of St. George and the French _Croix de Guerre_?"

"Oh, aye, Captain Blackie, sir-r, but A've no' worn 'em yet."

"You were created King's Corporal for an act of valor on January 17,
1915?" Blackie went on, consulting a paper.

"Yes, sir-r."

Blackie nodded. "That's all, Sergeant," he said, and as Tam saluted and
turned, "oh, by-the-way, Sergeant--we had a brass ha--I mean a staff
officer here the other day and he reported rather unfavorably upon a
practise of yours-