detective wi' the same name as ye'sel', though A' doot if he wis related
to ye, was foiled by the machinations o' Ferdie the Foorger at the
moment o' his triumph by the lad gieing him a seegair soaked in laud'num
an' chlorofor-rm!"

He took a bundle, slipped out two cigars, offered one to his officer,
after a brief but baffling examination to discover which was the worse,
and lit the other.

"They're no' so bad," he admitted, "but yeer ain seegairs never taste so
bonnie as the seegairs yeer frien's loan ye."

"They came in time," said Carter; "we'd started a League for the
Suppression of Cigar Cadging."

"Maybe ye thocht o' makin' me treesurer? Naw? Ah weel, a wee seegair is
no muckle to gie a body wha's brocht fame an' honor to the Wing."

"I often wonder, Tam," said Carter, "how much you're joking and laughing
at yourself when you're talking about 'Tam, the Terror of the Clouds,'
and how much you're in earnest."

A fleeting smile flickered for a second about Tam's mouth and vanished.

"In all guid wairks of reference, fra' Auld Morre's Almanac to the
Clyede River Time-Table," he said soberly, "it's written that a Scotsman
canna joke. If A'd no talk about Tam--would ye talk aboot ye'sel's? Naw!
Ye'd go oop an' doon, fichtin' an' deein' wi'oot a waird. If ye'll talk
aboot ye'sel's A'll no talk aboot Tam. A' knaw ma duty, Mister
Carter--A'm the offeecial boaster o' the wing an' the coor, an' whin
they bring me doon wi' a bullet in ma heid, A' hope ye'll engage anither
like me."

"There isn't another like you, Tam," laughed Carter.

"Ye dinna knaw Glasca,'" replied Tam darkly.

* * * * *

Lieutenant Carter went up on "a tour of duty" soon after and Tam was on
the ground to watch his departure.

"Tam," he shouted, before the controls were in, "I liked that
cigar--I'll take fifty from you to-night."

"Ower ma deid body," said Tam, puffing contentedly at the very last inch
of his own; "the watch-wairds o' victory are 'threeft an' economy'!"

"I've warned you," roared Carter, for now the engine was going.

Tam nodded a smiling farewell as the machine skipped and ran over the
ground before it swooped upward into space.

He went back to his room, but had hardly settled himself to the
examination of a new batch of blood-curdling literature before Blackie
strode in.

"Mr. Carter's down, Tam," he said.

"Doon!"

Tam jumped up, a frown on his face.

"Shot dead and fell inside