At five o'clock in the evening he dropped from the heavens in one
straight plummet dive which brought him three miles in a little under
one minute.

"Did you meet Mueller?" asked Captain Blackie; "he's about--he shot down
Mr. Grey this morning whilst you were away."

"Mr. Gree? Weel, weel!" said Tam, shaking, "puir soul--he wis a verra
guid gentleman--wit' a gay young hairt."

"I hope Tam will pronounce my epitaph," said Blackie to Bolt, the
observer; "he doesn't know how to think unkindly of his pals."

"Tam will get Mueller," said Bolt. "I saw the scrap the other day--Tam
was prepared to kill himself if he could bring him down. He was out for
a collision, I'll swear, and Mueller knew it and lost his nerve for the
fight. That means that Mueller is hating himself and will go running for
Tam at the first opportunity."

"Tam shall have his chance. The new B. I. 6 is ready and Tam shall have
it."

Now every airman knows the character of the old B. I. 5. She was a fast
machine, could rise quicker than any other aeroplane in the world. She
could do things which no other machine could do, and could also behave
as no self-respecting aeroplane would wish to behave. For example, she
was an involuntary "looper." For no apparent reason at all she would
suddenly buck like a lunatic mustang. In these frenzies she would answer
no appliance and obey no other mechanical law than the law of
gravitation.

Tam had tried B. I. 5, and had lived to tell the story. There is a
legend that he reached earth flying backward and upside down, but that
is probably without foundation. Then an ingenious American had taken B.
I. 5 in hand and had done certain things to her wings, her tail, her
fuselage and her engine and from the chaos of her remains was born B. I.
6, not unlike her erratic mother in appearance, but viceless.

* * * * *

Tam learned of his opportunity without any display of enthusiasm.

"A' doot she's na guid," he said. "Captain Blackie, sir-r, A've got ma
ain idea what B. I. stands for. It's no complimentary to the inventor.
If sax is better, than A'm goin' to believe in an auld sayin'."

"What is that, Tam?"

"'Theer's safety in numbers,'" said Tam, "an' the while A'm on the
subject of leeterature A'd like yeer opinion on a vairse A' made aboot
Mr. MacMuller."

He produced a folded sheet of paper, opened it, and read,

"Amidst the seelance of the stars
He fell, yon dooty m