."

The muzzles of three rifles were now thrust through the bushes, ready to
fire at an instant's notice. In those moments of intense excitement and
with their own lives to save not one of the three had a single thought
of mercy, Kindly in ordinary times war had taken complete possession of
them for a space.

John concluded that the Germans were now sure of their success. It had
been quiet so long in the grove that the fugitives must be dead.
Moreover the afternoon was waning, and night would help the defenders,
if they still lived. But he never took his eyes from the big aeroplane,
floating easily like a great bird on lazy wing. Lower and lower it
dropped and it came within easy range of the high-powered rifles. Now it
slanted over on its side, still like a huge bird and the two men it
carried came into view.

"Fire!" cried John, and there was one report as the three rifles cracked
together. Never had bullets been sent with a more terrible aim. When the
dead hand fell from the steering rudder the great machine turned quite
over on its side. The two men and the machine gun were shot out, as if
they had been hurled by a catapult, and crashed among the trees of the
grove. The machine itself, still keeping its likeness to a huge bird,
but wounded mortally, now fluttered about wildly for several minutes,
and then fell with a tremendous crash among the trees. The other
aeroplanes, obviously frightened by the fall of their leader, rapidly
flew higher and out of range.

The three did not exult at first. Instead they were appalled.

"We certainly shot well!" said John at last.

"Oh I don't care!" said Carstairs, shaking himself, defiantly.

"They were after us, and we were bound to hit back!"

A bomb exploded in the woods, but they were not hurt. It stirred them to
wrath again, and all their compunctions were gone. Instead, they began
to feel a pride in their great sharpshooting.

"They've had enough of it for the present," said Wharton. "Look, the
whole flock is mounting up and up, where our bullets can't reach 'em!
Come down you rascals! Come down out of the sky and meet us face to
face! We'll whip the whole lot of you!"

He stood at his full height and shook his rifle at the aeroplanes. John
and Carstairs shared his feelings so thoroughly that they saw nothing
odd.

"While they're so high," said John, "suppose we go and look at the
fallen machine."

They found it among some trees, a part of the frame imbedded