ment, and the two were soon preparing to climb aloft.

With a watching group of eager young men on the ground below, in company
with an instructor who would point out the way certain feats were done,
Torn and Jack began climbing. Presently they were fairly tumbling about
like pigeons, seeming to fall, but quickly straightening out on a level
keel and coming to the ground almost as lightly as feathers.

"A good landing is essential if one would become a good airman," stated
the instructor. "In fact I may say it is the hardest half of the game.
For it is comparatively easy to leave the earth. It is the coming back
that is difficult, like the Irishman who said it wasn't the fall that
hurts, it was the stopping."

"Give 'em a bit of zooming now," the instructor said to Tom and Jack.
"The boys may have to use that any time they're up and a Boche comes at
them."

"Zooming," he went on to the pupils, "is rising and falling in a series
of abrupt curves like those in a roller-coaster railway. It is a very
useful stunt to be master of, for it enables one to rise quickly when
confronting a field barrier, or to get out of range of a Hun machine
gun."

Tom undertook this feature of the instruction, as Jack signaled that his
aeroplane was out of gasoline, and soon the former was rolling across
the aviation field, seemingly straight toward a row of tall trees.

"He'll hit 'em sure!" cried one student.

"Watch him," ordered the instructor.

With a quick pull on the lever that controlled the rudder, Tom sent
himself aloft, but not before a curious thing happened.

On the ground where it had been dropped was a tunic, or airman's
fur-lined jacket. As Tom's machine "zoomed," the tail skid caught this
jacket and took it aloft.

Tom did not seem to be aware of this, though he must have felt that his
machine was a bit sluggish in the climbs. However, he went through with
his performance, doing some beautiful "zooming," and then, as he was
flying high and getting ready to do a spiral nose dive, the tunic
detached itself from his skid and fell.

Just at this moment Jack came out from the hangar and, looking aloft and
noting Tom's machine, saw the falling jacket. His heart turned sick
and faint, for, unaware of what had happened, he thought his chum had
tumbled out while at a great height. For the tunic, turning over and
over as it sailed earthward, did resemble a falling body.

"Oh, Tom! Tom! How did it happen?" murmured Jack.