gun platform they've missed every time."

"I doubt whether they'll continue firing," said Weber. "An aeroplane
doesn't carry any great amount of ammunition and they can't afford to
waste much."

"They're through now," said John. "See, they're flying away toward the
east, and unless my imagination deceives me, their machine actually
looks crestfallen, while our flag is snapping away in the wind, haughty
and defiant."

"A vivid fancy yours, Mr. Scott, but it's easy to imagine that German
machine looking cheap, because that's just the way the men on board it
must feel. Suppose we sit down here and take our ease. No flying man
can see through those vines over our heads, and we can watch in safety.
We're sure to draw other scouts of the air, while for us it's an
interesting and comparatively safe experience."

"Our flag is certainly an attraction," said John, making himself
comfortable on the ground. "There's a bird of passage now, coming down
from the north as swift as a swallow."

"It's a little monoplane," said Weber, "and it certainly resembles a
swallow, as it comes like a flash toward this tree. I thought at first
it might be Lannes in the _Arrow_, but the plane is too small, and it's
of German make."

"I fancy it won't linger long. This is not a healthy bit of space for
lone fellows in monoplanes."

The little plane slackened its speed, as it approached the tree, and
then sailed by it at a moderate rate. When it was opposite the flag a
spurt of flame came from the pistol of the man in it, and John actually
laughed.

"That was sheer spite," he said. "Did he think he could shoot our flag
away with a single bullet from a pistol when a machine gun has just
failed? That's right, turn about and make off as fast as you can, you
poor little mono!"

The monoplane also curved around the tree, but did not make a series of
circles. Instead, when its prow was turned northward it darted off again
in that direction, going even more swiftly than it had come, as if the
aviator were ashamed of himself and wished to get away as soon as
possible from the scene of his disgrace. Away and away it flew,
dwindling to a black speck and then to nothing.

John's shoulders shook, and Weber, looking at him, was forced to smile
too.

"Well, it was funny," he said. "Our flag is certainly making a stir in
the heavens."

"I wonder what will come next," said John. "It's like bait drawing birds
of prey."

The heavens were now beautifu