ever so
long."

"Great stunt! And say, I'm mighty glad you got a chance to pull me into
the game, Tom. Never forget it, I tell you."

"Don't mention it, Jack. I'll be three times as happy with you beside
me, than if I had to have another alongside. But that isn't quite all,
boy."

"What, even more coming?" gasped the delighted Jack.

"It seems that rumors have reached us that Ludendorff has his present
headquarters in a chateau among the hills that can be easily reached by
the bombing plane squadron on their way to the main objective. Yes, and
would you believe it, they even suspect that the Old Fox of the Hills,
Von Hindenburg himself, is there right now, in consultation with his
chief general. Think of a double killing, Jack, will you?"

Jack went through a pantomime that indicated his abounding joy over the
prospect of cutting off the responsible heads of the enemy at a single
blow.

"This sounds good to me," he said. "And now, Tom, what has it all to do
with the prospect of our paying that visit to Jeanne's uncle, and
forcing him to give up little Helene? Tell me that!"

CHAPTER XIV

SELECTED FOR SPECIAL DUTY

"REMEMBER," Tom said again very solemnly, "this is a dead secret, Jack."

"Not a whisper will get away from me, I give you my word on that,"
hastily replied the other. "And my word is as good as my bond, any day."

"So it is. I only cautioned you as I did because the same secrecy was
impressed on me at the time I was taken into the matter. That was why I
couldn't give even you a hint. But it's all right now. As to your
question, Jack, it might happen that we would get separated from the
rest of the bunch on the return journey, and, if so, why, you see, we
could take a little spin around the district where that other chateau
lies."

"Yes," added Jack thoughtfully, but with a gleam in his eye, "accidents
are apt to happen in even the best regulated families; and it isn't very
strange for aviators to get a little mixed in their bearings."

"Especially," Tom went on to say without the ghost of a smile, "when on
a night-bombing expedition; for a thousand things are apt to come up,
all calculated to bother the best of pilots, and throw him out of his
reckoning."

"Why, we've been through that mill more than a few times, you remember,
Tom. I could mention at least three occasions when we couldn't tell
where we were and had to go it blind for a time. Fortunately, we got
home all right where